The Saratoga Springs football team made certain that quarter points wouldn’t be necessary to determine the Empire Division title.
The Blue Streaks jumped out to a 30-0 lead in the first half and cruised to a 51-20 victory over Shenendehowa last Friday to clinch the Empire Division title.
Saratoga (5-0 division, 6-1 overall) established its dominance from the opening kickoff. Ryan Seymour fielded the kick at his own 15-yard line and raced through Shen’s special teams unit for an 85-yard touchdown to give the Blue Streaks a quick 7-0 lead.
Tailback Tony DeLoatch capped Saratoga’s first offensive series a short time later with a 5-yard touchdown run. Then following a Plainsmen turnover, the Blue Streaks drove deep into Shen territory before settling for a Nick Daley 34-yard field goal to make the score 17-0 after the first quarter.
Things got worse for Shen (3-2, 5-2) early in the second quarter. DeLoatch allowed a Plainsmen punt to roll to Saratoga’s 2-yard line before picking it up, sweeping to the left sideline and racing 98 yards for another Blue Streaks touchdown. Daley missed the extra point, but Saratoga still had a 23-0 lead.
Quarterback Luke Fauler got into the act later in the second quarter when he connected with Joey Moore on a 53-yard touchdown pass to put Saratoga ahead by 30 points. After that, Shen could only mount a mild rally in the second half.
Fauler added a pair of touchdown runs for Saratoga, which earned a first-round Sectional home game with the win. Bronson Greene had two scoring runs to lead Shen’s offense.
Saratoga hosts Colonie Friday in a rematch of a Week 2 game that the Blue Streaks won 31-13, while Shenendehowa hits the road as the Empire Division’s No. 3 seed. The Plainsmen meet Schenectady Friday in another Week 2 rematch.
In other Class AA football action last weekend, Ballston Spa locked up the Empire Division’s No. 2 seed with a 39-0 victory over Guilderland.
The Scotties (4-1, 6-1) jumped out to a 13-0 lead on first-quarter touchdown runs by Nick Tubolino and Josh Fabian. Quarterback Mark Seager added a 2-yard scoring run early in the second quarter to increase the advantage to 20 points.
Guilderland (2-3, 3-4) threatened to score midway through the third quarter, but Ballston Spa stopped the Dutchmen on downs inside the Scotties’ 20-yard line. Ballston Spa then marched the other direction, and Seager capped the drive with a 24-yard touchdown run to put his team ahead 27-0.
Alex Nicol and Carm Pascuito added fourth-quarter touchdown runs for the Scotties, who host Bethlehem in Friday’s Class AA quarterfinals.
In Class A, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake wrapped up the Northwest Division title with a 44-27 victory over Queensbury last Friday. The Spartans (5-0, 7-0) host Averill Park Friday.`
