The Ballston Spa football team proved once again that great speed can overcome great size.
The smaller, quicker Scotties (7-1) rushed for nearly 300 yards and five touchdowns to defeat the bigger, stronger Troy Flying Horses 34-21 in Saturday’s Section II, Class AA quarterfinal game in Troy.
The kids go out week to week and defy the laws of physics, said Ballston Spa coach John Bowen.
Ballston Spa never seemed to lose any steam against Troy (6-2). With Steve Duncan, Eric Marciano and Dan Decker testing the corners of the Flying Horses’ defense and occasionally taking the ball up the middle, the Scotties consistently moved down the field.
Defensively, Ballston Spa made two big plays to prevent Troy from posting a comeback. Midway through the third quarter, the Scotties stopped the Flying Horses on fourth down at their own 4-yard line to end a Troy scoring threat.
Then in the fourth quarter, Matt Clark forced Troy quarterback Zach Dolan to fumble the ball near midfield, and Jason Ohnsman recovered the loose ball for Ballston Spa. That set up the Scotties’ final scoring drive.
`I think the momentum really tipped on that (third quarter) goal line stand,` said Bowen. `You can throw out the Xs and Os on a goal line stand because it all comes down to desire and heart, and our kids showed that they had more heart (than Troy).`
Duncan seemed to have a nose for the end zone at critical times. The senior tailback got Ballston Spa on the scoreboard with a 2-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and then gave the Scotties a boost early in the third quarter with a 61-yard scoring run that put his team ahead 21-7. Duncan capped Ballston Spa’s scoring with a 7-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter that sealed the victory.
Decker contributed 80 yards and a touchdown, and Marciano added 67 yards and a scoring run for the Scotties, who travel to Guilderland Friday for a shot at the class AA Super Bowl. Ballston Spa defeated Guilderland 32-27 during the regular season.
`We know they’re going to have the revenge factor,` said Bowen. `We’re going to have to come out next week with the same intensity level we had today.`
Shenendehowa and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake also advanced to the semifinal rounds of their playoff brackets with wins last Saturday. Shen (7-1) knocked off Colonie 28-14 in the class AA quarterfinals, while BH-BL (7-1) downed Gloversville 41-13 in the class A quarterfinals.
Shen broke its game open with a big play late in the second quarter. The Plainsmen forced a Colonie punt near midfield, and Mike Daly returned it 82 yards for a touchdown to give Shen a 21-7 halftime lead.
The Garnet Raiders (4-4) cut the 14-point deficit in half on Joe Poleto’s 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, but Jason Bedard added a 13-yard scoring run late in the fourth quarter to seal the Plainsmen’s win.
Bedard rushed for nearly 160 yards and two touchdowns to help Shen reach Friday’s class AA semifinal against Liberty Division champion LaSalle in Troy.
BH-BL also used a big second quarter to put away Gloversville in the class A quarterfinals. Quarterback Paul Layton threw two touchdown passes to Ross Batty and added a 52-yard touchdown run to give the Spartans a 21-6 halftime lead on the Huskies.
Layton added a 51-yard scoring strike to Derek Seward and a 19-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to extend BH-BL’s lead to 35-6. The junior signal caller finished with 96 rushing yards and 87 passing yards to lead the Spartans’ offense.
BH-BL hosts Amsterdam Friday in the class A semifinals. The Rugged Rams (6-2) were the only team to defeat the Spartans during the regular season.“