All season long, Shenendehowa’s defense seemingly came up with the stops the Plainsmen needed to win games.
But Shen hadn’t met a duo like Guilderland’s Paul Booker and Andrew Smith.
Booker rushed for 125 yards and three touchdowns, while Smith threw for one score and ran for another to lead the Dutchmen to a 34-21 Empire Division victory over the Plainsmen in Friday’s football game in Clifton Park.
As a result, Guilderland (6-1) won the Empire Division title in a tiebreaker over Shen and Ballston Spa its first championship of any type since 1971.
I don’t know if it goes down as one of the best Guilderland teams ever, but this is one of the most memorable seasons we’ve had,` said Smith, who accounted for 202 yards between his running and his passing.
`We executed on offense, defense and special teams,` said Guilderland coach Dan Penna. `And then, Drew Smith and Paul Booker made some big plays in the second half.`
The Dutchmen built a 21-0 lead and then weathered two Shen rallies to knock the Plainsmen (6-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten in Section II.
`It was painful to lose after winning the first six games, but we’ll go back and get ready for next week,` said Shen coach Brent Steuerwald.
Booker sparked Guilderland’s offense in the first half. The 6-foot, 4-inch, 205-pound senior tailback scored on a 7-yard run early in the second quarter and added a 21-yard touchdown scamper later in the period to put the Dutchmen ahead 14-0.
`I wanted to do nothing else than score tonight,` said Booker.
Booker also had a key reception in the second quarter ` hauling in a 48-yard touchdown pass from Smith with 1:30 left that gave Guilderland a 21-0 lead.
Shen’s offense ` which lay dormant through much of the first half ` sprang to life in the third quarter. Using a quick count at the line of scrimmage, quarterback Charles Miller caught Guilderland’s defense off balance several times on the Plainsmen’s first series. That allowed Shen to drive quickly down to Guilderland’s 9-yard line, where Miller completed the series with a touchdown pass to Rodney Campbell.
`We told them that it was 0-0 at the half and that we had to execute our offense,` said Steuerwald.
`We knew they were going to come out (in the second half) and not try to get it all back in one play, and their offense started to click,` said Penna.
Guilderland appeared ready to answer Shen’s touchdown with a scoring drive of its own in the third quarter, but the Dutchmen fumbled the ball back to the Plainsmen inside Shen’s 40-yard line. A long pass from Miller to Tom Kukuk got the Plainsmen into Guilderland’s territory. From there, Shen kept the ball on the ground, and D.J. Evans capped the series with a 3-yard touchdown run to pull the Plainsmen within seven points.
Booker helped the Dutchmen stop the bleeding early in the fourth quarter when he took the handoff from Smith and ran 39 yards up the middle for a touchdown. E.J. Genzano added the extra point to re-establish Guilderland’s 14-point lead.
Shen wasn’t about to go away, though. The Plainsmen put together a gutty drive that included two fourth down conversions. Jason Bedard ended the series by diving over a pile of Guilderland defenders for a 1-yard touchdown that cut the Dutchmen’s lead to 28-21.
`They showed a lot of desire to get back in the game,` said Steuerwald.
`It started feeling like an arena football game,` said Penna. `I wasn’t worried about stopping (Shen) because I just wanted the ball back.`
When Guilderland got the ball back, Smith made certain that would be as close as Shen got. The senior quarterback stepped back in a shotgun formation, saw the middle of the field open up and took off on a 60-yard touchdown run that sealed Guilderland’s win.
`It’s a play where I either give it to Booker or keep it myself,` said Smith. `I saw the gap before the play began, and I just accelerated.`
`We need to credit the offensive line. They created some big holes for our backs,` said Penna.
Guilderland and Shen will be home for the opening round of the class AA playoffs. The Dutchmen host Schenectady Friday, while the Plainsmen meet Colonie in Clifton Park.
Guilderland will try to avoid a letdown against a Schenectady team that has an explosive offense led by tailback Marc Thompson and quarterback Nick Ottati.
`We’ve got the No. 1 seed locked up, and we have a target on our backs now,` said Booker.
Voorheesville was also in the hunt for a No. 1 seed last weekend, but Saturday’s 20-14 loss to Coxsackie-Athens dropped the Blackbirds to the No. 4 seed in class C out of the South Division.
The Blackbirds (5-2) had a 14-0 lead on touchdown runs by Jay Conde and Daniel Whiteley before the Indians (6-1) got their offense going. Quarterback Ryan Kane rushed for one touchdown and threw for another in the second quarter to tie the game at 14. Kane then capped C-A’s first drive of the third quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run to put the Indians ahead for good.
Without starting tailback Pat Jones in the lineup, Conde carried much of the load for Voorheesville. The senior signal caller rushed 27 times for 127 yards and completed 7 of 19 passes for 88 yards. Whiteley added 55 yards on 14 rushes.
The Blackbirds’ loss sends them into an opening round match-up against North Division champion Cambridge Saturday. Cambridge completed a perfect regular season with a 33-19 victory at Corinth.“