Everything worked right for the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake football team in Saturday’s Class A championship game against Amsterdam.
The Spartans (9-1) jumped out to a 27-6 lead in the first quarter and cruised to a 48-6 victory over the Rugged Rams (6-3) at Shenendehowa High School.
It’s the fifth consecutive Sectional title for BH-BL, and its sixth over the last seven years.
`It’s a great feeling,` said BH-BL quarterback Ryan McDonnell. `The main goal every year is to get here, and to win it five years in a row is pretty special.`
`They’re all pretty special,` said BH-BL coach Matt Shell. `We’ve had some great guys come through here in the last several years.`
Amsterdam was in trouble from the start when it fumbled the opening kickoff. BH-BL recovered the loose ball on Amsterdam’s 10-yard line, and Dan Porter scored on a 3-yard touchdown run two plays later to put the Spartans ahead 6-0.
The Rugged Rams marched down the field on their next possession, and quarterback Geo Rodriguez capped the series with a 2-yard touchdown plunge. BH-BL blocked the extra point, though, to leave the score tied at 6.
The touchdown drive turned out to be Amsterdam’s lone highlight of the evening, as BH-BL’s defense limited the Rugged Rams to less than 200 yards of offense.
`We had a good preparation week, and we knew what they were capable of doing,` said Shell.
The Spartans regained the momentum quickly. On the ensuing kickoff, Michael Danz pitched the ball back to Shomari Ingram, and the senior receiver took off on an 89-yard touchdown run to give BH-BL a 13-6 lead.
`We worked on it all week, so it was something we hoped to execute tonight and we did,` said Shell.
Ingram’s kickoff return was the beginning of several big plays by BH-BL. Dan Maynard took off on a 47-yard touchdown run later in the first quarter, and McDonnell added a 40-yard scoring scamper a short time later to put the Spartans ahead 27-6. Josh Quesada (32 yards) and Maynard (44 yards) scored in the second quarter to put the game out of Amsterdam’s reach.
`The holes were phenomenal,` said McDonnell. `Anybody could have run through them.`
`They (the offensive line) never played like this before,` added Maynard. `They played phenomenal tonight.`
BH-BL took the foot off the gas pedal after Maynard scored on a 1-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter. The sophomore finished with a team-leading 143 rushing yards, while Quesada contributed 66 yards on just two carries.
The Spartans advance to Friday’s Class A regional game against Section X champion Potsdam (9-1) in Massena.
`We have to go up there and play. We don’t have a choice,` said Shell. `We have to go in prepared.`