High School Football Week 7: Games to Watch

CLASS AA
Friday Games
CBA at LaSalle - 7PM
Saratoga Springs at Guilderland - 7PM
Bethlehem at Shenendehowa - 7PM
Shaker at Colonie - 7PM
Schenectady at Columbia - 7PM

Saturday Games
Ballston Spa at Albany - 1PM
Niskayuna at Bishop Maginn (A) - 7PM

Saratoga Springs at Guilderland - The Blue Streaks and the Dutchmen battle under the lights for the #2 seed and the right to play at home next week.

Shaker at Colonie - What makes a rivalry game better?  Determining a Divisional Title.  The two teams meet up in the 2013 edition of the Colonie Cup with first place in the Liberty Division up for grabs.  Winner gets the #1 seed.  If the loser is Shaker, they get the #2 seed.  However, if that loser is Colonie, they could drop as far as the #4 seed depending on how the tie-breakers get sorted.

Bethlehem at Shenendehowa - Last year's Super Bowl finalist is not assured of a playoff spot.  That's because Bethlehem is just one game back and could leap the Plainsmen for that final spot should they win the Friday evening contest.  Whomever wins the contest will be the #4 seed, as the Plainsmen do not have any tiebreakers over the Guilderland/Saratoga Springs loser should they win.

Schenectady at Columbia - Both teams are in control of their destiny.  The winner gets into the playoffs, and if that winner is Schenectady, it could be a three-way tie if Colonie loses to Shaker.  With tie-breakers, it could be possible that the Patriots find themselves with a #2 seed, as they do have a head-to-head advantage to Colonie should it come down to them after the third team is eliminated in the Quarter Points system.  But a loss to Columbia will eliminate them, and will set Columbia as the #4 seed.


CLASS A
Friday Games
Averill Park at Burnt Hills - 7PM
Mohonasen at Troy - 7PM

Saturday Games
Gloversville at Queensbury - 1:30PM
South Glens Falls at Amsterdam - 3PM
Niskayuna (AA) at Bishop Maginn - 7PM

South Glens Falls at Amsterdam - South Glens Falls will need help, but it's still possible for the winless Bulldogs to make the playoffs. But in order for that to happen, they'll need Gloversville to pull off the upset over Queensbury, and to win themselves.  A win over Amsterdam would give them head-to-head and a same divisional record with the Rugged Rams, but a Gloversville loss will put them into a three-way tie that would likely eliminate the Bulldogs on the Quarter Points system.

CLASS B
Friday Games
Hudson Falls at Schalmont - 7PM
Cobleskill at Broadalbin-Perth - 7PM
Scotia at Glens Falls - 7PM
Schuylerville at Johnstown - 7PM
Albany Academy at Lansingburgh - 7PM

Saturday Games
Ichabod Crane at Cohoes - 1:30PM
Hudson at Oswego (Sect. 3) - 1:30PM*
Ravena at Green Tech - 6:30PM

Scotia at Glens Falls - Under the lights at Putt LaMay field in Glens Falls, the Indians face a win-and-you're-in situation.  A win over the Tartans will guarantee them a playoff spot, but a loss will have them searching Twitter for the Schuylerville/Johnstown and Cobleskill/Broadalbin-Perth results. A loss will not eliminate the Indians outright, but they'll need help and hope their Quarter Points are good enough to earn them a Sectional game next week.

Albany Academy at Lansingburgh - Last year these two teams put together a dogfight for the ages, accumulating over 100 points before Lansingburgh took the game and the Reinfurt's #1 seed.  This year these two teams are in a win-and-you're-in game, as the winner clinches, and the loser hopes that Ravena knocks off Green Tech on Saturday night.

Ravena at Green Tech - Ravena's guaranteed a playoff spot, win-or-lose. But playing a team like Cobleskill or Scotia on home field would be a better proposition than having to face the Schalmont Sabres in the 1st round.  Green Tech isn't guaranteed anything just yet, and will need to win in order to ensure themselves a playoff spot.  Of course, all could be up in the air should Cohoes loses to Ichabod Crane in the afternoon.

