The Record Blogs: Off the Record: Troy looks Super against Shen; Hoosick Falls crushes Chatham; Rensselaer falls in D Bowl

The defense certainly showed up for Troy in Friday's Section II Class AA Super Bowl against Shenendehowa. The Flying Horses posted a 38-0 shutout, capturing the first Section II title for the school since 2000. (Troy photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

COLONIE -- The Troy High School football looked super Friday night against Shenendehowa in the Section II Class AA championship game.

Troy limited Shen to 63 yards of total offense and the Flying Horses piled up 367 rushing yards on 44 attempts in a 38-0 victory over the Plainsmen at South Colonie High School.

Luis Lind (21) leads a group of Troy tacklers in pursuit of a Shenendehowa ballcarrier in Friday's Section II Class AA Super Bowl.

Jordan Canzeri, a senior running back and defensive back for Troy, gained 173 yards on 13 carries, scoring four touchdowns, including all three of Troy’s scores before halftime.

Troy (10-0), the Liberty Division’s No. 1 seed, held the Plainsmen to seven first downs in the game, two of which came on defensive pass interference calls. Shen’s star senior running back Bronson Greene was kept to 10 rushing yards on eight attempts – he ran the ball just once after halftime.

For video highlights from Troy's Super Bowl win, visit www.troyrecord.com/video/sports

"It’s a shutout in the Super Bowl. How much better does it get?" asked a soaking wet Troy head coach Jack Burger, who, like defensive coordinator Bob Burns, had been drenched with the contents of the water bucket in the game’s waning moments.

It was Troy’s first Section II Super Bowl title since 2000, which was the last in a string of five consecutive titles for the Flying Horses.

Troy's Michael Pastore drags down a Shen running back during Friday's game. Troy limited Shen superstar Bronson Greene to just 10 rushing yards in the game.

"This is what we’ve been waiting for," said senior lineman Jay Yaskanich. "We’ve been busting our tail all year for this. The first thing we have to do is say thanks to the coaches, our parents and everyone on the team that supported us."

Troy advances to play the Section IX champion in a regional game Saturday Nov. 13 at Dietz Stadium in Kingston at 7:30 p.m.

Monroe-Woodbury (9-0, No. 1 in the state) and Kingston play today in the Section IX championship game at Dietz Stadium at 7 p.m.

"Everybody is on the same page right now," said senior fullback and middle linebacker Kyle Geraci. "We’re all working hard in practice. We had three decent weeks of practice in a row. We’ve all been working hard and we all want the same goal."

Troy's Stephaun Grinage (31), a tough-as-nails linebacker, is the Flying Horses' No. 4 option out of the backfield and a pretty potent one at that.

Troy drained five and one half minutes off the clock on its first drive, a 10-play series that resulted in a seven-yard touchdown run for Canzeri. He scored on a 34-yard scamper on the first play in the second quarter and added a 36-yard touchdown run later in the period.

"We had to put it in their heads early that we had to stop them on defense and we had to score quick on offense," Canzeri said. "We just had to push, push, push and get the ball down the field and score. We knew that that would shake them up a little bit."

Troy High's Jordan Canzeri runs behind Shatiek Lewis (41) and Kyle Geraci (44) in Friday's Section II Class AA Super Bowl at Colonie High School.

Senior quarterback Brian Marsh added 87 rushing yards on nine attempts and Shatiek Lewis, who scored a pair of touchdowns, gained 70 yards on 10 carries.

"We’re as good as the sum of our parts," Burger said. "If you try to shut down Jordan, Sha will carry the load. If you try to shut down Sha, Brian can carry the load.

"We should have probably thrown the ball a little bit more since they were getting nine guys up, but we knew they’re not a quick strike offense and they were going to have to burn five, six minutes to move the ball and score," continued Burger. "We were trying to shorten the game just like they were."

Shenendehowa (7-3), the Empire Division No. 3 seed, sputtered in the Super Bowl but made a tremendous run just to get there after losing its final two regular season games.

"I thought that showed a little character," said Shen head coach Brent Steuerwald. "They responded in the correct manner to adversity and that is one of the great lessons that you learn from playing football."

TROY 38, SHENENDEHOWA 0

Shenendehowa (7-3) 0 0 0 0 - 0
Troy (10-0) 6 12 13 7 - 38
First Quarter
T - Jordan Canzeri 7 run (Badro Talbi kick blocked) 6:32
Second Quarter
T - Canzeri 25 run (Brian Marsh run failed) 11:54
T - Canzeri 36 run (Marsh pass to Canzeri failed) 8:32
Third Quarter
T - Shatiek Lewis 8 run (Talbi kick failed) 5:56
T - Canzeri 56 run (Talbi kick) 0:57
Fourth Quarter
T - Lewis 10 run (Talbi kick) 11:10
Individual Stats:
Rushing: Shenendehowa (37-30): Fusco 8-15, McCart 3-11, Greene 8-10, Walrath 6-1, No. 6 10, Neumann 1-5, Schilling 2-4, Sutton 1-1, Gailor 1-0, Van Galen 6-(-27). Troy (43-367): Canzeri 13-173, Marsh 9-87, Lewis 10-70, Grinage 5-28, Felder 4-7, Geraci 1-6, Mann 1-(-1), Chamberlain 1-(-3).
Passing: Shenendehowa: Van Galen 2-9-33-0-0. Troy: Marsh 1-3-18-0-0.
Receiving: Shenendehowa (2-33): Wall 1-17, Sutton 1-16. Troy (1-18): Thomas 1-18.

