Game Recap: CBA 34 Ballston Spa: 0
It is finally that time of the year again. Football is back. Today marked the beginning of the high school football season, and many teams were ready to take the field and get off to a strong start. The Brothers of Christian Brothers Academy and the Ballston Spa Scotties were certainly two of those teams. The two teams were slated to face each other on Friday night.
The Brothers started off with a 70-yard drive that ended with 14-yard touchdown by running back Nick DeNicola, this would not be all that DeNicola would contribute. The Brothers then took advantage of a Ballston Spa 3-and-out. Taurian Taylor took the ball at the 16 and didn’t stop until he was in the end zone, the touchdown put CBA on top by 14. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 14-0 in favor of CBA.
The second quarter consisted of punts and penalties. Neither team found the end zone in the second, making the halftime score 14-0 CBA.
CBA came out swinging again after halftime. After a bad snap, a Ballston Spa punt did not go as far as the Scotties wanted it to. It took the Brothers 3 plays to reach the goal line, and on the fourth play, Cadet Colonel and Harvard Commit Max Jones scored on a QB keeper. The 1-yard rushing touchdown put the Brothers up 20-0 early in the third quarter. Another short bpunt would cost the Scotties again in the third. A punt from just in front of their own end zone went about 35 yards. On the first play of the drive, CBA running back Nick DeNicola went the same distance, just in the opposite direction. DeNicola took it to the house for his second touchdown of the game, making it 27-0 in favor of the Brothers at the end of the third.
The game slowed down from there, until around the middle of the fourth quarter. After a 13-yard touchdown by Brian Tucker made it 34-0, it appeared as though Ballston Spa was about to score, but the Brothers had other plans. After reaching the red zone, Ballston Spa looked to run it in. Didn’t work. They tried to throw it in. Didn’t work. Finally, they tried to run the option. The pitch was fumbled and the ball was scooped up by CBA LB Rahzier Johnson. The fumble recovery kept the shutout in-tact and gave CBA the ball with seconds left. Max Jones took a knee, game over.
CBA started off the season strongly, and there is no doubt that there running game is a big reason why. With three very talented running backs, and a very mobile quarterback, CBA’s running ability is what will help them win games. That, combined with a strong defense, puts them in a good position to win games, and bounce back after a disappointing 2015 season. I am very excited to see what this team can do, they have a very talented, underrated roster, and I believe that they will be one of the top teams in their division this year.