Class AA Super Bowl Preview

It’s officially Super Bowl week here in Section 2. Let’s break down the interesting matchup here in Class AA.

So our Class AA Super Bowl is between state-ranked #8 Troy and #12 Shaker. These rankings are subject to change when this week’s poll is released, but both teams won last week, so they’ll only go up, if they move at all. Troy is currently 9-0 after beating CBA 22-15 in the semifinal, in a come-from-behind, controversial victory. Shaker is 8-1, and they had a somewhat less stressful path here, as they dominated all aspects of the game in a 35-6 win over a very strong Guilderland team.

Troy defeated Shaker 20-13 when the division rivals met back on September 23rd, but a lot has happened since then. The Flying Horses rolled to victory in every other game they played after that, their closest game being a 27-point win over Colonie, until they reached the postseason. They struggled to move the ball against a talented Brothers team after the first quarter, reaching the end zone twice in the first frame but not scoring again until their final drive in the 4th. Troy did play very, very good defense however. Brothers running back Nick DeNicola, who entered the game averaging 133 yards per game, and an insane 9.4 yards per carry, was held to just 45 yards on 18 carries. It was his lowest single-game total since CBA’s Week 3 win over Saratoga, where he received only 8 carries. By stopping the run, Troy forced CBA to do something that they did not do often: throw the ball. Senior QB Max Jones was 4-11 for 108 yards and 2 interceptions. By forcing the Brothers into something they weren’t extremely comfortable with, they were able to take advantage and shut down this CBA offense for most of the night. Troy junior running back Joey Ward continued his outstanding season, running for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns on 21 carries. QB John Germinerio was 14-22 for 160 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. He did run for 18 yards and a touchdown, though. This game had a really controversial finish, however. With Troy driving in the game’s final minutes, and trailing 15-14, CBA defensive back Taurian Taylor appeared to intercept Germinerio near the end zone. But Troy receiver Ethan Evans dove on Taylor and ripped the ball away. The referees ruled that Taylor did not have possession for long enough, and Evans stripped it away, making it a completed pass to Evans. Troy would then score the game-winning touchdown when Joey Ward broke the plain for his second score of the night.

Shaker had a pretty routine victory, and it was a convincing one at that. After barely surviving against Shen, 14-10 in the first round, the Blue Bison no doubt wanted to set a better tone to this game. They scored early on when Michael Stiso caught a 43-yard touchdown from QB Wahid Nabi, and again in the second quarter when Stiso ran the ball in from 10 yards out. They built that 14-0 lead at halftime, and never looked back. The final score went on to be 35-6, and this game was never in doubt for the Bison, who never trailed. In an offense that isn’t known for throwing all too often, Nabi was really good. He went 5-9 for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns, with no turnovers. The backfield duo of Kwasi Addo and Mikael Brown was dominant as usual, combining for 152 yards and a touchdown. The most impressive part of this game, however, was Shaker’s defense. Section 2’s leading passer, Guilderland’s George Marinopoulos, was held to a season-low 119 yards, and threw 2 interceptions. He also completed a season-low 44% of his passes. Shaker also held in check Section 2’s leading receiver, Steve Fedorchak, who caught 3 passes for only 26 yards. This Bison defense looks ready to go, and they’ve been really good against two of the best offenses in the Section so far in these playoffs.

Troy did win the meeting between the two teams in the regular season, as we’ve already mentioned. Troy took the early lead when John Germinerio recovered his own fumble in the Shaker end zone, and they went on to take a 12-7 halftime lead. They scored the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter, when Germinerio took it himself from 1 yard out. The final score was 20-13, and the game was extremely close. It really could have gone either way, and Friday’s game will be the same thing. Both defenses are elite, so it will come down to whoever’s offense can perform better. Germinerio is second in the Suburban Council in passing yards (1,203) and first in touchdowns (18). He’s only turned the ball over three times the entire season, and has also ran for 5 touchdowns. His running back has been just as good. Joey Ward, a junior, leads the Suburban Council with 1,271 yards on the ground, and is second with 14 rushing touchdowns. These two may be the best QB-RB duo in the Council, but it’s not only them two dominating the offense. They spread the ball around to multiple receivers, and the numbers will show that. Ethan Evans (328 yards, 4 TDs), Dev Holmes (280 yards, 5 TDs),  and Jesse Brown (137 yards, 4 TDs) have all been key guys in the offense. Holmes is probably the most dynamic, as he has also rushed for 126 yards and 3 TDs.

For Shaker, they’re an offense built around the run. Mikael Brown has 735 yards and 8 TDs, and fellow back Kwasi Addo has 523 yards and 8 TDs. These two are the best RB duo in the league, and it’s very hard to stop just one of them, let alone both. Senior QB Wahid Nabi has been very efficient this season, completing 52% of his passes, with 9 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions. The coaching staff doesn’t ask him to do too much in this run-heavy offense, but Nabi can get it done when they need him to. An example of this would be the 43-yard touchdown he tossed in the first quarter of the Bison’s win over Guilderland last week. They have two dynamic deep threats as well. Maki Medici and Mike Stiso have both had good years, and are both big threats to score at pretty much any time. Medici has only 5 catches all year, but averages 35.6 yards per catch. 3 of those 5 receptions also went for touchdowns. He’s also a dynamic kick returner, and can take one back whenever. He returned a kickoff for a touchdown late in the first half against Troy in the regular season, but it was waved back because of a flag. For Stiso, he is used as the occasional fourth running back in the Bison offense as well. He has 18 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown, and has caught 8 passes for 169 yards and 4 touchdowns. The third running back is senior Anthony Johnson. He has 27 carries for 210 yards and 3 TD’s. He’s found the end zone in 3 consecutive games as well. The fact that they have such a deep backfield is very helpful, especially in games like this. Shaker has 5 backs that they can roll with, and all 5 are talented. This is very troublesome to opposing defenses, because you can shut down one guy, but get burned by two other guys. They average 30.3 points per game, but they have a few outliers. They scored only 13 points in the earlier loss to Troy, 14 points in the playoff win over Shen, and 20 points in a win over Bethlehem.

Troy was able to hold Shaker to 111 yards on the ground in that meeting, which may seem like a good amount at first glance, but the Bison average 243.8 rushing yards per game. That forced Wahid Nabi into passing situations, where he struggled at times. He finished 4-9 for only 64 yards, a touchdown and an interception. With just 175 yards of total offense, it’s pretty challenging to score a lot of points. Troy has a more balanced offense, averaging 211.4 rushing yards and 125.5 passing yards per game. QB John Germinerio, who is 2nd in the Suburban Council in passing yards, was held to only 71 yards in the air against Shaker. Both teams are very good against the pass, which means this Super Bowl will be all about the run. Joey Ward ran for 116 yards and a touchdown in the first meeting against Shaker, which is more rushing yards than Shaker had as a team that game. Troy outgained Shaker 216-175 in that game, so don’t expect a ton of points.

Overall, this game will come down to whoever can run the ball better. It’s basically going to be Troy’s Joey Ward vs Shaker’s Mikael Brown and Kwasi Addo. If their regular season meeting was any suggestion, this should be a fantastic game.