CAPITAL REGION – Week 1 of the high school football season kicks off Friday.
Here are five things to know ahead of the first full state of Section II football action.
PLAYING UP ONCE AGAIN
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake returns just one starter on offense and two on defense for its Week 1 match-up at CBA. Last week the Spartans scrimmaged Shenendehowa for its Week 0 contest.
Spartan coach Matt Shell called Friday’s match-up against CBA “Going from the frying pan into the fire.”
The Brothers (1-0) opened with a 55-0 win over La Salle, but could face a stiffer challenge from Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake despite its lack of starting experience. The Spartan defense allowed just eight points against Shenendehowa in the scrimmage — a credit to its defense against the run.
“Regardless of what year it is, you’re gonna see the same Burnt Hills team with just different players in different numbers,” Shenendehowa coach Brian Clawson said after the Week 0 match-up. “They’re very, very tough, they’re very physical. It doesn’t matter how many they’ve got on the sideline or what they look like on the field, they’re going to bring 110% every single snap.”
NEW SURROUNDINGS
While many classifications got smaller during the offseason, Class C absorbed a number of new teams, either moving down from Class B or up from Class D. Among those was Stillwater, the Class D runner-up a season ago, which made a statement in Week 0 with a 34-0 victory over last year’s Class D champion Greenwich.
The Warriors, who have some famous families represented on their roster — linemen James and Anthony Cocozzo are the sons of former NFL offensive lineman and Mechanicville legend Joe Cocozzo, and tight end Jaxon Mueller is the son of UAlbany baseball coach Jon Mueller — visit Watervliet on Friday at 7 p.m.
Other newcomers in Class C this year are Broadalbin-Perth, Johnstown, Hudson and the merged Granville/Whitehall and Lake George/Warrensburg programs.
SUCCESSFUL DEBUTS
Week 0 brought victorious debuts for a pair of rookie head coaches at their alma maters.
At Fonda-Fultonville, Mike Mancini’s first game saw the Braves rally from an early deficit for a 13-12 victory over Section III’s Central Valley Academy. This week, Fonda-Fultonville — the Class C runner-up a season ago — plays its home opener Friday against Taconic Hills.
Meanwhile, Broadalbin-Perth got new head coach Rick Wallace off on a winning note as the Patriots also scored a defense-first victory, beating Mechanicville/Hoosic Valley — another new merged team this season — 14-6. Broadalbin-Perth is back on the road this week, facing Ichabod Crane on Friday at 7.
NON-CLASSIFICATION CLASHES
Outside of Friday’s non-division game between Mohonasen and South Glens Falls, the Week 1 schedule is full of non-classification matchups between Class AA and Class A programs.
While Friday night’s matchup between defending Section II champions CBA and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake is the marquee showdown, other intriguing showdowns on tap Friday include Averill Park visiting Guilderland, Niskayuna heading to Saratoga Springs and Shenendehowa opening its season at La Salle Institute.
JUST LIKE OLD TIMES
Schenectady and Amsterdam used to be rivals in the Big 10 Conference, and Friday night, they’ll rekindle some of the memories in a non-classification meeting at Larry Mulvaney Field.
Both teams have things to prove. Schenectady coach Carm DePoalo thinks his team learned some things from its 3-5 season last year and can surprise some teams this season. Amsterdam has used motivation from not getting a spot in the Class A playoffs last year after losing two Class A contests by two points.
Both teams have sharp quarterbacks: Schenectady’s Nik Sanchez and Amsterdam’s Jhai Vellon. Both teams allowed more points than they would have liked last year, so how the defenses perform may be telling.
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