Bulldogs go big in 26-14 win over Ravena

SOUTH GLENS FALLS - The South Glens Falls Bulldogs scored three of their four touchdowns from 90 or more yards out, including a Pick-6 at the end to seal the 26-14 victory over the Ravena Indians on Friday Night.

The Bulldogs, now 2-0 on the young season, jumped out to an early lead thanks to Dylan Schrammel's 70 yard opening kickoff return for a touchdown to start the scoring.  He would score again later in the half with a 95 yard punt return for a score with 9:43 left in the 2nd quarter to make it 13-0 Bulldogs.  Aidan Daives would add a 99 yard pass reception for a touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 20-0 lead.

While the Bulldogs were doing it via the long ball, the Indians were gaining slowly on every drive.  They would score their first of two touchdowns with two seconds left in the half, when Marlon Laing capped a drive with a 3 yard score.

The extended drives for Ravena resulted in a 21:00-3:00 time of possession differential at the half, running 45 plays to the Bulldogs nine during the opening half.  The Indians had several attempts inside the red zone, but couldn't finish the drive as a goal-line stance for the Bulldogs resulted in two turnovers on downs inside the Bulldogs 10 yard line, including one right on the goal line that resulted in the 99 yard touchdown score for Daives.

Both teams had several stalled out drives in the third quarter, but Ravena began knocking on the door again in the 4th quarter, scoring from 8 yards out on a pass from Brandon Warnken to Rich Koonz.  Laing's run to the outside on the extra point try would pull the Indians within 6.  He would finish with 168 yards on 35 carries, receiving the bulk of the work for Ravena.

The Indians would drive again in hurry-up mode under the direction of replacement quarterback Nate Boomhower, aided by a pair of pass interference calls that gave the Indians possession of the ball inside the Bulldogs 15 yard line.  But with time running out, Boomhower lobbed a pass that wound up in the hands of K.J. Mickel, who sealed the deal on a pick-6 from 95 yards as time expired.

Connor Bovair passed for over 100 yards, and Dylan Schrammel added to his two special teams touchdowns with 50 yards on 6 carries for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs return to Class A play next Friday as they travel to Averill Park to face the Warriors in a battle of 2-0 teams.  Ravena begins divisional play next Friday as they head home to face the Hudson Blue Hawks.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:
Dylan Schrammel: PR/KR; RB/DB - Dylan Schrammel electrified the hometown Bulldogs crowd with his opening kick-off return, screeching down the far sidelines on his way to a 70 yard touchdown score which gave the Bulldogs a lead they wouldn't relinquish.  He followed it up with a punt return for a touchdown score and kept the crowd loud throughout the game.

Week 2: Schedule & Games to Watch

WEEK 2

Friday Games:

(All games @ 7pm)

Class AA

Bethlehem at Shaker
Christian Brothers Academy at Ballston Spa
Columbia at LaSalle Institute
Niskayuna at Albany
Schenectady at Colonie
Shenendehowa at Saratoga Springs
Troy at Guilderland

Class A

Amsterdam at Mohonasen
Gloversville at Averill Park
Scotia-Glenville at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake
Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk (B) at South Glens Falls - ON FOX SPORTS 97.9

Class B

Broadalbin-Perth at Lansingburgh
Hudson at Schuylerville
Hudson Falls at Cobleskill-Richmond
Johnstown at Ichabod Crane

Class C

Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne at Fonda-Fultonville
Stillwater at Taconic Hills
Cairo-Durham at Chatham
Holy Trinity at Mechanicville
Hoosick Falls at Corinth

Class D

Rensselaer at Greenwich

Saturday Games:
(A/B @ 1:30pm; C/D @ 1:00pm)

Class A

Queensbury at Green Tech

Class B

Schalmont at Glens Falls

Class C

Voorheesville at Tamarac
Watervliet at Coxsackie-Athens

Class D

Cambridge vs. Albertus Magnus (1)
Canajoharie/Fort Plain at Helderberg Valley
Hoosic Valley at Whitehall
Warrensburg/Bolton at Granville
Fort Edward/Argyle at Cohoes

GAMES TO WATCH:

Saratoga Springs at Shenendehowa:  The rivalry between these two schools 13 miles apart features two squads that won convincingly in their Week 1 matches.  Wes Englintine should be a lot of fun to watch, throwing 3 touchdowns in the Blue Streaks win over Niskayuna in Week 1.  The Plainsmen built on a 28-20 halftime lead over Guilderland, thanks in part to Griffin Wallner, who scored 2 second half touchdowns for Shen.  

