The No. 1 Moravia and No. 4 Groton football teams will face off tonight at Scarry Athletic Complex as the Section IV 8-Man sectionals begin. The two teams were match up earlier this season on Sept. 27, ending with a 43-6 Blue Devil win.
Although the final score was lopsided in the Blue Devils’ favor, the game entered the fourth quarter a one-score game. Moravia head coach Fred Ott believes his team is in a better place heading into the second matchup.
“The first time around it was our opening night on our new field, it was our homecoming, so we had a lot of emotions going and I really don’t think we played our best football,” Ott said. “Which is alright, hats off to the them. I think they played a pretty good game and had a good game plan. I think this time around we’re a little bit more mentally and physically ready. I think we’ll be ready and be real physical and bring it to them.”
Groton head coach Nick Dyson feels his team is finding its stride as of late and the first matchup remaining tight for three quarters has given the Red Hawks some confidence heading in.
“Going into the fourth quarter it was a 14-6 ball game, so the math there works out,” Dyson said. “It’s going to be a hard fought game and we’re hoping we’re on the right side of it, but the challenge is internal. We can only control what we can control and that’s how we show up on the field. We do have one thing on our side and that’s momentum. I think we’re playing our best football that we have all year right now.”
Moravia enters the postseason as not only the top seed, but also the defending sectional champion. The Blue Devils finished the regular season 6-1 after dropping the season opener in a state final rematch to Pembroke. The Blue Devils have aspirations of playing for the state championship again this season, but Ott knows he has to keep his team focused on taking it one game at a time.
“I think it’s hard because we’ve already seen Groton,” Ott said. “We follow them just like they follow us so we know each other pretty well. So to just focus on that is hard. It’s hard on the coaches too because we kind of want to look past it, but we understand football. You have to play the game. I think just keeping them on the task at hand and then whatever the outcome of this game is then we worry about the next team. Definitely in the playoff time you really have to look at one team at a time. You can’t get too far ahead of yourself.”
Groton is coming off a 70-16 win to close the regular season at 4-4. Dyson has his team focused on executing the game plan and sticking to who they are.
“We’re just focusing on the fundamentals and who we are internally in our identity,” Dyson said. “That’s a team that runs the ball and every man does his job and we’ll do what we do best.”
Groton also will look to sophomore captain Lane Darling to be at the center of everything they do on both sides of the ball.
Moravia seniors Riley Jones and Thomas Palmer are hoping Moravia can translate its fourth quarter from the first matchup into a complete showing Saturday night.
“I think we’ll have less nerves this game because last time was our first game on our new field,” Palmer said. “I think that’s going to be a huge part of it. And then just making the right plays like we did in the fourth quarter of that game.”
“I think we just need to be more motivated during the start of the game and have a better jump at it,” Jones added. “That way our start of the game is like our fourth quarter and we get points on the board fast and just keep going.”
The two matchup gets underway at 6 p.m. Saturday night in Moravia. The winner will face the winner of No. 2 Trumansburg and No. 3 Elmira Heights in the Section IV finals and will also be earn a spot in the 8-Man state football playoffs.
