A lot will be at stake when Shenendehowa hosts Ballston Spa Friday in its final Empire Division regular season football game.
A Shen victory assures the Plainsmen (4-1 division, 4-2 overall) second place and a home game for the first round of the Section II, Class AA playoffs. A Ballston Spa win coupled with a Bethlehem loss against Christian Brothers Academy gives the Scotties (3-2, 4-2) the No. 2 seed. A Ballston Spa win and a Bethlehem victory would create a three-way tie for second place.
The Scotties could have avoided at least one of those scenarios had they beaten Bethlehem (3-2, 3-3) last Friday, but the Eagles squeaked out a 14-12 victory last Friday in Ballston Spa. That coupled with Shen’s 41-3 victory over CBA created the must-win scenario for the Scotties.
We still have where we’re going to be seeded in our control, said Ballston Spa coach John Bowen. `We can still play a home playoff game.`
Ballston Spa had a chance to beat Bethlehem in the fourth quarter. Starting from their 9-yard line with 7:42 left, the Scotties methodically marched down the field and got inside the Eagles’ 10-yard line. But after three plays yielded no points, Ballston Spa gambled with a passing play on fourth down. Quarterback Mark Seager threw into the end zone, but Bethlehem’s Casiem Maxwell batted the ball to teammate Teddy Abriel for the interception.
`We had a 14-play drive, and we didn’t finish it,` said Bowen. `They made the play they needed.`
Bethlehem did all of its scoring in the first quarter. Tailback Sean Murphy capped the Eagles’ first series with a 1-yard touchdown run to make the score 7-0. Then following a Seager 20-yard touch-down run, Murphy took off on a 56-yard scoring run to increase Bethlehem’s lead to 14-6.
Ballston Spa forced a Bethle-hem fumble at the Eagles’ 35-yard line midway through the third quarter, which set up Matt Clark’s 20-yard touchdown run that pulled the Scotties within two points. But, Andy Bettinger tackled Seager on a two-point conversion attempt to keep the Eagles in front at 14-12. That proved to be the winning margin.
Meanwhile, Shen’s offense was firing on all cylinders against CBA (1-4, 1-5). Tailback Suhayb Banks rushed for 194 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Plainsmen to the decisive 41-3 victory.
Quarterback Andrew Kalish threw for 68 yards and a touchdown, and Mike Daly added a fourth-quarter touchdown for Shen.“