Regional Semifinal Preview

Three of our Section 2 boys teams will be in action on Wednesday as the state tournament kicks into full swing.

Lake George and Scotia will travel north to Plattsburgh, where Northern Adirondack and Peru await them at SUNY Plattsburgh.  Meanwhile, Class D's champions, Germantown, will play Section 10's Harrisville at Saratoga High School.

More about the games after the jump.

Spartans Freeze Red Raiders Offense, Advance To Semifinals

POTSDAM - Coach John Irion of the Queensbury Spartans talked this week about wanting a faster start after last year's game.

He got it, as the Queensbury Spartans scored 34 before the half, and added another 14 in the second half as the Spartans kept the Massena Red Raiders offense silent with the 48-0 shutout at Potsdam High School.

After a three-and-out to begin the game, the Queensbury Spartans took advantage of a 60 yard pass from Drew Wilson to Tyrell Adams to give the Spartans a 7-0 lead two minutes into the game.  On the ensuing kickoff, an attempt by Matt Thibault to hand-off to Josh Manley failed, resulting in a fumble that went Queensbury's way.

Tyrell Adams took the following play in for a 5 yard touchdown, only 13 seconds after the first score.

The Spartans made it 20-0 a couple minutes later Erik Wettersten ran in from four yards out.

Brett Rodriguez would score his first of two touchdowns through the air when he connected with Tyrell Adams on the option pass from 45 yards out, to cap the first quarter scoring at 27.

The Spartans also got touchdowns by Erik Wettersten, Brett Rodriguez and Sean Doran.

Massena couldn't catch many breaks, going three-and-out several times, and turned the ball over on a few occasions.  Junior Quarterback Maddox Merry overthrew his receivers on several occasions, and the runs of Josh Manley, Isaiah Dillabough and Jason Zembek all were kept well short of their averages.

The win improves the Spartans to 11-0, and sets up a rematch of last year's State Semifinals as they face the Cornwall Green Dragons, who on Saturday defeated the Rye Garnets 21-17 to advance.  That game will be Friday night, 8 p.m. at Dietz Stadium in Kingston, and will be aired live on FOX Sports Radio 1230 as well as on television on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.

Game Recap: Moriah 50, Argyle 40

PLATTSBURGH - Adam Jaquish alone is a one-man wrecking crew.  Coupled with fellow tall-man Taylor Slattery, the duo gave Argyle nightmares inside the arch all night long.

And that's why the Moriah Vikings are moving to the Regional Finals at SUNY Canton on Saturday after disrupting the reigning Class D State Champions 50-40.

For most of the game, the two inside gave Argyle (18-4) trouble as the Scots attempted to get the ball in deep.  Often this would result in disaster as either the ball would be tipped and turned over, the shot would be blocked, or the shot would be off the mark and rebounded by the Vikings.  This accounted for their main inside guys, Del Pryce and James Bristol, combining for only 8 points.

This resulted in Argyle going to the half down 28-13, with sophomore Adam Jaquish accounting for 19 of those 28 points.  His average leading into the contest was 17 points per game.

In the 2nd half, the Scots started to bounce back, taking some fouls to aid their comeback.  They would come to within 7 points before the Vikings iced it thanks to Ryan Jaquish's free throws.

Kobe Lufkin added one final trey this season to put his record-breaking total to 92 for the season.  He would finish with 11 points.  Brock Liddle led the Scots with 14 points, half of which came from the charity stripe.

Adam Jaquish would finish with 25 points, and Noah Gilbo scored 9.

The Moriah Vikings (20-2) now will travel to SUNY Canton on Saturday where they will face Madrid-Waddington with a berth to the Glens Falls Civic Center on the line.

ARGYLE              4  9 10 17 - 40
MORIAH             14 14 10 12 - 50

ARGYLE SCOTS (Points by Quarter, Total, 3's)
 1 Kobe Lufkin      0  5  4  2 - 11 -  1
 3 James Bristol    2  0  0  2 -  4 -  0
 4 Brock Liddle     2  0  5  7 - 13 -  1
11 Jacob Horton     0  4  0  0 -  4 -  0
22 Del Pryce        0  0  0  4 -  4 -  0
33 Jon Jering       0  0  1  2 -  3 -  0
TOTALS              4  9 10 17 - 40 -  2

MORIAH VIKINGS
10 Taylor Slattery  3  0  2  0 -  5 -  0
11 Jarrod MacDougal 0  3  2  2 -  7 -  1
12 Tyler Pratt      0  0  0  1 -  1 -  0
22 Noah Gilbo       3  0  0  6 -  9 -  0
24 Adam Jaquish     8 11  6  0 - 25 -  0
32 Ryan Jaquish     0  0  0  3 -  3 -  0
TOTALS             14 14 10 12 - 50 -  1

Game Recap: Fort Edward 53, Moriah 45

PLATTSBURGH - Slow start for the Forts?

