The Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk football team did everything it could to stop Cobleskill-Richmondville’s high-powered offense, but the Bulldogs still found their way into the end zone.
Tailback Aaron Christman scored on two short runs, and Cobleskill’s defense did the rest in beating R-C-S 14-3 in Saturday’s Section II, Class B Super Bowl at Lynch Middle School in Amsterdam.
The Indians (8-2) limited Christman to less than 70 rushing yards and held quarterback Josh Keller in check for the most part, but the Bulldogs (10-0) did a better job of stopping R-C-S’s attack. With the exception of a 21-yard run by Jared Fortier in the second quarter, the Indians’ running game was neutralized by an aggressive Cobleskill defense.
The defense was terrific, said R-C-S coach Gary VanDerzee. `We just didn’t do enough things offensively to keep us in the game.`
Junior quarterback Jordan Carnibucci threw the ball well at times for R-C-S, but two second half interceptions by Keller helped Cobleskill pull out the win.
`Jordan did a good job,` said VanDerzee. `We put him in a bad position where he had to throw a lot and Cobleskill knew it, but he did a good job.`
Christian Tiberia gave the Indians a chance to get on the scoreboard midway through the first quarter when he intercepted Keller and returned the ball to Cobleskill’s 19-yard line. R-C-S got as close as Cobleskill’s 11-yard line, but came away with no points after Fortier missed a 28-yard field goal.
The Indians had another opportunity to enter the end zone midway through the second quarter. Fortier’s 21-yard run got R-C-S inside Cobleskill’s 20-yard line, and then Carnibucci connected with Zach Deering on a 14-yard pass on fourth-down-and-11 to set the Indians up with a first-and-goal situation at the 6-yard line.
R-C-S thought it had a touch-down when Mike Jones made a sliding catch of Carnibucci’s pass at the goal line, but the referees ruled Jones’ knee came down before he rolled into the end zone. That left R-C-S with a fourth-and-goal situation at Cobleskill’s 2-foot line.
VanDerzee elected to go for the touchdown, but a false start penalty followed by an illegal motion infraction pushed the Indians to Cobleskill’s 10-yard line. Fortier made a 27-yard field goal after the penalties to give R-C-S a 3-0 lead.
`Any time you’re in that close, you want to get the touchdown,` said VanDerzee. `Those (penalties) were big plays, but you have to overcome them.`
Cobleskill overcame the field goal quickly. Keller completed a 40-yard pass to Charles Willoughby and a shorter pass to Chase Calabrano to put the Bulldogs at R-C-S’s 11-yard line. Three plays later, Christman twisted his way into the end zone from a yard out, and Andrew Bartholomew kicked the extra point to put Cobleskill ahead 7-3.
`The first pass (of the series), Keller did a nice job,` said VanDerzee. `We got some pressure on him, but he was able to get out of it and throw to his secondary receiver (Willoughby).`
The Bulldogs systematically drove down the field on their first possession of the second half. A mix of runs and short passes brought Cobleskill inside R-C-S’s 5-yard line, and Christman finished the series with a 2-yard touchdown run. Bartholomew’s point after kick sailed through the uprights to make the score 14-3.
R-C-S kept Cobleskill’s offense in check after that to maintain their season-long streak of keeping opponents under 20 points, but the damage was done.
`They made plays when they had to, and that’s what a championship team does,` said VanDerzee.“