For the 2nd straight year, Burnt Hills opened the season 0-2. For the 2nd straight year, they lost their opener to Cornwall. Tonight, they were in East Greenbush for the 2nd year in a row, to play Columbia. We wonder if the schedule makers in Section II were trying to play some sort of a joke on Kevin DeBonis and the Spartans.
Unlike last year, Burnt Hills, looking to reverse recent trends, opted to take the opening kickoff. Unfortunately, neither offense got off to a good start, as Columbia, also 0-2 going in, couldn't get anything going early. Worse, the Blue Devils lost starting QB Tyler Connolly to a concussion 2 plays into the game. Sean Boniface, who had been moved to wide receiver to start the game, went back to QB. He had the Devils on the move as time expired in the first quarter.
On the first play of the 2nd quarter, Boniface hit Matt Burek for a 10 yard touchdown. JJ Miller added the extra point, and Columbia had a 7-0 lead.
Back came the Spartans. Their starting QB, Dan Olmstead, was ineffective and benched in favor of Eddie Barone. DeBonis decided to keep the ball on the ground, entrusting the running game to Peyton Marshall. This plan worked, as Marshall ran it in from about 10 yards out, but the PAT by Logan Tomlinson, the subject of a feature piece in today's Albany Times-Union, was blocked.
Columbia came right back, and Boniface found Burek again, this time from 7 yards, but Miller's extra point failed, and the Blue Devils went into the break up 13-6. The 13 points matched their season total through two games.
Things changed in the 3rd quarter. A lengthy Spartans drive led to Marshall's 2nd touchdown of the game, this time from 3 yards, but Tomlinson had his kick blocked again. Then, Kaiden Carey took the ensuing kickoff 90 yards to the house, and it was now 20-12, Columbia, heading into the final frame.
Burnt Hills stuck with Marshall and the ground game, and Marshall ran it in again from 8 yards with just under 4 mnutes left. Unfortunately, the 2 point conversion failed. Tomlinson, seeking to redeem himself, put the Spartans in prime position to win by hitting a pooch kick, recovered by Burnt Hills after it was muffed by Columbia. 2 1/2 minutes later, Marshall ran it in one more time, though there was some confusion between the officials. This is where not having replay in high school is a problem. Again, the 2 point conversion failed.
On the final drive, Tomlinson earned some more redemption by picking off Boniface to end the game. Barone took a knee, and that was it. Burnt Hills picks up a hard earned 24-20 win. Columbia falls to 0-3, and, uh-oh. Guess who's coming for dinner next week? Troy, which blew away South Glens Falls, 61-14. The Bulldogs begin division play at Burnt Hills.
Other scores:
Glens Falls 51, Cohoes 0.
Ichabod Crane/Chatham 30, Green Tech 6.
Averill Park 21, Schalmont 7. The Golden Knights play Glens Falls next week.
Schuylerville 49, Hudson 22.
Hoosick Falls-Tamarac 27, Cobleskill-Richmondville 26.
Ravena 55, Scotia 7.
Mohonasen 14, Bethlehem 13.
Ballston Spa 27, Amsterdam 6. The Scotties travel to Queensbury for the Spectrum game of the week next Friday.
Lansingburgh 27, Gloversville 8.
Shaker 27, Colonie 21.
Stillwater-Saratoga Catholic 35, Hudson Falls-Fort Edward 0.
Fonda-Fultonville 34, Mechanicville 7.
Niskayuna 31, Cicero-North Syracuse 27.
Coxsackie-Athens 14, Watervliet-Heatly 13.
Granville-Whitehall 44, Broadalbin-Perth 15.
CBA 40, Saratoga 21. The Brothers snap a 3 game losing streak dating back to the 2024 state title game.
Shenendehowa 21, Guilderland 20.
Spectrum viewers lost the last 70+ seconds of the first quarter due to a production error at the studio, as a commercial block started too early. Announcers Chris Watson & James Allen were unaware of the issue.
No comments:
Post a Comment