by Steve Bradley
Coming off its first State title in school history, the Hoosick Falls football team wasted no time in letting the Tamarac Bengals know that the 2013 version would not be all that different than last year’s team. As far as Tamarac was concerned, it wasn’t any different at all. Get pumped, play game, lose big, wait until next year. Some of the names have changed, but the results were the same. The Panthers took a 14-0 first quarter lead and never looked back. Tamarac scored a meaningless TD at the end of the game when a Panther bad punt snap gave them the ball on the goal line.
The Panthers had 258 rushing yards for a 7.1 average per rush. Brandon Hodges ran 19 times for four touchdowns and 146 yards in his varsity debut as the starting running back. Hodges put 26 total points on the board to tie for second in the area for points scored for the week. Junior Garrett Wright looked solid in the quarterback position, scoring one TD and completing five passes for 84 yards (16.8 yards per completion). Colby Davendonis opened the second half by scoring a 60 yard rushing TD on the first play from scrimmage.
The defense was its usual dominating self, holding Tamarac’s leading rusher to just 76 yards. The defense never let the Bengals get any momentum. Levi Brewster hauled in two interceptions for HF. Colby Davendonis scored after a bad snap by the Bengals near the HF goal line found its way into the end zone and he recovered it. Dave Hardesty had a nice game, getting eight tackles, four of them for losses, one sack and one interception. Peter Muratorri also had an interception.
It is difficult to size up a team after one game, but it appears the Panthers will once again be a force to be reckoned with. The offense is capable of doing well, and the defense should keep the offense from having to put up big numbers. The defense has the capability to dominate games. Damon Dubois will be rejoining the team this week after an injury, and his kickoffs are a weapon, consistently making opponents start at their 20 yard line. Brandon Hodges is handling the punting duties, and, if the first game is any indication for the season, the team is all set here. Hodges had a 46-yarder Friday. Consistency in the field goal/extra point part of the game may be a questionable area. All in all, this could be a rerun of last year, where HF dominated the Northern division, then faced Chatham in the Super Bowl. Chatham won its opening game 68 – 9 against Taconic Hills.
Friday, September 13, the Panthers travel to Mechanicville to take on the 1 – 0 Red Raiders at Mechanicville High School. The Red Raiders played Catholic Central High last week, winning 26 – 18. Game time is 7 pm.