No problem.

The Fort Edward Lady Forts outscored Moriah 13-6 in the 2nd quarter as they gave the Lady Vikings their first loss of the season with the 53-45 win at the Fieldhouse at SUNY Plattsburgh.

The success came for Jason Thomas's squad thanks to a stingy full-court press, which in the second quarter started to force turnovers from the Vikings.  Those turnovers paid dividends at the basket as they converted their opportunities and took a 23-22 lead into half.

In the 3rd Quarter, the three ball helped extended the Lady Forts lead, as Lexi Thomas and Kali Knapp combined for four three pointers as they extended their lead to 4 after 24 minutes of play.

In the 4th Quarter, the Forts used the charity stripe to their advantage as they would push further ahead and put away the Lady Vikings.

Kaicey Sardina and Lexi Thomas both had 15 points a piece for the Lady Forts, and Kali Knapp scored 8.  Madison Stahl scored 13 points and Taylor Sprague scored 10 for Moriah (19-1).

Fort Edward (20-2) now travels up to SUNY Canton for the Regional Finals, where they will play Section 10's Heuvelton on Saturday.  Winner makes it to the State Final Four at Hudson Valley Community College next weekend.

FORT EDWARD          10 13 18 12 - 53
MORIAH               16  6 15  8 - 45


FORT EDWARD LADY FORTS(points by quarter, total, 3's)
 1 Brittini Sardina   2  2  0  2 -  6 -  0
 2 Alex Godfrey       0  2  0  0 -  2 -  0
 3 Ashley Godfrey     2  0  0  0 -  2 -  0
 4 Kaicey Sardina     2  4  4  5 - 15 -  0
12 Mady Godfrey       0  3  0  0 -  3 -  1
15 Megan Brockway     0  2  0  0 -  2 -  0
21 Kali Knapp         2  0  6  0 -  8 -  2
24 Lexi Thomas        2  0  8  5 - 15 -  2
TOTALS               10 13 18 12 - 53 -  5

MORIAH VIKINGS
10 Lauren Cross       2  0  2  0 -  4 -  0
12 Madison Stahl      6  4  0  3 - 13 -  0
14 Sarah Slattery     0  0  0  2 -  2 -  0
23 Caitlin Pelkey     3  0  3  2 -  8 -  1
24 Halie Snyder       0  0  6  0 -  6 -  0
33 Taylor Sprague     5  0  4  1 - 10 -  0
40 Lauren Brace       0  2  0  0 -  2 -  0
TOTALS               16  6 15  8 - 45 -  1

Game Preview: Argyle vs. Moriah

NYSPHSAA Class D Regional Semifinals
Argyle Scots vs. Moriah Vikings - 7:45PM at SUNY Plattsburgh's Fieldhouse

The Argyle Scots may be without Joey Lufkin.
They may not have the Section's top scorer.

But what they have, is team spirit.

And that's what will carry the squad up to Exit 37 when they face the Moriah Vikings tonight at the Fieldhouse at SUNY Plattsburgh.

Kobe Lufkin has become a shooting sensation for the Scots, draining 91 from beyond the arch in only his Freshman season.  To better put that, he already beat the single-season record that was held by his brother. His threes helped create separation against both North Warren in the semifinals and Germantown in the finals. He leads the team with 18.8 points per game.

But he's not alone.  Del Pryce, in his senior year, has been a major contributor in the paint.  His 14.7 points per game is second best on the team, penetrating inside for some good looks against the defense.  Defensively, he's one of two main contributors when it comes to rebounding.

That other contributor is James Bristol.  Usually not a main scoring threat, Bristol put in a team-high 15 points against Germantown on Saturday, and is one of two men usually swatting at balls and grabbing rebounds defensively.

You also can't unguard Brock Liddle.  Best known this season for his three point shot that tied the game against Lake George at Argyle High, Liddle has an 11 point per game average.  He usually tries to search for that outside shot, but his speed allows him to free himself from defenders for the inside shot, as well.

