When Guilderland thought it had bottled up Ballston Spa’s offense, Mark Seager took matters into his own hands.
The junior quarterback rushed for 187 yards and three second-half touchdowns to lead the Scotties to a come-from-behind 26-16 victory over the Dutchmen in last Friday’s Empire Division football game in Guilderland.
We knew he was a key cog in their running game, said Guilderland coach Dan Penna. `Up front, their (offensive) line was able to open some holes.`
`I think what you’re seeing here is the importance of our quarterback,` said Ballston Spa coach John Bowen. `Mark has matured a year in our system. Last year, we didn’t ask him to do a whole lot because we had some running backs who could break big plays to the outside. This year, a little more is being asked of him, and he’s picking up everybody’s game a little.`
Guilderland (1-3) limited Ballston Spa (3-1) to one touchdown in the first half before Seager started calling his own number on a regular basis and ran through the heart of the Dutchmen defense. His second-half touchdown runs of 10, 16 and 25 yards erased a 16-7 Guilderland halftime lead.
`Schematically in the second half, they took advantage of one of our weaknesses ` our interior run defense,` said Penna.
The Dutchmen tried to respond, but several mistakes stalled their second half drives.
`They made some adjustments to our formations (in the second half), but for the most part it was mistakes that we made that hurt us,` said Penna. `We had three crucial penalties that cost us.`
Guilderland’s offense looked good early against Ballston Spa. Senior tailback Tony Denn got the Dutchmen on the scoreboard first when he took a screen pass from quarterback Bobby Falcone and raced 31 yards for a touchdown. E.J. Genzano added the extra point to put Guilderland ahead 7-0 in the first quarter.
Ballston Spa responded with a drive of its own, which fullback Van Huyben capped with a five-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7. But Denn scored on an 18-yard run in the second quarter, and Genzano added a 30-yard field goal before halftime to give Guilderland its nine-point lead.
Seager cut into that deficit with a 10-yard scoring run in the third quarter and put Ballston Spa ahead for good with a 16-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
The win keeps Ballston Spa tied with Bethlehem and Shenendehowa for second place in the Empire Division heading into Friday’s game against Christian Brothers Academy (1-3).
`We certainly know how dangerous CBA is,` said Bowen. `Between the athleticism of their quarterback (Andrew Vivian) and the obvious threat their tailback (Jack) Reilly is with his speed, we have some things to shore up defensively if we’re going to win.`
Meanwhile, Guilderland faces a tough final three weeks in its pursuit of a Section II, Class AA playoff berth. After a cross-divisional game with Niskayuna Friday, the Dutchmen face winless Albany before meeting unbeaten Saratoga Springs.
`Without question, we feel we are a team that can be competitive in the playoffs,` said Penna.
First, Guilderland will have to get by a Niskayuna team that loves to throw the football.
`They run a true spread offense where they run every play from the shotgun (formation),` said Penna. `They throw the ball a lot, and they sprinkle in run plays. We’ll have to mix up our coverages and try to do some things with our (defensive) formations to keep them off balance.`
Blue Streaks get by Plainsmen
In other Class AA football action Friday, unbeaten Saratoga Springs hosts winless Albany, while Shenendehowa travels to Bethlehem with second place in the Empire Division on the line.
Saratoga (4-0) barely remained undefeated after posting a come-from-behind 30-21 victory over Shen last Friday in Clifton Park.
The Plainsmen (2-2) took a 21-17 lead late in the third quarter when tailback Bronson Greene scored on a six-yard touchdown run, but quarterback Collin Mulholland threw a 19-yard scoring pass to Will Dryer in the fourth quarter to put the Blue Streaks back in front. Tailback Leejay Pollacchi sealed Saratoga’s win with a four-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
Pollacchi also had scoring runs of 11 and seven yards for Saratoga, which has scored at least four touchdowns in each of its four games.
Tailback Suhayb Banks rushed for a touchdown, and quarterback Andrew Kalish threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Hendrickson for Shen, which dropped into a three-way tie with Ballston Spa and Bethlehem for second place in the Empire Division. All three teams own 2-1 divisional records.
BH-BL welcomes Glens Falls for homecoming
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake and Saratoga Central Catholic will be in action Saturday. BH-BL hosts Glens Falls in a Class A Division II game, while Saratoga Catholic visits Bishop Gibbons in a Class D contest.
BH-BL (4-0) continued its string of dominating performances with a 40-0 home victory over Amster-dam last Friday, while Saratoga Catholic (0-4) sufferd a 20-14 loss to Greenwich at East Side Recreational Field.
BH-BL did most of its scoring in the first half against Amsterdam (1-3). Erik Vuillaume capped the Spartans’ first series with a 35-yard touchdown run, and Brandon Beatty and Paul Layton added first quarter scoring runs of 22 and two yards respectively to make the score 21-0.
Vuillaume and Layton scored their second touchdowns in the second quarter, and Camren McKenna added a 55-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter for BH-BL, which earned its third shutout victory in four games.
Saratoga Catholic edged closer to earning its first win of the season, but Tony Giroux’s two-yard touchdown pass to Ryan McFee in the fourth quarter gave Greenwich the victory.
Saints’ quarterback Dylan Anderson put his team ahead in the first quarter with a 29-yard touchdown run. The score remained 7-0 until the third quarter when Leo Lynch got Greenwich on the board with a six-yard touchdown run. Lynch added a seven-yard scoring run, and Giroux connected with Jason Flynn on a two-point conversion to put the Witches ahead 14-7.
Anderson threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Danny O’Rourke in the fourth quarter to tie the game for the Saints.“