COLONIE DEFEATS SARATOGA 40-0
Colonie picks up first win of their season
LATHAM, NY » Colonie came out with something to prove on Saturday afternoon against Saratoga, as the Raiders looked to pick up their first win of the season.
“I think we really needed this win and it’ll give us a lot of momentum going into next week,” said Colonie senior running-back Donald Francis.
The Raiders got going early and never looked back, defeating the Blue Streaks 40-0 in their home game, which was played on the turf at Shaker High School.
Thomas Davis scored Colonie’s
first touchdown of the day in the first quarter on a reception from quarterback Cameron Aery. Davis scored their second shortly after on a goal-line run.
“We got to the goal line and I told Cam to give it to me, he did and I punched it right in,” Francis said, who rushed for 65 yards on 13 attempts in the game.
Colonie failed to convert their 2-point conversion attempts on each of their first two scores, giving them a 12-0 lead to end the first quarter.
Davis received both of Colonie’s touchdowns in the second quarter, the first for 82 yards and the other for 40
yards, giving him three touchdown receptions in the first half.
“It was originally supposed to be a slant,” Davis said of his third touchdown. “Then I saw Cam roll out so I made a cut back outside and the defense lost me and I was just standing there and it was a race to the end zone. I run track too, so speed is always on my side. We also had another receiver running alongside me so if they had caught up he’d have been there to block for me.”
The Raiders converted the two-point try on one of those two scores, giving
them a 26-0 lead. Aery connected with Dante Genovese in the back of the end zone to finish off Davis’ 82yard scoring reception.
While the Blue Streaks were able to gain yards on Colonie, they were never able to put together a scoring drive as Saratoga coach Terry Jones and quarterback Sean Hudson were trying to find something that would work.
Loss of yardage on bad snaps, as well as dropped catches are when eventually led to Saratoga being shut-out for the second straight game and third time the season.
“I don’t think it should’ve taken us this long to win our first game and we wanted to come out today and prove that,” Francis said. “Everything seems to
be coming together for us and we’re just getting better every week and trying to reach our peak.”
Francis would score his second touchdown of the day in the third quarter on another short, goal-line run, giving Colonie a 33-0 lead. Aiden Ellman scored the Raider’s final touchdown in the fourth quarter to cap off their 40-0 victory.
Cameron Aery, Colonie’s quarterback, completed 11of-19 passing attempts, which was good for 219 yards and a 137.94 passer rating. He threw for three touchdowns - all to Davis. Davis caught four of those, going for 168 yards overall. AJ Lewis ran for 96 yards on 7 carries.
“Being our first win, it means a lot - we had to get one and now we have to
take this momentum into the playoffs,” Davis said.
With the win, Colonie moves up to third in their division, meaning that they will play CBA in their AA quarterfinal playoff game next week. Saratoga will either play Shenendehowa or Guilderland on their quarterfinal matchup.
“I feel like we’re a lot closer as a team than we’ve been in previous years,” Francis added. “It really feels like we’re a family.”
FINAL: COLONIE 40, SARATOGA 0
Shaker High School Latham, NY COLONIE 12-14-7-7 — 40 SARATOGA 0-0-0-0 — 0 Colonie (1-3) Saratoga (1-3)