Fonda crushes ranked opponent
Braves score 40 points in second quarter to put away Watervliet
Sean Thompson entered Friday’s Section II Class C quarterfinal contest at Watervliet believing his Fonda football team to be a vastly underappreciated commodity. The Braves showed the Cannoneers just how potent they can be in all three phases of the game.
Fonda turned a modest onepossession lead after one quarter into an absolute rout over the game’s next 12 minutes. The Braves, without a road win this season entering the night, proceeded to post 40 points in the second quarter and cruised to a 68-8 victory over the Cannoneers.
Fonda (6-3), the No. 4 seed from the North Division, beat its ranked opponent after suffering North Division defeats against No. 3-ranked Schuylerville and No. 9-ranked Hoosick Falls/tamarac. The win by the Braves prevented the 18thrated Cannoneers from earning their first sectional win since 2011 and pushed the visitors into a semifinal contest next week against Hoosick Falls/ Tamarac (8-1).
“We’re very happy and proud of our guys,” Thompson said. “They came, competed and got the job done.”
“It feels great,” said Fonda junior two-way star Giovanni Dicaprio, who scored three touchdowns, recorded three tackles for loss and added a sack. “We’ve worked really hard for it. We’re ready for next week.”
“We really came out and performed,” said Fonda defensive back Owen Hicks, who registered a pair of touchdowns during the prolific secondquarter surge.
Fonda led 7-0 after one quarter and opened the second period deep in Watervliet territory following a fumble. Dicaprio scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to help extend the lead to 14-0. The game quickly escalated out of control
for the Cannoneers (7-2) as Fonda quarterback Jackson Cusack scored on his second touchdown run covering 14 yards and Hicks returned an interception 32 yards to extend the lead to 27-0. The interception return for the score marked the second straight week Hicks reached the end zone on an interception.
“They ran the same play earlier in the game. I read it and got to the ball,” Hicks said.
“Our defense, it’s been great all year,” said Dicaprio, who starts at linebacker.
Watervliet, the South Division
champion, fumbled away the ensuing kickoff and Jonathan Cranker later scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. Hicks scored his second touchdown of the game when he scooped up a fumbled punt snap and scored from 15 yards out. Dicaprio closed the scoring in the second quarter when he hauled a pass from Connor Weaver and dashed 57 yards for a touchdown. “It looks good to us any time No. 5 touches the ball,” Thompson said of Dicaprio, who also added an 83-yard touchdown catch from Cusack in the second half.
Watervliet had five turnovers in the first half and suffered six overall. The Cannoneers also had two bad punt snaps and a boot partially blocked by DJ Greco in the first quarter. The Braves scored 47 points in the opening half despite gaining only 143 yards on offense.
“Special teams were important. It changed the game and we were able to get the ball inside the 20, so the offense did not have to work as hard,” Hicks said.
Fonda spent the first four weeks of the season ranked in the top 15 of the Class C state poll before suffering a 20-7 setback against Hoosick Falls/ Tamarac. The Braves will get a chance at redemption next week in the semifinals.
The Cannoneers, a squad that won just once during the spring before putting together a seven-game winning streak this fall to claim the South Division title, scored in the fourth quarter on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Jamel Ward Jr. to Amel Conway. Fonda outgained Watervliet 318-117 and did not commit a turnover.