The Saratoga Blue Streaks football team capitalized on two of four Guilderland turnovers last Friday night en route to a 26-6 win in a class AA Division I game at Guilderland.
The big thing was the defense. They just poured it on and shut them down, which gave us good field position and caused some turnovers, Saratoga coach Blase Iuliano said.
The Dutchmen (2-1 league, 3-2 overall) jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after defensive back Nick Rinalli picked off a Dan McLaughlin pass and returned it 30 yards for the score. After the touchdown, Guilderland’s offense shut itself down with three fumbles in the second quarter.
`I was very proud of how we came out. We played with a lot of fire and intensity. Then, we kind of stumbled. Those fumbles really hurt us,` said Guilderland coach Dan Penna. `You can’t give a backfield with the caliber of players they have 30-, 20- and 10-yard fields.`
The Blue Streaks (2-0, 4-1) relied on the explosive backfield of Vonzell Legall and Zorry Williams to lead the way. Williams rushed for 75 yards on 14 carries, while his counterpart finished with 85 yards on 10 carries.
`The ground game did a good job in the second half. Vonzell had a good night ` he’s got great feet, and he’s a strong kid,` Iuliano said. `They’ve (Legall and Williams) been with us for a few years now, so we have a lot of confidence in them. They do a great job back there.`
The Dutchmen fumbled a handoff on their 27-yard line to open the second quarter. Mike Bogardus recovered the loose ball, which set up a short scoring drive capped by James DeLoatch’s 1-yard touchdown run. Jim Minogue added the extra point to give Saratoga a 7-6 lead.
On Saratoga’s next series, quarterback Dan McLaughlin connected with Max Higgins on a 30-yard pass to put the Blue Streaks at Guilderland’s 9-yard line. Williams found the end zone on the next play to give Saratoga a 14-6 lead.
Ryan Munro recovered a James White fumble at Guil-derland’s 12-yard line later in the second quarter. After Williams ran to the 1-yard line, McLaughlin kept it himself for the touchdown that gave the Blue Streaks a 20-6 halftime lead.
Legall scored the game’s final touchdown in the fourth quarter. The senior was given the ball six consecutive times on the series for 64 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown run to give Saratoga a 26-6 lead.
The win moved the Blue Streaks one step closer to winning the Division I title. Saratoga has games left against Shaker Friday and Niskayuna Oct. 13.
`Our goal is to peak for the playoffs, and we feel we’re in midseason form now,` said Iuliano. `We’ve got to get a little better for the playoffs.`
Guilderland can secure a playoff spot with a win at Queensbury Saturday.
`We’ve got a big game coming up. It’s about cleaning up our mistakes and playing with more discipline. We know the winner is going to be in the playoffs, (so) it’s basically our first playoff game,` Penna said.“