On a night when Troy High's two most successful coaches came home, after a sort, the Collar City was the center of the Section II universe.
While Jack Burger is now a defensive assistant at Schuylerville, he & the Black Horses sought to wrest the Class C title away from unbeaten Cobleskill-Richmondville at Lansingburgh High. Across town at Picken Memorial Field, Bob Burns was closing in on a career milestone. As Spectrum News' graphics department revealed, Burns has won 98 games in his 10 seasons as a head coach, between Troy and Christian Brothers Academy, which hosted Shaker in the Class AA Super Bowl, enabling Burns to roam the home sideline once more.
CBA won the toss, and, if it wasn't for a penalty on the 2nd play from scrimmage, they would've had an instant lead. Instead, they went 3-&-out, forced to punt after quarterback Archie Jones was sacked. Shaker fared no better, and it was a war of attrition until Jones found Amare Cofill for a 13 yard touchdown late in the 1st quarter. Ted Gialanella added the extra point, and CBA was up, 7-0, at the end of the frame.
Shaker was driving as the 2nd quarter began, and Marcus Snipes answered with a 24 yard scoring toss to Dominic DiBacco. Connor Sullivan's extra point tied the game, but not for long. Burns had reached into his bag of tricks, and had Lucius Anderson start as a quarterback in the Wildcat formation. On CBA's next possession, Anderson capped the drive by running it in from 8 yards out. It was 14-7 CBA at the break.
Shaker began the 2nd half having made some adjustments on offense. Utilizing play-fakes in the running game, Snipes led the Bison down the field, culminating with Nick Graziano taking it to the house from just 3 yards out. Again, it was tied. Again, it didn't last. Anderson struck again on the ensuing drive, this time from 6 yards, and CBA led, 21-14, after 3 quarters.
On the first play of the 4th quarter, CBA seemingly put the game away, as Anderson scored again, this time from 30 yards. The 3 rushing touchdowns matched his total for the season, to complement 14 TD catches. Anderson also made his presence felt on defense, making plays, including an interception to shut down a Bison drive. With just over 2 minutes left, Snipes ran it in himself, and it was a one score game again at 28-21.
However, Thomas Tohre (pronounced Toure, which is how we'd spelled it previously) fielded an onside kick, and that, for all intents & purposes, was the ballgame. Four straight Section II titles for CBA. 99 wins for Burns. And, oh, but that ain't all.
CBA moves across town to Lansingburgh next week to play the Section 1 champion, whomever it may be, and Burns, a 'Burgh graduate, is on the cusp of his 100th career win.
Meanwhile, Schuylerville spoiled the perfect season for Cobleskill-Richmondville, taking the Class C title, 35-21. The Bulldogs had sought to end a 17 year title drought.
Tonight was also a homecoming of a different kind. Former Troy baseball coach Curtis Nobles was part of the officiating crew as a head linesman, and likely will also be part of the crew for the Class A title game tomorrow at Shenendehowa. Apparently, they're not paying him enough at Ballston Spa, so he's moonlighting.
Four straight Section II titles, and Burns is still looking to get back to the state title game at the JML Dome in Syracuse. This may be his year.
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