MORAVIA –– A rematch of what was a one-score game earlier this season was never in question the second time around. The No. 1 Moravia football team imposed its will on No. 4 Groton 64-8 in Saturday’s Section IV 8-man semifinal at Scarry Athletic Complex.
Moravia got off to a fast start when Thomas Palmer found Joe Baylor for 30-yard touchdown strike on fourth down. A successful 2-point conversion gave the Blue Devils an 8-0 edge.
After a stop defensively, Moravia connected again with Palmer to Baylor from 38 yards out, but the score was taken off the board giving Groton a chance for chance to swing momentum back.
The Red Hawks did just that –– at least initially. Facing 4th-and-11, Palmer was intercepted by Groton’s Lane Darling, who was stripped on the return by Riley Jones. Jones scooped up the loose ball and took it to the end zone.
“That’s 100% our mentality from the coaches, don’t ever give up,” Moravia head coach Fred Ott said. “You make a play, whether its a bad play or good play, just keep going. I think that’s what you see in Riley and he showed it there. It just shows the mentality of our team, don’t ever give up.”
Baylor kicked off an eventual 23-point second quarter with a 24-yard touchdown grab. Ethan DeHart blocked a Groton punt after another Moravia defensive stand and it rolled into the end zone, where Jarein Francis scooped it up. Eli Landis then broke free for a 65-yard score to balloon the lead to 37 at halftime.
“All week we’ve been efficient and we’ve been saying dominant from the start and we showed that,” Palmer said.
Palmer and Baylor linked up once again to open the third quarter with a 46-yard connection. Baylor finished the night with 100 yards and three scores.
“Me and him (Palmer) always feel like no one can guard me in this league,” Baylor said. “So it’s just throw it up to 80.”
Palmer found Landis for his fourth passing score of the game on a 35-yard play. Noah Corbett had a pick six and a 43-yard rushing touchdown to round out the scoring for the Blue Devils.
Moravia dominated on both sides and was able to exemplify the physicality that Ott has stressed for his team to bring all season.
“You should see our practices, our coaches are only happy when we kill each other,” Baylor said.
“Most physical team in the state, that’s our goal,” Palmer added. “I think we’re showing it, especially in this game.”
Groton got on the board late with a 48-yard run from Colin Brockway. The Red Hawks end their season with a 4-5 mark.
Moravia’s quest for back-to-back sectional titles comes to a head next week against No. 2 Trumansburg. Moravia knocked off the Blue Raiders 32-27 earlier this season on Oct. 5. Ott knows the challenge his team faces next week, but is excited for it.
“In any sport winning a championship is hard, winning back-to-back championships is even harder,” Ott said. “The target has been on our back since day one. I would love for this team to do that. It’s really big for these kids because we were so talented last year, everyone knows the talent we had last year. I think this year a lot of people didn’t think we were going to have the team that we have. But these kids work really hard to be there and I think that will show next week when we play for that second championship in a row.”
Kickoff of the championship game is set for 5 p.m. Saturday at Johnson City High School.