The Scots need to stop Moriah's Adam Jarquish.  The Sophomore captain averages 17.8 points per game, but also needs to be watched from a defensive standpoint too.  He averages 5 blocks per game, including 8 rejected shots in the Section 7 Championship game against Westport when Moriah won 48-37.  He's also the team's leading rebounder, averaging better than 12 boards per game.

Taylor Slattery is also a Sophomore, and is the team's second best scorer.  At 9.8 points per game, Slattery needs to be watched inside the arch.  However, he can be turnover-happy, averaging nearly 3 turnovers a game.  He had 5 turnovers in the game against Westport.

Noah Gilbo scored 12 points against Westport, and had 3 steals.

Moriah is not a major three point team.  The most they have dropped is 5, against Lake Placid.  The Vikings have lost only twice this season, the first being the second game of the season against Class B's AuSable Valley where the team looked nothing like what they do today in their 62-28 loss.  The other was a tight game against Class C's Ticonderoga, where Adam Jarquish scored 23 points.

The winner today moves on to play Madrid-Waddington of Section 10, Saturday at SUNY Canton.  The loser will experience their first loss against a Class D opponent this season.

Coverage begins at 5:45PM as part of the doubleheader with the girls regional semifinal game.  Tip is scheduled for 7:45PM.

Game Preview: Fort Edward vs. Moriah

NYSPHSAA Class D Regional Semifinals
Fort Edward Flying Forts vs. Moriah Vikings - 6PM at SUNY Plattsburgh's Fieldhouse

Press Republican Preview
Post-Star Preview

If Fort Edward wants to make it back to the Hudson Valley Community College next week, they need to do something no other team has done so far this season.

Beat the Moriah Vikings.

The Moriah Vikings come out of the Northern Athletic Conference Division II with a 19-0 record after beating Elizabethtown-Lewis 46-26 in the Section 7 title game.  They are led by Madison Stahl, who scored 11 points in the title game.  She has a 15.2ppg average.

Taylor Sprague and Sarah Slattery are also key contributors, both with better than 7 points per game.  Slattery scored 11 points in the game against Elizabethtown.  And you have to watch out for Lauren Cross, who developed into a 3-point threat with her four 3's on Saturday for a total of 14 points.

The Vikings outscored Elizabethtown 17-1 in the 1st Quarter, a start that Fort Edward needs to be prepared for.

The Flying Forts had to survive a surge by the Fort Ann Cardinals in their title game on Saturday, prevailing 43-39.  Alexis Thomas led the Flying Forts with 18 points, and Brittany Sardina scored 7.  For the season, Thomas leads the Forts with 15 points per game, and Sardina is their second top scorer, with a 8.8 point average.

Kali Knapp is the Forts best three point threat, dropping 23 from beyond the arch this season.

For the Flying Forts to make it to the Regional finals game this Saturday at SUNY Canton, they need to put together a team effort, and to prevent the Vikings from coming out hot out of the gate.  A 17-1 first quarter in this kind of game will be devastating for the Forts.

Coverage of this game will be available on 1230 FOX Sports Radio beginning at 5:45PM.

Queensbury Meanderings: #1 in Class A poll, Game preparations for Saturday

Queensbury's win over Burnt Hills, coupled with the loss by Sweet Home out in Section 6 (Western New York), has yielded the Spartans the #1 rank in Class A, the New York State Sportswriters Association poll revealed today.

For Queensbury, it's the first appearance in the top spot of the poll this season, which has been occupied by Burnt Hills and Sweet Home during the duration of the season.
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It's official!  1230 FOX Sports Radio will be live this Saturday as the Queensbury Spartans take on the Massena Red Raiders in the Class A State Regionals.  Our broadcast will begin with the pregame show live from Shenendehowa at 6:45PM.

High School Football on 1230 FOX Sports Radio is sponsored by Jerry Brown's Auto Parts, located on Lower Warren Street in Queensbury and online 24/7 at JBAP.com.  Jerry Brown's Auto Parts, if they're not saving you money, they're not doing their job.
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On Thursday, 1230 FOX Sports Radio will travel to Glens Falls to interview Coach Irion as the Spartans practice on the FieldTurf surface at Glens Falls High School in preparation of Saturday's game.

The interview with Coach Irion will mark his 6th appearance on the pregame show.  As a tribute to Coach Irion, we will post his interviews week-by-week in a future posting should the Spartans move on.