Week 2 Previews and Predictions
From Saratoga to Lansingburgh, who will come away with a win in the second week of the season
TROY, NY » Some teams have gotten two games in already but for most teams in the Capital Region they will be prepping for week two of the 2021 season.
Some highlights for the second week are a Class A Championship rematch from Fall II between the Flying Horses and Spartans and a Class AA semifinal rematch between Shen and the Dutchmen.
We’ve got quick previews and predictions for just a few games in the area in week two.
CLASS AA SHEN AT GUILDERLAND, GUILDERLAND HIGH SCHOOL, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 7 P.M.
These two met in the Fall II in the Class AA Semifinal and Guilderland hung on to squeeze passed the Plainsmen, 17-14. Guilderland finished Fall II 5-1 en route to their first Section II, Class AA Championship in the Spring. Shen fin
ished with a 4-2 record in the extended spring season.
It’s a new season and a new group of players for both sides. Mason Courtney returns to Shen at quarterback after missing Fall II and the Plainsmen return plenty of other weapons from the spring like Michael McElrath, who had 78 yards and a rushing touchdown in Shen’s week one win over Queensbury.
Shen is 1-0 this season thanks to last week’s Queensbury win and Guilderland beat Troy 35-0 last week to also be 1-0. Guilderland led 28-0 at halftime and continued their defensive dominance throughout the second half.
Prediction: Shen wins, 17-14
SARATOGA AT COLONIE, COLONIE HIGH SCHOOL, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 7 P.M.
Saratoga (0-1) is coming off of a 14-7 loss to Columbia last week while Colonie (0-2) tries to quickly forget about back to back losses to Class A opponents, Averill Park and Ballston Spa, respectively.
Saratoga’s week one matchup was messy with some flags, turnovers, and not a whole lot of yards. The Blue Streaks opted for a dual QB situation split between Rodell Evans III and Nathan Siewert. Siewert looked controlled through the air and Evans on the ground but the two couldn’t sustain much offense in loss.
Colonie fell to Averill Park 35-6 in week on and Ballston Spa 38-22 in week two. John Kemp linked up with Thomas Davis through the air for the sole touchdown in the Averill Park loss. Davis returned a kick for 79 yards in the Ballston Spa loss while also catching another touchdown pass from Kemp against the Scotties.
Prediction: Saratoga wins, 21-16
SHAKER AT SCHENECTADY,
SCHENECTADY HIGH SCHOOL, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1 P.M.
Shaker (1-0) is coming off last week’s 28-7 win over Burnt Hills. They will get a chance to tangle with their first Class AA opponent of the 2021 season in the Patriots, who did not play week one.
Shaker returns a lot of weapons from last season’s 6-1 sectional semifinalist run like Porter Ninstant and Dwayne Newkirk. Ninstant rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown on just four carries last week and Newkirk caught a pass for 88 yards and a touchdown over Burnt Hills. First year quarterback Jake Iacobaccio completed six passed on 11 attempts in the win for 148 yards and a touchdown and interception.
There isn’t much to go off of Schenectady this season yet. The Patriots were 2-3 in Fall II and lost to Shaker 49-0 in week four. They graduate quarterback Seven Terry, running back, and wide receivers Denzere Woolcock, Jah-Sean Haggray, and Jeremiah Davis. The Patriots have 17 seniors listed on this year’s roster.
Prediction: Shaker wins, 28-7
BETHLEHEM AT CBA, CHRISTIAN BROTHERS ACADEMY, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 7 P.M.
Not only has CBA not lost a game this season — they haven’t allowed a point. The Brothers (2-0) enter their third game of the 2021 season Friday outscoring opponents 60-0 this season with no sign of stopping against Bethlehem (0-2).
CBA beat La Salle 20-0 back in week zero and Averill Park 40-0 last week. Both those teams are known for their distinct offenses but that didn’t matter to the Brothers defense.
Bobby Burns is at his first year as head coach after coming to CBA from Troy High and as predicted, he came in ready to change the program.
Against La Salle, Brendan Simek rushed for a touchdown while Donald Jones added two of his own
on the ground for the Brothers. In their win over Averill Park, Simek and Jones continued that trend when each rushed for two touchdowns apiece. The Brothers totaled 384 total yards against Averill Park and just 50 was through the air.
As for Bethlehem, both of their losses were to good Class A opponents. First, the Eagles lost to Ballston Spa in week zero, 24-7. They followed that performance up with a 27-6 loss to Niskayuna. Jayson Black rushed for a touchdown against Ballston Spa and Mike Waldenmaier rushed for a touchdown against Niskayuna.
Prediction: CBA Wins, 40-13
CLASS A BALLSTON SPA AT LA SALLE, LA SALLE INSTITUTE, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 7 P.M.
Ballston Spa (2-0) will be an exciting group to watch in 2021 as proven by their two wins over Class AA opponents Bethlehem and Colonie. La Salle (0-1) hasn’t played since week zero where they lost to CBA, 20-0.
Ballston Spa’s Blaine Zoller looks like one of, if not the, top dogs in the backfield, rushing for 94 yards against Colonie last week and scoring a touchdown against Bethlehem. Darrien Insogna also was a beast against Colonie, cruising for 78 yards and two touchdowns and scored another touchdown against Bethlehem the week before.
