The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake football team knew that it was capable of beating Lansingburgh, since it was the only squad to upend the Knights this season.
But on Saturday night at Colonie High, the Spartans found it hard to defend against Lansingburgh’s three pronged backfield of Kenny Youngs, Nyquan McGirt and Marcus Hepp. The trio combined for all four Knights’ touchdowns en route to a 28-25 triumph.
The Spartans (9-1) opened the game with a 25-yard field goal by Paul Layton with 4:40 left in the first quarter. The 13-play, 63-yard drive took 7:20 off the clock.
It took the Knights (9-1) much less time to take the lead away from BH-BL. McGirt returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, and Bill Wangler added the extra point to put Lansingburgh ahead 7-3.
The Spartans struck back with a long kickoff return of their own. Derek Seward caught the ball at his own 9-yard line and raced 91 yards for a touchdown. Layton’s extra point gave BH-BL a 10-7 lead with 4:10 left in the first quarter.
Lansingburgh regained the lead after driving 59 yards on eight plays. Youngs capped the series with a 1-yard touchdown run with 4:15 left in the second quarter to give the Knights a 14-10 lead. Layton kicked a 25-yard field goal with 30 seconds left to pull BH-BL within a point heading into halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, the fourth quarter saw four lead changes. The Spartans started it off with a 9-yard touchdown run by Eric Vuillaume to cap a nine-play, 68-yard drive. Layton’s two-point conversion attempt failed, though, putting BH-BL up 19-14.
Lansingburgh took the lead once again after a 56-yard run by McGirt set up a 1-yard scoring run by Hepp. A two-point conversion attempt failed, giving the Knights a 20-19 advantage with 6:30 left.
Layton showed that his throwing arm is just as lethal as his feet when the junior quarterback connected with Ross Batty for a 19-yard gain on fourth down after being chased well into the backfield. On the next play, Vuillaume found a hole and took it 48 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 3:03 left. The two-point attempt failed, making it 25-20.
Lansingburgh scored the game-winning touchdown on its next drive after a nine-play, 59-yard series culminated in an 8-yard run by Youngs. McGirt ran in the two-point attempt to make it 28-25 with 49.8 seconds left.
On the game’s final drive, the Spartans, trying to get the go ahead touchdown were given an extra opportunity when a Lansingurgh defender was called for pass interference with 8.3 seconds left. On the next play, though, Matt Harte intercepted Layton in the end zone to seal the Knights’ victory.`