The Bethlehem football team still has a shot at earning a share of second place in the Empire Division.
Sean Murphy rushed for two first quarter touchdowns, and Bethlehem’s defense made several key stops to help the Eagles edge Ballston Spa 14-12 in last Friday’s game.
We hadn’t put four quarters together, said Bethlehem coach Ron Smith. `Tonight, we put four quarters together.`
The win moves Bethlehem (3-2 division, 3-3 overall) into a third-place tie with Ballston Spa (3-2, 4-2), one game behind second-place Shenendehowa (4-1, 4-2). Ballston Spa plays Shen Friday, while Bethlehem hosts Christian Brothers Academy (1-4, 1-5).
The Eagles wouldn’t be in this position without their defense, though. They stopped Ballston Spa quarterback Mark Seager on a two-point conversion attempt after the Scotties scored a touchdown in the third quarter to close the deficit to 14-12. Then, they denied Ballston Spa a touchdown late in the fourth quarter when Casiem Maxwell batted a Seager pass to teammate Teddy Abriel for the game-clinching interception.
`I’m so proud of our coaches on the defensive side,` said Smith. `We’ve been beaten up on that side of the ball.`
Bethlehem took a 7-0 lead on its first series. A pass interference call against Ballston Spa set up the Eagles deep inside the Scotties’ territory. Several plays later, Murphy plowed his way into the end zone from one yard out to get Bethlehem on the scoreboard.
Ballston Spa took the momentum back quickly. Josh Fabian returned the ensuing kickoff inside Bethlehem’s 25-yard line. Two plays later, Seager called his own number, swept left, and then changed direction and went right to complete a 20-yard touchdown run.
The extra point turned into an adventure for Ballston Spa, though. A false start before the kick pushed the Scotties back five yards. That was enough to cause Shane LaChance’s second attempt to fall short of the uprights, which left Bethlehem with a 7-6 lead.
Murphy soon increased that lead to seven points again. On Bethlehem’s second play from scrimmage, Murphy found a hole on the left side of Ballston Spa’s defensive line and took off for a 56-yard touchdown run. Sam Smith added the extra point to give the Eagles a 14-6 advantage.
Ballston Spa caught a break midway through the third quarter when Seager recovered a Bethlehem fumble at the Eagles’ 35-yard line. A short time later, Matt Clark broke free for a 19-yard touchdown run to trim Bethlehem’s lead to 14-12.
The Scotties elected to go for the tie, but the Eagles were ready. Seager took the snap and went right, which is where Andy Bettinger was waiting to tackle him one yard shy of the end zone to maintain Bethlehem’s slim advantage.
Ballston Spa couldn’t get its offense going again until midway through the fourth quarter. Starting from their own 9-yard line after a punt, the Scotties methodically moved the ball on the ground to get inside Bethlehem’s 10 with less than two minutes left.
The Eagles collected themselves, though. They stopped three running plays before Maxwell batted Seager’s pass into the end zone to Abriel on fourth down. Then, Maxwell ended any Ballston Spa hopes of getting the ball back when he took off on a 40-yard run into Scotties territory with 1:02 left.
Smith said he’s hopeful that his team can build off its defensive effort against Ballston Spa when Bethlehem hosts a CBA team that has managed only nine points in their last three games.
`I’m scared to say it, but I think we’re peaking,` said Smith. `We’re holding on to the ball better, and we’re playing better on the defensive side.`
Indians bounce back against Titans
In other area football action last weekend, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk rebounded from its triple overtime loss to Cohoes by beating Taconic Hills 49-14 Friday, while Voorheesville fell to Coxsackie-Athens 22-7 Saturday.
R-C-S’s win wasn’t as easy as it looked. The Indians (3-1, 4-2) led by only seven points late in the second quarter until Evan Bullis scored on a two-yard run to put them ahead 28-14 at halftime. R-C-S outscored Taconic Hills (0-4, 0-6) 21-0 in the second half to seal the victory.
Tailback C.J. Murray rushed for 119 yards and two touch-downs, and Mike Garza added a pair of scoring runs in the second half for the Indians, who close out the regular season Friday at home against Cairo-Durham. Quarterback Keith Hoyt also had a touchdown run to go along with an 86-yard scoring strike to Jamel Caldwell.
In Voorheesville, Coxsackie-Athens grabbed a 14-0 lead before Dan Whitely scored on a two-yard run late in the second quarter for the Blackbirds (1-5). The Indians (3-3) regained their two-touchdown lead in the third quarter when tailback Jordan Carnibucci connected with receiver J.J. Fornicola on a 36-yard scoring pass, and they never looked back.
Voorheesville closes its regular season Saturday when it hosts winless Hoosic Valley.“