Any thoughts Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk had of knocking Schalmont from the ranks of undefeated football teams faded quickly.
The Sabres (5-0) jumped out to a 19-0 lead with three quick touchdowns in the first quarter and cruised to a 59-0 victory over the Indians (4-1) Friday, Oct. 3, in Rotterdam.
It was a harsh dose of reality for Ravena, which entered the game having outscored its previous four opponents 146-60.
“They beat us in all aspects of the game,” said Ravena coach Gary VanDerzee. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Devon Higgins electrified the Schalmont fans with a 75-yard touchdown run less than four minutes in the opening quarter to put the Sabres in front. Less than two minutes after that, Schalmont blocked quarterback David Warnken’s quick kick attempt on third down deep in Ravena territory. Dalton Cooke recovered the loose ball in the end zone for Schalmont’s second touchdown, and the rout was on.
Every break seemingly went the Sabres’ way, too. Ravena thought it forced a Schalmont turnover when the defense stripped quarter-back Nick Gallo of the ball near midfield, but tailback Hunter Gac picked it up and raced the rest of the way for the Sabres’ third touchdown of the night. Then in the second quarter, Gallo slipped a couple of Ravena tackles on his way to a 57-yard scoring run to put Schalmont ahead 25-0.
Gallo and Gac chewed up Ravena’s defense. Gallo rushed for 118 yards and passed for another 100 yards before coming out of the game in the third quarter with an injury. Gac had 105 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
“Those two are very talented, but that front seven (on the offensive line) made some very large holes for them, too,” said VanDerzee.
On the other side of the ball, Ravena couldn’t get anything going against Schalmont. The Indians managed 87 yards of total offense, approximately half of which came on a fourth quarter series that ended with a missed 30-yard field goal – the lone scoring chance Ravena had all night.
“We knew they’re a very good football team,” said VanDerzee. “You can’t simulate their speed and their physicalness (in practice). Our young guys got their heads kind of spun around out there.”
The Indians will try to bounce back with a non-league game against Johnstown Friday, Oct. 10.