La Salle led by John Audino and his multiple set offense will have another talented offense spearheaded by Eddie Yamin, Davonte Canty, and J.J Thompson. Despite not scoring against CBA two weeks ago, the Cadets return a bulk of their line and have some athletes in the backfield. It’s Yamin’s senior season before going off to Dayton for baseball so bet on him trying to make a splash in Section II football.
Prediction: Ballston Spa wins, 21-17
TROY AT BURNT HILLS, BURNT HILLS-BALLSTON LAKE HIGH SCHOOL, SEPTEMBER 17, 7 P.M.
Fall II’s Class A Championship is getting a revival early in the 2021 season when Troy travels to take on Burnt Hills. Burnt Hills (01) had a tough draw in week one against Shaker but will get a chance to shake up the status quo against the Flying Horses (0-1), who fell to Guilderland last week.
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake is quarterback Tyler Manning. Manning threw for 73 yards against Shaker but did complete nine of 15 attempts. His passes were spread out but he connected with Justin Gray for 33 yards. Jaleel Joseph rushed for 102 yards on 12 runs and Michael Frattarola added 46 yards of his own against Shaker. Luke Zoller scored the only Burnt Hills touchdown. The offense totaled 223 yards while the defense allowed 382 to the Bison.
Troy and newly appointed head coach John Barber had a tough draw to get Guilderland week one, but the Flying Horses are still a scary matchup for any team. Undefeated in Fall II, no team even really came close to touching Troy, even Burnt Hills when the two played in the Class A final. Alex Wolfe and Xavier Leigh graduate but Troy returns senior receiver Isreal Joye and junior running back Maizahn Thomas.
Prediction: Burnt Hills, 28-20
COLUMBIA AT NISKAYUNA, NISKAYUNA HIGH SCHOOL, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 7 P.M.
Columbia (1-0) got some bonus points for their win over Saratoga last week, but now they will need to go into the Silver Warriors home land where the Class A foe is 1-1 but 1-0 against Section II opponents.
Niskayuna beat Bethlehem 27-6 last week thanks to a big performance from Dan Quinn who completed 21 passes on 36 attempts for 326 yards and three touchdowns and added another touchdown with his legs. The defense allowed 226
yards in the loss. Dahvion Wimberly racked up 101 receiving yards and a touchdown in the win.
Columbia will have a bigger challenge than last week. They had a lot of flags and some simple mistakes in the win over Saratoga. Michael Bennet had two touchdowns and 89 yards total rushing in the win. The offense totaled 122 yards while the defense just allowed just 89 to the Blue Streaks.
Prediction: Niskayuna wins, 21-14
AVERILL PARK AT QUEENSBURY, QUEENSBURY HIGH SCHOOL, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1:30 P.M.
Averill Park (1-1) will probably really want to rebound after last week’s loss to Class AA CBA. They will get the chance Saturday against Queensbury (0-1).
Averill Park returns Gavin Giordano and Dan Milanese from Fall II in hopes the two can lead the Warriors to some postseason success in the regular 2021 season. Giordano passed for two touchdowns and added one with his legs in Averill Park’s win over Colonie. Nicholas Galuski caught one of those touchdowns and added another on the ground in the win.
Averill Park had 328 yards in the Colonie win and passed for 96 of them, something that doesn’t happen all too often in the Averill Park offense. Against CBA let’s just say the offense wasn’t as nearly successful.
Queensbury is coming off of their 30-6 loss to Shen last week. Trevor Bailey rushed for a 28 yard touchdown in the loss while the Sparatans totalled 113 yards, most of which were racked up on the ground.
Prediction: Averill Park wins, 21-7
CLASS B LANSINGBURGH AT SCOTIA, SCOTIA HIGH SCHOOL, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 7 P.M.
Both Lansingburgh and Scotia are winless coming into their early bought in 2021. ‘Burgh lost to Gloversville
in week one, 21-14, while Scotia fell to Mohonasen 33-20.
For Lansingburgh, it will be a question of if Matt Rodriguez will be back under center to allow for Andrew Lyman to move out and use his athleticism as a wide receiver or back. Rodriguez sat out week one with pectoral issues.
In his absence, Lyman passed for 185 yards and rushed for another 32 on the ground. Lyman scored both of the Knight’s touchdowns in the loss.
Scotia was led by Jack Armstrong in their loss to Mohonasen. Armstrong scored both touchdowns.
When the two teams met in 2017, Lansingburgh won 24-21.
Prediction: Lansingburgh wins, 24-21
CLASS C SCHUYLERVILLE AT CHATHAM, CHATHAM HIGH SCHOOL, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 7 P.M.
A late change to the schedule sent the Black Horses, originally scheduled for Johnstown, to Chatham to take on the Panthers. Chatham was supposed to play Catskill/Cairo-Durham in week one but Catskill didn’t have enough players eligible. In week two, their matchup with Lake George was presumably cancelled due to COVID-19 positive cases for Lake George.
Schuylerville (2-0) is picking up right where they left off in terms of fall football with wins over Hudson and Hoosick Falls/Tamarac to kick off 2021. They are currently the third ranked Class C team in New York.
In their week one win over Hudson, the Black Horses were led by Owen Sherman, who rushed for two touchdowns and passed for two more in the win. Against Tamarac, Schuylerville totaled 214 offensive yards while shutting out the Tamarac, Hoosick Falls coop.
Chatham has yet to play a game this year but in Fall II the Panthers were 1-2 according to Maxpreps.com.
Prediction: Schuylerville wins, 35-7