Not in the game plan
Injuries endanger Scott’s season, cut short Wiggs’ year
The Queensbury Spartans had just completed an outstanding 48-34 football victory over Glens Falls Saturday afternoon.
As the exchanges from the handshake line dissipated, Queensbury senior running back Brendan Scott returned from a trip to Glens Falls Hospital. The senior walked on the field still wearing his football pants and yellow socks. He was shirtless, his right arm was wrapped in a hefty sling — the remnants from a dislocated elbow.
And the senior wingback was all smiles.
The players from Queensbury occupied one end zone awaiting their coaches. Once the Spartans spotted Scott at midfield, they all dashed forward to greet him. Most of them registered career-best times in the 40-yard dash.
“I wasn’t expecting to see him and what the guys did for him then was so special,” Queensbury coach Matt Crossman said.
“It was definitely a surreal moment for me just to see everyone. I was so happy,” Scott said Sunday night. “To be embraced like that was a special moment.”
“He was always on our minds,” Queensbury senior wingback/defensive back Liam O’mara said. “When we saw him at the end, it really felt good.”
Scott suffered his injury on a run late in the second quarter with the Spartans leading 21-0.
“Not ideal,” Scott said. “When I put my hand on the ground, I knew something was wrong. I took a quick look and I turned away from it. I didn’t want to look again.”
The entire Queensbury roster, and even some of the Glens Falls players, gathered around the senior before he was taken off the field on a stretcher.
“It was cool to get that respect from them,” Scott said. “When I was laying there and saw everyone, it meant a lot.”
Scott, who is the program’s fourth all-time leading rusher, soon wanted to return to the field after getting treated.
“The whole time I was in the hospital, my Mom was getting text updates on the game,” Scott said. “I was a little surprised the game was getting closer. I knew we were going to win.
“They put my arm back into place and I had to wait a little bit. My mom got an update that said there were three minutes left, so I said I have got to get back there.”
Because the hospital was so close to the field, Scott made it back in time to bask in the victory with his teammates and his father, Craig Scott, Queensbury’s special teams coach. Queensbury amassed a program-record 612 yards of offense, including 86 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Scott.
The senior now looks to get back on the field. He is set to meet with an`orthopedic surgeon Wednesday.
“After that, I will have a timetable where things are. I am hoping (I’ll be back) in a few weeks,” Scott said. “We’ll see.”
A season to remember
Jovani Wiggs got to play in only four varsity football games as a sophomore running back for Shaker. What an impact he made.
Wiggs scored the first touchdown of the game Friday to help lead the Blue Bison past Shenendehowa 14-7. Unfortunately for the sophomore speedster, his season came to a close when he suffered a broken right leg with 2:43 remaining in the third quarter.
The entire Shaker roster came on the field to wish Wiggs well before he was carted off the field with an air cast on his leg.
Wiggs carried the ball 31 times for 523 yards and eight touchdowns. He tallied three touchdowns, including an 85-yard kickoff return, when the Blue Bison beat Saratoga 48-28 in Week 3.
Then there were eight
Shaker is the lone undefeated team remaining in the Class AA ranks.
Entering Week 5, Averill Park, Burnt Hills and Queensbury (Class A), Schalmont (Class B) and Cambridge-salem, Chatham and Lake George/hadley-luzerne (Class C) join Shaker as 4-0 teams in Section II.