by Steve Bradley
The Mechanicville Red Raiders got on the board first with a play that they would use successfully to score three times in the first half, the field goal. Raider Jake LaFountain booted field goals of 28, 37 and 30 yards that ultimately gave his team a win. The Panther defense held the North Division leaders to one touchdown, that coming in the final quarter.
After the Raiders first score, the Panthers took the ball and pushed Mechanicville backward down the field until quarterback Sam Richard ran in from nine yards out to give the Panthers a 6-3 lead. The first two point extra point attempt was good but called back because of a penalty. The second attempt was unsuccessful.
The Raiders added two field goals in the second quarter to take a 9-6 lead to the locker room at the half.
Richard hit Isaac Frier for a 14 yard pass to give the Panthers a third quarter touchdown and after the two point attempt failed, Hoosick Falls had a 12-9 lead.
Second half errors, a bad snap and dropped passes, cost the Panthers momentum and big yardage.
Mechanicvile scored a fourth quarter TD on a 19 yard pass and tacked on the extra point kick to grab a 16 -12 advantage that they kept until the finish.
Max Kipp ran 17 time for 65 yards, Richard ran for 35 on seven carries and Drew Hoag added 32 on eight carries.
Richard was 12 of 25 attempts for 149 yards and one touchdown. Friel had two receptions for 55 yards while Nick Giordano had three catches for 38 yards.
In other Class C action: Tamarac beat Taconic Hills 22 – 0, scoring six second quarter points and 14 in the third, then added a two point safety in the fourth.
Other scores for the last week of the season were: Stillwater 40, Lake George/H-L 16; Holy Trinity, 48, Fonda 0; Watervliet 38, Corinth 36; Chatham 28, Voorheesville 6; Coxsackie-Athens 45, Cairo-Durham 0. Class D scores: Greenwich 61, Cohoes 0; Cambridge 63, Helderburg Valley 0, Warrensburg 20, Hoosic Valley 14.
Sectional Play
With the regular season now complete, Holy Trinity (#1 North sectional seed), Stillwater and Mechanicville each won their final matchup and tied for the Northern Division championship at 5-1, 6-1 overall. Hoosick Falls (4-3) is seeded fourth. Lake George/H-L (3-4), Fonda (1-6), and Corinth (0-7) rounded out the North.
In the Southern Division, Watervliet (6-1, #1 Southern sectional seed) took the top spot. Chatham and Voorheesville, both at 5-2, tied for second. Tamarac (4-3) was fourth, 5 – Coxsackie-Athens (2-5), 6 – Taconic Hills (1-6) and 7 – Cairo-Durham (0-7).
Hoosick Falls (#4N) travels to Watervliet (#1S) Friday, October 20 for a 7 pm matchup. Tamarac (#3S) travels to Stillwater, Friday at 7 pm; (#2N); Holy Trinity (#1N) hosts Voorheesville (#4S) at 1 pm, Saturday; Mechanicville (#3N) travels to Chatham (#2S) at 7 pm, Friday.
Semifinal games will be the weekend of October 27-28. Voorheesville / Holy Trinity winner will play the Mechanicville / Chatham winner and Hoosick Falls / Watervliet winner will play the winner of the Tamarac / Stillwater game. The sectional championship game will be Friday, November 3 at Lansingburgh High School in Troy beginning at 7 pm