by Gary Danforth
The home standing Hoosick Falls Central School Panther football team blasted visiting Hoosic Valley Central School 37-0 last Friday evening, September 11, at newly renamed Ken Baker Field in Class C, North division action. Playing on the home turf, named that evening for the long time Panther teacher and football and wrestling coach,
Hoosick Falls raised their 2009 slate to 2-0 with their lopsided win. Senior running back Alex Hansen scored four rushing touchdowns, and junior quarterback Mike Brewster passed for one touchdown. Hansen scored on runs of 25, 74, 26 and eight yards while piling up 179 yards on the night. On a wet, damp night the Panthers left little doubt that they were the more experienced team.
Under the Goalposts: Hoosick Falls will travel to Clums Corners to take on Brittonkill-Tamarac this Friday night, September 18. After an opening week loss, the Bengals beat Stillwater 27-7 in week two. But no one will confuse the Hoosick Falls offense and defense with Stillwater. Ron Jones’ Panthers are playing at mid-season level and will be a hand full for every team they line up against. HFCS has the line, they’ve got the offense, they’ve got the defense and they’ve got the coaching. When you put it all together it more than likely will add up to a win. In two weeks the Panthers have scored 76 points against Schuylerville and Hoosic Valley. At this point, though early in the season, it’s not whether Brittonkill-Tamarac can score against the Panther defense but whether they can stop the Hoosick Falls attack. In high school football if you can get ahead by two scores there is a high probability of a win. The Panthers will keep throwing the ball and putting pressure on the opposing defenses, especially if they are ahead. The Bengals only hope may be to score early and often. If HFCS gets ahead, they will continue to attack, and it could be a long night for the Bengals. Elsewhere in Class C play, Cambridge crushed Schuylerville 41-7, Granville beat Mechanicville 34-20, Voorheesville defeated Catholic Central 34-18, Chatham beat Taconic Hills 46-8 and Fonda-Fultonville beat Canajoharie 18-0. I don’t see anyone beating Hoosick Falls or Cambridge in the next three weeks which will set up a battle of 5-0 teams in week six for the Class C North division crown.
Baker, who coached varsity football for 14 years at HFCS and another ten at Cambridge, winning five championships at each school, died unexpectedly in January, 2008. The annual game between HFCS and CCS is for the Ken Baker Jug. This year’s game, the second, will be hosted by HFCS for the second year. The Panthers won the first game in 2008.