CLASS C
Friday Games
Hoosick Falls at Corinth - 7PM
Stillwater at Mechanicville - 7PM
Granville at Tamarac - 7PM
Fonda at Catholic Central Ticonderoga (Section VII) - 7:30PM

Saturday Games
Chatham at Cairo-Durham - 1PM
Coxsackie-Athens at Voorheesville - 1PM
Taconic Hills at Watervliet - 1PM

Hoosick Falls at Corinth - Both teams will host next week. That's a guarantee. But the division's still up for grabs and Corinth would love to be the team to end the Hoosick Falls 46 Section II game win streak.

Stillwater at Mechanicville - Not only is this a rivlary, but this game could make the difference between facing Fonda in the 1st round or facing Chatham. However, neither team is assured a spot just yet.  If Mechanicville wins, they will clinch a spot and will be the #3 seed.  But if Stillwater wins, watch out.  There'll be a three-way tie for the final two spots.

Granville at Tamarac - The loser of this game is out.  The winner stays in the race, hoping either that Mechanicville wins to give them the #4 seed, or that they have enough Quarter Points to clinch a spot.

CLASS D
Friday Games
Fort Edward at Greenwich - 7PM
Salem at Lake George - 7PM

Saturday Games
Whitehall at Warrensburg - 1PM
Rensselaer at Canajoharie - 1PM
Schoburg at Cambridge - 2PM
Hoosic Valley at Bishop Gibbons/Spa Catholic - 7PM

Salem at Lake George - A win by the Generals will guarantee them a #2 seed and a home date next week.  However, if the Lake George Warriors win, it will cause a logjam for the final two playoff spots that won't get sorted out until about 3PM Saturday afternoon.

Whitehall at Warrensburg - A lot depends on what happens in the Salem/Lake George game.  If Salem wins, both teams will clinch a playoff spot, and the battle will determine who faces Cambridge first.  However, if Salem loses, the winner is guaranteed a home date next week with the #2 seed, and the loser will play the Quarter Points game with Salem and Lake George for the 3rd and 4th playoff spots.

Rensselaer at Canajoharie - Rensselaer will need to bounce back from their loss to Cambridge as they travel west to Canajoharie on Saturday. That's because the winner of this game will win the division's #2 seed and will get to host next week.  The loser will have to hit the road.

High School Week 6: Down to the Wire

Excitement builds as we launch into the final week of the regular season.  Let's take a look, shall we?  Standings, This week's schedule, and analysis below the jump
EDIT 10/15/13 7:15PM - Edited to reflect Catholic Central's forfeit and Fonda's replacement opponent as they will now travel up to Ticonderoga on Friday night to face the Sentinels from Section 7.

Buffalo Bills LIVE!

Circle the wagons!  The Buffalo Bills are at home this afternoon as they host the Cincinnati Bengals, trying to recover from the loss to the Cleveland Browns 10 days ago.  Be sure to listen with us on 1230 FOX Sports Radio and we'll talk about the game live on this blog.

Stayin' Alive: Lake George holds off Flying Forts

The Lake George Warriors stay alive in the hunt for a Sectional title with a 36-26 win over the Fort Edward Flying Forts.

The Warriors took advantage of several Fort Edward turnovers, including one on the opening kickoff where the Flying Forts fumbled on a reverse hand-off.  Tyler Brown scored the first of his five turnovers 24 seconds into the game as he ran the ball in from two yards out.

Tyler Brown would finish with five touchdowns as he racked up 189 yards on 17 carries, including an 80 yard touchdown run for the second score of the game.

Fort Edward took advantage of a Lake George turnover to help claw their way close in the fourth quarter, as Ryan Collier took a Tyler Brown pass in from 70 yards out for a pick-six.  The interception brought the Flying Forts within 10, but could not come any closer as the Warriors drained plenty of clock on the ensuing drive to bring the game to an end.

Nate Burkhardt led the Fort Edward Flying Forts with 128 yards, and scored two of their four touchdowns.