Troy at Guilderland: Troy easily handed Columbia a loss last Friday, but this week won't be as easy.  The test for the defending State Champions increases with a road trip to Guilderland.  The Dutchmen played competitive with Shenendehowa last week, but couldn't muster the comeback to fall to 0-1 on the season.  

Hudson at Schuylerville: Hudson had their home debut spoiled by the defending Class B State Champions last week, now has to go on the road to Schuylerville.  It's been well documented about the short roster at Schuylerville, but when healthy, they are a strong bunch.  This was proven last Friday when they won in Rotterdam over the Schalmont Sabres, who will be playing in another game to watch.

Schalmont at Glens Falls: So after dropping their opening game against Schuylerville 47-14, the Sabres travel up to Glens Falls, where they will watch the defending State Champions play their first home game since the Sectional Semifinals last year.  It'll be a loud environment at Putt LaMay field for sure.

Holy Trinity at Mechanicville: Mechanicville's offense exploded in their Week 1 game against Fonda-Fultonville.  Holy Trinity will be a stronger challenge, but they need to put up more than the 13 points that put up against Chatham last week.  The winner has a stronger case to host come Week 8 of the playoffs. 

Around Section 2: Week 1 Recap

FRIDAY GAMES

Class AA
CBA- 0, Shaker- 31
Saratoga Springs- 46, Niskayuna- 21 
Shenendehowa- 48, Guilderland- 27 
Colonie- 14, Bethlehem- 0 
La Salle- 27, Schenectady- 14
Columbia- 14, Troy- 55 

Class A
South Glens Falls- 35, Gloversville- 20                 
Mohonasen- 12, Green Tech- 0                   
Scotia- 8, Amsterdam- 35                 
Averill Park- 34, Lansingburgh (B)- 12                       

Class B
Cobleskill- 21,      Broadalbin-Perth- 7                        
Glens Falls- 34,   Hudson- 0                           
Johnstown- 14, Ravena- 20                          
Schuylerville- 47, Schalmont- 14                   

Class C
Corinth- 13, Stillwater- 50                      
Fonda- 19,   Mechanicville- 43                             
Hoosick Falls- 13, Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne- 6                               
Chatham- 6, Holy Trinity- 13 
Coxsackie-Athens- 30, Tamarac- 34                        
Taconic Hills- 12, Watervliet- 32                   

Class D
Cambridge- 57, Rensselaer- 0                     

SATURDAY GAMES

Class AA
Ballston Spa- 20,  Albany- 7
                         

Class A
Burnt Hills- 31,  Queensbury- 20                               

Class B
Ichabod Crane- 0, Hudson Falls- 33                               

Class C
Voorheesville- 55, Cairo-Durham- 13                            

Class D
Fort Edward/Argyle- 20, Helderberg Valley- 33                    
Greenwich- 35,  Hoosic Valley- 15                              
Canajoharie- 41, Granville- 0                         
Whitehall- 54, Cohoes- 6                            
Woodstock (Vt.)- 7, Warrensburg- 20         

      

         

Class AA:
The defending State Champions return, looking strong in Troy's 55-14 win over Columbia.  Shen wins a wild game against Guilderland at felt like a remake of last year's tilt.  Saratoga Springs gets ready for their Week 2 rivalry game against Shen with their Week 1 win over Niskayuna.  And the Blue Bison shuts out CBA, 31-0.

Class A:
Queensbury jumps out to a 14-0 early lead against the defending Sectional Champions, but Burnt Hills pulls away at the end in a fun back-and-forth game at Queensbury on Saturday, winning 31-20 in a classification where every game is going to matter.  South Glens Falls starts their season 1-0 with a big 35-20 win over Gloversville.  Amsterdam wins their first opener in a few years by beating Scotia 35-8, and Averill Park is 1-0 after a non-conference win over Class B's Lansingburgh.

