Here's my thoughts on the 12 Sectional Quarterfinal matches that were played out over the past two days.
CLASS A:
Scotia Tartans 7, Troy Flying Horses 14 - This surprised me. Troy being pushed to the limit by a Scotia squad that wasn't great in 2018, but good enough to make the playoffs. But Scotia was unable to capitalize on the Flying Horses mistakes.
That being said, the Flying Horses need to tighten up their play, as they will now be hosting a Burnt Hills squad that is good at capitalizing on a team's miscues. Burnt Hills has an array of weapons and the Flying Horses will not be able to get away with a soft effort.
Troy was not convincing of a team who could walk away with the Sectional Championship on Friday. We'll have to see if they come better prepared for the match against Burnt Hills.
Columbia Blue Devils 16, Burnt Hills Spartans 49 - I'll admit, I don't know much about Columbia. But Burnt Hills looked good, bouncing back from the Week 7 loss to the Queensbury Spartans. Lapietro got back into rhythm, opening up the running game from Daverio and Lashley.
Burnt Hills looks hungry to get back to the State Playoffs, but the road to the Sectional Championship will be tough with a road game against the Troy Flying Horses in the semifinals. But if the Flying Horses have the miscues they did against Scotia, Burnt Hills will be heading to Shenendehowa for Week 10.
Ballston Spa Scotties 0, Averill Park Warriors 22 - Childrose is a smart quarterback, using his legs to give the Warriors the first score of the game against the Scotties. The Warrior defense was on target on Friday night, as the Scotties couldn't generate any offense.
The Warriors are hungry for revenge, and they will have the chance to do that on Saturday when they go to Queensbury for the semifinals. Last year Queensbury came down to Rensselaer County and beat the Warriors on their home field in the semifinals, and the Warriors would love to return the favor in Queensbury this year.
LaSalle Cadets 6, Queensbury Spartans 62 - You mean there's a person who can score for Queensbury not named Liam O'Mara? In serious, the Queensbury Spartans are red hot right now, topping the 60 point mark for the fourth time this season. Queensbury's 444 points (that's 55.5 points per game!) is more than 6 touchdowns better than the #2 team in Section 2, the Cambridge Indians. And twelve touchdowns better than the #3 team, Shaker.
A strong defensive effort is going to be needed to slow down the Queensbury Spartans. LaSalle got placed in a tough division for their first season in Class A, and didn't have the weapons needed to get past Queensbury.
CLASS B:
Ravena Indians 6, Glens Falls Indians 61 - The Ravena Indians entered the playoffs only beating one playoff team this year, and that was by forfeit after LaSalle revealed that they were playing with an ineligible player for the first two games of the season. And they got outclassed by a Glens Falls Indians team that is getting healthy and starting to gel at just the right time.
The Glens Falls Indians scored on three of their first four plays, while Ravena had back-to-back-to-back three and outs. Up 48-0, Glens Falls was able to get their backups some touches and Cooper Montgomery came away with two more touchdown.
The second half was all of three possessions, due to running clock with the score 55-0 at the half, and took 28 minutes to complete.
Hudson Falls Tigers 40, Hudson Hawks 38 - That compared to the first half of this game that took 83 minutes to complete due to penalties and such. Despite that, and the lights going out midway through the fourth quarter that made this game longer than some NFL games this season, this was the best game of the postseason by far.
These two teams traded leads in the second half, with Hudson Falls making some mistakes that gave Hudson the chance to come back from two scores down. But the Hudson defense couldn't make the stop when they needed to in the fourth quarter.
But the Hudson Falls Tigers have to sharpen up their ball control. The miscues they had against Hudson will maim the Tigers against Glens Falls, who they lost to earlier this season in the Jug Game. And they can't be handing the Indians bonus yards, like they did thanks to three straight Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalties that allowed Hudson to take the lead 38-32 in the fourth quarter.
Hudson Falls was the only road team to win this weekend.
Schalmont Sabres 6, Schuylerville Black Horses 40 - The Black Horses dominated in their second match against the Schalmont Sabres this season, rolling to a 33-0 lead at the half thanks to a 27 point second quarter. While fatigue could of been a possible explanation for Schalmont given their Tuesday game against Hudson that was required to be made up as playoff seeding depended on it, Schalmont looked flat for the second time against a Schuylerville team that has a lot of heart.
While Glens Falls may look like a #1 seed in Class B, Schuylerville has been quietly coming along as a serious team to watch out for as they travel to face the Reinfurt's #1 seed in Cobleskill. John Bowen has his players gelling at the right time, which could make for an interesting Super Bowl...
Broadalbin-Perth Patriots 14, Cobleskill-Richmondville Bulldogs 34 - Back in week 2, Cobleskill showed that they could be a serious threat this season when they forced the Glens Falls Indians to play a full 48 minute game, only winning the game in the final 90 seconds on a Joe Girard III touchdown run.
While the Bulldogs lead through much of the match against Broadalbin-Perth, it wasn't a wow kind of game that shows what the Bulldogs can do against a more explosive team like their next opponent in the Schuylerville Black Horses.
CLASS C:
Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne WarEagles 6, Hoosick Falls Panthers 18 - The WarEagles got the early score, but offered the Panthers too many opportunities to get back into the game. It was a good season for Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne, however, they were a step below the top two teams in the division this season.
Hoosick Falls moves onto a tough Semifinal match against a Cambridge squad they already once beat the Panthers this season. While the Panthers put up the most any team has put up against Cambridge this season, it doesn't help with the Indians put up the second highest score of any team in Section 2, at just a shade under 50 points per game. The Panthers defense will need to tighten up for that rematch.
Helderberg Valley 6, Cambridge Indians 59 - Doug Luke has way too many weapons for most teams in Section 2 to handle. Whether it's Lindendoll, English, Sgambettera, Ogilvie ... the Indians have several options who can touch the ball and create magic. Heldeberg Valley is still coming along and developing, but ran into a roadblock in the first round.
Stillwater Warriors 21, Chatham Cougars 26 - This was the second best game of the playoffs, with lead changes and a dramatic finish where you didn't know who was coming out on top in the end. But in the end Chatham used their home field advantage to propel them into the next round.
It's a tough end for a Stillwater squad that went from being 6-0 and in consideration for a #2 seed to being 6-2 and out of the playoffs with losses to Holy Trinity and Chatham.
Voorheesville Blackbirds 18, Holy Trinity Pride 35 - I will admit, I know nothing of these two teams. Holy Trinity lost soundly against a Cambridge squad in Week 2 that still could become a preview of the Sectional Championship in Lansingburgh in two weeks.
But the Pride took care of business, pulling away from a Voorheesville Blackbird squad that earned their spot in the playoffs.
Now that the playoffs are done, it's time for the Sectional Semifinals. Let's hope that the Sectional Semifinals produce wild games like the ones seen in Columbia County in Week 8.
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