Greene accomplished goal number four out of a preseason list of seven when it defeated Trumansburg last Saturday in the first round of the Section IV, Class C playoffs. Number five on that list is an easy one to surmise
Greene will meet Elmira Notre Dame Saturday at Ty Cobb Field in Endicott for its first Section IV championship. It is also the first sectional championship game for the Trojans gridders, and it comes after the program’s first playoff win.
“Yes, we’ve never been here before or played for a title, but we are treating it like we have,” said Greene sixth-year coach Tim Paske. Under Paske, Greene has four straight winning seasons and three consecutive postseason bids. “This is another opportunity for our team to play football. We need to enjoy the moment and go after it.”
Elmira Notre Dame is no stranger to postseason play, although it has been over a decade since it competed in Class C. The Crusaders were bumped to Class B for a decade, and made the playoffs several times, but were never able to capture an elusive B championship – as they did in the Class C ranks.
“They’re a team that is similar to us,” Paske said. “They’re used to competing at a higher level (Class B) and they’re senior dominated. They’re physical up front and they like to hit. It should be a good challenge.”
Elmira Notre Dame racked up over 400 yards of total offense in beating Sidney 44-27 last Saturday. It was a two-point game in the fourth quarter when the Warriors turned the ball over twice. END capitalized with a pair of touchdowns to pull away for the win.
Quarterback Joe Thurber was a perfect 8-for-8 for 187 yards and three TD passes. He has over 600 yards through the air this season and completes better than 50 percent of his attempts.
Running backs Mike Huffner and Matt Buice each rushed for over 700 yards this season, and both factored heavily in the run game last weekend against Sidney. “(Elmira) likes to feature those two backs, but they have other backs as well,” Paske said. “They also have a playmaker at receiver.”
Sam Karam is the sticky-handed wideout Paske is referring to. Karam had five catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns.
Greene counters with its own balanced attack. Garrett Hickey leads three backs with over 400 yards rushing. He gained 102 yards last week against T’burg, and is at 589 yards for the season. Nate Whittaker (434) and Dan Carlin (404) are also over the 400-yard mark.
Whittaker spearheads the passing game with 562 yards and eight scoring tosses, while backup Scott Gorton has thrown for 473 yards and nine scores. Overall, Greene has 18 touchdown passes, a total that is already a single-season school record.
Brendan Kinne tops the receivers with 26 catches for 325 yards. Kinne has hauled in a TD pass in six straight games and has 10 touchdowns on the season.
“A key this week will be keeping the guys relaxed, and it’s tough when you have a situation like this,” Paske said. “If the the coaches are relaxed, the players will be relaxed. This is also a team that likes to rise to the challenge. The guys are motivated, and a scary thing is that this team has still not played four quarters of its best football.”
Game time is 4 p.m. with Saturday’s winner playing next weekend at Cicero-North Syracuse High School against either Bishop Ludden or Westmoreland of Section III.