Scotia-Glenville hasn’t had a winning football season since 2002, and it hasn’t had a home playoff game since the sport went to classification play in 2004.
Both of those trends are close to ending.
The Tartans (2-1 division, 3-2 overall) pulled away from Mohonasen for a 29-6 victory last Friday in Rotterdam. The win gave Scotia-Glenville a leg up on Averill Park (2-1, 3-2) for second place in the Southeast Division, since the Tartans also own a 34-22 victory over Averill Park this season.
“It’s been a long time since Scotia has gone this far,” said junior defensive back Jacob Goldman.
Scotia-Glenville’s defense turned in a clutch performance against Mohonasen (0-2, 1-4). The Tartans forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter, one of which Goldman returned for a 70-yard touchdown that gave Scotia-Glenville a 23-6 lead.
“The defense was outstanding,” said Scotia-Glenville coach Kevin Warren. “We put it on them this week. Our goal was to have a shutout, and defensively we got it.”
Mohonasen’s six points came from its special teams unit when Trevon Tucker returned the opening kickoff of the second half 90 yards for a touchdown. The Mighty Warriors misfired on their two-point conversion attempt, which left them with a 15-6 deficit.
Turnovers did in Mohonasen, though. The Mighty Warriors drove into Scotia-Glenville territory twice in the fourth quarter, only to cough up the ball. The Tartans forced another turnover inside Mohonasen territory later in the period, which set up a short scoring drive capped by Andrew Tabbert’s 3-yard touchdown run.
Quarterback Dan Zeglen and tailback Dontrevius Porter had first-half touchdown runs to give Scotia-Glenville its 15-0 halftime lead.
The Tartans can lock up second place in the Southeast Division and a home playoff game next Friday when they host Bishop Maginn (0-2, 1-4). Before they do that, they face winless Albany (0-4, 0-5) in a non-league game Friday in Scotia.
“They just want to get better every time they’re out there, and they do,” said Warren.
Meanwhile, Mohonasen can assure itself a Sectional berth by beating Bishop Maginn Friday. A win would give the Mighty Warriors the head-to-head tiebreaker over Bishop Maginn entering the final week of the regular season, when they face Southeast Division-leading Troy (2-0, 3-2).
In other football action, Niskayuna (1-2, 3-2) faces a potential must-win situation to make the Class AA playoffs when it travels to Liberty Division-leading Shaker (3-0, 5-0) Friday.
The Silver Warriors are in a three-way tie with LaSalle and Schenectady for third place in the Liberty Division. Colonie and Columbia are tied for second place with 2-2 divisional records, but Niskayuna lost to both teams this season.
Colonie (3-2 overall) defeated Niskayuna 19-16 last Friday. Quarterback Eugene Kupiec’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Devon Edwards in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference for the Garnet Raiders, as it gave them a 19-8 lead.
Chris Herman threw a 32-yard scoring strike to Anthony Massaroni for Niskayuna and Aidan O’Brien added a two-point conversion run to trim the deficit to three points.
, but that was as close as the Silver Warriors got.
While Niskayuna fights for a playoff berth Friday, Schalmont (4-0, 4-1) gets a night off from Class B competition. The Sabres were scheduled to play Johnstown, but Johnstown cancelled the remainder of its varsity season two weeks ago due to a lack of players.
Schalmont locked up the West Division title last Friday by beating Cobleskill-Richmondville 62-0 in Cobleskill. Tailback Devon Willis scorched the Bulldogs defense for 252 yards and five touchdowns, while quarterback Nick Gallo threw a touchdown pass and intercepted a Cobleskill pass for another score to lead the Sabres.
Schalmont concludes its regular season next Friday against Hudson Falls.