An out-of-town scoreboard would have been helpful at Friday’s Bethlehem-Colonie football game.
While the two teams were playing a cross-divisional game, contests with Class AA playoff implications were taking place in Niskayuna, Latham and Ballston Spa.
Bethlehem was hoping for a Saratoga victory over Ballston Spa, which could have given it a Sectional berth over Colonie with a win against the Garnet Raiders. Meanwhile, Colonie was pulling for Schenectady to defeat Niskayuna and Shaker to beat LaSalle to avoid a possible four-way tie for third place in the Liberty Division.
Bethlehem (2-4 division, 3-4 overall) got the victory it was looking for by beating Colonie 26-7, but Ballston Spa (2-4, 2-5) earned the No. 4 seed out of the Empire Division by shutting out Saratoga (2-4, 2-5) 34-0 and creating a three-way tie for fourth place. Ballston Spa received the final playoff berth by having more quarter points (17) than Bethlehem (15) or Saratoga (14.5).
Colonie (2-3, 3-4) received the help it needed to qualify for Sectionals for the first time in three years when Schenectady (3-2, 5-2) routed Niskayuna (1-4, 3-4) 49-20 and Shaker (5-0, 7-0) downed LaSalle (1-4, 2-5) 33-6.
Though unhappy with his team’s performance against Bethlehem, first-year Colonie coach Bill Roemer was pleased to have his team make the postseason.
`Right now it’s not that big, but we did get a monkey off our backs. That’s a positive,` said Roemer. `The kids should be happy they have a meaningful Week 8 game to prepare for.`
Bethlehem coach Rick Leach said his Eagles played their best game of the season against Colonie — a contest which included two long touchdowns by Mike Graves and a pair of critical defensive stops deep in their territory.
`It’s the most complete performance for four quarters we’ve had on offense, defense and special teams,` said Leach.
Graves got things going for Bethlehem by returning the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. Spencer Ferrigan’s extra point gave the Eagles a quick 7-0 lead.
Colonie’s defense came up with a pair of first-half turnovers to keep the Garnet Raiders close. Then, tailback Devon Edwards capped a Colonie series with a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the score at 7 midway through the second quarter.
Bethlehem regained the lead before halftime when Ferrigan nailed a 42-yard field goal and expanded its advantage to 16-7 on Graves 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Colonie had a chance to trim the deficit early in the fourth quarter when it had a first-and-goal at Bethlehem’s 5-yard line, but the Eagles recovered a fumble to end the drive.
The `red zone` turnover proved to be the turning point, as Graves found an open lane and took off on a 96-yard touchdown run two plays later. Ferrigan’s extra point made the score 23-7.
`He’s a special kid, and he’s a special player,` Leach said of Graves, who rushed for 218 yards.
Ferrigan added his second field goal of the night later in the fourth quarter to seal Bethlehem’s 19-point victory.
`That’s backbreaking,` Roemer said of Ferrigan’s clinching 30-yard field goal. `The difference of a couple of field goals pushed it to a three possession game.`
Edwards rushed for 102 yards and caught six passes for 74 yards to lead Colonie’s offense, and Leach said his defense did well to hold him to that total.
`The toughest part about (Edwards) is they use him in so many ways — as a running back, as a receiver and as a quarterback,` said Leach. `But, we did a good job of tackling him.`
Colonie travels to Clifton Park for its Sectional quarterfinal game against Empire Division champion Shenendehowa next Friday, while Bethlehem visits Niskayuna in a crossover contest.