The Record Blogs: Off the Record: Mechanicville wins and gets in, tops Tamarac, 28-27 (2 OT)

Mechanicville's Jake Mastrocola celebrates the Red Raiders' dramatic overtime victory over Tamarac Friday night in Clums Corners. For his highlights, view the video below. (Vidcaps by Will Montgomery - The Record).

CLUMS CORNERS -- When David Funaro turned the corner and did not see any Tamarac defenders in his way, one year of frustration for the Mechanicville High School football program was wiped away.

Mechanicville, which finished the 2009 regular season with a 5-2 record but missed the postseason because of a quarterpoint tiebreaker, faced a win-and-get-in situation for the 2010 playoffs Friday night at Tamarac.

The Red Raiders overcame a 12-point fourth quarter deficit – scoring twice in the final 50 seconds of regulation – and Funaro caught a 15-yard touchdown pass that set up his game-winning two-point conversion run in a 28-27 double overtime Class C North Division victory at Tamarac High School.

Mechanicville's J.J. Abele carries the ball in Friday's Class C North Division game at Tamarac. He scored all three Red Raiders touchdowns in regulation. (Action photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

"It feels really good to win like that too," Funaro said. "We came out really hard, the line stepped up and it was a great ending to that game. It was a great ending, it really was."

Mechanicville (4-2, 4-3) leapfrogged Tamarac (4-2, 5-2) in the North Division standings and will be the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. The Red Raiders, making their first playoff appearance from 2006, will play either Fonda-Fultonville or Watervliet, depending on the result of today’s Voorheesville at Watervliet contest.

Tamarac, the No. 4 seed, will travel to South Division No. 1 Chatham in the first round of the section II Class C playoffs on Friday.

"We knew it was a 50-50 shot and we were both evenly matched and we just did awesome," said Mechanicville senior running back J.J. Abele, pictured above, who gained a game-high 87 rushing yards on 14 attempts and scored all three Mechanicville touchdowns in regulation. "The whole team worked together. I’m really happy right now."

Tamarac grabbed the early lead when quarterback Nick Casale connected with Tyler Larvie on a 53-yard screen pass touchdown just under two minutes into the game.

The teams traded punts the rest of the first quarter and Casale found Larvie again four and one half minutes into the second quarter on a 55-yard touchdown strike down the right sideline.

Mechanicville senior captain J.J. Abele, a running back and linebacker, stiff arms Tamarac's Kevin O'Keefe during Friday's game.

Abele, however, gave the Red Raiders some life by returning the opening kickoff of the second half 83 yards for a touchdown.

Tamarac pinned Mechanicville deep in its own territory early in the fourth quarter, tipped a Red Raiders punt and Casale scored on a 25-yard run that gave the Bengals a 12-point lead with 10:11 to play.

Mechanicville responded with a 17-play, five and one half minute drive that ended with Casale intercepting a pass throw by Red Raiders quarterback Sam Connors on a fourth-and-goal play from the eight-yard line.

For video highlights from Friday's game, visit www.troyrecord.com/video/sports

A penalty-filled Tamarac drive and a punt shanked out-of-bounds set up Abele for a 25-yard touchdown run with 50 seconds remaining. The Red Raiders recovered the ensuing onside kick and Abele scored on a one-yard run with 1.3 seconds left on the clock to tie the game. The Tamarac defense stopped Abele just short of the goal line on the following two-point conversion play, which sent the game to overtime.

"They got some momentum going," said Tamarac head coach Erick Roadcap. "Mechanicville did a great job. They played hard right until the end. They did a great job. It was a tough game either way and it could have gone either way. They did a great job with special teams and that really made the difference in the game - an onside kick and a kick return and the rest is history."

Tamarac's Nick Arnold is covered in mud in the first quarter of Friday's Class C North Division football game against Mechanicville. The game was played under a steady drizzle through much of the first half.

Mechanicville has never lost to Tamarac in program history. Red Raiders head coach Kevin Collins told his team after the game that he was "more proud of this team right now than any team I’ve ever coached."

"I can’t feel my toes," laughed Abele, covered in mud. "I can’t feel anything on me. But it’s awesome. It really is."

