The Saratoga Springs football team won the field position battle, and in the process won the Section II, Class AA title.
The Blue Streaks took advantage of several Ballston Spa mistakes to score all of their points in a 31-7 victory last Friday at Colonie Central High School and win their first Sectional title since 2004.
We got some good breaks, said junior quarterback Luke Fauler, who threw two touchdown passes and ran for another. `Our defense got us good field position.`
All five of Saratoga’s scoring drives started inside Ballston Spa’s 40-yard line, thanks to big plays on special teams and defense. Tony DeLoatch had a 32-yard punt return to set up the Blue Streaks’ first touchdown, and Saratoga’s next two scoring drives were set up by Ballston Spa turnovers deep in its own territory.
`Special teams and defense ` that’s what we do,` said Saratoga coach Terry Jones. `Our kicking team was able to pin them deep tonight, and our defense was able to come up with some big plays.`
`As good as Saratoga is, you can’t make those mistakes and expect to be in the game,` said Ballston Spa coach John Bowen. `Defensively, we didn’t play bad. Offensively, we had some difficulty.`
DeLoatch’s punt return placed Saratoga (9-1) at Ballston Spa’s 20-yard line early in the second quarter. The Blue Streaks kept the ball on the ground, and Fauler capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give his team a 7-0 lead.
Saratoga received a break later in the second quarter when a punt bounced off a Ballston Spa player, and the Blue Streaks recovered the ball at the Scotties’ 1-yard line. DeLoatch scored on the next play to give Saratoga a two-touchdown advantage.
`We capitalized because our [offensive] line knows what to do when we’re near the goal line,` said DeLoatch. `We love to pound [the ball] on the ground.`
Ballston Spa (8-2) gained some momentum entering halftime, though. Starting from its own 20-yard line with less than two minutes left in the second quarter, the Scotties drove through Saratoga’s defense. Tailback Kyle Warmt capped the series when he caught a short pass from quarterback Mark Seager and tiptoed down the left sideline nine yards for a touchdown that pulled Ballston Spa within seven points.
The momentum swung back in Saratoga’s favor early in the third quarter when Hunter Hinds recovered a Ballston Spa fumble at the Scotties’ 12-yard line. Fauler hit Joey Moore on an 11-yard touchdown pass a short time later to give Saratoga a 21-7 lead.
Nick Daley ` who routinely placed Ballston Spa deep in its own territory with booming kickoffs ` contributed a 39-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, and Fauler added a 2-yard scoring strike to J.B. Noonan to cap Saratoga’s victory.
Saratoga earns a bye through the state regionals. The Blue Streaks will face either Section IX champion Monroe Woodbury or Section I champion New Rochelle in next weekend’s state semifinal game at Kingston’s Dietz Stadium.
`We never thought we could be in the final four in the state, and now we are,` said DeLoatch.
Spartans rally past Troy
The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake football team needed a big second half to defeat Troy 33-18 in last Saturday’s Class A Sectional final at Shenendehowa High School.
The Spartans (10-0) trailed 12-7 late in the third quarter before things started going their way. Evan Nusbaum intercepted a Troy pass near the BH-BL goal line. A short time later, quarter-back Phil Neumann threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Paluba to give the Spartans a 14-12 lead.
Neumann capped BH-BL’s next offensive series with a 15-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. Then, Nusbaum added a 3-yard scoring run to put the Spartans ahead 27-12.
Troy (9-1) tried to get back in the game late when quarterback Brian Marsh scored on a 16-yard run, but Brandon Beatty sealed the Flying Horses’ fate with a 49-yard touchdown run for BH-BL.
The furious 14-minute rally BH-BL put together was in stark contrast to the first 35 minutes, when Troy’s defense limited the Spartans to only one touchdown ` a 4-yard pass from Neumann to Nusbaum in the second quarter.
BH-BL advances to the state regionals for the third time in the last four years. The Spartans meet Section X champion Franklin Academy of Malone Friday at Shen.“