The Shaker football team needed some late-game heroics to win its fourth game of the season.
Kenny Jackson’s 3-yard touchdown run and Ryan Griffin’s interception in the final 2:20 helped the Blue Bison defeat Schenectady 21-14 in Friday’s Liberty Division game.
Shaker (3-0 division, 4-0 overall) rallied from a 14-7 halftime deficit to maintain its perfect record and solidify its hold on first place in the Liberty Division with three weeks left in the regular season.
`It’s huge,` said Griffin. `We say we try to go 1-0 every week, and this (Schenectady) was another team in the way of that.`
Schenectady (1-2, 2-2) got the jump on Shaker with two first-quarter touchdowns. Quarterback Kwame Jarvis connected with Felix Rodriguez on a 19-yard scoring strike, and he hit Jeremy Kent on a 13-yard touchdown pass to put the Patriots ahead 14-0.
That was all Shaker’s defense allowed, though. The Blue Bison bent several times, but they made the plays they needed to keep Schenectady’s high-octane offense out of the end zone.
`I thought they did an outstanding job,` said Shaker coach Greg Sheeler. `I think he (Jarvis) is one of the best quarterbacks I’ve ever seen, and we did a great job against him.`
Shaker quarterback Chris Landers engineered a scoring drive late in the first quarter — one he capped with a 1-yard touchdown run — to get the Blue Bison within seven points. But, Schenectady kept Shaker’s offense off balance the rest of the first half by throwing a variety of defensive formations at the Blue Bison.
`They did a lot of good things on defense,` said Sheeler. `They constantly changed their looks.`
The one thing Schenectady couldn’t do was bottle up Shaker’s running game. Griffin pounded the ball through the middle of the field for 90 yards on 17 carries, while Jackson took to the outside and gained 93 yards on nine attempts. Landers occasionally got into the act, as he ran the ball nine times for 49 yards.
`It’s definitely great because it makes it difficult to key on one player,` said Griffin. `We’re all equivalent in our abilities to make plays.`
Big runs from Griffin and Jackson late in the third quarter got Shaker to Schenectady’s 3-yard line. An illegal shift penalty against the Blue Bison pushed them back to the 8-yard line, where they faced fourth-and-goal with 1 second left. That was all the time Landers needed, as he connected with Griffin on the final play of the period for an 8-yard touchdown. Griffin added the extra point to tie the game at 14.
`That’s the heart and soul of our team — how we run the ball, and how we defend the run,` said Sheeler.
Schenectady had an opportunity to regain the lead when an interception — Shaker’s fourth turnover of the night — gave the Patriots the ball inside Shaker’s 40-yard line. They got the ball as far as the 32-yard line before a pair of incomplete passes gave the ball back to the Blue Bison.
Shaker kept the ball on the ground on its next offensive series and drove to Schenectady’s 3-yard line. Jackson scored from there, and Griffin added the extra point to put the Blue Bison ahead 21-14 with 2:17 left in the fourth quarter.
Shaker could have sealed the victory when it forced a Schenectady turnover with 2:08 remaining, but the Blue Bison gave the ball back to the Patriots when Griffin fumbled on their ensuing play from scrimmage. Jarvis then guided Schenectady to Shaker’s 23-yard line in three passes to set up one last scoring chance.
Schenectady tried one run that netted three yards. After an incomplete pass on second down, Jarvis was sacked on third down to set up a long fourth-down play. Jarvis threw deep, but Shaker’s Brandon Safford deflected the ball into Griffin’s waiting hands for the game-clinching interception.
`It was pretty gratifying (to me), but we needed it to happen,` said Griffin. `The game was on the line, and we had to come together as a team.`
Shaker won’t have much time to savor its victory over Schenectady. The Blue Bison host undefeated Shenendehowa next Friday in what could be a preview of this year’s Section II Class AA final. Shen (4-0, 4-0) has averaged nearly 50 points per game, including its 49-7 romp over Ballston Spa Friday.
`We just need to play our game,` said Griffin. `We need to control the ball and run the ball well on offense.`