With the win, it keeps the Lake George Warriors in the playoff chase as they control their own destiny with the Salem Generals visiting next Friday in a must-win game.  The Fort Edward Flying Forts will finish their regular season with a trip down the Greenwich to face the Witches.

SCORES:
- Lake George took advantage of miscues early, as the opening kickoff was botched by the Flying Forts when one of their runners fumbled the ball on a hand-off.  Lake George recovered, and then converted it for 8 points when Tyler Brown ran the football in 24 seconds later from two yards out.  Thomas Clark ran the ball in for the two-point conversion. LG 8, FE 0, 11:36 1st

- Then after forcing a punt from the Fort Edward Flying Forts that reached the endzone for a touchback, Tyler Brown took the first play from scrimmage the full 80 yards for the touchdown.  Thomas Clark scored the two-point conversion. LG 16, FE 0, 8:16 1st

- Then in the 2nd Quarter, Tyler Brown scored his third touchdown, a 29 yard run, to widen the gap for the Lake George Warriors.   The two-point was no good.  LG 22, FE 0, 10:06 2nd

- The Flying Forts did not quit, and it paid dividens when Nate Burkhardt scored from 2 yards out for the first score for the Flying Forts.  Burkhardt also scored the two-point conversion.  LG 22, FE 8, 4:51 2nd

- On the ensuing drive, Lake George got a 18 yard rush from Tyler Brown as he scored his fourth touchdown of the game.  Thomas Clark scored the two-point conversion for the Warriors.  LG 30, FE 8, 3:39 2nd

- Fort Edward started a drive up the field, but saw it come to a halt when Bryan Kane intercepted Chris Boucher to end the Flying Forts threat.  After a couple runs, the Lake George Warriors drained the clock for the halftime break.  LG 30, FE 8, HALF

- In the third quarter, after the Warriors came up empty in their first drive of the half, the Flying Forts tried some trickery as Chris Boucher pitched it to Ryan Collier, who launched it to Dylan White for a huge 44 yard gain, and then Nate Burkhardt capped it with an 11 yard run to find the endzone.  After a false start backed the Flying Forts five yards to the 7, the Lake George Warriors stopped Burkhardt on the two-point conversion. LG 30, FE 14, 8:16 3rd

- Tyler Brown then ran for his fifth touchdown of the game as he scored from 13 yards out.  The two-point conversion was no good.  LG 36, FE 14, 1:57 3rd

- Chris Boucher connected with Dylan White for the lone passing touchdown of the game, when White ran the ball 16 yards after the two-yard pass in for the touchdown.  Fort Edward's two-point conversion came up short. LG 36, FE 20, 11:50 4th

- Tyler Brown was driving the Lake George Warriors into position, however an ill pass found Fort Edward's Ryan Collier, who ran the near sideline for the pick-six score. The ensuing failed two-point conversion resulted in the Flying Forts still down by two scores. LG 36, FE 26, 5:25 4th

- Lake George maintained possession as they drove the ball into the Red Zone, but the clock ran out as the Lake George Warriors held on for the win.  LG 36, FE 26, FINAL

STATS:
LAKE GEORGE:
Rushing: Tyler Brown - 17-189y 5TD; Thomas Clark - 22-106y; Brett Parsons - 2- (-3y); Bryan Kane - 1-3y

Passing: Tyler Brown - 2/4, 45y 1INT

Receiving: Dylan Bachem - 1-25y; Pat Mellon - 1-20y

FORT EDWARD:
Rushing: Nate Burkhardt - 15-128y, 2TD; Chris Boucher - 5-8y; Ryan Collier - 2-4y; Dylan White - 1-0y; Brian Fletcher - 1- (-1y)

Passing: Chris Boucher - 6/11, 54y, 1TD, 2INT; Ryan Collier - 1/1, 44y

Receiving: Dylan White - 3-74y, 1TD; Zack Singleton - 2-13y; Nate Burkhardt - 2-11y

Please note: Stats are unofficial and are those we kept up in our radio booth.  These stats should be used only for informational purposes and not for official record-keeping purposes.

High School Week 5: Let's get ready for the weekend!

Time to see what we've learned as we roll closer to Sectionals.

