The last two weeks of the regular season will determine if the Colonie football team earns the No. 1 seed for the Section II playoffs or miss Sectionals altogether.
The Garnet Raiders enter Friday’s home game against Shenendehowa in sole possession of first place in class AA Division II. If they sweep Shen and Ballston Spa in their last two games, they win the division and will likely earn the No. 1 seed by virtue of its opening week victory over Saratoga, which leads Division I.
But if the Raiders lose to Shen or Ballston Spa, they could fall out of the playoff picture.
We’re in control of our own destiny, but one loss can drop us from first to fourth (place). That’s the scary part (the teams) being so close,` said head coach Mike Ambrosio.
Shen has uncharacteristically struggled to a 1-4 record this season, but Ambrosio isn’t taking the Plainsmen lightly.
`Tradition being tradition, they’re still doing certain things well. They just don’t have the experience to pull off a win, but they’re still a tough team,` said Ambrosio.
Colonie (2-0 division, 4-1 overall) cleared one hurdle toward winning the division by beating Columbia 27-12 last Friday in East Greenbush.
Columbia (0-2, 3-2) came in with one of the top-rated defenses in Section II, but that didn’t bother Colonie in the first half. Heath Furbeck broke away for a 44-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, Joe Poleto contributed a 30-yard scoring run and Jim Kehrer caught a 48-yard touchdown pass from Tom Duff to give the Garnet Raiders a 20-0 halftime lead.
`We knew we had the speed on the perimeter in our passing game,` said Ambrosio. `We had to establish the running game early on to set up our passing game.`
Kehrer put the game away with a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter. Columbia managed two late scoring drives to end Colonie’s shutout bid.
Furbeck finished with 155 rushing yards, and Poleto added 60 yards on the ground for the Garnet Raiders.
Blue Bison tackle streaking Saratoga
The Shaker football team also finds itself in position to make the playoffs, but there are a pair of big obstacles in its way.
The Blue Bison (1-1, 3-2) close our their regular season with games against division-leading Saratoga (Friday) and Queensbury (Oct. 13), which is tied with Shaker for third place in Division I.
The Blue Bison enter Friday’s game at Saratoga off their best offensive game of the season, a 38-21 victory over Niskayuna last Friday in Latham. Shaker gained more than 300 yards on the ground, with quarterback Ryan Gifford’s 107 yards leading the way.
`All year long, we’ve been successful running the ball,` said Shaker coach Dennis Bender. `We had a fresh set of (running) backs, so we just pounded them and pounded them (the Niskayuna defense). And our offensive line did a great job up front blocking for us.`
Dave Bogdan scored two touchdowns, and Ryan Thompson added 90 rushing yards and a touchdown for the Blue Bison.
`A lot of people start to key in on Gifford and (Sean) Fruscio, and that opens things up for Thompson and Bogdan,` said Bender.
Saratoga has its own impressive running game with its trio of Zorry Williams, Vonzel Legall and James Deloatch. Williams and Legall have the ability to take off on long runs, while Deloatch is dangerous in short-yardage situations.
`You can know that Zorry Williams is going to run an isolation play, and you can say he’s going to run it right here, but you still have to stop him,` said Bender.
Brothers roll past Patriots
In other football action last Friday, Christian Brothers Academy received a big game from running back Michael Chaires in a 49-16 Division III victory over Schenectady in Colonie.
Chaires rushed for more than 150 yards and scored four touchdowns to help the Brothers (2-0,3-2) take over sole possession of first place in the division. The senior scored three of his team’s first four touchdowns and added a four-yard scoring run in the third quarter.
Luke Weaver added a 33-yard touchdown reception for CBA, which travels to LaSalle Friday.“