It was a must-win game for both Colonie and Schenectady tonight and they both showed up, providing the fans with a highly entertaining contest that ended with Colonie grabbing an 18-12 win.
Under the lights on the wet Raider field the home team took off early. Colonie’s sophomore quarterback Marcus Gibson started hot, with several completions on the first drive leading the team almost 80 yards for the score with a rushing TD. He then answered two drives later with a TD pass to senior wide receiver Dylan Williams.
In the 2nd quarter Gibson was composed again and the Garnet Raiders kept the attack going with an 8- yard rushing touchdown to running back Mike Lavigna. Marcus did a phenomenal job staying calm in the pocket and not allowing the pressure to get to him as a young QB. He did have big shoes to fill while replacing the injured but talented Shea Young. Both teams were desperately trying to get the much-needed W in the 2nd half as many big plays occurred. Schenectady sparked a comeback of their own with two TDs in the 3rd and 4th quarters but failed on both 2-pt conversions allowing Colonie to stop them defensively on their final two possessions with interceptions on both of them.
The Raiders are now 2-0 and hope to keep things rolling next week when they visit Columbia. With the loss, Schenectady is now 0-2 and travels to Shaker to take on the Blue Bison next Friday.
