The Niskayuna football team will get a second chance to beat Troy.
The Silver Warriors (5-3) travel to Troy (8-0) for Saturday’s Class AA Sectional semifinal.
The rematch comes three weeks after the Flying Horses defeated Niskayuna 35-28 in overtime in their Liberty Division game.
They’re very comfortable playing Troy, said Niskayuna coach John Furey. `We can do things that cause Troy trouble.`
Niskayuna caused plenty of trouble for Saratoga Springs in last week’s quarterfinal game. The Silver Warriors scored three touchdowns in the second quarter on their way to a 34-27 victory over the defending Section II champions.
`We’ve got a powerful offense, but we kept the lead with our defense,` said Furey.
Quarterback Kyle Bayly continued to light up opposing defenses. The senior signal caller threw for 221 yards and four touchdowns to lead Niskayuna to the mild upset.
`He’s got a great sense, he’s got a great ability and he’s worked really hard to become a great quarterback for us,` Furey said of Bayly, who has thrown for nearly 1,000 yards in the last three games.
Saratoga (4-4) built a 14-7 lead before Bayly got to work. He orchestrated three scoring drives in the second quarter ` the first of which took little time as he connected with Nick Schuler on a 66-yard touchdown pass. Bayly followed that with scoring strikes of 29 yards to Rob Hilweh and seven yards to Josh Callahan to give the Silver Warriors a 28-14 halftime lead.
The Blue Streaks got back into the game late in the third quarter when Jaime Perez capped a drive with a 7-yard touchdown run, but the extra point kick went wide, which left them with a 28-20 deficit.
It didn’t take Niskayuna long to regain its two-touchdown lead. Bayly threw into tight coverage and connected with AJ Akpanikat, who broke away from two Saratoga defenders and cruised into the end zone for a 63-yard scoring play that made the score 34-20.
`That was a big play. He threw it on the mark,` said Furey.
Saratoga refused to go away, though. The Blue Streaks drove down the field on their next series, and Wellman Loviza recovered a teammate’s fumble in the end zone for a Saratoga touchdown that cut the deficit to seven points. Then, Saratoga drove to Niskayuna’s 22-yard line before the Silver Warriors defense stopped Perez for a loss on fourth down to seal the victory.
`It was a huge play on defense for us to stop that fourth down play,` said Furey.
Niskayuna’s next defensive task is a big one as the Silver Warriors must slow down a Troy offense that has averaged more than 41 points per game. Of particular concern is tailback Jordan Canzeri, who has rushed for more than 1,200 yards and 19 touchdowns through eight games.
`You just load up on him and put the most people in the area where you think he’s going to run,` said Furey.
In other Section II playoff action this weekend, Schalmont (8-0) meets Albany Academy (6-2) in Friday’s Class B semifinal game in Rotterdam.
The Sabres have their own talented tailback to tame as they face off with Academy’s Zay Richardson. The senior has gained more than 1,700 yards and scored 26 touchdowns for the Cadets, though his production has slowed somewhat since reaching the end zone 19 times in the first four games of the season.
Schalmont’s defense has been among the best in Section II this season. The Sabres have allowed 38 points and posted three shutouts in the eight games leading up to Friday’s semifinal game.
Schalmont cruised into the semifinals with a 53-6 quarterfinal victory over Cairo-Durham last Friday in Rotterdam. Quarterback Joe Paskevich threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and the Sabres defense returned two interceptions for scores.“
