The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Sports Outdoors

St. Mary’s Soccer Teams Split A Pair with Mt. Anthony

By

The 2008 soccer season started for St. Mary’s with a pair of games with Mt. Anthony on a rainy Friday afternoon.

The boys team lost 5-1 to the visiting Patriots. Justin Lynch kept the game close in the first half with some amazing saves. The Eagles lone goal was scored by Alex LaBarge off a lovely pass from Drew Phillips. The score at half was 3-1. Evan Phillips played exceptionally well for the Eagles on defense, but the Patriots kept up the pressure in the second half and scored two goals to ice the game.

The girls team fared much better winning 7-0. Grace Delurey, Alice Hayden and Alyssa Girodano all netted two goals each. Casey Legg tallied the other goal. Mary Peters, Nicole St. Onge and Julia Baker did a great job at defense preventing the Patriots from getting any sustained pressure on St. Mary’s goal. Oliva Schnieder recorded her first shut out as goalie.

Black Horses Gallop By Panther Football Team, 36-0

By

by Gary Danforth

Last Friday evening, September 12, on a rainy, soggy field in Schuylerville the visiting Hoosick Falls Panther football team got a large dose of Schuylerville quarterback Austin Bateman as the Black Horses ran away to a 36-0 Class C North division high school football victory. Bateman, a junior signal caller, scored four touchdowns against a Hoosick Falls eleven which was coming off an emotional win versus Cambridge a week ago in the first annual Ken Baker Jug Game. With the win, the Horses move to 2-0 in class play while HFCS drops to 1-1. The Horses had beaten a tough Corinth squad in their season opener.

Schuylerville took a 6-0 lead in period one when senior running back Shane Larkin scored from five yards out. Senior place kicker Dan Ladd booted the point after touchdown for a 7-0 Horses’ lead. Any hopes for a Panther comeback were dashed when Bateman, a three year starter, scored three straight times in period two. First, Bateman got loose on a 46 yard run. Ladd added the PAT. Then Bateman scored from twenty three yards out with Ladd adding the PAT, good for a 21-0 Horses’ margin. Bateman added his third scoring run of the first half when he got loose for a 37 yard TD romp. Ladd’s PAT boot was errant but the Horses still led, 27-0. Ladd added a 25 yard field goal in period two to push the Schuylerville lead to 30-0 at the break. Bateman added a 51 yard touchdown run in period three to seal the Horses 36-0 triumph. Ladd’s PAT boot was errant but the Horses didn’t need it in their second consecutive victory. Under the Goalposts: When was the last time a Panther football team was shut out by this margin in the final score? Elsewhere in Class C action, Cambridge beat Granville 42-30 and Stillwater and Mechanicville picked up wins. In case you didn’t realize it, Brittonkill-Tamarac is 2-0 and Hoosic Valley is 0-2. Next up for HFCS is a home contest this Friday evening, September 19, against Stillwater. This upcoming game and every other game will be no cakewalk for the Panthers. Stillwater seems to play Hoosick Falls very tough each year. And the Panthers will get a large dose of their excellent quick, speedy running back. Then come away contests at Corinth and Granville, respectively, on Friday, September 26  and Saturday, October 4. Friday night, October 10, the Panthers will entertain an always competitive Mechanicville eleven and then HFCS will finish up its regular season with a 75 mile trek to Cobeleskill-Richmondville. Stillwater and Granville are improved from a year ago. And Corinth, Mechanicville and Cobleskill-Richmondville will be very worthy opponents. If the Panthers take any of their five remaining regular season opponents lightly they may walk off the field on the short end of the scoreboard. I’m telling you, Stillwater is for real. And  if Granville can score 30 points against a Cambridge team, they are to be reckoned with, I don’t care what their record has been the past few years. Corinth is at home and they are an experienced team. Mechanicville will come right at the Panthers. And Cobleskill-Richmondville is a bigger school than HFCS, used to knocking heads with larger schools. It is possible that HFCS will not win another football game this regular season. Not from lack of effort, but because the quality of their opponents this season is a notch higher than in recent years. It all starts this Friday night against a very capable Stillwater team. HFCS is going to see a heavy dose of the Warriors’ running game and more if Stillwater gets ahead.

