The rematch turned into a rout.
Ben Anthony gained 173 total yards and scored three touchdowns to lead the Christian Brothers Academy football team to a 34-16 non-league victory over Shaker in its regular season home opener Friday, Sept. 5, in Colonie.
The Brothers (1-0) overcame an early 9-0 deficit to defeat the Blue Bison (0-1) in a rematch from last year’s Section 2 Class AA championship game, which CBA won 12-7.
“It’s always good to get a win in week one and gain some momentum,” said Anthony.
The momentum was on Shaker’s side early in the first quarter. The Blue Bison recovered a Joe Kolbe fumble on the first play from scrimmage and got a 30-yard field goal from Will Halpin to take a 3-0 lead. On the Brothers’ next series, Nick Brown blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone to put Shaker ahead 9-0.
CBA turned to Anthony on its third offensive series, and the senior running back delivered. Anthony took the quarterback option pitch from Kolbe, put on a burst of speed down the left sideline and raced 55 yards for the Brothers’ first touchdown. Matt Hamel’s extra point trimmed Shaker’s lead to 9-7.
The big plays continued for CBA in the second quarter. Facing a third-down-and-long situation at CBA’s 33-yard line, Anthony turned and caught a pass from Kobe while being closely defended, burst past the Shaker defender guarding him and ran the rest of the way for the go-ahead touchdown. Hamel’s extra point put the Brothers ahead 14-9.
“I don’t even know (how I caught it),” said Anthony. “I just went up for the ball and put my hands where I thought it would go.”
“It was a well-designed pass play that worked well, but it wasn’t one player that hurt us,” said Shaker coach Greg Sheeler. “It was the whole team.”
Later in the second quarter, a pass interefence call against Shaker’s defrense set up Kolbe’s second touchdown toss of the game – a 15-yard strike to running back Jaylen McIntyre. Hamel missed the extra point, but CBA had a 20-9 lead.
Shaker had a chance to trim the Brothers’ lead after it recovered Kolbe’s second fumbled snap of the first half on CBA’s 32-yard line. However, Matt Woods threw four consecutive incomplete passes, which allowed CBA to enter the locker room with its 11-point advantage intact.
The Blue Bison finally got a rhythm going to its offense to start the second half. A mix of passes by Woods culminated in a 30-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Seamus McHugh less than four minutes into the third quarter. Halpin’s point after touchdown was good, which brought Shaker within four points of CBA.
CBA regained the momentum late in the third quarter, though. Donald Vivian returned a Shaker punt to the Blue Bison’s 40-yard line and on the next play threw an option pass to Anthony for a touchdown that gave the Brothers a 27-16 lead. A 37-yard scamper by McIntyre early in the fourth quarter set up Nasir Tune’s 2-yard touchdown run to create the 34-16 final score.
McIntyre was nearly as productive as Anthony, as the senior tailback rushed for 160 yards to go along with his two touchdowns. Tune contributed 51 yards and the Brothers’ final touchdown.
“Nasir did a great job of carrying some guys inside the line … and Jaylen really exploded on the outside for us,” said CBA coach Joe Burke.
Woods threw for 80 yards and rushed for 29 yards to lead a struggling Shaker offense.
“We’ve got to get better across the board,” said Sheeler. “We didn’t play well on defense, we didn’t move the ball on offense and we took too many undisciplined penalties.”
CBA visits LaSalle Friday, Sept. 12, in the renewal of the two private schools’ annual “Saber Game.” Meanwhile, Shaker returns to Latham to face Saratoga Springs.