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Hoosick Falls senior quarterback Mike Brewster pumps his fists as he runs into the end zone against Chatham in Friday night's Section II Class C Super Bowl game at Stillwater. (Hoosick Falls photos by Mike McMahon - The Record).

Ed Weaver

The Record

STILLWATER — Hoosick Falls delivered a message to contenders for the New York State Class C football championship on Friday night.

'Just try to stop us' was that message, as the Panthers overwhelmed their namesakes from Chatham in an avalanche of offense, scoring nine touchdowns, gaining 31 first downs and amassing 674 yards in total offense in a 61-28 Section II Super Bowl blowout.

The 10-0 Panthers scored late in the wild first half to gain a 28-28 tie, then dominated Chatham -- the state's 4th-ranked Class C team -- on both sides of the ball in the second half.

Sophomore running back Brad Burns rushed for 248 yards and five touchdowns, while senior Tanner Williams, the Panthers No. 1 rusher this season, carried 24 times for 201 yards and one touchdown.

He also set up another first-half score, taking a swing pass on a tackle-breaking, direction-changing 60 yard gain.

Panthers quarterback Mike Brewster passed for 166 yards, one for a touchdown, and also rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown.

Hoosick Falls rushed for 508 yards.

"Never did I imagine we would rack up over 600 yards, especially in a (Section II) Super Bowl against such a strong team," Hoosick Falls coach Ron Jones said.

"Our two running backs did a great job of running through tackles and finishing runs," Jones said.

"This is awesome," Burns said. "Our offensive line took control and we just started running the ball and when we got up, we stayed up. I love it."

Hoosick Falls defense surrendered four touchdowns and 277 yards in the first half but kept Chatham off the board over the final 24 minutes and held them to 74 yards.

"The coaches made some great adjustments to the play-calling and we followed that up," linebacker Garrett Foster said of the great defensive showing in the second half.

"There wasn't one person who didn't step it up in the second half," said fellow linebacker Steve Colvin. "We knew we had to do that."

Chatham speedy star running back Josh Keyes rushed for 110 yards and one touchdown in the first half and also threw an option pass to Ian McGrath for a 21-yard TD.

In the second half, Keyes rushed just five times for 14 yards and Chatham fell behind.

Hoosick Falls senior linebacker Garrett Foster tackles Chatham's Josh Keyes during Friday's Section II Class C Super Bowl at Stillwater.

Chatham quarterback Tanner Niles passed for 199 yards and one TD but a pair of second-half interceptions killed any chance for a Chatham rally.

"It was almost like an arena football game," Jones said. "We felt like if we could get a couple stops, we'd be all right."

Burns capped scoring drives of 70 and 65 yards with 5-yard scoring runs over the first eight minutes of the third quarter, then an interception by Ryan Hyde killed a Chatham drive deep in Hoosick Falls territory.

Then Brewster capped a 63-yard drive with a 37-yard, scrambling run for a touchdown that gave HF a 48-28 lead early in the fourth quarter.

That, coupled with the fact that Keyes was showing a limp, virtually ended Chatham's hopes.

Hoosick Falls receiver Josh Mulready leaps with the football during Friday's Section II Class C Super Bowl victory over Chatham.

"We thought it was going to be a great game and it was," Burns said.

"Not a clue," Burns said when asked if the Panthers suspected they could run so effectively against Chatham.

"We saw that some other teams ran the ball against them, so that was our game plan but no, nothing like this.

"Just amazing," Burns said. "We came out firing in the second half, we ran all over them and I love it."