CLASS AA
SCORES:
Guilderland 29, Shenendehowa 22
Saratoga 45, Bethlehem 14
CBA 42, Ballston Spa 0
Albany 34, Fowler (Section III) 16
Schenectady 34, Colonie 28
La Salle 41, Niskayuna 14
Shaker 35, Columbia 0

Analysis: Guilderland is now the lone undefeated team in Class AA after beating Shenendehowa.  But they cannot celebrate a divisional title just yet, as they finish the season with games against CBA (4-1) and Saratoga Springs (4-1).  A loss to either of those teams could help other teams vying for a title, including the team they lost to.

Shenendehowa faces Saratoga Springs this week, but gets to finish the season hosting Bethlehem.  Of the three 4-1 teams in the division, they have the easiest schedule, as both Saratoga Springs and CBA have two 4-1 teams to finish their seasons.

After Guilderland this week, CBA will finish their season with a non-divisional game against 4-1 LaSalle.   Meanwhile, congratulations to Albany, who won their first game of the season over Section 3's Fowler.   The win's nice, but Albany's two wins the last couple years have come against teams not in Section 2's Class AA. Last year's win that ended a couple dozen straight losses was to Class A's South Glens Falls.

In the Liberty division, Shaker is undefeated in divisional play, but 4-1 after their loss to Guilderland the other week.  They face Schenectady this week in a rematch of the Sectional Semifinals last year where Schenectady appeared to score the game-tying touchdown with seconds left in the game, but the referees ruled he was down before crossing the plane.  Then Shaker finishes the season with the Colonie Cup at Colonie High.

LaSalle has a 4-1 record, with their one loss being against division-leading Shaker.  That gives Shaker the tiebreaker should LaSalle and Shaker finish on even ground record-wise.  LaSalle will play Colonie this week as Colonie tries to save their divisional title hopes.

GAME(S) TO WATCH:
Shenendehowa (4-1) at Saratoga Springs (4-1): Both teams need a win to give themselves a chance for the divisional title, both a game behind Guilderland.  The battle for playoff seedings will emphasize this year's rivalry between these two teams separated by 15 miles.

Guilderland (5-0) at CBA (4-1): CBA wants to stay in the discussion for the divisional title, and Guilderland wants to keep themselves ahead of the pack heading into their season-ending match against the Blue Streaks.

Schenectady (3-2) at Shaker (4-1): Schenectady returns to the scene of their Sectional Semifinal loss last year as noted above, but come into this game clinging onto the final playoff spot of the Liberty division.   Beating the Blue Bison will not only give them gratification for last year, but will help keep them in position to make the playoffs after it appeared two weeks ago like they were going to miss this year.

CLASS A
SCORES:
Queensbury 48, Amsterdam 28
Burnt Hills 60, South Glens Falls 14
Gloversville 49, Bishop Maginn 14
Averill Park 40, Mohonasen 13
Troy 28, Ravena (B) 14, final

Analysis: Queensbury's 48-28 win over the Rugged Rams guarantees the Spartans of the #1 seed in the Northwest Division.  The Spartans play a non-divisional game against Class AA's Columbia this Friday, and then wraps up the season with Gloversville next week.  That means the Spartans can do no worse than 3-1 in the division, and should they find themselves on equal footing with either Burnt Hills or Amsterdam, Queensbury has the tie-breaker, having beat both teams.

Burnt Hills and Amsterdam enter Week 6 with one divisional loss each, but it's guaranteed that one of those two teams will suffer their second divisional loss this week as the two teams face each other at Burnt Hills.

Both Gloversville and South Glens Falls are winless in the division, and will square off with each other.   The only chance South Glens Falls has to make the playoffs is to beat Gloversville, otherwise they will travel to Amsterdam next week already out.

In the Southeast, Troy and Averil Park square off this Friday with the division up for grabs.  Both teams are undefeated in divisional play, with Troy bouncing back nicely from their first two games of the season with wins against Amsterdam and Class B's Ravena.

