Friday night’s Shaker-Colonie football game had several story lines.
Colonie was trying to take back the town of Colonie Cup. Shaker star Mark Ambrosio was facing his father, Colonie coach Mike Ambrosio.
But the most important story line was that the game’s loser would face an uphill battle to make the playoffs.
All of that made for a thrilling seesaw battle which ended in a Colonie 31-28 victory over Shaker in a Liberty Division game.
It was an emotional day for us, said coach Ambrosio. `We get the cup back home where it belongs. We came in saying the town is called Colonie for a reason. We’re proud of what we accomplished against a great effort across the street there. They (Shaker) did a great job of keeping it close. We’re just glad we came away with the win, and we got to move on.`
Mark Ambrosio rushed for 59 yards and two touchdowns in his first game against his father’s team. The second of Ambrosio’s two touchdowns sparked a late Blue Bison rally that got them within three points.
`He’s not half bad — I think I’ll take him home tonight,` coach Ambrosio said of his son. `It was emotional. All week long, I was talking to him about the game, seeing him on film and just getting a chance to watch him.
`It was tough (during the game). He makes a good play out there, and it’s a good play for them (but a) bad play for us. How do I handle it?` he added.
Colonie (3-2) made enough good plays to fend off Shaker, though. After Shaker (1-4) closed to within five points on Ryan Gifford’s 36-yard touchdown pass to Eric Breton with 17 seconds left in the second quarter, the Blue Bison recovered an onside kick. But on the next play, James Kehrer intercepted Ambrosio on a halfback option and returned it 64 yards for a touchdown to give the Garnet Raiders a 25-14 lead.
`That was outstanding. They got the momentum with the onside kick, and then all the sudden we’re going the other way,` said Ambrosio. `Things like that you can’t expect, and you can’t anticipate it. You just got to have the kids react to it when it happens.`
The Garnet Raiders extended the lead to 31-14 in the third quarter when Tom Duff found Matt June down the middle for a 48-yard touchdown pass. The Blue Bison responded with a 13-play, 80-yard drive engineered by Gifford, who completed four of seven passes in the series. Ambrosio capped it with a four-yard touchdown run that made the score 31-21 with 8:34 left in the fourth quarter.
Colonie tried running the clock down on its next series, but it failed on a fourth-down conversion attempt, and Shaker took over at the Garnet Raiders’ 44-yard line. Gifford drove the Blue Bison down the field again and connected with his brother Mike on a 16-yard touchdown pass. Luke Walsh’s extra point cut Colonie’s lead to 31-28 with 4:36 left.
`It’s one of the best games that I think we’ve been associated with. I’m proud of our guys, especially (dealing with) the adversity. We came back made some great adjustments and came up about a minute short,` said Shaker coach Dennis Bender.
The Garnet Raiders made certain the Blue Bison didn’t get the ball back. They got enough first downs on their final series to force Shaker to use up its timeouts, and the clock ran out before Colonie had to go for a fourth-down conversion.
`A minute too short, and that’s what it comes down to,` Bender said.
Colonie scored on its first possession behind the running of workhorse back Joe Poleto. Poleto carried the ball seven times in a 10-play drive that covered 93 yards and capped it with a 10-yard touchdown run that put his team up 6-0.
The Raiders needed half as many plays to score their next touchdown. Duff hit Anthony Discipio for a 25 yard touchdown to cap the five-play series, but Poleto was stopped on a two point conversion attempt, which left Colonie with a 12-0 lead.
Mark Ambrosio went to work on his father’s defense. He started by returning the ensuing kickoff 53 yards to Colonie’s 28-yard line. Then, he gained 18 yards on three carries before plunging into the end zone from five yards out with 6:36 left in the half. Luke Walsh’s extra point made it 12-7.
Poleto answered for Colonie with a 61-yard touchdown run after avoiding a pile of players and several potential tacklers. James DeVoe’s extra point made it 19-7 with 5:37 left in the first half.
Ryan Gifford’s touchdown pass to Breton gave Shaker renewed hope for a comeback, but it was as close as the Blue Bison would get until late in the fourth quarter as Colonie regained the Colonie Cup.
`It was an interesting game,` said Ambrosio. `I’m glad it’s over, and we’re ready to put this one in the books.`
Poleto finished with 160 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns to lead the Garnet Raiders, who travel to Niskayuna Friday for a Liberty Division game. Shaker visits Kingston for a non-league contest.
In other weekend football action, Christian Brothers Academy kept its playoff hopes alive with a 14-6 Empire Division victory over Queensbury Saturday.
The Brothers (2-3) scored all of their points in the third quarter. Jack Reilly capped one series with a three-yard touchdown run and then connected with Nico Neri on a 74-yard scoring pass. David Agan made both extra points to put CBA up 14-0.
Ryan Woodard scored on a five-yard run in the fourth quarter for Queensbury (1-4).“