To borrow from Howard Jones, the fans of Shenendehowa & Niskayuna would rather cling to the things they prize, that is to say, their former team nicknames, rather than embrace change.
Shen vs. Nisky, however, is just too vanilla.
The former Plainsmen could've taken the sensible route, for example, and embraced the equally popular label of the Green Machine, but, then, there would probably be issues with a certain band of superhero turtles, who often refer to themselves as the Green Machine as well. Niskayuna, on the other hand, could've simply substituted "Silver Warriors" with, say, Silver Streaks or Silver Sentinels, but the folks there didn't think of it.
Tonight's Spectrum News 1 game of the week had plenty of drama on the field, though.
Shen won the toss, and opted to take the ball first. The strategy paid dividends almost immediately, as junior quarterback Jack Clawson, the coach's son, hit Brendan Hesnor for a 43 yard score with about 3 1/2 minutes left, after the teams had exchanged punts. With the extra point, Shen led, 7-0, heading into the 2nd quarter.
It wasn't long before Shen scored again, as Joey Cardinale ran it in from 4 yards out to make it 14-0.
Then, Nisky senior Cameron Grasso took over.
Grasso, heading to UAlbany next year, took over at QB after sophomore starter Tom Boler couldn't get the offense going, and sprinted 69 yards to paydirt. The play took just 9 seconds after Nisky took possession.
Shen began to self inflict defensive wounds with penalties, and on the next Nisky possession, Grasso and friends made Shen pay. After Omari Forrest got them well into the red zone, Grasso finished it off with a 1 yard run. The extra point made it a tie game at the break at 14-14.
In the 3rd quarter, Nisky held the ball for most of the frame, but stalled in the red zone, and a Boler pass on 4th down to Grasso would've gone for a touchdown, except that Grasso was called for an illegal shift. Nisky turned the ball over on downs, and Shen cashed in, with Cardinale scoring again, this time from 6 yards, to put the guests back in front, 21-14, going into the final quarter.
Just 3 minutes into the frame, Joey DiPiazza, whose father starred for Nisky years ago, and had a cup of coffee working at Spectrum News 1 a few years back, ran it in from 10 yards to tie the game back up at 21. Nisky had their chances to win the game, but squandered, after Shen regained the lead on their next possession. Cardinale completed the hat trick, running it in from 8 yards this time. On Niskayuna's final possession, a 4th down pass from Boler to Grasso came up short of the goal, and Shen escapes with a 28-21 win.
Next week: Shen returns home to host Guilderland, Nisky stays home to entertain Cicero-North Syracuse, and the game of the week sees Burnt Hills at Columbia.
Other scores:
Amsterdam 34, Schenectady 0.
Fonda-Fultonville 35, Granville-Whitehall 30.
Greenwich 48, Canajoharie-Fort Plain 0.
Hoosick Falls-Tamarac 30, Hudson 6.
Colonie 27, Queensbury 17.
Troy 54, Mohonasen 19.
Albany 40, Bethlehem 20.
Gloversville 29, Cohoes 8.
Lansingburgh 10, Green Tech 8.
Glens Falls 54, Ichabod Crane-Chatham 14.
Ravena 14, Averill Park 13.
Schalmont 35 Scotia 21.
Cobleskill-Richmondville 20, Mechanicville 0.
South Glens Falls 24, LaSalle 20.
Saratoga 41, Burnt Hills 7. Kevin DeBonis' Spartans are 0-2 heading into their game at Columbia next week.
Cambridge-Salem 33, Stillwater-Saratoga Catholic 7.
Shaker 44, Ballston Spa 8.