Class B:
The Glens Falls Indians spoil the debut of Hudson's new field, showing little sign of stopping with their 34-0 win over the Blue Hawks in a rematch of the 2016 Sectional Championship.  Schuylerville is setting up a very important Week 6 match in Class B after their win over Schalmont.  How the other teams shape up in Class B will come into shape in the coming weeks, especially when divisional play begins for most in Week 3.

Class C:
Stillwater and Mechanicville start off hot, scoring big wins over Corinth and Fonda.  Holy Trinity's 13-6 win over Chatham should be closely watched as the season progresses.  Lake George loses a prime opportunity to get the season started with a big win over Hoosick Falls, but fail to capitalize when gifted prime field position.

Class D:
There's no doubt about it.  Cambridge is good.  Greenwich looks solid in their win over fellow former Class C team Hoosic Valley.  Canajoharie scores a big win over Granville squad seeking a new identity in 2017, and Warrensburg's quickly scheduled Week 1 game against Woodstock, Vermont gives us an opportunity to see what the kids in the 'Burg are made of.  Kudos to Woodstock for accepting to play, and making the 1 3/4 hour trek from Central Vermont to play after Salem's decision to play JV only left the Burghers without a matchup.

So with the recap, let's hand out some awards...
SURPRISE OF THE WEEK
Canajoharie at Granville - Canajoharie is talented, and us putting this as a "surprise" isn't in any way a knock on their talent, but more of a surprise how little offense Granville wound up generating.  With Granville going down to smaller Class D school and picking up state championship winning coach John Irion, it was a surprise to see the Golden Horde be kept off the scoreboard.  Could this be a sign of Canajo's defense?  Or could we see the Golden Horde offense pick up as the kids begin to gel under Irion's program?

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Cambridge - What's a state champion to do?  How about starting off 2017 with a 57-0 throbbing against the Rensselaer Rams?  The only time this game was in doubt was at the opening kick and shows that Doug Luke's squad will be ones to watch in Class D.  That week 5 game against Greenwich is looking even more appealing to watch now.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Burnt Hills at Queensbury - The Spartan Bowl returned to the regular season lineup after a year off, and did not disappoint.  Queensbury's early 14-0 lead dissolved, and the two teams gave the spectators a great back and forth game that wasn't fully decided until the final half of the 4th quarter.

RECAP: Deflected Pass Helps Lead Panthers to Week 1 Victory

LAKE GEORGE - It took 20 minutes before the first points of the game, but they came wildly.

For the Hadley-Luzerne/Lake George WarEagles, a Hoosick Falls Panthers turnover turned into 6 points when Michael Johnson connected with Chris Becker for a 3 yard touchdown pass with just over two minutes to play in the half.

But Hoosick Falls answered back in one of the most unpredictable ways, as a Sam Richard pass to Jeffrey Vincent was finger-tipped into the hands of teammate Nick Giordano, who had all but one WarEagle beat when he caught the pass, and powered past for the 70 yard touchdown score.

Both extra point attempts were missed, resulting in a 6-6 halftime score.

With the ball to begin the third quarter, Hoosick Falls would pull ahead for good, scoring with a touchdown run by Drew Hoag to give the Panthers the 13-6 lead.

It would be a score that would last until the final whistle.

Several attempts by the WarEagles to draw even fizzled, either by punt or by a fumble (in Hoosick Falls territory).  One final attempt by the WarEagles to draw even resulted in a turnover of downs, and the Panthers would be able to drain the clock to give them the first win of the season.

Hoosick Falls will be on the road next Friday to face the Corinth Tomahawks.  The WarEagles hit the road and will play the Braves of Fonda-Fultonville.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:
For every game we are broadcasting on FOX Sports Radio 97.9/1230, we are going to designate a player who we felt was the most important player in that team's victory.  For this game, that designation goes to Sam Richard, who passed for over 200 yards, including that 70 yard touchdown toss in the 2nd quarter.  While he had two interceptions, his offensive power will be fun to watch as the season progresses for the Hoosick Falls Panthers.