Friday’s Guilderland-Christian Brothers Academy football game wasn’t a carbon copy of their regular season meeting three weeks ago, but the theme was similar.
CBA (8-1) jumped out to an early lead and made several key defensive plays to defeat Guilderland (6-3) 28-7 in the Section II Class AA semifinals.
The Brothers advance to next Friday’s Class AA final at the University at Albany’s Bob Ford Field against reigning Sectional champion Shaker, which shut out Saratoga 35-0 in the other semifinal contest.
`They’re the defending champs, so they certainly have our respect,` CBA coach Joe Burke said of Shaker.
Guilderland fared better than it did when it lost to CBA 40-6 in their Empire Division meeting Oct. 11. The Dutchmen had several big plays on offense, as well as a key fumble recovery, but they couldn’t capitalize thanks to the Brothers’ defense.
`They beat us twice. They’re just a better team,` said Guilderland coach Dan Penna.
CBA’s ground game pounded Guilderland’s defense for the second time this season. Tailback Elliot Croskey rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns, while Nick Marini and Max Anthony combined for another 152 yards and two scores.
`Our kids are pretty strong runners,` said Burke. `Nick and Elliot — and now Max — gives us a different look on offense.`
Marini set up CBA’s first touchdown with a 23-yard run to Guilderland’s 9-yard line. Two plays and a penalty later, Anthony scored on a 14-yard run to put the Brothers ahead 7-0 with 2:03 left in the first quarter.
After Guilderland’s ensuing offensive series went backwards from its 20-yard line to its 9-yard line, a short punt gave CBA the ball at the Dutchmen’s 33-yard line. Marini came close to scoring on the next play from scrimmage, as he broke several tackles before being forced out of bounds at the 3-yard line. Croskey essentially finished what Marini started when he scored on a 4-yard run on the second play of the second quarter. Matt Hamel’s extra point made it 14-0.
A fake punt turned into another big CBA play later in the second quarter. Backup quarterback Donald Vivian completed a 14-yard pass to Alex Koshgarian to set up the Brothers at Guilderland’s 41-yard line. Four plays later, Marini bowled through Guilderland’s defense for a 15-yard touchdown run to put CBA ahead 21-0.
Cameron Long pumped some life into Guilderland when he took the ensuing kickoff and returned it to CBA’s 47-yard line. Some timely passes by quarterback Frank Gallo set up Micaiah Henningham’s 4-yard touchdown run to trim the Brothers’ lead to 21-7 with 3:04 remaining in the first half.
That turned out to be enough time for CBA to muster one more touchdown. This time, Croskey scampered along the right sideline for a 30-yard scoring run to put the Brothers ahead 28-7.
Guilderland had a couple of chances to get back in the game in the second half. The first came in the third quarter when the Dutchmen got to CBA’s 5-yard line, but Vivian intercepted Gallo’s pass near the goal line. Vivian then raced 97 yards for an apparent touchdown, only to have the play called back on a CBA penalty.
Guilderland’s defense came up big early in the fourth quarter when lineman D’Angelo Livingston picked up a CBA fumble and rumbled to the Brothers’ 34-yard line. A 25-yard pass from Gallo to Henningham set up the Dutchmen at CBA’s 9-yard line, but they failed to score from there.
That turned out to be Guilderland’s last gasp, as CBA’s defense shut the Dutchmen down the rest of the night.
`I credit our kids,` said Burke. `They have a really high football IQ, and defensively they’re just in the right spot every time.`
`When you’re trying to climb back into a game where you’re never closer than three touchdowns … those stops really killed our momentum,` said Penna.
CBA now turns its focus on a Shaker team that has posted five shutouts this season on its way to reaching its second consecutive Class AA final.
`It’s interesting. I haven’t seen Shaker all year, so we’re going to have to study them this week,` said Burke.
