Glens Falls easily takes Class B Championship
Clifton Park— The Glens Falls Indians had only one team standing in its way of another Section II championship, the Cobleskill-Richmondville Bulldogs. The Indians outclassed the Bulldogs on both sides of the ball in their 40-0 victory.
The Indians relied on their ground game in the first quarter. They entrusted the ball mainly to sophomore back Aalijah Sampson who did not disappoint. Sampson ripped off a powerful run to the end zone spanning 29-yards.
In the second quarter, Joe Girard III and the Glens Falls offense took full advantage of the wind. Right out of the break, the Syracuse bound basketball star ripped a pass deep to cousin Trent Girard who took a house call on a forty-six yard gain. Girard’s passing came in handy again when he made multiple key completions to get Glens Falls inside the 10-yard line. From there Cooper Montgomery, the third-string running back, called to action after Griffin Woodell was injured last week, hit paydirt on a nine-yard run. Then the elusive quarterback weaved through defenders and made it to the end zone after running 44-yards. To cap off the half, Girard scrambled right and then threw left again connecting with his cousin in the middle of the field who then went the distance, putting the Indians up 34-0.
Cobleskill-Richmondville couldn’t get anything going in the first half. The Bulldogs were unable to advance the ball past the Glens Falls’ forty yard line. They only had one turnover though, a fumble recovered by Glens Falls’ Connor Girard.
In the second half, Cobleskill managed to get the ball to the Glens Falls 10-yard line but later lost possession on downs.
Glens Falls got a short punt in Cobleskill territory for their first drive of the second half. The Indians received big carries from their running backs and the drive was finished when Girard III found his way around the line to the end zone, his second rushing touchdown on the day.
Runningbacks Aalijah Sampson and Copper Montgomery, as well as Girard III, all racked up over 100 rushing yards in the shutout.
“The key to winning this game was our ability to run the football,” Glens Falls coach Patrick Lilac said postgame. “You know, going into the game I thought we were the better passing team, and they were the better running team. But our ability to run the ball and to stop the run is why we won the game.”
Glens Falls returns to Shenendehowa High School next Friday to take on Beekmantown, the champions of Section VII, in the regional title game at 7 p.m.