HOOSICK FALLS 61, CHATHAM 28

Hoosick Falls (10-0) 7 21 14 19 — 61

Chatham (9-1) 14 14 0 0 — 28

First quarter

HF — Quinn Rasmus 21 pass from Mike Brewster Erick Mulready kick) 7:31

Ch. — Ian McGrath 21 pass from Josh Keyes (Ryan Behrens kick) 5:14

Ch. — Keyes 8 run (Behrens kick) 0:08

Second period

HF — Brad Burns 5 run (Mulready kick) 9:28

Ch. — McGrath 28 pass from Mike Brewster (Behrens kick) 7:33

HF — Burns 4 run (Mulready kick) 5:42

Ch. — Keyes 7 run (Behrens kick) 4:24

HF — Brewster 7 run (Mulready kick) 3:21

Third quarter

HF — Burns 5 run (kick failed) 8:05

HF — Burns 5 run (Connor Williams pass from Randy Tutunjian) 4:14

Fourth quarter

HF — Brewster 37 run (kick failed) 11:50

HF — Williams 1 run (kick blocked) 7:53

HF — Burns 1 run (Mulready kick) 4:46

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Hoosick Falls -- Burns 18-248, 5 TDs; Tanner Williams 24-201, 1TD; Mike Brewster 6-60, 1 TD. Chatham-- Keyes 17-124, 2 TDs; Chase Smith 6-30; Trevor Madsen 2-6; Mike Dorato 1-6; Tanner Niles 5-minus-8; Zack 1-minus-3.

PASSING: Hoosick Falls -- Brewster 7-10-0, 166 yards, 1 TD; Niles 14-28-0, 199 yards, 1 TD.

RECEIVING: Hoosick Falls -- Rasmus 3-62, 1 TD; Williams 1-60; Josh Mulready 1-20; Tutunjian 1-13; Burns 1-11. Chatham -- McGrath 4-81, 2 TDs; Gilbert Rivera 4-69; Jordan Sirani 4-37; Keyes 1-6; Smith 1-6.

Hoosick Falls junior Tanner Williams (40) gained over 200 yards of total offense in Friday's Section II Class C Super Bowl victory over Chatham.

Cambridge's Matt Best runs against Rensselaer in the Section II Class D Super Bowl Friday night at Schuylerville High School. (Rensselaer photos by Mike McMahon - The Record).

Mike Cioffi
The Record

SCHUYLERVILLE -- The Cambridge High School football team is back. After a three year hiatus, the Indians are returning to the Class D regionals after overcoming a sluggish first half to post a convincing 35-0 Class D Super Bowl victory over Rensselaer Friday night at Schuylerville High School. The Indians last advanced past the Section II playoffs in 2007 when it won the Class C Super Bowl.

"We didn’t start off very well and little mistakes cost us points," Cambridge coach Doug Luke said. "We could have taken care of things a little earlier I think but eventually we got it together. Every time you win a sectional championship it feels good, there’s no question about it. It’s new for these guys so it’s even more special in that way," he added.

"We just came out with emotion and played great tonight," Cambridge running back Matt Best said. "It feels wonderful their (Rensselaer) a very good team."

Best finished with 151 yards rushing on 12 carries and three touchdowns.

Rensselaer's Tom Collins (7) looks to slip through the Cambridge defense Friday night at Schuylerville High School.

Rensselaer opened the game with a 12 play drive that was stalled on a failed fourth down attempt. The Rams lost starting quarterback Timmy Foust during that drive and he did not return.

"Tommy Collins tonight, hell of an effort but he’s also our number one weapon when we can move him around. With no quarterback we can’t move him around to much," Rensselaer coach Joel Preston said. "He (Collins) is not as sharp with it and it really handcuffed what we could do offensively."

Collins replaced Foust and fumbled the ball three plays later into the hands of Cambridge’s Jeremy Stevens deep in Rams territory. Cambridge took advantage and converted on a two yard touchdown run by Will Bromirski with 1:18 left in the first.

Matt Best scored from 60 yards out for one of his two touchdown runs on the night to give the Indians a 14-0 advantage with 5:51 left in the half.

"It helps to break a 50 yard run and then block a punt, everything went our way at that point," Luke said.

Bromirski picked off a Collins pass three plays later but the Rams front line stymied four consecutive Indian rushing attempts on the goal line to escape with a 14-0 deficit at the half.

Cambridge came out re-energized in the third quarter, rattling off two scores in a span of five minutes to stun the Rams. Best capped a four play, 57 yard drive with a 20 yard touchdown run just 1:42 into the quarter.

"Intensity, we all played with emotion (in the second half) and we played great. We came together, worked out all of our kinks and did what we needed to do to get better," Best said.

Later in the third, Cambridge snuffed out a fake punt attempt by Collins at mid field and took over at Rensselaer’s 11. On the next play, Billy Pine connected with Nick Diotte on an 11 yard scoring pass.

"Its one of those things that can happen, a little momentum change then bang you have three touchdowns," Luke said.

After a high snap resulted in a 29 yard loss for the Rams Collins had to punt from his own end line. The attempt was blocked and recovered by Best in the end zone for a touchdown and a 35-0 advantage for the Indians.

Cambridge will play the winner of today’s Section VIII Super Bowl between Moriah and Ticonderoga.

Moriah had beaten Rensselaer the past two years.

"We concentrate on the same thing every week, and hope that we do a good job with our scouting and put the kids in a position to play well and we take it from there," Luke said. "Its going to be nothing different than any other week, were just playing a different team," he added.