Too cold to fly (Troy vs. Queensbury @ Shenendehowa, 11/9/19)

Four years.

It's been that long since Queensbury and Troy last met in a Class A football playoff. Back then, it was the semi-finals at Picken Field. Spartans star Brett Rodriguez was knocked from the game in the second quarter with an injury, and Queensbury never recovered, as Troy overcame an early deficit and some questionable late game officiating to advance to the Super Bowl, where Troy would lose to Amsterdam.

Like Shenendehowa, which won the Class AA title last night, it'd been five years since Queensbury's last sectional title, and Matt Crossman's club had been stymied by Burnt Hills the last couple of years before eliminating the "other" Spartans last week. Brett Rodriguez's younger brother, Jason, is now the featured back for Queensbury's ball control offense, predicated on the run, with very few passes.

And so it was that Troy & Queensbury met at Steuerwald Stadium at Shen for the A title on a blustery night, not quite as frigid as it was in Troy last night, but again, scoring would be at a premium.

Troy won the toss, and elected to receive, a strategy that coach Bob Burns has used regularly this season. However, on the first play from scrimmage, QB Alex Wolfe was intercepted by Brian Ward, which set up something Troy doesn't try, nor has to defend often, a field goal by Alex Roca from 25 yards, to give Queensbury an early 3-0 lead. Roca also plays soccer for the Spartans, which allows Crossman to have confidence in having that option available to him. Something that Burns needs to consider going forward.

In the second quarter, a halfback option pass by Jason Rodriguez was intercepted by Nasir Dawud-Soto. Wolfe tried to cash it in himself, and ran 85 yards to paydirt, but a block in the back nullified the bulk of the run. Three plays later, Xavier Leigh ran it in from 20 yards out, and Troy took a 7-3 lead into halftime.

However, Queensbury found a weakness in Troy's run defense, and exploited it late in the second quarter. The only reason Troy had the halftime lead was poor clock management by Spartans QB Nate Angell, who lost track of the downs, and clocked the ball on 4th down, resulting in a turnover on downs with 2 seconds left.

Still, to borrow from CW McCall's 1974 one-hit wonder, Queensbury had a convoy to lead Rodriguez, Chris Slattery, Angell, and Colby Anderson. They couldn't get anything going between the tackles, but on the edge, that was a different story. Less than four minutes into the third quarter, Rodriguez scored his only touchdown of the night, a 3 yard run to put Queensbury back in front.

However, that lead didn't last. In the fourth quarter, Leigh answered with his second score, this one from 4 yards. However, Jonah Griswold's PAT went wide left, and Troy had just a 3 point lead, which evaporated quickly, as on the ensuing possession, Anderson rode the convoy for a 27 yard scamper that put the Spartans up for good. A late Troy rally ended with a turnover on downs, and Queensbury advances to the state tournament with a hard fought 17-13 victory.

Troy finishes 8-2. Queensbury, now 10-0, will return to Shen next week for a state regional game vs. Cornwall.
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Earlier today, Warrensburg retained the Class D title, beating Chatham, 28-12. Schuylerville won the Class B crown, beating Holy Trinity, 28-22. The Black Horses will travel to Beekmantown to play Moriah on Friday.
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Other stuff: It has been an unhappy homecoming for LaSalle grad Joe Germinerio, Jr.. The Ithaca QB's two week road trip to the 518 with the Bombers ended in disaster, as RPI blew out Ithaca, 38-12, eliminating Ithaca from the NCAA Division III playoff picture. Germinerio threw for 258 yards with 2 TD's and 2 interceptions. Union clinched the Liberty League title last week with a win over Ithaca.