The Colonie Cup and the Liberty Division title reside on the north side of town again.
Shaker defeated Colonie 35-7 Friday, Oct. 17, to win the annual crosstown football rivalry game for the fifth year in a row and claim its third straight Liberty Division title.
“It means a lot because it was the Colonie Cup, and it was our Senior Night,” said Shaker quarterback Matt Woods.
The Blue Bison (6-1) also received the No. 1 seed from the Liberty Division for the Section 2 Class AA playoffs. They host Ballston Spa (2-5) Friday, Oct. 24, in the quarterfinals.
“It’s very important to have home field, but we know whoever we face next week will be very tough for us,” said Shaker coach Greg Sheeler.
The loss was costly for Colonie (4-3). The Garnet Raiders dropped into a three-way tie for second place with LaSalle and Bethlehem, and based on quarter points, they fell to the No. 4 seed and received a quarterfinal game at Empire Division champion Shenendehowa (7-0) Oct. 24.
“You would have hoped it would have worked out a little better (against Shaker),” said Colonie coach Eric Rouleau. “Nothing really you can do about it except come out and play next week.”
Shaker put Colonie in a tough spot early in the first quarter when Brendan MacPhee intercepted Will McCann and returned the ball to the Garnet Raiders’ 35-yard line. On the next play from scrimmage, Shaker tailback Andrew Bolton took off and scored the Blue Bison’s first touchdown.
“Capitalizing on that turnover was a huge turning point for us,” said Sheeler.
Bolton’s 35-yard touchdown run was part of a big night for Shaker’s running backs. Six players combined to rush for 357 yards, led by Bolton’s 141-yard performance. Michael Tanu contributed 84 yards and two touchdowns, and Ryan Duda added 51 yards.
“It definitely makes it easier for us,” said Woods. “Our offensive line opens up huge holes, and we have so many backs who can run well downhill.”
Tanu reached the end zone for the first time on a 55-yard scoring run with 4:01 left in the first quarter. A 24-yard touchdown pass from Woods to Brandon Barlow midway through the second quarter extended Shaker’s lead to 21-0.
Colonie caught a glimmer of hope a short time after Woods’ touchdown pass. McCann tossed a short pass to Dan Kehrer, who was playing for the first time in two weeks. Kehrer initially ran down the middle of the field, but then he cut right and raced the rest of the way for a 60-yard touchdown.
“It was good seeing him run out there,” said Rouleau.
That was the last highlight for Colonie. Woods capped a late second-quarter drive for Shaker with a 9-yard touchdown run to put the Blue Bison ahead 28-7 at halftime, and Tanu added a 2-yard scoring run in the third quarter to extend the advantage to 28 points.