Notes & Thoughts - Week #4 in Section 2 Football

Some thoughts from Week #4 in High School Football:

- Hoosic Valley 20, Greenwich 13: You have to wonder how much the rain affected the outcome of this game, as it made things very difficult for the Greenwich Witches.  Tom Madigan was going to run circles around the Witches either way, but did the slickness of the ball lead to the first Hoosic Valley score?

It could become a storyline should these two teams meet again in what will likely be the Semifinals in Week #9, since the Indians are likely heading for the #1 seed now and the Witches will more than likely be the #4 or #5 seed.

- Troy 20, Shaker 13: This battle of the 3-0's was everything it was advertised to be.  And Troy continues to show that they belong in Class AA.  They have a good nucleus, keeping their composure while they were down against Shaker in the 4th Quarter.

And John Germinerio deserves a lot of recognition.  We saw this last year when he helped lead Troy to their come-from-behind win against the Queensbury Spartans in the A Semifinal, launching an amazing 80 yard touchdown with just over a minute left to play.  And we're seeing this again this year, as Germinerio was responsible for all 20 points the Flying Horses put up against Shaker.

- Averill Park 19, Burnt Hills 16: The Averill Park Warriors scored their first win over the Burnt Hills Spartans in 11 years with a nail-biter in Rensselaer County.  The win, coupled with Lansingburgh's loss to Amsterdam, creates a log jam for the top spot in the Southeast Division, one that may not be sorted out until the final whistle of the Week #7 game between Averill Park and Lansingburgh.

Averill Park's only loss of the season so far was a non-divisional game where they forced overtime before falling to the Queensbury Spartans.

- Amsterdam 35, Lansingburgh 0: You give head coach Doug Edick a week to properly prep a quarterback, and this is the result you get.

Arthur Ausfeld's game wasn't clean, as he threw for 55 yards and got picked off once, but it was better than the 2-for-8 for negative yardage against Queensbury.  His pass helped open the playbook, allowing for Dale Stanavich to be the role player he couldn't of been against the Spartans.

And as a result, you have to feel better about the Amsterdam Rams than you did a week ago when Trey Holloway went down for an injury that will sideline the Junior until the playoffs at the earliest.

- Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne 22, Hoosick Falls 19: The War Eagles win their third straight game with a come-from-behind win against the Panthers.  Shane McCabe called his own number for the go-ahead touchdown and gave the War Eagles the field goal padding with his two point conversion toss.

The loss now leaves the Panthers with only one win in four divisional games, thus already eliminating them from postseason contention.  It will mark the second straight year the Panthers will miss on the playoffs, a strange state of affairs for a team heading into last year having won 6 straight Section 2 crowns.  But the win now places the War Eagles in a good position to possibly make the playoffs.

- Hudson 64, Ichabod Crane 0: If you needed further proof that the Hudson Blue Hawks are off to an amazing 2016 season, here you go.

Mike Alert had over 200 total yards rushing and receiving to help lead the Blue Hawks to an impressive win over the Ichabod Crane Riders, keeping them undefeated and setting up a very important Weeks 6 and 7 for the Blue Hawks, hoping to make it to their first Super Bowl since 2006 when they lost to Albany Academy in the big game.

The last time Hudson won the sectional championship was when they beat Glens Falls for the Class B title in 2001.

- Mechanicville 42, Watervliet 15: Mechanicville is now the favorite to win the Class C Central Division thanks to their win over previously undefeated Watervliet.

Evan Chapman is a beast, with 450 yards rushing in his last two games.  As his workload has increased over the last two weeks, he has been paying dividends, scoring three touchdowns and helping to drive home the ground and pound philosophy that the Red Raiders are executing.

- Albany 26, Schenectady 12: Albany may not be the best team in Section 2, Class AA.

But they're celebrating something they haven't seen in nearly a decade - two wins over Class AA opponents in the same season.   One look at the past in Albany Falcons football will offer you a reason why this milestone is huge.

The Falcons are not synonymous with winning like other programs in Section 2 are.  Their last Sectional appearance came in 2004.  Their only Sectional Championship came in 1996.  In fact, in 35 years, the Falcons have only made the playoffs six times.

So, in short, the 2-2 Falcons have a lot to be proud of.

- Schalmont 54, Albany Academy 19: Two things come out of this game.

First, the Schalmont Sabres are back.  After their 0-2 start where they faced last year's two teams to play in the Sectional Championship, the Sabres have bounced back with quality wins over Cobleskill-Richmondville and Albany Academy.

Until the Sabres meet up with Hudson coming up in just under three weeks, we'll peg the Sabres as the second best team in the Reinfurt Division, but not by much.

Second, Albany Academy had a great opportunity to prove their 3-0 record was for real and they had a great shot at being the top team in the Reinfurt Division.  But in this crushing 35 point loss, we instead find the Cadets as either the third or fourth best team in the Reinfurt Division,

Glens Falls Girls win Foothills Championship with 49-40 win over Amsterdam

GLENS FALLS - The Tougas Sisters combined for 36 total points, each scoring 18 points a piece, as the Glens Falls Indians never trailed on their way to the Foothills Council Girls Championship with the 49-40 win over the Amsterdam Rams on Friday at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

The Indians used a 15-9 second quarter to take a 24-14 lead at the half.

The Amsterdam Rams started storming back, closing to within 6 points of the Indians in the fourth quarter, and took the ball off a Glens Falls turnover with the chance to close to within one possession.  However, the Rams coughed up the ball, the Indians bounced back.

