BH-BL takes third in a row

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bill Buell

Queensbury’s double-wing offense generated a lot of yardage, but not too many points. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, meanwhile, was just plain unstoppable.

The Spartans got a big game from senior quarterback Ryan McDonnell and three touchdowns from junior tailback Dan Porter to roll past Queensbury, 49-14, in a Class A Northwest Division game Friday night at Burnt Hills.

It was the third straight victory for Matt Shell’s club, which opened the season with a loss at Troy High School after reaching last year’s state Class A title game.

“I’m not worried about what happened in week one, and our team is well beyond that,” said Shell, whose offense also got two touchdowns from Eric Dillon and outstanding defensive games from senior defensive end Nick Sawyer and junior linebacker David Nusbaum. “You can’t have it back, so we’re not even thinking about it. We were concentrating on this Queensbury team, and now we just have to get ready for next week.”

While Burnt Hills was up at the half, 35-6, the game seemed a lot closer. Queensbury had 216 yards rushing in the first half behind junior Kody Bruno and senior Alston Moses, and midway through the second period, while trailing, 14-6, the visitors had a first-and-goal at the BH nine.

A run by Bruno got the ball down to the three, but a penalty nullified the play, and three snaps later, Logan Ball intercepted a Queensbury pass to snuff out the threat.

Just two plays later, Vincent Dowdle broke free for an 84-yard touchdown, helping the hosts to a 21-6 lead with 7:36 left in the first half.

“That interception was huge,” said Shell. “If they go in for a score there, it’s a real ballgame.”

COSTLY MISTAKES

Queensbury was, at times, it’s own worst enemy. Coach John Irion’s club registered 12 first downs in the first two periods, but continued to lose its momentum with a penalty, one bad play or a turnover.

“We made too many mistakes, and we got our butts kicked,” said Irion. “I think we’re a decent team but we’re just not showing it. We moved the ball, but then we’d make a mistake, and you can’t do that against Burnt Hills. You make a mistake, and they’ll capitalize on it. They’ve always done that.”

Queensbury’s tight double-wing offense gave Burnt Hills plenty of headaches, but the hosts, with the help of some Queensbury miscues, made enough big plays to keep the visitors in check for most of the game.

“They’re very good at what they do,” Shell said of Queensbury. “We watched them on film, and we knew they were going to pick up some yards. Fortunately, we did a bit better job of making some key stops in the second half. Nate Sawyer played a great game for us, and David Nusbaum also played well. Our defensive line did a better job of clogging things up so that those guys could make some tackles.”

Burnt Hills scored twice in the final four minutes of the first half to pad its lead to 35-6, and although Queensbury opened up the third quarter by picking up two first downs, the visitors again fumbled the ball away. After the turnover, BH-BL moved 30 yards in five plays, Porter’s TD run and McDonnell’s PAT making it 42-6 with 8:40 left in the third period.

Joshua Quesada capped the BH-BL scoring with a four-yard run at 2:05 of the third period. Queensbury finally got on the scoreboard again with 6:39 left in the game on Bruno’s 47-yard run against the

reserves.

The loss dropped Queensbury to 1-3.

Queensbury 6 0 0 8 — 14

BH-BL 14 21 14 0 — 49

BH — Dillon 32 pass from McDonnell (McDonnell kick).

Q — Bruno 5 run (run failed).

BH — Porter 65 run (McDonnell kick).

BH — Dowdle 84 run (McDonnell kick).

BH — Dillon 26 pass from McDonnell (McDonnell kick).

BH — Porter 3 run (McDonnell kick).

BH — Porter 5 run (McDonnell kick).

BH — Quesada 4 run (McDonnell kick).