by Steve Bradley
Over the past four years, Hoosick Fall Central School’s football team has provided a pipeline to the Hartwick College Hawks football program. Six players from HFCS have taken their talents to Hartwick.
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Hartwick College, located in Oneonta, NY, competes in the Division III Empire 8 league. Made up of Alfred, Brockport, Buffalo State, Cortland, Ithaca, Morrisville, St. John Fisher, Utica and Hartwick, it is a competitive league playing good football.
Tanner Williams, a Hartwick senior and 2012 HFCS graduate, started at wide receiver for four years. Williams was voted the team’s Most Valuable Player in 2014, and has received numerous awards for his play on the field. In 2014, Williams was twenty-sixth in the country in reception yards per game with 102.9. By the end of the 2015 season, he was the Hawks’ all time leader in receptions (197), reception yards (3,757), seventh in touchdown catches (29), eighth in points scored (188), ninth in total touchdowns. On September 12, 2015, Williams had a 97 yard touchdown catch. He received numerous conference awards, including being voted to the 2015 Empire 8 All Conference First Team.
Billy Pine, a 2015 Hartwick sophomore and 2013 HFCS graduate, is a quarterback. Sharing playing time with a three year senior starter, Pine will get his chance to shine over the next two years. In his 2014 first season, Pine threw for 714 yards and his six rushing touchdowns ranked second on the team. Pine was used sparingly in 2015, but did run for a 65 yard touchdown in the second game of the season.
Mark Hackett, a 200 pound freshman and 2014 HFCS graduate, held the starting middle linebacker spot from the first snap of the 2015 season for the Hawks. The 2014 Times Union Small School Defensive Player of the Year has plenty of time to hone his skills at the college level over his remaining three years. In his first year at Hartwick, Hackett recorded 42 solo tackles and assisted on 24 more. He had one fumble recovery. He was constantly harrassing the opposing teams quarterbacks.
Placekicker Damon Dubous, linebacker Shayne Richard and defensive back Colby Davendonis are first year players for the Hawks. Each was a major factor in the success of the 2014 HFCS football program that went to the state finals at the Carrier Dome. As these players move up in through the years, the chances they will be contributors to Hartwick football become greater.
Thinking of attending a game in the future? Harwick College is an easy 107 mile, two hour drive from Hoosick Falls. Take Route 7 West to 87 South, I-90 West to I-88 South. The game field is five minutes from the interstate.[/private]