"That was Red Raider football," Funaro, pictured below, said. "That’s what it was. It was heart."

NOTES: Larvie, Section II's leading receiver this year by yardage, increased his season totals to 572 receiving yards on 23 catches. He has grabbed seven touchdowns and averages 24.9 yards per reception.
Tamarac QB Nick Casale has completed 46-of-99 passes for 985 yards this season. He missed much of the Greenwich game in Week Five and all of Game Six against Corinth.
Tamarac's Wade Hansen made six tackles Friday - three were sacks. Joe Hulsebosch made seven tackles and blocked a punt.
Tamarac is making its first playoff appearance since 2008 and just the third in program history. The team won the 1983 Section II Division III title over Hoosick Falls.

MECHANICVILLE 28, TAMARAC 27 (2 OT)

Mechanicville (4-2, 4-3) 0 0 8 12 0 7 - 27
Tamarac (4-2, 5-2) 7 6 0 7 0 7 - 28
First Quarter
T - Tyler Larvie 53 pass from Nick Casale (Reed Meehan kick) 9:57
Second Quarter
T - Larvie 55 pass from Casale (kick failed) 7:35
Third Quarter
M - J.J. Abele 83 kick return (Abele run) 11:45
Fourth Quarter
T - Casale 25 run (Meehan kick) 10:11
M - Abele 25 run (pass failed) 0:50
M - Abele 1 run (run failed) 0:01
First Overtime
No scoring
Second Overtime
T - David Newell 7 run (Meehan kick)
M - David Funaro 15 pass from Sam Connors (Funaro run)
Individual Stats
Rushing: Mechanicville (45-130): Abele 14-87, Funaro 20-27, Dunn 3-29, Hatalski 2-5, Connors 6-(-18). Tamarac (35-139): M.Morine 22-78, Casale 9-47, Broderick 4-14.
Passing: Mechanicville: Connors 8-27-106-1-1. Tamarac: Casale 5-16-158-2-2.
Receiving: Mechanicville (8-106): Grayson 6-95, Funaro 1-15, Dunn 1-(-4). Tamarac (5-158): Larvie 3-113, N.Newell 2-45.

Brien Bouyea covered the Bishop Maginn at Lansingburgh game for us. Here is an excerpt from his story. For the full scoop on the Knights, check out Saturday's edition of The Record.

TROY -- Smashmouth football has long been the recipe for success at Lansingburgh High School - and that formula delivered the Knights a coveted division championship and a No. 1 play¬off seed on Friday night.

Seniors Marcus Little and Jacob Luce powered a punishing ground game that controlled the clock and wore down Bishop Maginn as Lansingburgh methodically grinded out a 20-14 victory to clinch the Southeast Division champi¬onship and a No. 1 seed in the upcoming Class A playoffs.

"We just want to pound away at teams and play to our strengths," Luce said. "We believe we can run the ball on any¬body and control the game that way. We made some mistakes tonight, but we made up for that by controlling the ball and stepping up on defense."

Lansingburgh's Chad Laustrup leaps and applauds the Knights' effort Friday night against Bishop Maginn. (Photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

LANSINGBURGH 20, BISHOP MAGINN 14

Bishop Maginn 7 0 0 7 - 14
Lansingburgh 0 7 6 7 - 20
First Quarter
BM - Matthias McKinnon 16 run (John Sica kick), 9:56.
Second Quarter
L - Jake Luce 1 run (Jake Shaw kick), 5:18.
Third Quarter
L - Marcus Little 8 run (kick failed), 9:51.
Fourth Quarter
L - Luce 22 run (Shaw kick), 5:27.
BM - McKinnon 35 run (Sica kick), 2:51.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: BM - Matthias McKinnon 14-73, Antoine Johnson 6-19, Dion Williams 7-10, John Sica 5-(-6); L - Marcus Little 20-129, Anthony Fogarty 3-7, Jake Luce 11-59.
PASSING: BM - John Sica 4-12-0-64; L - Carlos Grillo 3-6-0-100.
RECEIVING: BM - Isaiah Phillips 1-40, Antoine Johnson 1-(-6), James Lawitz 1-12, Javon Williams 1-18; L - Anthony Fogarty 2-72, Sajae Pryor 1-28.

