The Shaker football team had a difficult time stopping Niskayuna’s offense Friday night.
Niskayuna’s defense had a more difficult time stopping Shaker’s offense, though.
Tailback Ryan Griffin ran for 194 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Blue Bison (3-0 division, 6-0 overall) to a 48-34 Liberty Division victory over the Silver Warriors in Latham, which also clinched the division title for Shaker.
`I was happy with how the guys played (on offense) tonight,` said Shaker coach Greg Sheeler. `We played well up front.`
Niskayuna’s spread formation created match-up problems for Shaker’s defense in the first half, but the Silver Warriors (1-3, 3-3) couldn’t keep up with the Blue Bison’s big-play offense.
`The resistance was different tonight,` said Niskayuna coach John Furey. `They’re a great football team.`
Shaker’s starting offense failed to score on only one drive — its opening possession. The Blue Bison drove into Niskayuna territory before turning the ball over on downs.
The Silver Warriors systematically moved the ball the other direction and got on the scoreboard when tailback Aidan O’Brien scored on a 2-yard run. The sophomore added a two-point conversion to give Niskayuna an 8-0 lead.
Shaker’s response time was quick. Tailback Kenny Jackson took the first hand-off from Chris Landers and scampered 65 yards for a touchdown. Backup quarterback Brian Planz then threw a conversion pass to Patrick Hoey on a fake extra point to tie the score at 8.
O’Brien capped Niskayuna’s next offensive series with a 3-yard touchdown run, but a failed conversion attempt left the Silver Warriors with a 14-8 lead. Once again, Shaker answered with a big play — this time, it was a 64-yard touchdown run by Griffin. Garret McClanahan’s extra point kick gave the Blue Bison a 15-14 advantage entering the second quarter.
`I saw great blocking in front of me,` Griffin said of his first touchdown run. `My linemen, my fullback and my receivers all got downfield to give me the blocks I needed.`
Niskayuna’s offense continued to find ways to aggravate Shaker’s defense, though. A 23-yard pass from Chris Herman to Uwem Akpanikat on fourth-down-and-long gave the Silver Warriors a first-and-goal at the Blue Bison’s 6-yard line. O’Brien scored on a 2-yard run two plays later, and Herman connected with Akpanikat on a two-point conversion pass to put Niskayuna ahead 22-15.
Shaker regained momentum in the final four minutes of the first half. Tyler Oppelt scored on a 20-yard touchdown run to pull the Blue Bison within one point. A shanked Niskayuna punt then gave Shaker the ball at the Silver Warriors’ 25-yard line. Three plays later, Griffin scored on a 6-yard run to put the Blue Bison ahead 27-22.
Shaker’s momentum carried over into the third quarter. Griffin took off on a 50-yard touchdown run less than four minutes into the period, and he added the extra point kick following two missed attempts by McClenahan to make the score 34-22.
Herman threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Akpanikat later in the third quarter to cut Shaker’s 12-point lead in half, but Griffin bulldozed his way into the end zone from one yard out on the Blue Bison’s ensuing series to give Shaker a 41-28 advantage.
In the midst of the offensive fireworks, a key defensive play sealed Shaker’s victory. Jackson intercepted Herman on the first play of the fourth quarter and returned the ball to Niskayuna’s 45-yard line. Nearly four minutes later, freshman tailback Andrew Bolton scored his first varsity touchdown on an 8-yard run to give the Blue Bison a 48-28 lead.
Bolton carried the ball seven times for 53 yards, and Jackson ran three times for 84 yards in support of Griffin’s big night for Shaker.
`Our offense executed well tonight, and it’s not always going to be like that for us,` said Sheeler.
O’Brien was a workhorse for Niskayuna, as he carried the ball 37 times for 106 yards. A healthy percentage of those carries were from direct snaps from center, as O’Brien spelled Herman at quarterback.
Shaker’s win clinches its first title of any kind since 1969 and the No. 1 seed for the Section II Class AA playoffs out of the Liberty Division. However, Sheeler is mindful there is still the matter of hosting LaSalle (1-3, 2-4) in the Blue Bison’s regular season finale next Friday.
`It means up to this point, we’ve done well,` said Sheeler. `But it also means we have to keep working hard to achieve our ultimate goal.`
Meanwhile, Niskayuna needs to defeat Schenectady (2-2, 4-2) in its final regular season game in order to have a shot at making Sectionals.
`We have to play hard,` said Furey.