GAME(S) TO WATCH:
Amsterdam (3-2) at Burnt Hills (4-1): The difference between playing at home or away in Week 8 is up for grabs when these two Super Bowl finalists from last year meet in Burnt Hills on Saturday. The winner of this game will be guaranteed the #2 seed, and will host the Southeast Division's #3 seed, likely Bishop Maginn, in the Sectional Quarterfinals.  The loser will likely find themselves to be the #3 seed, and will have to travel to either Troy or Averil Park.

Troy (3-2) at Averil Park (4-1): The Southeast is up for grabs when these two teams meet this Friday. Troy has bounced back from their back-to-back losses to both Spartans to kick off the 2013 season. Averil Park's lone loss was non-divisional as well, with Amsterdam claiming victory over the Warriors in a game where 100 total points were scored.

In addition, the bottom rungs of the ladder will get sorted when the Bishop Maginn Griffins (1-4) travel to Mohonasen (1-4), and Gloversville (2-3) tries to spoil South Glens Falls's (0-5) homecoming this weekend.  All four teams are winless in divisional play. For South Glens Falls, this may be their last chance to make the playoffs, with the Amsterdam Rugged Rams waiting in Week #7.

CLASS B
SCORES:
Cohoes 38, Green Tech 14
Lansingburgh 48, Hudson 14
Broadalbin-Perth 34, Glens Falls 18
Johnstown 35, Hudson Falls 7
Albany Academy 47, Ichabod Crane 0
Scotia 34, Schuylerville 6
Schalmont 27, Cobleskill 0

Analysis: The Reinfurt division is a mess, and that mess makes for some great drama for these closing two weeks.  There are FIVE teams wielding a 3-2 record after Week 5, and THREE of them carry a lone loss in divisional play. Cohoes, Ravena and Lansingburgh are those three single-loss teams, and one of those three is guaranteed to get their second divisional loss this week when Ravena and Lansingburgh meet.   Cohoes travels to Hudson.

But Albany Academy and Green Tech are still in the hunt. Albany Academy will watch and see what their divisional opponents do on Friday night before going on a road trip to Section 3's Jamesville-Dewitt on Saturday.  Green Tech will be in Valatie this week to face Ichabod Crane.

Week 7 will be interesting, with four of these five top teams facing each other. Albany Academy will face Lansingburgh to conclude their season, and Green Tech hosts Ravena.

Meanwhile, Glens Falls's playoff chances took a bad turn with their 34-18 loss to Broadalbin-Perth in a game where they allowed 27 unanswered points after leading 18-7 in the 2nd Quarter.  The Indians aren't out, but their loss combined with Scotia's 34-6 loss to Schuylerville places the Indians in 5th place.  Since the Indians and the Tartans meet next week, a win this week will make next week's match a "Win and you're in" game for the two.

But the Tartans are playing good football right now, and faces a Cobleskill team that was shut out by the Schalmont Sabres. A win by Scotia coupled by a Jug Game loss by the Indians would decrease the importance of next week's game, as the Indians will then find themselves out for the first time since 1998.

Schalmont has clinched the division's #1 seed, and face Johnstown and Hudson Falls to conclude their season. Johnstown still has a chance at the playoffs, but first needs to find a way to stop the Sabres, and second need some help as they do not have the tie-breaker over Scotia.  The Tigers, with last week's loss, are out and will be playing for team pride these next two weeks.

GAME(S) TO WATCH:
Lansingburgh (3-2) at Ravena (3-2): Every game in the Reinfurt matters, and the winner of this game gets a leg up heading into the final week.  Both are tied for the top spot in the division, both regular-season record and divisional record.  And with both teams facing fellow 3-2 record-holders next week to wrap up the season, having that momentum will be critical.

CLASS C
SCORES:
Corinth 25, Tamarac 23
Granville 56, Catholic Central 0
Hoosick Falls 35, Stillwater 0
Mechanicville 54, Cairo-Durham 14
Chatham 44, Fonda 14
Voorheesville 34, Taconic Hills 6
Watervliet 56, Coxsackie 14

Analysis: If you were waiting to see any other team besides Hoosick Falls and Chatham step up as favorites to play in Week 10, you're running out of chances.  Both teams rolled, leaving them as the last undefeated teams in Class C.

