SUPER BOWL IN SIGHT
Area teams Troy High, Averill Park, Hoosick Falls in Section II semis
TROY, N.Y. » Zach Gobel knows that it’s hard to beat a good team twice. The Averill Park head coach doesn’t have to look back farther than a year to see evidence of it.
The Warriors are set to play Queensbury for the second time in a month on Friday evening at 7 p.m. It will be a Class A semifinal home game. Last season, Averill Park was able to beat Burnt Hills in the regular season before losing in the Class A championship game.
The Warriors took a 35-26 decision against Queensbury three weeks ago, and have followed it up with two huge shutout wins in the weeks since.
“Hopefully we’ve learned from that experience (against Burnt Hills), and we’re prepared to go this week,” Gobel said. “They’re going to see more what we do, so they’ll be used to it...Seeing what we do sometimes, just like what they do offensively is a little tough on teams. Having seen that, defensively, I’m sure they have answers for things.”
The Warriors have won the last two games against Mohonasen and Green Tech by a combined
82-0 score. Gobel said it provided the team a chance to throw the ball more and use some of the reserve players in game action. It will be all hands on deck, though, against Queensbury. The Warriors are the No. 2 seed, seemingly on a collision course with No. 1 seed Burnt Hills. But they have to get through the semifinal first.
The Warriors lost their only game this season in a 28-27 heartbreaker to Burnt Hills. So there’s familiarity in both potential opponents. And while Queensbury knows about the Averill Park strengths, it’s a two-way street.
“They like to run fullback wedges, seven guys on one, it’s hard,” senior lineman Gavin Ryan said. “But once you stop it, they have to go to other plans. It’s good to shut down, and they get no yards.”
Gobel was weary of giving away too much information about his gameplan. And he also instructed the players before being interviewed to keep their answers simple. So while there are not many secrets between the two teams competing Friday, Averill Park wants to keep any pregame noise low-key.
One player who was quiet verbally, but has loud numbers this season for Averill Park is Dom Law. The senior has rushed for 13 touchdowns on the season — at least one in every game except the last one. If Queensbury has a chance of winning, cutting off a player of his caliber might be the best place to start. That’s easier said than done.
“It’s probably hard I’d say,” Law said of beating Queensbury twice. “... I just want to get this game done and hopefully we come out.”
Shenedehowa at Troy
Joey Ward leads all of Section II with 24 touchdowns and Troy is the unchallenged best team in the state. Shen has flown somewhat under the radar this season, suffering only one loss to Saratoga. The Flying Horses have won every game this season by at least 18 points, and most weren’t even nearly that close. Speedster Dev Holmes doesn’t get as much press as Ward, but he has 13 touchdowns and can score running, receiving and on special teams. That gives Troy two really difficult playmakers to deal with.
Hoosick Falls at Stillwater
Hoosick Falls is coming off an upset win at No. 1 Watervliet on the road last Friday. Now they’ll need to upset another top seed to make the final. Stillwater took the first matchup between the two teams, 286, on Sept. 15. But Stillwater has a new quarterback, James Galarneau, to contend with. Meanwhile, Sam Richard for Hoosick Falls has been one of the best pass-throwers in the section. Watervliet also struggled mightily to run the ball against Hoosick Falls’ defensive line, which will need to be strong again if it wants a chance at the road upset on Friday night.