A lot will be riding on Friday’s Shenendehowa-Saratoga football game.
Besides bragging rights, Shen (4-0) will be looking to maintain its hold on first place in the Empire Division, while Saratoga (2-2) will be looking to avoid falling out of sole possession of fourth place and the final playoff spot.
Our kids have to line up and play, said Saratoga coach Terry Jones. `We did that against CBA, and we did that against Queensbury (for our two wins).`
The teams are entering the game off polar opposite performances last Thursday. Shen throttled Queensbury 54-6, while Bethlehem ended Saratoga’s two-game winning streak with a 16-13 victory.
`We took a stumble last week, and we need to get back on track,` said Jones.
Until the Queensbury game when Shen scored 47 points in the first half, the Plainsmen had developed a reputation as a fourth quarter team after outscoring Albany and Ballston Spa 21-0 in that quarter to pull out close wins.
`We’ve overcome some tough situations and adversity, and the kids have shown a lot of progress,` said Shen coach Brent Steuerwald.
The Plainsmen have been getting the job done on the ground. The duo of Jason Bedard and Darrell Evans have combined to rush for 833 yards in the first four weeks, which has taken significant pressure off quarterback Charles Miller and the Shen passing attack.
`They have a tremendous amount of depth at running back,` said Jones. `Between Evans, Bedard and (Suhayb) Banks, they have three tremendous backs.`
Saratoga has also had success on the ground with Tony DeLoatch, Leejay Pollacchi and quarterback Jimmy Minogue leading the way. However, the Blue Streaks may have to do without Minogue Friday after the senior was injured in the second half of the Bethlehem game.
`Jimmy has that breakaway threat ` he can score from anywhere on the field,` said Jones. `We’d miss that a little bit (if he can’t play), but we’re confident in our backup, Colin Mulholland. He led our JV team to the championship last year.`
One advantage the Blue Streaks would normally have is playing at home, but that has not necessarily been a big advantage in the recent history of this rivalry. The road team has won the last two years.
`I don’t know if it is an advantage or not,` said Jones. `Homecoming certainly helps, but it can also be a distraction with all the things that happen in school during the week.`
Even if Shen beats Saratoga Friday, Steuerwald knows locking up the Empire Division title and a No. 1 seed for Sectionals won’t be easy ` not with games against Guilderland and Bethlehem to close out the regular season.
`I don’t think I’ve seen this much balance before,` said Steuerwald. `You just hope your team performs at the highest level it can each game.`
Two other big games are on the docket Friday night. Ballston Spa (3-1) hosts undefeated Guilderland in a key Empire Division contest, while Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (3-1) travels to Lansingburgh (4-0) for a rematch of last year’s class A Super Bowl.
Ballston Spa survived a challenge from winless Albany last Thursday. Eric Marciano’s touchdown and Mark Seager’s two-point conversion pass to Steve Duncan late in the fourth quarter helped the Scotties escape with a 15-12 home victory over the Falcons.
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake enters Friday’s game at Lansingburgh off its most impressive performance of the season, a 31-7 victory over Mohonasen last Thursday. Paul Layton threw two touchdown passes and added a 25-yard field goal to go along with four successful extra point kicks, while Nick Henderson rushed for two touchdowns for the Spartans.“