The win brings an end to Amsterdam's 16 game win streak that dated back to last December.  The Rams had been undefeated in league play after losing their first two games against St. Laurent and Fernand-Lefebvre during a Thanksgiving weekend trip up to Montréal that was played under international FIBA rules, which included a shot clock set at 24 seconds instead of 30.

For the Indians, it was sweet revenge for their 64-52 loss to the Rams back in January.  In that game, the Rams scored 30 points from the charity stripe out of 42 tries, as fouls dominated the game.  By comparison, the Rams only scored 7 points from the free throw line this time.

Defensively, the Indians forced the Rams secondary scorer Guilianna Pritchard to only two points, and Nina Fedullo was kept to just under her average with 15 points.  Maria Lamonto added 11.

Next for both teams will be sectionals, as seedings will be announced on Wednesday.  The win improves Glens Falls's chances of walking out of the meeting with the #1 seed in Class A, and could drop Amsterdam down a few ranks.

Game Preview: Girls Foothills Council Championship

If the North is to win the Foothills Council Championship over the South tonight, the North needs to limit extra opportunities.

Especially in today's Girls Championship between the Glens Falls Indians and the Amsterdam Rams (5:30PM, Glens Falls Civic Center).

The first meeting between the two teams saw Amsterdam get 42 free throw opportunities, which they made 30 of them on their way to a 64-52 win.  And it was a team effort for Amsterdam, as Braelin Aldi was the team's highest scorer with only 12 points, as 10 different Rams scored points in the win.

The Rams have won 16 straight since starting the season 0-2 with losses to St. Laurent and Fernand-Lefebvre.  The Rams set up their visit to the Foothills Council Championship in their first year in the league thanks to an overtime win against Scotia.

Coach Eric Duemler likes giving his entire bench time out on the court, which leads to 14 different Rams registering points during the course of the season.  Nina Fedullo is the team's main scorer, averaging 15.7 points per game.  Guilianna Pritchard is the team's next scorer with 7.7 points per game.  Caitlin Gannon is the team's most dangerous three point shooter, dropping 28 from long range over the course of the season.

Mark Girard has a good 1-2 punch with the Glens Falls Indians.  The Tougas sisters of Sophie and Lucy, combine for over 29 points per game, and are the team's best free throw shooters.  Taylor Scarincio is also a shooter, scoring 7.2 points per game.  Adele Haraughty is the team's best three point shooter, scoring 19 this season.

The Indians have two losses on the season, both to South Division opponents.  They fell to Amsterdam 64-52 after losing to Scotia 54-46 the previous game.

The Indians cannot afford to give the Rams extra opportunities if they hope to claim the Foothills Council Championship.  The Rams have shown time and time again that they have a deep roster, and if Coach Duemler uses the bench wisely, Amsterdam will claim the championship in their first year as a member of the Foothills Council.

IF YOU GO...

Foothills Council Girls Championship

AMSTERDAM RAMS (16-2) VS. GLENS FALLS INDIANS (16-2)

5:30 PM, Glens Falls Civic Center

Radio Coverage on FOX Sports Radio 1230 @ 5:20PM

Players to Watch

Amsterdam Rams

Name	FG	3-Pt	FT	FTA	FT %	Pts	PPG
Nina Fedullo	80	4	111	159	69.81	283	15.7
Guilianna Pritchard	52	0	34	49	69.39	138	7.7
Caitlin Gannon	8	28	6	9	66.67	106	5.9
Brady Santiago	32	13	15	18	83.33	118	6.6

Glens Falls Indians

Name	FG	3-Pt	FT	FTA	FT %	Pts	PPG
Sophie Tougas	95	4	68	107	63.55	270	15.0
Lucy Tougas	100	5	47	77	61.04	262	14.6
Taylor Scarincio	52	0	26	51	50.98	130	7.2
Adele Haraughty	17	19	10	26	38.46	101	5.6

Source: Albany Times Union

Amsterdam's Interior Defense too much for Spartans

QUEENSBURY - Kory Burgh scored a game-high 25 points as the Amsterdam Rams continue to be perfect against the Foothills Council North with Friday night's 77-63 win over the Queensbury Spartans.

The win improved the Rams record to 11-3 overall, 8-1 in the Foothills Council.  Their lone loss to date in the league was against Scotia, The two teams meet again in Scotia next Friday.

Queensbury suffers their second league loss in a row after starting the season 7-0.  The Spartans suffered a 82-48 setback against the Tartans on Tuesday.

Amsterdam took control of the game early, jumping out to a early double-digit lead, by using a full-court press and seizing opportunities inside the arch.  Often times, Queensbury was trying to score 1-on-3 and it led to altered shots, deflected attempts and turnovers as the Spartans tried to kick the ball back out.

And without an established three-point threat, the Rams were able to continue to protect inside the arch as the Spartans had only one long range bucket all game -- 1 from Brett Rodriguez in the first quarter.  The Rams had outside threats, as Kory Bergh and Andrew Druziak established themselves early to be good from behind the arch as the two teamed up for 6 three pointers in the first half.

The Rams did give Queensbury several opportunities to climb back into the game after being down 15 at the half, by getting into foul trouble in the third quarter.  But as the Spartans closed to within 7 points, the Rams pulls away and maintained their defensive presence inside.

Kory Bergh scored 18 of his 25 points in the first half, but was limited in the second half.  All five points he scored in the fourth quarter came at the free throw line.  Andrew Druziak helped with 18 points, and Hector Rodriguez contributed with 13 points.

Keeghan O'Leary led the Queensbury Spartans with 21 points, and Brett Rodriguez added 15 points.