As we pass Week 5 of the high school football season, there’s many intriguing storylines to follow here.
First, Ballston Spa and Saratoga each won their first game of the season this week, bringing them both to 1-4. The minimum wins for playoff qualification is 3, so both teams have to win out in order to qualify. Ballston Spa will play Niskayuna next week (0-5) and Saratoga will play against Shaker (4-1). Ballston is expected to win their matchup, so if Saratoga can pull off a big upset, then this sets up a crazy game. If both teams win and head into the final week at 2-4, they’ll both need to win to make the playoffs. And they’re playing each other. This mean we could see a winner moves on, loser goes home situation. Both teams are pretty evenly matched, which makes this game all the more intriguing.
CBA beat Shen 19-7 on Friday, improving the Brothers to 5-0 while dropping Shen to 3-2. This game proves two things; CBA is legit, and Shen is not. The Brothers got this win without their starting quarterback Max Jones, and their defense played very well. For Shen, they don’t have the makings of a legit contender. They’re 3-2 now, and all 3 of those wins came against the last 3 teams in their division. They beat Ballston Spa (1-4), Saratoga (1-4), and Niskayuna (0-5). Their 2 losses have come to Troy (5-0) and CBA (5-0). They have been outscored 52-14 combined in these two losses, with neither game being extremely close. Last year they finished 4-5, and this year it looks like they might have about the same record. They play another below-average opponent next week in Albany, before finishing their season against Guilderland. I expect they’ll finish the regular season at 4-3, but a first-round playoff exit may be in order for the Plainsmen.
The only true contenders this year are CBA, Guilderland, Troy, and Shaker. It looks like Troy might just be the best out of this bunch as well. They have the toughest win of the season out of any team, taking down Shaker 20-13 in Week 4. This week, against Colonie, the Flying Horses really proved just how tough to beat they are. Colonie ran 63 plays in the game, and Troy ran only 25, yet Troy scored 4 touchdowns and the only points Colonie got were defensive ones. This shows the dominance of this Flying Horses team and says that even when they’re off their game, they’re still an elite team. Granted, they couldn’t really afford to play like that against a CBA or a Guilderland, but it’s still a pretty encouraging signal for Troy.
Guilderland is also a contender, mainly due to the success of quarterback George Marinopoulos. He and his favorite target, Steve Fedorchak, combine to lead the league in Passing yds, Passing TD’s, and Receiving yds. Fedorchak is the best wide receiver in the Section, and it’s not even close. He has 532 receiving yards this season, and the #2 receiver in this category has only 200 (Jarell Chaney, Albany). Another Dutchmen, Jared Schwartz, also has 200 receiving yards this year. Schwartz is a very underrated player in his own right. He has 200 receiving yards, 143 rushing yards, 8 rushing touchdowns, and 2 receiving touchdowns. This offense is extremely explosive, and they’ve only failed to break 40 points in one game this year, averaging 44 points per game. A big matchup that will go a long way seedings-wise is next week’s Guilderland-CBA matchup. Both team are tied for 1st in the Empire Division, each at 5-0. This game is one that will really show who is a favorite here, as the season begins to wind down.
Another interesting story is the Niskayuna Silver Warriors. Just how bad is this team? They’re 0-5, and they’ve been outscored 251-21 this season. In comparison, the team with the second-lowest scoring offense in the league, Ballston Spa, scored 20 points alone on Friday. Their best defense outing was when they allowed 44 points in a loss to CBA. Their best offensive showing was also in that game, when they scored 8 points. They’ve gained exactly 116 yards of total offense THE ENTIRE SEASON. They have 2 games remaining, against Ballston Spa and Albany. Don’t expect Nisky to take either of these games.
Let’s end this on a positive note, though. Albany has had quite a turnaround going. They didn’t win a single game from 2008-2011, going 0-45. From 2012-2014, they went 2-25. Overall, from 2008-2014 they were 2-70. However, last season they went 3-7, winning their last 3 games. This season they’re 2-3, following this week’s loss. That makes them 5-10 over these last two seasons. While this is not exactly anything that would jump out at most people, it’s a very encouraging sign for this program. They have several explosive players, with running back Ky’ere Tillery, receiver Jarell Chaney, and quarterback Noah John. They recently installed a turf field onto their campus, marking the first time in school history they’ve had their football field located on the school grounds. Coach Joe DiPiazza has done a terrific job with this team as well, helping to renew interest in this program. Overall, while they still might have a ways to go, there’s a lot of reasons to be positive about the Falcons’ future.
