BROADALBIN — After winning just two games last season, the Broadalbin-Perth football team has three victories in its first three games this season.
All three came on the road and the Patriots will finally play their first home game this week.
“I always believed in our guys and knew that they had the ability to do accomplish a clean sweep on the road before coming home for the first time,” Broadalbin-Perth coach Rick Wallace said. “They bought in and continued to get better each week. We know there is still room to grow as a whole but achieving this has put us in a good position at this point in the season.”
After posting a 14-6 win at Mechanicville/Hoosic Valley in the opening week, B-P has registered back-to-back shutouts at Ichabod Crane (33-0) and Hudson (40-0) in its last two outings.
With plenty of momentum, the Patriots will host a game at Patriot Field for the first time when they host Taconic Hills on Friday at 7 p.m.
“We’ve had Sept. 23 circled for a while. The team is eager to finally play in front of their fans,” Wallace said. “They are motivated by the fact that they only have three guaranteed opportunities to play at Patriot Field this season. It is something that we discussed and have used as a motivator to earn a home playoff game.”
Taconic Hills dropped a 27-8 decision to Ichabod Crane last week, after opening its season with a 57-8 loss at Fonda-Fultonville on Sept. 9.
After struggling on a week-to-week basis a year ago to simply field a team, things are headed in the right direction once again for B-P.
“The buy-in and commitment from our players has been great. They are starting to believe in one another. Many of them are still young in terms of football experience,” Wallace said. “You can see their confidence growing. Secondly, last week at Hudson, we played our most complete game as a team. The last two weeks we have been able to get every player reps during the game. That is huge for us. We saw tons of execution within our scheme when we watched the film over the weekend. Great to see growth each week.”
In last week’s 40-0 win at Hudson, the Patriots’ defense was dominant, allowing just 65 total yards.
“Coach [Tim] Cornell has done a great job with our defense. He is new to the role but has really simplified things to help our players execute stopping our opponents top plays,” Wallace said. “Our depth has also been very helpful. We have five one-way starters on defense. When players are fresh, they can play fast and fearless.”
Offensively, Sam Hotaling had five rushes for 102 yards and a touchdown for the Patriots. Zach Laconte finished with 8 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown and also added a 42-yard touchdown catch, while Kole Dominique had four carries for 37 yards and a score. Colin Cotter added five carries for 41 yards and a touchdown for B-P, which will be looking for its fourth straight win this week.
“It is important that we control our emotions in front of our home crowd. We have talked about enjoying the moment but still being focused on us and our mission as a team,” Wallace said. “We know that winning these games will allow us to play meaningful football down the stretch. We have to continue building on last week’s offensive execution and defensive effort to cap off a home victory.”
SIR BILLS SET TO HOST HUDSON
After opening the season with a win for the first time since 2007, Johnstown came up short in its home opener last week against Fonda-Fultonville at Knox Field, 49-13.
The Sir Bills turned the ball over four times in the first half, leading to 21 points for the Braves. Johnstown also had two second-half-turnovers.
“The boys learned about the mental aspect of the game, and making the right choices in the right situations last week,” Johnstown coach Paul Furman said. “So far, the most improvement we have seen is the aggressiveness and physicality from the players.”
After rushing for 202 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries for Johnstown in the 35-0, season-opening win at Coxsackie-Athens, Ryan Hoyt had 121 yards on 22 carries against the Fonda-Fultonville. Jack Miller was 12 for 21 for 143 yards a touchdown and two interceptions for the Sir Bills.
The Sir Bills will look to bounce back this week when they host Hudson on Friday at 7 p.m.
The Bluehawks dropped a 40-0 decision on their home field last week to Broadalbin-Perth.
It was the third straight loss for Hudson.
“Hudson is a very athletic and aggressive team. They have players with a lot of speed. If we do not contain their speed it could cause a lot of problems for our defense,” Furman said. “We need to continue to play our football. This team is headed in the right direction. They have taken the correct steps to this point, and we just need to continue to do so throughout the season.”
HUSKIES READY FOR FIRST ROAD GAME
After opening the season with three straight home victories, Gloversville hits the road for the first time this week.
The Huskies will travel to Scotia-Glenville on Friday at 7 p.m.
“It’s always nice playing at home. It’s a challenge for high school teams to travel and play for sure, but I believe our guys will be up for the challenge,” Gloversville coach Jim Robare said.
In last week’s game, Gloversville scored all 22 of its points in the second half in a 22-6 win over Lansingburgh at Husky Field.
Caelan Porter finished the game with 124 yards passing, two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Huskies, while Kyle Robare added 60 rushing yards and Dom Dorman finished with 66 yards receiving and a touchdown in his return from the injury list.
“We have had some challenges with athletes being injured and we are almost back to 100 percent,” Robare said. “Again, that is always a challenge in high school sports.”
Justin Krawczeski finished with a sack and a safety, while Logan Oathout added an interception and touchdown and Nicholas Bradt added an interception and touchdown
Gloversville finished with 207 total yards of offense and held the Knights to 142 yards total offense. The teams combined for 20 penalties – eight for Gloversville and 12 for Lansingburgh.
Scotia-Glenville posted a 29-0 victory over Cohoes last week to improve to 2-0 on the season, setting up a matchup between two of the three remaining unbeaten teams in Class B.
“Scotia is most certainly a team with multiple formations as they like to spread teams out and put their best players in space for them to make plays. They will be tough to defend as their skill players are very good,” Robare said. “The key this week will be to keep their offense off the field and for us to defend the pass attack.”
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