H.S. Football: Junior quarterback leads Windsor to victory at Newark Valley

Junior quarterback Ethan Reed, making his first varsity start, rushed for 216 yards and threw for 170 more to lead Windsor's 44-29 Section 4 Football Conference non-division victory at Newark Valley on Saturday.

It marked the season-opener for both Class C teams.

Reed's 10-yard scoring run around right end with 3:25 left and his two-point pass to Jack Beattie capped the scoring.

Newark Valley's final possession ended with an interception by Beattie and the Black Knights ran out the clock.

Reed threw scoring passes to Dave Flora and Hunter Platner and had two rushing touchdowns. Flora finished with two touchdowns.

Raidyn Ford had two touchdowns for the Cardinals, one rushing and one receiving.

Windsor is coming off a 3-6 season. Newark Valley went 5-4 in 2018.

QB’s debut impressive

Timing is a big part of Windsor’s passing game and Reed looked like he’s been working with Windsor’s receivers for years.

He finished 7-for-10 and three of his completions in the third quarter were of the Grade-A variety.

Reed hit Dylan Cappello for 19 yards along the left sideline midway through the quarter. It was impressive because Newark Valley had two defenders in the area and there was no margin for error. Cappello did an excellent job to get a foot down.

Two plays later, Reed followed a line surge into the end zone and the Black Knights had a 22-8 lead.

Later in the quarter, the quarterback showed perfect touch on an out-an-up pass to Flora on the right sideline for 26 yards.

He was even better on the next play. Hunter Platner ran a corner route, Reed received the shotgun snap and lofted the ball toward to back-left pylon. Platner made an over-the-shoulder catch just inbound as the Black Knights extended their lead to 28-15.

“A lot of people don’t like the seven-on-seven stuff, but a lot of that stuff is all timing,” Windsor coach Tim Hogan said. “You got Dave making plays, you got Jack making plays, you got Hunter making plays and a lot of that is all timing routes. The three big plays we got off the passing game were all timing routes. He has some nice touch when he needs it.”

Added Reed: “I have all the trust in the world in my receivers. I trust they’ll get the job done and they’ll tuck it and get up field.”

Determined effort

With the score tied at 8 in the second quarter, Reed completed what looked like a garden-variety pass to Flora on the left side. Flora caught the pass about 30 yards from end zone and Newark Valley had three defenders in position to stop him.

None did.

Flora plowed through three tackle attempts en route to a 46-yard scoring play.

Reed then hit Flora on the two-point pass and the Black Knights had the lead for keeps at 16-8.

“I’ll be honest, I was very impressed,” Reed said of Flora’s effort. “In his gut, he’s saying, ‘I’ve got to get in the end zone,’ and he did it.”

Week 1 mistakes

For Newark Valley, a pair of botched snaps hurt its chances.

In the first quarter, Brenton Rosenberg set up in punt formation, but the ball sailed over his head and into the end zone. Rosenberg kicked the ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety.

After the free kick, Windsor took over its 46 and needed five plays to cover 54 yards – the big play a 39-yard Reed-to-Beattie completion on a fade pattern to the right side.

Flora covered the final 6 yards and Windsor had an 8-0 lead.

Newark Valley had a drive going on its next possession, reaching Windsor’s 44, when a snap went over quarterback Mike Wandell. A massive chase ensued and by the time the Cardinals’ Connor Spoonhower pounced on it, the Cardinals had lost 28 yards.

“I think when we go back to see the tape on different things, those are the most memorable, but it’s also a missed block here, a missed assignment there,” Cardinals coach Ted Hardenstine said.

Getting healthy

The Cardinals played without senior captain Caden Bennett, perhaps the team’s best athlete. He suffered a lower-leg injury over the summer and Hardenstine said it’s possible he could play in Week 2 at Tioga.

“He’s a great player and we’re excited to have him back, but at the same time, we’ve been working to not have him back,” the coach said. “The kids worked their tails off and they did some good things, but they didn’t do enough good things to win the game.”

Spoonhower, who bulled his way to tough yards between the tackles, suffered a right-arm injury in the third quarter while tackling Reed. The extent of his injury is not known.

Air Wandell

Newark Valley has had success over the last handful of seasons, including a Class C state title in 2016.

Even during that span, the Cardinals haven’t had excellent throwing quarterbacks. They’ve done of their work on the ground.

But Wandell made some impressive throws from the pocket, including an 8-yard strike in the back of the end zone to Josh Post in the fourth quarter that closed the Cardinals’ deficit to 36-29.

Wandell finished 6-for-12 for 124 yards and two touchdowns, the first on a 48-yard scoring pass to Ford midway through the third quarter.

“We’re really excited about the dimension that brings to our team offensively, but at the same time we have to be more consistent in the run game on both sides of the ball,” Hardenstine said.

Up next

Windsor will host Deposit-Hancock on Friday, when the Cardinals visit rival Tioga.

Windsor 44, Newark Valley 29

Windsor ..... 8 8 12 16 -- 44

Newark Valley ..... 0 8 14 7 -- 29

First quarter

W -- Safety, punter kicked ball out of end zone, 3:50.

W -- Dave Flora 6 run (pass failed), 1:24.

Second quarter

NV -- Raidyn Ford 3 run (Brenton Rosenberg run), 5:07.

W -- Dave Flora 46 pass from Ethan Reed (Dave Flora pass from Ethan Reed), 3:58.

Third quarter

W -- Ethan Reed 3 run (pass failed), 5:05.

NV -- Raidyn Ford 48 pass from Mike Wandell (Dawson Moncalari kick), 2:09.

W -- Hunter Platner 15 pass from Ethan Reed (pass failed), 1:41.

Fourth quarter

NV -- Jake Armstrong 34 pass from Brenton Rosenberg (Dawson Moncalari kick), 11:31.

W -- Griffin Dillenbeck 5 run (Dave Flora pass from Ethan Reed), 8:15.

NV -- Josh Post 8 pass from Mike Wandell (Dawson Moncalari kick), 5:51.

W -- Ethan Reed 10 run (Jack Beattie pass from Ethan Reed), 3:25.

Rushing: Windsor, Dave Flora 4-22, Griffin Dillenbeck 15-103, Ethan Reed 21-216, Noah Yadlosky 2-15, Kobe Dela Cruz 1-7, JJ Latimer 1-13. Newark Valley, Connor Spoonhower 18-29, Raidyn Ford 12-120, Brenton Rosenberg 6-27, Mike Wandell 7-20.

Passing: Windsor, Ethan Reed 7-for-10, 170 yards. Newark Valley, Mike Wandell 6-for-12, 124 yards, 1 int.; Brenton Rosenberg 1-for-1, 34 yards.

Receiving: Windsor, Jack Beattie 2-48, Dylan Cappello 2-29, Dave Flora 2-72, Hunter Platner 1-15. Newark Valley, Josh Post 1-8, Jake Armstrong 3-87, Connor Spoonhower 1-6, Brenton Rosenberg 1-9, Raidyn Ford 1-48.  

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