Colonie moved the ball through LaSalle’s defense. The Garnet Raiders just had difficulty finishing drives.
LaSalle (1-1 league, 1-3 overall) took advantage of Colonie’s struggles inside the “red zone,” as the Cadets pulled away for a 39-14 Liberty Division victory Friday, Sept. 26, in Troy. LaSalle scored three of its six touchdowns on series started after forcing Colonie (1-1, 2-2) to turn the ball over inside the Cadets’ 20-yard line.
“They capitalized on our mistakes, and that was the difference in the game,” said Colonie coach Eric Rouleau. “Our guys came on late, but it was too late.”
Colonie’s problems began in the second quarter. Trailing 13-0, the Garnet Raiders marched inside LaSalle’s 15-yard line, only to have the series stall when quarterback Will McCann was sacked on fourth down. LaSalle then put together a methodical drive, which tailback Dan Facci finished with a 2-yard touchdown run. The extra point gave the Cadets a 20-0 advantage and a 13-point turnaround.
Colonie was poised to reach the end zone again a short time later. This time, the Garnet Raiders recovered a fumbled punt return attempt at LaSalle’s 12-yard line. But they lost the momentum almost as soon as they got it, as LaSalle’s Joe Germinerio intercepted McCann’s pass and returned it his team’s 33-yard line. A 15-yard late hit penalty against Colonie put LaSalle near midfield.
Again, LaSalle made Colonie pay for its miscue. A 32-yard run by Tyler Harwood led to Facci’s second touchdown run of the game – this time, from 20 yards out – to give the Cadets a 26-0 advantage.
“We just did not do our job in the red zone,” said Rouleau.
What sealed Colonie’s fate was when Joe Germinerio connected with his younger brother, John Germinerio, on a 26-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the first half. The Garnet Raiders had two defenders surrounding the younger Germinerio, but he made a leaping catch in the end zone to haul in his brother’s pass.
The theme carried over into the third quarter. McCann threw a 40-yard pass to Eugene Reyes to move Colonie to LaSalle’s 10-yard line, but LaSalle’s defense held tight and forced the Garnet Raiders to turn the ball over on downs. The Cadets then mounted their own offensive series, which Harwood capped with a 7-yard touchdown run to increase LaSalle’s lead to 39 points.
Colonie finally reached the end zone when McCann fired an 18-yard scoring strike to Reyes with 3:07 left in the third quarter. Reyes later hauled in a 42-yard touchdown pass from Chris Flood on a halfback option toss, but that was as close as the Garnet Raiders would get.