SECTION 4 FOOTBALL: CORNING ROLLS TO WIN OVER VESTAL IN REGULAR SEASON FINALE (24 PHOTOS) (2024-11-01) Southern Tier Sports Report CORNING — The Corning Hawks wrapped up the regular season with a 45-6 win over Vestal on Friday night.
“We played well on all three sides of the ball,” Corning coach Mike Johnston Jr. said. “Played with a lot of energy tonight.”
Corning got started at 3:31 of the first quarter when Taj Sides had a 21-yard scoring run. The two-point try failed and it was 6-0.
The score came after Corning recovered a fumble.
James Freeman scored three touchdowns in the second quarter of the win.
Freeman scored on a 27-yard catch from Ian Harpster with 11:04 left in the half. Harpster then hit Dylan Brewster on the two-point try.
Exactly two minutes later Freeman scored on a nine-yard run and Brenden Jardin-Reed ran in the two-point try. The score came after Carter Sparks blocked a Vestal punt and Sides recovered the block.
Corning’s defense went to work as Clayton Smith picked off a pass and Freeman scored with 1:58 left in the half and Smith had the two-point run.
After a Vestal score cut the deficit to 30-6, Jardin-Reed scored on a six-yard run with 1:59 left in the third and Harpster had the two-point run.
Smith capped the scoring with 7:50 left in the game on a 40-yard run and Reilly Wells hit the extra point.
Smith ran 20 times for 151 yards in the game as Corning ran for 341 yards as a team.
Sides had 72 yards on nine carries and Jardin-Reed ran for 49 yards on 10 carries, while Freeman had nine carries for 46 yards.
Noah Hunter gained 15 yards in the game on two carries.
Harpster completed six passes for 32 yards in the game. Freeman had two grabs for 27 yards and Jardin-Reed had two grabs for 15 yards and Sparks caught a pass.
Corning is now 6-2 on the year and is the top seed in Class AA sectionals.
The Hawks play the winner of Elmira and Ithaca, who play at 6 p.m. next Friday in Elmira. The Hawks get a bye next weekend and the sectional final will be at Corning at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15. ———— PHOTOS BY BRIAN FEES
