Shenendehowa uses big second quarter in football win over Saratoga Springs

80

SHARES

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us

Save

Share

CLIFTON PARK — Once Shenendehowa corrected its punt team problems, it was smooth sailing for the Plainsmen Friday night.

Shenendehowa scored 21 points in the second quarter en route to a comfortable 35-7 win over rival Saratoga Springs in a Class AA football game at Brent T. Steuerwald Stadium.

But first the Plainsmen (4-1 Class AA, 5-1 overall) had to withstand their own errors, as Saratoga twice in a row recovered the ball on punts that either hit off a Shenendehowa player or that a Shenendehowa player fumbled.

The second of those times gave the Blue Streaks (3-2, 4-2) the ball on Shenendehowa’s 24-yard line. All night long, however, the Plainsmen’s defense was up to the task, and kept Saratoga Springs off the scoreboard until early in the fourth quarter.

Shenendehowa got on the board with 21 seconds left in the first quarter on Henry Picard’s 70-yard run, in which quarterback Michael Whatley faked a handoff to a man in motion before giving it to Picard. The offensive line provided huge gaps for Picard, and he did the rest.

More: All Sports | Everything Clifton Park-Halfmoon

“Henry’s been awesome,” Whatley said. “It definitely created a lot of momentum for us.”

Shenendehowa scored the next time it had the ball, this time on a long drive of 78 yards and 13 plays, mixing seven runs with six pass attempts, all but one complete.

“Our passing game has been dangerous all year,” said Whatley, who finished 11 for 15 for 163 yards and a touchdown. “We’re confident in that all the time. We leaned on that in moments like tonight and executed it well.”

The score itself came on a 16-yard run from Ihsaan Alozie with 5:58 left in the half. 

Picard added a second score with 2:22 left on a 24-yard run when he started left, cut back to his right at the 20 and had only open space in front of him.

Shenendehowa added another score nine seconds before halftime on a nice 20-yard strike from Whatley to Blake Mello in the left corner of the end zone.

The statistics at halftime told the tale. Saratoga Springs had 10 rushes for minus-50 yards, mostly the result of quarterback Rodell Evans III being sacked four times. But the Plainsmen made things no easier for him passing, as he only completed 4 of 19 attempts.

“The defense was lights out,” Shenendehowa coach Brian Clawson said. “They were flying to the football, making plays. They were playing really tough up front, and their pursuit was awesome.” 

For Shenendehowa, Picard had six carries for 140 yards and the two touchdowns by half. He finished with eight carries for 148 yards and the pair of scores.

The Plainsmen scored on their first possession of the third quarter, capping off a seven-play, 60-yard drive with Auriello Guido’s 3-yard run. Right after that, Shenendehowa’s reserves started rotating in.

Saratoga Springs’ score came with 11:37 left when Evans hit Gordon Murray for a 22-yard touchdown pass.

“In the first quarter it was pretty rough,” Clawson said. “We had a couple of muffed punts. We weren’t playing very well. In the second, we scored 21, which was good. I think we just started to feel a little more comfortable, settled in, started to run the ball a little bit, very effectively.”

Shenendehowa finished with 227 yards rushing among 10 ball carriers. Evans and Saratoga Springs’ passing game had more success in the second half, finishing with 11 completions from 33 attempts for 130 yards. Its rushing game finished with minus-51 yards.

Saratoga Springs 0 0 0 7 — 7

Shenendehowa 7 21 7 0 — 35

Shen — Picard 70 run (Voska kick)

Shen — I.Alozie 16 run (Voska kick)

Shen — Picard 24 run (Voska kick)

Shen — Mello 20 pass from Whatley (Voska kick)

Shen — Guido 3 run (Voska kick)

Sar — Murray 22 pass from Evans (Murray kick)

More: All Sports | Everything Clifton Park-Halfmoon

.

80

SHARES

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us

Save

Share

Categories: Clifton Park and Halfmoon, Email Newsletter, High School Sports, Sports, Sports