SECTION IV FLAG FOOTBALL: OWEGO ROLLS TO SIXTH STRAIGHT VICTORY (2024-04-20)
By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
OWEGO — Kylie Grippen threw for four touchdowns, including three to Taylor Dalton, and Bella Silvestri rushed for a trio of TDs as Owego rolled past Susquehanna Valley, 51-0, in Section IV flag football action Saturday evening.
“I thought we played a really good game,” Owego coach Rusty Virkler said. “We got a lot of girls in and did a really phenomenal job. SV's a really good team, but we executed our practice and it worked out for us.”
Silvestri, filling in for Cadia Fain, was impressive on her first carry of the contest, bolting 22 yards for a TD at 20:24.
The River Hawks would reach the end zone on every possession of the first half.
The next one started deep in Sus Valley territory and Grippen found Dalton open for a 21-yard score at 18:36. The PAT pass to Brooklyn Guarnier made it 13-0.
Grippen found Dalton open again on the third possession of the night, hitting her with a 9-yard TD strike at 12:02 for a 20-0 lead.
The QB and Alex Aubel hooked up for a 1-yard TD toss with 7:36 left in the first half, pushing the Owego advantage to 25-0.
A Guarnier interception gave the River Hawks the ball near midfield and three plays later, Silvestri took it in from 17 yards out to give the home team a 31-0 cushion at 3:54.
The Sabers’ next possession resulted in an interception, by Lexi Herceg. Owego turned that gift into a 24-yard Grippen-to-Dalton strike with 16 ticks on the clock. The pair hooked up on the PAT pass and gave the River Hawks a 38-0 lead at the break.
Sus Valley QB Aida MacNamee was a viable threat on the ground early in the game, rushing for 94 yards, but never reached the endzone. She was also just 2-for-7 passing for 20 yards and was intercepted three times.
“No. 21 is a stud,” Virkler said. “She's super fast. I was nervous going into it, but I thought we did a good job containing her, and pulling her flag and not letting them score.”
Olivia Dodge picked off a pass in the final seconds before halftime.
Owego started the second half with the pigskin and turned it into a 22-yard Silvestri TD run and a 44-0 bulge at 22:19.
The River Hawks brought in the reserves on their next possession and moved the ball down to the two on a 31-yard Guarnier-to-Eliana Vasquez pass before the offense sputtered.
The Sus Valley backups started to move the ball until an Ava Vasquez sack forced the Sabers to punt.
Guarnier connected with Lexi Cheeseman on a 16-yard TD pass five plays later, and Guranier’s keeper on the PAT gave Owego a 51-0 shutout.
“I think overall it was a total team effort, and everybody did a good job and contributed,” Virkler said.
Grippen went 18-for-20 for 220 yards through the air and Guarnier went 2-for-4 for 44 more.
Dalton grabbed six passes for 118 yards. Cheeseman caught two for 34, Guarnier had two for 23, Aubel made four receptions for 19 yards and Herceg added one for 17 more.
Owego chalked up another 167 yards on the ground. Silvestri carried the rock seven times for 81 yards, Herceg had two rushes for 26, Kayla Casterline added three for 21, Guarnier had two for 16 and Amelia Sherman tacked on two for seven more.
Dodge paced the team with five tackles; Elizabeth Reigle contributed four tackles and a sack; Guranier had three tackles and a sack; Ebba Lindhout added two tackles, a sack and four QB pressures; Vasquez recorded two tackles, a sack, three QB pressures and a deflection; and Cheeseman added two tackles and a sack.
Silvestri, Shrina Harris, Herceg and Aubel registered two tackles apiece; Dalton had a tackle and a deflection; Katie Trenchard had a tackle and a QB pressure; and Alaina Anschutz, Eleanor Sherman and Kayla Teed added one tackle each.
The River Hawks surpassed 200 points for the season and have allowed just 39.
Owego (6-0) visits Johnson City Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
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IN PHOTO 1: Owego’s Ebba Lindhout. ... PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
