The Guilderland Dutchmen were nothing short of dominant Friday night, as the Dutchmen defended their home field by defeating the Ballston Spa Scotties on homecoming by a score of 47-8, staying perfect just past the halfway mark of the season at 4-0.
Senior Quarterback George Marinopoulos was outstanding again, connecting with his receivers 17 times to go for 312 yards and a touchdown. Marinopoulos did a good job spreading the wealth to his receivers, linking up with five different guys throughout the game, including matching up with his favorite target, Senior Steven Fedorchak, six time for an impressive 140 yards. Fedorchak has had 100+ receiving yards in all four games this season.
After Marinopoulos threw an interception on the Dutchmen’s first drive of the game, Fedorchak returned a wary Christian Leva pass 58 yards to the end zone to give the Dutchmen a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
On the second Dutchmen drive, Marinopoulos would lead the offense on a five play, 64 yard drive that began with a Marinopoulos-Fedorchak 39 yard connection and completed with a Joe Park seven yard touchdown run, and on the next drive Marinopoulos would lead his side down the field on a 13 play, 70 drive, a patient, collected run that resulted in a sneak across the line from the senior captain.
The next time the Dutchmen got the ball, the play of the night would come. Marinopoulos would begin the third play of the drive with a rollout to his left, and when his intended receiver was not open, he would heave a deep ball looking for Jared Schwartz. The defender in front of Schwartz would leap and just tip the ball, but Schwartz was able to readjust, catch, and bring the ball in for a 70-yard touchdown to give the Dutchmen the 28-0 halftime lead.
Guilderland would begin the second half right where they left off in the first, as Marinopoulos would go 4-for-5 for 68 yards to lead the offense on a seven play, 80 drive, that Schwartz capped off with his second touchdown of the night.
Schwartz would soon complete the trifecta, as his four yard touchdown run towards the end of the third quarter would completely put the rout on, giving the Dutchmen a 40-0 lead.
After Leva and Jake Cook connected on a 27-yard touchdown pass to put the Scotties on the board 40-8, Stefan Brantley would quickly respond. The big senior back would need just one play to rumble off a 55 yard run to the end zone, and the Dutchmen would win 47-8.
The Dutchmen did a great job of protecting Marinopoulos, as the captain was rarely pressured and only sacked once. Sophomore Dylan Olson was strong in his first start for an injured Joe Kiernan, while the rest of the line anchored by four seniors, led by captain and center Andy Hines, was stellar once again.
Guilderland would be without a pair of key players in Kiernan and Evan Gallup, but the play of juniors Mike Breton and Mason Leto helped filled the void for the pair on both sides of the ball. Senior Linebacker Tyler Hess also stepped up, totaling a game high 7.5 tackles, including a pair of tackles for loss and a half sack. Senior Defensive End Cody Custard also played a key role, totaling five tackles, including a pair for loss and a sack. Head Coach Dan Penna was hopeful that Gallup will be able to return next week when the Dutchmen go to Columbia, while he said Kiernan would be out “a while.”
