FootballHigh School Sports

Holy Trinity advances to state semifinals

SCHUYLERVILLE — After last year’s fieldhouse fire, it is easy to tell that the 2017 Holy Trinity football team is special. They showed it in a big way in their state regional game on Saturday afternoon at Schuylerville High School, beating Section 10’s Ogdensburg Free Academy by a score of 41-14 and putting them one win away from the state championship game.

Ogdensburg grabbed the first lead early on, and the Pride found themselves trailing for the first time since Week 2. Holy Trinity running back Dion Sexton came up big right after that, leading an offensive drive late in the first quarter, finishing off with a seven-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Tortello to Jordan Mettler to tie the game at six.

Holy Trinity, a combination of players from Catholic Central High School in Troy and Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons High School in Schenectady, had a huge second quarter, scoring twice and going into the break with a 20-6 lead. Sexton scored the first touchdown on a three-yard run, and the second score came on a 77-yard pass touchdown to Nacier Hundley on the second play after an interception by Nelon Priest. Priest had a career day with three interceptions and a late rushing touchdown.

“I look for the ball. Wherever the ball goes, I attack it. They just call me a ballhawk,” Priest said.

Holy Trinity scored again early in the second half to make the game 27-6. That is when things got interesting. Ogdensburg scored to make it 27-14 on a touchdown pass to Hayden Ives, and Holy Trinity was forced to punt after three plays in their ensuing drive. Ogdensburg got the ball back and began to drive, but the Holy Trinity defense came up strong, not allowing the Blue Devils to score again.

“Once we got going, once the game was going and we got into the flow of things, the kids knew they were good to go,” Holy Trinity head coach John Barber said.

The Pride more or less put the game away in the early parts of the third quarter on a 67-yard pass touchdown to Noah Foster, putting them up 34-14. Quarterback Joe Tortello had a very good game as he went 11-16 passing for 219 yards and four touchdowns.

Ogdensburg Free Academy’s season comes to a close with the loss, finishing at 9-2.

Holy Trinity is now 10-1 and advancing to the state semifinals for the first time in program history. They will play Burke Catholic out of Section 9. The state semifinal will take place on Saturday, November 18, at Middletown High School. Start time is set for 11 a.m.

Aidan Joly

Aidan Joly is Senior Managing Editor of The Upstate Courier. In the past, he has been a beat reporter covering Section II Athletics, Siena College men's basketball, the Tri-City ValleyCats, and the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. In Aidan's current role, he oversees game coverage and content. Aidan is a native of Saratoga Springs and a graduate of Saratoga Springs High School.

Related Articles