Scott returns to see victory
Spartans’ running back had gone to hospital after dislocating elbow
Brendan Scott, standing barechested and with his arm in a sling after dislocating his right elbow nearly two hours earlier, looked toward the end zone his Queensbury football teammates were in and proudly lifted his left fist skyward.
Then there were a couple of joyful fist pumps as the rest of the Spartans swarmed around Scott to celebrate at midfield.
Scott, who returned to the field still in his football pants after a trip to the hospital, was all smiles after watching his teammates finish off a superlative 48-34 nonleague victory over the Indians.
“He means so much to this team,” Queensbury wingback/ defensive back Liam O’mara said of Scott. “When he was gone, there was this little thing sitting with us. Even when we were doing good, it wasn’t as much fun without him. It was great to see him come back.”
Queensbury (4-0), ranked No. 15 in the Class A state poll, avenged a painful 10-6 loss to Glens Falls (3-1) from 2017. The Indians are ranked No. 2 in the state in Class B.
Queensbury, on the strength of its vaunted Double Wing offense, amassed a school-record 612 yards total offense — 570 coming on the ground over 59 attempts.
“We had to grind this one out,” Queensbury senior offensive tackle Devon Hunt said. “It was all about taking care of what needed to be taken care of.”
Hunt, senior guard Benny
Perez, senior Ryan Tubbs, senior guard Sean Collins, senior tackle Jerimiah Davis, senior end Zaki Farah, junior Hunter Montgomery and sophomore end Connor Havern spent their afternoon together opening up real estate for the Spartans’ backs to exploit.
“It was totally special what they did,” O’mara said of the line. “When you can get the ball and you already have five yards — and are getting to the second level before being hit — makes things so easy. The line just grinds every day. We give them the credit they deserve. We love them so much.”
O’mara, who ran for a total of 162 yards as a junior reserve on offense, reveled in the work up front and set career highs with 18 carries for 251 yards Saturday. He opened the scoring with a 35-yard touchdown run to cap the Spartans’ opening possession.
The Spartans opened up a 28-0 cushion in the second quarter on two touchdown runs from Scott (86 yards on 11 carries) and one from fullback James Ward.
Queensbury then withstood a furious comeback bid by Glens Falls that featured five touchdown passes from senior quarterback Joseph Girard III, the first coming on an 80-yard bomb to sophomore running back Aalijah Sampson with 1:41 remaining in the first half.
Scott left the game on the first carry following the Glens Falls touchdown. He left the field on a stretcher.
“I watched one of the nicest guys on our team get rocked . ... This is a brotherhood,” Hunt said. “If one of our guys gets injured, we’re going to get mad.”
Queensbury stopped the
Indians on downs from their 21 and scored three plays later when senior quarterback Nate Angell raced around left end to reach the end zone from one yard out with 6:33 remaining.
Queensbury coach Matt Crossman was thrilled having Scott return to greet his teammates.
“It was special, and seeing the Glens Falls players come over that grew up playing with him was nice,” Crossman said. “We played a great game and needed to because we beat a great team.”