By MIKE CIOFFI
The Voorheesville football team will be heading into a tough contest this weekend in Chatham undefeated after beating Watervliet 39-18 last Saturday at home.
Anytime that you can beat Watervliet, it’s a plus for your program. I’m very pleased with a lot of things. We’re playing physical with a lot of heart and we care, and that’s something that I can’t teach, said Voorheesville coach Joe Sapienza.
The Cannoneers (0-3) took an early 6-0 lead after Desean Kittell ran back the opening kickoff for a 93 yard touchdown. Voorheesville junior quarterback Jay Conde capped his team’s first drive by calling his own number for an 18-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 6.
The Blackbirds (3-0) took lead for good when junior running back Pat Jones scored on a 10-yard run late in the first quarter. Tim Robinson added a two-point conversion run to create a 14-6 lead.
In the second quarter, Conde went deep and hit Jordan Murphy for a 66-yard touchdown pass to give Voorheesville a 20-6 lead. On the Cannoneers next possession, Murphy intercepted a Mike Cooney pass. Alex Zvinovsky capped the short series with a 27-yard touchdown run, and Matt Miller kicked the extra point to make the score 27-6.
Watervliet made things interesting before halftime. Cooney found wide receiver Tim Hughes in the corner of the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown pass that cut the deficit to 27-12.
The Blackbirds offense sputtered for a bit in the third quarter, but their defensive corps was there to pick them up. The Cannoneers had three scoring chances inside the Voorheesville 20-yard line, but Voorheesville’s defense didn’t budge.
Watervliet closed the gap to 27-18 in the fourth quarter on Caleb Gleason’s 5-yard touchdown run, but Voorheesville scored twice late to put the game away. The first Blackbird touchdown came on an 11-yard quarterback keeper by Conde, and the last came on a 37-yard scamper by Jones. The last touchdown was set up by Matt Henry’s interception.
`I still feel that I want to get a little better offensively. I like the fact that we’re spreading the ball around. We’re passing, running and everybody’s contributing,` Sapienza said. `We’re pretty balanced right now, and its nice to have options.
`I liked the fact that we overcame a lot of mistakes, and we’re going to come out next week (against Chatham) and make less mistakes,` he added.“
