For the purposes of this account, it might be best to forget that Stillwater was the No. 1 seed and Voorheesville was the No. 8 seed in last Saturday’s class C quarterfinal football game.
After all, neither team played like its seeding suggested.
Voorheesville dominated Stillwater in all facets of the game to defeat the Warriors 23-7 and advance to Friday’s Sectional semifinal game at Chatham.
We never considered ourselves a No. 8 seed, and I’d say very few people considered us a No. 8 seed, said Voorheesville coach Joe Sapienza.
`I think we were underestimated, but today shows how good we are,` added tailback Pat Jones, who rushed for more than160 yards and two touchdowns.
Voorheesville’s defense stymied Stillwater all day. The Blackbirds limited Stillwater’s leading rusher, Matt Grayson, to 81 yards and staged a successful goal line stand late in the first quarter that set the tone for the game.
The only moment that Stillwater (5-2) showed any sign of life came at the end of the second quarter. Facing a third-down-and-23 at Voorheesville’s 26-yard line, quarterback Vinny Barber threw a high-arcing pass that receiver Grady Edwards caught in the end zone as time expired to give the Warriors a 7-3 halftime lead.
`I think it absolutely could have been a deflating moment, and walking off (the field), we were worried about it being a deflating moment,` said Sapienza. `But the one thing I can say about these kids is that they won’t stop playing.`
Voorheesville (6-2) got the momentum back early in the third quarter when Dan Flynn recovered a Stillwater fumble at the Warriors’ 26-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Jay Conde kept the ball for himself and ran 17 yards into the end zone to put the Blackbirds up 9-7.
Grayson tried to get his team going on Stillwater’s next series, but he fumbled the ball after a long run into Voorheesville’s territory. The Blackbirds recovered the loose ball and executed another scoring drive ` capped by Jones’ 20-yard touchdown run ` to increase their lead to 16-7.
Stillwater’s defense, which had only allowed a Cameron Taylor 29-yard field goal in the first half, was worn out by the beginning of the fourth quarter. Jones took advantage of that by bursting through a huge hole on the right side of the line and taking off on a 41-yard touchdown run that sealed Voorheesville’s victory.
`Our line did an awesome job today. We have to credit the entire line,` said Jones.
`Charlie McGrail on that last touchdown run made a block 15-17 yards downfield. That’s amazing,` said Sapienza.
Conde rushed for 30 yards and threw for 39 more before leaving the game with a rib injury midway through the fourth quarter, and fullback Adam Duncan added 32 yards for the Blackbirds, who out-gained Stillwater 275-186.
`In our games against the better teams this year, we were a big-play offense, but we never really got into an offensive rhythm,` said Sapienza. `Today, we got into an offensive rhythm.`
The Blackbirds are hoping not to lose their rhythm Friday night against a Chatham team that already owns a 27-21 victory over them from the regular season.
`Our whole team wanted that. We wanted another shot at Chatham,` said Jones.
Indians’ playoff run ends in Broadalbin
The Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk football team’s quest for a second class B title in three years ended with a 35-8 quarterfinal loss at Broadalbin-Perth last Friday.
The Patriots scored 26 points in the second quarter to take command, and the Indians’ running back duo of Pat Filkins and Jared Fortier were limited to a total of 91 yards.
`They played very well, and we didn’t,` said RCS coach Gary VanDerzee. `Their offensive and defensive lines dominated the game.`
Mike Hayes rushed for 150 yards and a touchdown to lead Broadalbin-Perth, which travels to undefeated Albany Academy Saturday. RCS closes its season Thursday with a crossover home game against Fonda-Fultonville, which lost to Academy 63-22 in its quarterfinal game last Saturday.
`I’m looking for us to get back to playing RCS football and playing the game the way it should be played,` said VanDerzee.
Nisky edges Eagles
In a class AA crossover game, the Niskayuna Silver Warriors earned their second win of the season by fending off Bethlehem 7-6 last Saturday.
Stephen Lefebvre’s 10-yard touchdown run and Greg Rahn’s extra point in the second quarter gave Niskayuna (2-6) a 7-0 halftime lead. Dan Unright got Bethlehem (3-5) close with a 17-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles missed the extra point and never got close to the end zone again.
Bethlehem hosts Troy in a crossover game Friday night.“
