By Wendy Post —
Although they ended up bowing to the Waverly Wolverines on Saturday in their divisional matchup, 14 Waverly and Owego 7, the lead-up to Homecoming Day for the Owego Free Academy River Hawks and the delivery of the ball to Friday’s pep rally kept the spirits alive!
With a new field of players and coaches who can gauge where they are moving forward, Spirit Week at Owego Free Academy and the activities leading up to it offered students camaraderie and also reignited some old ideas.
For one sports team, cross-country, this year’s homecoming took an absolute twist for them as they were able to relay the football from Waverly to Owego’s pep rally on Friday, a total of about 25 miles, with a couple of added twists.
Pictured, running the ball home, from left, are OA Cross-Country Team members Levi Saunders, Everett Benjamin, Jacob Preston (with the ball), Carolyn Schuyler, Ephraim Doty, and Coach John Heath (on his bike). (Photo by Ken Waterhouse)
According to the team’s coach, John Heath, the idea to “run the ball home” was sparked by a video he had watched about ten years ago, where another school did it.
“I thought it looked like a pretty cool thing,” said Heath.
The problem, however, is that in previous years, the matchup for the homecoming game was too far a distance, like Norwich or Windsor. “This year,” said Heath, “we lucked out.”
The video that sparked Heath’s interest resurfaced this year, and one of the team’s seniors, Stella Palladino, spotted it and pointed it out to Heath.
Almost simultaneously, they questioned, “Waverly?”
Plans started almost immediately, with a safety plan drafted for a selected route, and then channeled through the approval process. Then, the promotion began.
A video was created that included the captains from all the sports teams, building excitement surrounding Spirit Week and the culminating pep rally, tailgate, homecoming parade, and activities. The cross-country team concluded the video, rallying, “We’re going to run this ball home.”
Played for students throughout the week, Heath said they “wanted the student body to know about this and to be there.”
Then Friday came, with 29 cross-country team members participating. It was 10:15 a.m. in Waverly when the ball began its travels, being passed on to other team members along the way in a relay fashion.
Pictured running through town, from left, are OA Cross-Country seniors Magavin Allen, Javan Belokur (with the ball), Gavin Heath, and Ephraim Doty. (Photo by Ken Waterhouse)
It wasn’t over the river and through the woods, but in a sense,it was. The ball traveled down 17C from Waverly and made a pass down Old Barton Road for a river view run. That road had a bit of an incline, but nothing compared to the area known as Devil’s Elbow, an area that, according to Heath, presented the largest challenge.
The school’s SRO, Owego Police Officer Jared Fiacco, followed the group along the entire route, ensuring safety.
By the time the football reached Draper Park, and after a relay stop at the Owego Nazarene Church, and others, the pace slowed a bit so the team could enjoy the crowd that awaited them, cheering them on and taking in a bit of the spirit culminating for these Owego athletes and students.
“The football never stopped,” said Heath of the relay, noting that each leg of the run was anywhere from four to seven miles long.
After slowing the pace and meandering through downtown Owego, the ball continued down North Avenue to George Street, where they met up again at Ice Cream Works for the final leg that would carry the ball to its final destination.
Over at the school, the ball arrived right on time as the emcee, Tom Westcott, announced, “We have one more team!”
Arriving proudly at 1:30 p.m., and holding the football and carrying the rally’s Spirit Stick, the team entered the rally, which was well underway.
As for Coach Heath, who has been coaching for over 20 years, he smiled, knowing that the students who participated in the relay just built a memory that will last forever.
“I don’t know when we will have this opportunity again, but I know we won’t forget this one,” said Heath.
Saturday’s Homecoming Parade turns the corner off George Street and onto Sheldon Guile Boulevard in Owego on Saturday, where activities were already taking place. (Photo by Ken Waterhouse)
On Saturday, the spirit continued with the annual Homecoming Parade from the Owego Police Department to OFA, where a tailgate awaited. Also, a newer concept, activities were set up around the school’s complex, engaging students and the community, and rounding out the celebrations leading up to Saturday’s home game against Waverly.
It was a close game and came right down to the end on Saturday, with the River Hawks in possession of the ball with 2:26 remaining, making it to around midfield with under 30 seconds to go. But Ben Shaw came up with a huge eight-yard sack on Owego quarterback Garrett Phelps, and a rushed play on fourth-and-18 was intercepted by Justin Koenig at the Waverly 46-yard line with three seconds to go to seal a hard-fought 14-7 division-clinching victory for the Wolverines, according to a full report of the game by The Morning Times and found at https://www.morning-times.com/sports/article_35820052-fb73-4d2e-845a-cbe9bba2ecb7.html.
Up next for the River Hawks is a game at Johnson City on Oct. 24, and a home game on Nov. 1 against Horseheads. That game is set for 1:30 p.m.
As for the cross-country team, they participated in the Marathon Invitational on Saturday, one of the oldest in Section IV, with over 40 teams competing. OFA’s Girls Varsity team placed second; the boys placed fourth.
To learn more about River Hawks Athletics, visit https://www.oacsd.org/page/riverhawksathletics.
To view videos from homecoming events and activities, visit The Owego Pennysaver on Facebook.
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