Schenectady ousts Ballston Spa

Schenectady forced Ballston Spa into six turnovers — five fumbles and an interception — and turned three of them into scores en route to a 27-21 victory over the Scotties tonight in their Class AA football sectional opener at Larry Mulvaney Field.

With only the second postseason victory in school history, the 7-1 Patriots advance to the semifinals, where they will host Niskayuna next Friday night.

Two Ballston Spa fumbled led Schenectady to a 14-7 halftime lead. Both turnovers put the Patriots in Ballston Spa territory and led to touchdowns, a one-yard sneak by quarterback Nick Ottati and a 10-yard run by Marc Thompson.

Ballston Spa answered with a 67-yard touchdown pass from Mark Seager to Josh Fabian before halftime.

Ottati extended the lead with a four-yard keeper in the third quarter, and after Seager found Kyle Warmt on a 37-yard scoring pass, Herman Seise closed the door for the Patriots with a 22-yard touchdown run to make the score 27-14.

Seager’s four-yard run completed the scoring for the Scotties, who will play in a crossover game next week.