Corinth would have been undefeated had they not suffered that Week 2 loss to Granville.  The Tomahawks will have a tough schedule to finish the regular season - Friday vs. Mechanicville and next Friday against Hoosick Falls.

Fonda was the last major obstacle for Chatham and they easily disposed of them with a 44-14 victory.   Watervliet gave themselves the edge should they and Coxsackie-Athens tie for the 4th and final playoff spot, as their 56-14 win gives them the tiebreaker.

GAME(S) TO WATCH:
Mechanicville (4-1) at Corinth (4-1): The first of two big tests for the Tomahawks begin this evening as they host Mechanicville.  Both carry a 3-1 divisional record, and should Mechanicville win, it will officially clinch the #1 seed for the Hoosick Falls Panthers.  However, a Corinth win will make next Friday's home game against the Panthers a whole lot more interesting, with first place on the line.

CLASS D
SCORES:
Cambridge 46, Bishop Gibbons/Spa Catholic 0
Greenwich 42, Whitehall 7
Warrensburg 26, Lake George 24
Canajoharie 40, Schoburg 0
Rensselaer 0, Hoosic Valley forfeit
Fort Edward 0, Salem forfeit

Analysis: The North is pretty much settled at the top.  Greenwich's 42-7 win over the Whitehall Railroaders gives them the edge.  Now all they have to do is to win at Warrensburg this Saturday and they will have clinched the #1 seed. The Burgers season looked like it was in trouble after their 53-0 loss to Salem in week three, but Coach Mike Leonbruno has done a good job getting the team settled as they rebounded nicely with wins at Fort Edward and last week's huge last-second win over the Lake George Warriors.

Whitehall and Warrensburg will settle that #2 and #3 seed in Week 7 (12:45PM on 1230 FOX Sports Radio), and Salem and Fort Edward are tied right now for that final position. The forfeit win for the Flying Forts was something they'd prefer to earn on the field, but that forfeit keeps them in the playoff chase as they host Lake George this weekend (12:45PM on 1230 FOX Sports Radio).

Meanwhile, the south's #1 will get decided this week when Rensselaer faces Cambridge.  Last year the two schools met on neutral field after extended periods of rain forced the game to be moved from Cambridge to Stillwater.  In that game, Cambridge rolled to an early lead on their way to claiming the #1 seed, but showed some vulnerabilities late that would come back to haunt them in their Week 9 loss to Salem.

Canajoharie's 40-0 win over Schoburg gives them the edge for the #3 seed, but still could find themselves propelled to the #2 seed should Rensselaer lose back-to-back games to close their regular season, as the two teams meet in Week 7.  Schoburg can clinch the last spot this week with a win over Bishop Gibbons/Spa Catholic, and they're going to want to do it this week as they face Cambridge to close the season next week.

GAME(S) TO WATCH:
Cambridge (5-0) at Rensselaer (5-0): As mentioned above, this game settles who will be the #1 seed come Week 8.  If Rensselaer wins, it will settle both the 1 and 2 seeds, as Cambridge already has the win over Canajoharie for the tiebreaker, but if Cambridge wins, it will make next week's Rensselaer vs. Canajoharie game a battle for a home-field seed.

In addition, the Whitehall (3-2) vs. Salem (2-3) and Greenwich (4-1) vs. Warrensburg (2-3) games bear watching. A loss by the Witches in the shadows of the Adirondacks will make things interesting in Class D North. A win by the Generals will put more pressure on the Lake George/Fort Edward match.

OVERALL:
There's a lot of football still to be played. Most teams are still in the hunt, but those who aren't are still fighting for pride.  Buckle up... it's going to be a wild two weeks.

Playoff Hopes in Jeopardy after 34-18 loss.

The Glens Falls Indians run of 14 straight Sectional appearances are in jeopardy after falling to the Broadalbin-Perth Patriots by a score of 34-18.

The game started with promise for the Indians, who recovered an onside kick, which lead to Zach Infield passing to Colin Duell for the 9 yard score.  But the two point conversion was no good.