Lansingburgh's Marcus Little looks for running room Friday night against Bishop Maginn. The Knights won the Southeast Division title in the process, 20-14.

Friday's scoreboard

Class AA
Empire Division
CBA 35, Albany 0
Guilderland 33, Bethlehem 7
Saratoga 14, Shenendehowa 12
Liberty Division
Columbia 26, La Salle 20
Schenectady 23, Colonie 6
Non-division
Niskayuna 42, Ballston Spa 17
Class A
Southeast Division
Lansingburgh 20, Maginn 14
Averill Park 32, Mohonasen 14
Northwest Division
Amsterdam 42, Gloversville 21
Non-division
Burnt Hills 70, S.Glens Falls 13
Scotia-Glenville 34, Cairo 0
Class B
Reinfurt Division
Ravena 21, Albany Academy 6
West Division
Hudson Falls 61, Broadalbin 34
Cobleskill 26, Johnstown 6
Schalmont 13, Schuylerville 0
Class C
South Division
Fonda 21, Taconic Hills 6
North Division
Mechanicville 28, Tamarac 27 (2 OT)
Granville 48, Corinth 20
Non-division
Chatham 48, Greenwich 28
Catholic Central 14, I.Crane 13
Class D
Rensselaer 18, Whitehall 6

Saratoga Springs defeated a reeling Shenendehowa team, 14-12, to leapfrog the Plainsmen in the Empire Division standings. Ballston Spa was awarded the No. 1 seed with the Blue Streaks' victory. (Photo courtsey The Saratogian).

The Record

COLONIE -- Schenectady High finished with 232 yards and did just enough to put its team into the Section II Class AA playoffs.
The Patriots’ (3-3, 3-4) offense was led by Kirieme Pitts, who rushed for 164 yards on 17 carries to defeat Colonie 23-7 on Friday night.
Isaiah Earing, Mister Taylor and Tim Cox rushed for one touchdown each for the Patriots, who earned the Class AA Liberty Division No. 4 seed in the upcoming Liberty Division playoffs. Schenectady will play Empire Division champion Ballston Spa next week in the first round.
Davion Brink saw the bulk of the carries for Colonie, tallying 70 yards on 15 carries and one touchdown.
Niskayuna 42, Ballston Spa 17: Kyle Bayly threw for four touchdowns on 22 of 37 passing for 420 yards to pace the Silver Warriors, who were down 7-0 in the first quarter. Nick Schuler caught two touchdowns for 236 yards on eight catches while Chris Henry and Josh Callahan brought in the other two Bayly tosses.
Troy Gargiulo ran in the Scotties’ lone score from eight yards out. Ballston Spa still locked up the No. 1 seed in the Empire Division because of Shendehowa’s loss.
Saratoga 14, Shenendehowa 12: The Blue Streaks (4-2, 4-3) leapfrogged the Plainsmen (4-2, 5-2) for the No. 2 spot in the Empire Division. Shen, the No. 3 seed, will play at Shaker or Troy next week in the opening round of the Class AA playoffs.
Bronson Greene ran in a fourth quarter touchdown, but the two-point conversion failed.
Columbia 26, La Salle 20: Connor Ramon hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from John Stanley to give the Blue Devils (1-5, 1-6) their first victory of the season.
The Cadets (1-5, 1-6) got two passing touchdowns from Garrett Delory and a rushing touchdown from Josh Landy.
Guilderland 33, Bethlehem 7: Guilderland (4-3) running back Tony Stanish accounted for 80 of the Dutchmen’s 230 yards on the ground and ran in two touchdowns. Quarterback Ryan Smith threw for 160 yards and one touchdown, an 11 yard pass to Dylan August. Mike Garcelon scored from ten yards out early in the fourth and defensive lineman Matt Callanan took a 21 yard fumble return in for a score late in the contest. The Eagles (2-5) got on the board with 1:54 left when quarterback John Gosstola connected with Zach Garcia for a 34 yard touchdown completion.
CBA 35, Albany 0: Nick Antoinette scored two rushing touchdowns for the Brothers (3-3, 4-3).
Elijah Dukes, Cody Zappone and Bob Macari also scored rushing touchdowns for CBA.

