SCHENECTADY — The Saratoga Springs football team got a glimpse into its future Friday night, and liked what it saw.
With freshman Jack Ringabar getting the call up from the JV team earlier in the week, he performed very well in his varsity debut, substituting for injured senior quarterback Rodell Evans III, who was out with a sprained toe on his left foot. Ringabar finished 13 of 17 passing for 169 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Blue Streaks’ 27-0 win over Schenectady at Larry Mulvaney Field.
“Jack played phenomenal. For a freshman to come into this game and play the way he did, I thought he played outstanding. The last time a freshman quarterback started for Saratoga was 1984,” Saratoga Springs coach Terry Jones said.
Saratoga Springs (3-0 Class AA, 4-1 overall) scored on the first drive of the game. It ran the ball five consecutive times before Ringabar completed his first pass for nine yards. Two plays later he connected with Christian Mello for a 17-yard touchdown.
Images: Schenectady football falls to Saratoga Springs (14 photos)
The Blue Streaks had another drive for their second score, mixing three complete passes with five rushes. Gordon Murray ran it in from seven yards out to make it a 14-0 lead with 9:19 left in the second.
Jared Arpey’s 2-yard run with 2:56 left in the second gave Saratoga Springs a 20-0 lead.
Schenectady (0-3, 0-4), which has scored just 18 points this season, had a couple of promising drives late in the half. The Patriots got to the Blue Streaks’ 28 before the drive ended. But Jakeim Edge’s interception and return gave Schenectady the ball at Saratoga’s 23 with :44 seconds left. However, the Patriots followed with three incomplete passes and a sack.
“It’s been our MO all year, we shoot ourselves in the foot,” Schenectady coach Carmen Depaolo said. “It’s a young team, it’s got to grow. We’ve got five seniors on this team. It’s a matter of growing up, it’s a matter of not turning the ball over in key areas or letting other teams get big plays on us.”
Schenectady’s defense stiffened in the third quarter, keeping the Blue Streaks off the scoreboard, but Ringabar and company atoned in the fourth quarter. The freshman completed three passes in a drive that covered 56 yards, capping it with an eight-yard strike to a wide-open Makiah Anderson.
Ringabar said the offensive line gave him great protection all night, but it wasn’t just him. The Blue Streaks rushed for 127 yards, which would have been higher but for a few big losses on fumbles.
Images: Schenectady football falls to Saratoga Springs (14 photos)
“How much they trust me to come out here as a freshman is just incredible,” Ringabar said of the linemen. “I feel welcomed by all the guys. I just feel like I’m another one of them and I belong here.
“I know they have some big guys on the other side of the ball, and they did a hell of a job,” he added. “I trusted them and they knew that I had trust in them, so they felt confident going in.”
Victor Santabar rushed for 52 yards on 16 carries to lead Saratoga Springs’ rushing attack. For Schenectady, quarterback Nikolas Sanchez rushed eight times for 51 yards, and was 5 for 15 passing for 50 yards.
- Saratoga Springs 7 13 0 7 — 27
- Schenectady 0 0 0 0 — 0
- SS — Mello 17 pass from Ringabar (Murray kick)
- SS — Murray 7 run (Muray kick)
- SS — Arpey 2 run (run failed)
- SS — Anderson 8 pass from Ringabar (Murray kick)
Images: Schenectady football falls to Saratoga Springs (14 photos)
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