by Steve Bradley
The Hoosick Falls Central Panthers football team travelled down Route 67 to Stillwater High School to take on the Chatham Panthers last Friday night. The two unbeaten teams, both 9 – 0, met for the Section II – Class C Super Bowl. Even though it was a chilly night, a big crowd was on hand to watch these teams duke it out. Chatham players and fans alike were all pumped up to avenge the championship game losses of the past few years.
It didn’t take long for Chatham to realize that this avenging stuff was not going to happen.
After HF kicked off, Chatham was unable to make a first down and punted. Punt returner Billy Pine gathered in the kick and raced along the sideline for a 35 yard return. Just as they had the previous week, on their first offensive play from scrimmage, Pine passed to Josh Brogue for a 25 yard HF touchdown. Because of their tough defense, this score would be the only points HF would need to win this game. But they didn’t know that at the time so on their next possession Brad Burns raced 15 yards into the end zone to take a 14-0 advantage. The Chatham Panthers were rocked. Halfway through the first quarter and their potent offense couldn’t gain any yards and their defense was being overrun by the HF offense. HF poured it on for 27 first quarter points and lead 34-0 at the half. Chatham never threatened to score in the first half. Chatham’s first half accomplishment was stopping a two point PAT attempt.
Brad Burns gained 183 yards and scored 5 TDs on 24 rushes. Quarterback Billy Pine gained 85 yards on 10 rushes. Josh Brogue (53 yds./3 catches/1 TD)
and Randy Tutunjian (32 yds./2 catches) would lead the receivers. Pine spread the wealth with six different receivers catching passes. The offensive line, coached by Eamonn DeGraff, was tearing open holes for Burns and giving Pine plenty of passing lanes. On the defensive side of the ball, Tutunjian had 4 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery, which appeared to be more of a theft than a recovery. Bryan Sherman and Pine each had 8 tackles, with Derek Bird and Mike Mattat chipping in 7 each. Sherman and Brandon Hodges each had 2 sacks. Bryan Sherman was the Max Preps Defensive Player of the Game.
The win makes the HF Panthers the 2012 Section II, Class C champion. This is the fourth year in a row they have achieved this. The seniors on this team are 40-0 over the last four years in Section II play. This is quite an accomplishment and can be attributed to a great coaching staff working with dedicated, hard working players. Hoosick Falls football sets the bar for Class C football in this area.
The HF Panthers (10 – 0, NY State #5) now move into the State playoffs. This is the opportunity to work their way to The Dome in Syracuse and play for a State title. The Panthers will face the Saranac Lake Red Storm (10 – 0, NY State #7) on Saturday, November 10, at 1 pm. The game will be held at Ausable Valley Central School in Clintonville. To reach the field, get on the Northway (Route 87) anywhere between Troy and Queensbury, travel north to exit 34. At the exit, take a left on Route 9N. Travel about 3 miles and just past Clintonville Road is the school on the right. Road time is approximately three hours.
For fans unable to make the trip, the game is scheduled to be webcast by North Country Sports.net <www.northcountrysports.net>. Look for the broadcast links and click on the our game. If this doesn’t work, click the broadcast archives link <www.northcountrysports.net/webcasts.htm>. Near the top of the page in blue text, it says, “other sites for Broadcast Links.” Try one of those.