It wasn't quite a midnight dreary, being Halloween and all, but it was blustery at Picken Field as Troy hosted Burnt Hills in the 1st round of the Class A football playoffs tonight, the grand finale of Halloween Spirit Week at Troy High.
Burnt Hills won the opening coin toss, and deferred to the second half. After an exchange of possessions to start, the Spartans finally got their offense going, with Daniel Olmstead finding Michael Bies in the end zone for 15 yards. Burnt Hills botched the extra point, which became a direct snap to kicker Logan Tomlinson, who rumbled in for the 2 point conversion.
These two teams had not met since the 2021 season, when the Spartans collected a receipt on Troy after the Flying Horses torched Burnt Hills that spring to win the Class A title. Sophomore Kyair Carr led Troy down the field, and, as the 2nd quarter began, had Troy in position to score. Carr hit Ben Mengil for 13 yards, then ran the 2 point conversion in himself to tie the game at 8.
To borrow from the Carpenters, Troy had only just begun.
After Burnt Hills recovered a pooch kick, and couldn't do anything with it, Carr went right back to work. He hit senior Kayne Behan, who returned to the team after playing golf the last two falls, for 43 yards. Then, Carr found Vordonn Forde behind the defense for a 47 yard score. Another 2 point conversion put Troy up, 16-8. This time, Troy recovered the pooch kick, marched down the field again, this time my Nymiere Jenkins running it in from 5 yards. The extra point failed, but it wasn't long before Troy got the ball back. This time, Carr threw his 3rd TD pass, this one to Julian Monk. The 2 point conversion went nowhere, and Troy went into the break with a 28-8 lead.
Did Burnt Hills have another comeback in them? Yep.
The Spartans took the 2nd half kickoff all the way down the field, ending with Michael Turgeon scoring from a yard out. Tomlinson added the extra point, and it was a game again at 28-15. Back came Troy again. Aiden McBride scored from 22 yards, but the 2 point conversion failed again. After a Burnt Hills punt, Monk scored his 2nd touchdown, this one on an end-around from 20 yards. It took about 4 tries, but Gabriel Bentley, who'd been responsible for the pooch kicks, was rewarded for his yeoman's work by running in the 2 point conversion. Troy now was up, 42-15, heading to the 4th quarter.
Burnt Hills now had to score on every possession. Talon Immel broke into the scoring column with a 2 yard run. Tomlinson's extra point made it 42-22. On their next possession, Burnt Hills took advantage of some sloppy defense, and Peyton Marshall ran it in from a yard out. Needing a 2 point conversion this time, the Spartans could not get any closer. On Burnt Hills' final drive, Olmstead was intercepted by Darell Murray, who'd gotten burned for a pass interference penalty earlier. Once Troy got out of the shadow of its end zone, it was over. Two kneel downs iced the game, and Troy punched its ticket to the next round.
Other scores:
Class A:
Niskayuna 55, South Glens Falls 8.
Ballston Spa 51, Amsterdam 12.
Queensbury 16, Columbia 13.
Class C:
Hoosick Falls-Tamarac 27, Cobleskill-Richmondville 10.
Schuylerville 58, Hudson 0.
Fonda-Fultonville 49, Watervliet-Heatly 0.
Also:
Averill Park 28, Gloversville 0.
Mechanicville 28, Canajoharie-Fort Plain 12.
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