Class A
Averill Park 32, Mohonasen 14: The Warriors rushed 248 yards on 36 attempts in a Southeast Division tilt. Matt Joe ran for 82 yards and three touchdowns for Averill Park (5-2), the Southeast Division No. 2 seed, while Tyler Dunworth rushed for 85 yards and one score. Noah Friedman had 100 yards on the ground and scored the Mighty Warriors (0-7) lone touchdown.
Burnt Hills 70, South Glens Falls 13: Brandon Beatty scored four rushing touchdowns as the Northwest Division champion Spartans (5-0, 7-0) remained unbeaten.
Amsterdam 42, Gloversville 21: The Rugged Rams (4-1, 6-1) solidified their playoff position as the Northwest Division No. 2 seed with a solid road victory.

Class B
Ravena 21, Albany Academy 6: The Indians captured the No. 1 seed in the Reinfurt Division with the victory while the Cadets drop to the No. 2 seed in next week’s playoffs. Corey Watts rushed for two touchdowns for 177 yards on 28 carries to lead the Indians’ offense which ran for 305 total yards. Zay Richardson, who rushed for 183 yards on 29 carries scored on a 70 yard run to close out the game.
Schalmont 13, Schuylerville 0: The Sabres scored all of its points in the second quarter to stay unbeaten in Class B action at 7-0. The Sabres earn No. 1 seed in the West Division with the win and a first round bye for next week’s playoffs. Alex Hildebrand returned an interception 43 yards for Schalmont’s first touchdown. Devon Willis scored on a 21 yard run later in the second quarter for a 13-0 advantage.
Cobleskill 26, Johnstown 6: Cullan Hanna threw a 28 yard pass to Chris Phelan in the first quarter and hit Jordyn McIntire for a 27 yard touchdown toss in the second quarter to give the Bulldogs a West Division victory. McIntire added a nine yard run in the final quarter for 85 yards rushing on 15 carries.
Hudson Falls 61, Broadalbin-Perth 34: The Tigers posted a West Division victory.

Class C
Chatham 48, Greenwich 28: The Panthers (5-0, 7-0) finished off another undefeated regular season on the road against the Witches (5-1, 5-2).
Granville 48, Corinth 20: Codi Scribner finished with more than 200 yards on the night rushing and three touchdowns for the Golden Horde (4-3, 4-3), who were eliminated from postseason contention by Mechanicville’s victory at Tamarac.
Fonda 21, Taconic Hills 6: The Braves (5-1, 5-2) got touchdowns in each of the first three quarters to down the Titans (1-5, 1-6).

Class D
Rensselaer 18, Whitehall 6: Tom Collins rushed for two touchdowns, one for 23 yards in the first quarter and the second from one yard out in the second quarter to lead the Rams, who earned a No. 2 seed with the win and a first round bye for next week’s playoffs. Whitehall (4-2) answered with a 33 yard run by Josh Hoagland in the second quarter. Tim Foust found Jarrid Wilkinson for an eight yard touchdown toss in the third quarter.

Non-Division
Catholic Central 14, Ichabod Crane 13: Tyler Gaston and Bradley Adams both had touchdowns for the Crusaders (0-5, 2-5) in a victory over the Riders.
Scotia 34, Cairo-Durham 0: The Tartans (1-3, 2-5) raced out to a 22-0 halftime lead and never looked back.

Saturday's schedule

Class AA
Liberty Division
Shaker at Troy 2:30 p.m.
Class A
Northwest Division
Queensbury at Glens Falls 1:30 p.m.
Class B
Reinfurt Division
Hudson at Cohoes 1:30 p.m.
Class C
South Division
Voorheesville at Watervliet 2 p.m.
Canajoharie at Coxsackie 1 p.m.
Class D
B.Gibbons at Fort Edward 1 p.m.
Warrensburg at Cambridge 1 p.m

A Niskayuna ballcarrier is wrapped up by a Ballston Spa tackler during Friday's game. The Silver Warriors won big, but the Scotties earned the Empire Division's No. 1 seed by virtue of Saratoga's victory over Shen.