THE EMPIRE BELONGS TO THE BLUE STREAKS
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Saratoga Springs football came out looking to stay undefeated in the Empire Division on Friday taking on Albany.
They achieved their goal, winning 40-12.
Senior runningback Avery Mickle said it is great to be so successful this season.
“It is a goal we have had since we started working together this summer,” Mickle said. “We knew we had the talent to be great, we knew we had the coaches to help us out, we knew we had the great chance to be the best team in the division and we worked hard all offseason. When we palyed our first couple of games this season, we realized this could be our year, we really are a good team. We have been riding our momentum and we are going to ride it through the playoffs and hopefully win a state championship.”
Saratoga Springs coach Terry Jones said the perfect empire division is important, but he only looks one week at a time.
“We take every game one week at a time,” Jones said. “I know it is a cliché, but we really do and the kids really have. We really were concerned about all the distractions of homecoming, we were really worried about us being undefeated and they hadn’t won, but the kids came out and played the way we wanted them to. That is all we can ask of them and we are really proud of them.”
Saratoga scored first, balancing the run and pass game to get the scoring drive. Saratoga started at
Albany’s 35 yard line and ran the ball with a 12 yard run from Carter Steingraber, a three yard run from Ashtone Capone, another three yard run from Steingraber, a 12 yard pass to Lewi Clarke, a five yard run and a one yard touchdown run from Ashtone Capone.
Sequoia Cumming started as the kicker for the Blue Streaks and hit her Extra point of the game to make it 7-0.
The Blue Streaks scored on their second drive as well after scoring the Falcons to go fourth and out and punt it. Capone scored his second touchdown of the game on a three yard run and Cummings hit her second extra point to bring them the 14-0 lead after the first quarter.
Saratoga started with the ball in the second quarter and scored on their first drive again with Nick Frank finding a hole and going 39 yards for the touchdown making it 20-0.
“It was a nice touchdown,” Frank said. “It was the first handoff I had gotten and I was really excited to get the ball. I was able to find a hole and without the linemen it wouldn’t have been possible, so I got to say a great thanks to them. It is definitely really nice to find the endzone.”
They scored again on their next drive with Steingraber scoring on a 15 yard run bringing it to 26-0.
Albany had a chance in the next drive, but quarterback Steven Mincy threw an incomplete pass to Caleb John and turn the ball over on downs.
Mike Englintine scored on the next drive with an 11 yard pass and a nine yard touchdown pass to Clarke and Cumming hit another extra point to make it 33-0 heading into halftime.
Albany had a long drive to start the half, with Saratoga getting two penalties, and managed to work the ball down the field, but two incomplete passes to John and Kquazay Dickens gave Saratoga back the ball and they capitalized again.
Ben Kopi came in at running back for the Blue Streaks and managed a six yard touchdown run to bring it to 39-0.
The Falcons managed to score their first touchdown of the game on a long drive that started at their own 34 yard line. Dickens ran for five yards and caught a 29 yard pass to work his team into the Blue Streaks territory. Mincy then hit John for a 34 yard touchdown, but failed to convert the two-point conversion to make it 40-6.
Saratoga then turned it over on the next drive, getting to the fourth down and going for the punt. The ball was fumbled and recovered at the Saratoga 33 to start Albany’s second scoring drive.
A three yard run from Nazair Joseph, a three run from Dickens and a 24-yard pass to John led Albany to their second touchdown of the game. Mincy tried for the two-point conversion, but was sacked to make the score 40-12.
“All week we knew this game is a game we should win and we weren’t taking it lightly,” Mickle said. “We knew we were the better team in this matchup and we knew we wanted to win by more than just one touchdown. Coming out, having our names announced, taking pictures with the parents, it really helped boost your confidence and gets you in the moment a little bit and ready for the game. You want to kick butt and we did.”
This game also marks the last regular season home game for the seniors on the team.
Jones said it was big for them to get this win.
“Huge crowd here tonight, homecoming weekend, hall of fame weekend, senior night, there is a lot of people here,” Jones said. “It is great for them. 30 years down the road, these guys get together; they are going to be able to talk about senior night, homecoming their senior and that is what it is all about.”
The Blue Streaks moved to 6-0 on the season and staying undefeated in the Empire Division.
Mickle said being able to be undefeated in the Empire Division is big for his team.
“The Empire Division is probably one of the most competitive divisions in New York State, let alone Section II and we haven’t lost a game. We beat Shen, we beat Guilderland, we beat CBA, all power schools, all the coaches are proud, all of us are proud of each other and it is just a great feeling to go undefeated.”