UNDEFEATED BOWL
Troy (9-0) plays Saratoga (9-0) in the Section II Class AA Super Bowl tonight
The Saratoga Springs and Troy High varsity football teams have both run the table so far.
Unbeaten through the regular season and two home playoff games, one of the runs will come to an end in the Class AA Super Bowl at 7 p.m. Friday at UAlbany.
The contest is a matchup between the last to large-school sectional champs.
Last week, Saratoga Springs had its toughest game of the season against a one-loss Shaker. The Blue Streaks pulled out a victory thanks to a touchdown from Wes Eglintine in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, 29-22.
Saratoga coach Terry Jones said that playing against Shaker was everything his team thought it would be.
“We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game between two good teams and we expected it to possibly be a back and forth game,” Jones said. “I think we left some points on the field. They didn’t force us to punt the entire game. We took the opening drive down, got to the five yard and then penalties backed us up and we weren’t able to get any points out of it. At times, we killed our--
selves offensively, but the kids stepped up and came through when they needed to. I thought Wes played an outstanding game, running and throwing the ball. I thought Christian Kondo stepped up and showed why he is a sophomore up on varsity with 125 receiving yards and two touchdowns. It was an exciting game.”
The playoff contests have been the first real challenges for Saratoga since a win over Shenendehowa in Week 3.
Jones said it showed his team has the drive to win, especially when playing from behind.
“It showed that our kids don’t quit,” Jones said. “Last week was the first time we had fallen behind all season. We fell behind 7- 0 and 14-7 and you never knowhowkids are going to react to that. They reacted as we would expect them to. They stepped up; they played their game and were able to come out victorious. It was great being challenged the way we were last week and the week before because prior to that we had a couple games where we won rather easy. It was great to see the kids overcome that adversity.”
Senior CamAdams, who fought back fromaWeek 4 injury to play last week on the defensive side of the ball, said his team needs to play strong defense to beat Troy.
“Our defense needs to be really, really good this week,” Adams said. “They have some really good players on offense, who can do a lot of good things. Our defense needs to lock down. Last week, we gave up a pretty good amount of points, but this week we really have to key in on some guys and hopefully we can shut them down.”
Troy, the defending Class AA state champion, is on a run of 22 consecutive victories and boasts one of the most potent offenses in the state. Saratoga Springs won the 2015 Section II title and made a run to theDome, where the squad was beaten by Section V’s Aquinas.
Troy’s Joey Ward leads the region in scoring thanks to his 25 rushing touchdowns. However, the skilled senior has also thrown for multiple touchdowns and scored a couple receiving touchdowns. His teammate Dev Holmes is just as explosive as a dual rushing-receiving threat.
Quarterback Joe Casale gets the ball to the Flying Horses’ skill positions but can also run it himself when needed.
Casale is also a keymember of the Troy defense, which has limited opponents to basically nothing when the first-team unit has been on the field.
“A lot of Joey Ward and Dev Holmes,” Jones said. “They are two outstanding football players, arguably they are the best football players in Section II, but they aren’t the only players on that team. They have an outstanding quarterback who also is a DI prospect as a secondary player and they are good at what they do. They are good up front, they are good on both sides of the ball, their linebackers are active, they corners are going to play in your face and match you up, they have great team speed. It is certainly a challenge. They are 9- 0 and, I believe, the top scoring team in Section II and definitely the AA and they are that for a reason.”
Making it to UAlbany is big for the Blue Streaks. Last season was a disappointing season because of injuries and only one regular season win. This season was a complete turnaround in that they now have the chance to call themselves the best team in Section II Class AA football.
Jones said the Super Bowl is the goal for every team in Section II and most teams would love to be where Saratoga is now.
“This is one of the goal every team in Section II strives for, an opportunity to play for their classification championship and we are there,” Jones said. “Of all the AA teams it is us and Troy, so it is certainly exciting for the kids. There are a lot of schools who would love to be in our position right now and still out here practicing and playing this week. The kids are working hard and they are having fun and we are excited.”