Suhayb Banks was a one-man wrecking crew.
The junior tailback rushed for 201 yards and four touchdowns, and he forced three turnovers on defense to lead the Shenendehowa football team to a 41-29 Empire Division victory over Bethlehem last Friday.
He did everything we thought he would do, said Bethlehem coach Ron Smith. `The difficulty was trying to stop him.`
The Eagles (2-2 division, 2-3 overall) kept pace with the Plainsmen through the first half, but everything changed in the third quarter. Banks slipped and spun through several tackles to break free for a 52-yard touchdown run that gave Shen (3-1, 3-2) a 28-21 lead. Then, Banks intercepted a Randy Bowers pass that set up another Plainsmen scoring drive.
Bethlehem didn’t give up, even after Banks added an early fourth-quarter touchdown run to put Shen ahead 41-21. Bowers directed a 98-yard drive with several big passes, the last being a three-yard scoring strike to Kyle Niehaus with more than two minutes left in regulation. Bowers added a two-point conversion pass to Sam Gallup to get the Eagles within 12 points.
`I’m amazed at how Randy Bowers runs that two-minute offense as a high school kid,` said Smith.
Bethlehem had a chance to score again after recovering an onsides kick, but another Shen interception ended that drive.
Bowers finished with 371 passing yards and three touchdowns for Bethlehem.
Overtime thriller in Ravena
Elsewhere in Section II, Cohoes secured the inside track to the Class B Reinfurt Division title with a 13-7 triple overtime victory over Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk last Friday.
After two scoreless overtime series, Steve Weaver gave the Tigers (3-0, 5-0) the lead with a one-yard touchdown run.
Nick LaMountain gave the Indians a 7-0 lead with a third-quarter touchdown run, but Weaver broke free for a 55-yard scoring run to tie the game at 7.“