The very next play, Mike Visco made the Indians pay for kicking to him as he ran the ball about 86 yards to the end zone for the score.  Getting free for the touchdown was easy for Visco, a track and field star for the Patriots who got a wide-open lane in the middle and made his way towards the near sideline for the score. The extra point would give the Patriots the 7-6 lead.

In the second quarter, Quentin Austin rolled with the option to Nate Plocharczyk for the 22 yard score to give the Indians the 12-7 lead.

Quentin Austin would find the end zone with his feet about two minutes later as he ran in for a 3 yard score to widen the Indians lead to 18-7.

But the Patriots bounced back, and Tyler Schmidt scored from 30 yards out to close the gap to 18-14.  The Indians would move the ball on the ensuing drive to within the Broadalbin-Perth 30, but Zach Infield then was picked off by Visco to end the Indians threat.  After a three-and-out, the Indians got the ball back with great field position, but with less than 50 seconds left, Infield's pass to Plocharczyk was called back for pass interference after he pushed off for the completion.

The Indians then let the clock run out to end the half.

In the third quarter, the Indians moved the ball well, but could not finish what they started as they would turnover on downs on the first possession after the half.  Darius Reyes would rush for a 16 yard score to give the Patriots the 20-18 lead.

In the early stages of the fourth quarter, Reyes would chase after Infield, and knocked the ball free, then scooped up the fumble and took it back 72 yards for the score.  The PAT would give the Patriots a 9 point lead.  The Indians moved the ball back into Broadalbin-Perth territory, but would get stopped at around the 35 yard line.  This allowed the Patriots to run down the clock, and then connected on a Zach Morreale to Luigi Magliocca six yard pass to widen the gap to 33-18.  The extra point was good, and the Patriots walked out of Glens Falls with the 34-18 win.

It was the second straight loss for the Glens Falls Indians, and the third they've suffered this year.  With Scotia's win over Schuylerville, and Johnstown's win over Hudson Falls, the Indians now find themselves a game behind Scotia for the fourth and final playoff spot, tied with Johnstown for 5th in the division.  The last time the Indians failed to make the playoffs was in 1998, when a 5-2 Foothills Council record wasn't enough as Gloversville edged the Indians for the Class A Sectionals.

The Broadalbin-Perth Patriots improved to 4-1 on the season, and with Cobleskill losing to Schalmont, the Patriots now are alone in second place in the division, however the two teams still have to face each other.

The Indians travel to Hudson Falls for the Jug Game on Saturday at Moran Field.  The Patriots are at Schuylerville, where they will face the Black Horses.

Note: Any published statistics here are considered unofficial and should not be used for official record-keeping. 

Queensbury Clinches Top Seed

With Queensbury's 48-28 victory over the Amsterdam Rugged Rams last night, the Spartans have clinched the top spot in the Class A Northwest.

Pete Tobey of the Post-Star recaps the game better than we would having been there, so check out his printed recap, as well as his expanded analysis on the game.

The win improves the Spartans to 3-0 in divisional play and 5-0 overall with two games to play.  Since next week's game for the Spartans is a non-divisional game, against Class AA's Columbia, the Spartans will fare no worse than 3-1 in the division.

Amsterdam fell to 1-1 in divisional play, and are 3-2 overall with losses to Troy and Queensbury.  Burnt Hills sits at 2-1 in divisional play, 4-1 overall with their lone loss being to the Spartans.  Since both teams play each other in Week 6, it will be guaranteed that one of those two teams will have a second divisional loss.

In addition, according to Section 2's tie-breaking procedure that was published in 2012, the first tie-breaker is head-to-head competition.  So if Queensbury was to lose their Week 7 game against Gloversville, that would equal their divisional record with the winner of the Burnt Hills/Amsterdam match.  Since Queensbury beat both teams, they would clinch top spot based on head-to-head.

That means the Queensbury Spartans are guaranteed to host a Sectional Quarterfinal game on October 26th, and should they win, they'd be guaranteed to host a Sectional Semifinal game the following Saturday.