Two More Victories For HFCS Golf Team

By

 

Taylor Bellemere was medalist in the match with Hoosic Valley with a score of 37. (Bea Peterson file photo)
Taylor Bellemere was medalist in the match with Hoosic Valley with a score of 37. (Bea Peterson file photo)

 

 

 

Hoosick Falls Golfers Defeat Hoosic Valley 

 The Hoosick Falls Golf team defeated Hoosic Valley 5-0 at the Hoosick Falls Country Club Thursday, September 11. Taylor Bellemare was medalist with 37.

Bellemare (HF) def White 2up

Callahan (HF) def Catone 4&2

Wirmusky (HF) def Houston 5&3

Gorman (HF) def McLaughlin 4&3

Hall (HF) def Cook 4&3

Lynch (HF) def Anderson 5&4

  Hoosick Falls Golfers Defeat Schuylerville 

On Monday, September 15 the Hoosick Falls Golf Team defeated Schuylerville 4.5 to 0.5 at the Hoosick Falls Country Club. Joe Wirmusky, Kevin Gorman and Taylor Bellemare shared medalist with 40’s.

      Bellemare (HF) tied Braim

Callahan (HF) def Varuges 1up

Wirmusky (HF) def Seymour 3&2

Gorman (HF) def Delaney 4&2

Hall (HF) def Kelly 4&3

Lynch (HF) def Stark 3&1

The team’s matches for the week are:   

Thu. Sep 18, HOME vs. Granville

Mon. Sep 22, vs. Tamarac at Frear Park (Troy)

Wed. Sep 24, vs. Greenwich at Battenkill  (Greenwich) 

Thu. Sep 25, HOME vs. Stillwater

Bowling Coaching Clinic At Barbecue Recreation

By

Barbecue Lanes will be holding a Pro-Am and Coaching Clinic on Sunday, September 28, from 10 am until 4 pm.  Professional bowlers coaching will be Ryan Shafer, Brian Leclair, Nick Miseno, Bob Leonard and Len Reynoudt.  Entry fee is $75 per person.  For additional information and reservations call Jack Fitzsimmons at 518-686-5751.  All proceeds from this event will go directly to the Northeastern New York Chapter for Cystic Fibrosis.

Orienteering AT GLSP

By

The Empire Orienteering Club will hold its National Orienteering Day event at Grafton Lakes State Park with registration at the Amphitheater at the Park (by Main parking lot) starting at 11 am on Sunday, September 21. Courses range from 1.6 km to 7.5 km. Come test your orienteering skills with map and compass. For more information on fees, see Empire Orienteering Club’s website http://empo.us.orienteering.org/schedule/.

Panther Football Team Beats Cambridge 34-19 To Win First Ken Baker Jug Game

By

 

Kevin Wood and Travis McMahon accepted the Ken Baker Jug from Richard Reeve and Dr. Fran Greenhall. With them is Coach Ron Jones and Ann Baker. (Bea Peterson photo)
Kevin Wood and Travis McMahon accepted the Ken Baker Jug from Richard Reeve and Dr. Fran Greenhall. With them is Coach Ron Jones and Ann Baker. (Bea Peterson photo)

by Gary Danforth

Last Friday evening, September 5, two neighboring rival high schools, Hoosick Falls Central School and Cambridge Central School, came together for the greater good to honor the memory of longtime Section Two football Coach Ken Baker in the first annual Ken Baker Jug game. Though HFCS won the game by a 34-19 score and will keep The Jug in its trophy case until next year’s clash, in true Ken Baker fashion, there were no losers in this game. Nor will there be if future participants display the kind of good competitive fire and sportsmanship which Baker preached for so many years and which both teams displayed. A large crowd under the lights at HFCS saw both teams display the kind of sportsmanship and hard nosed play which was surpassed only by the number of cars parked up and down Route 22 in both directions from HFCS as fans surrounded the field by the hundreds. 

Baker’s widow, Mrs. Ann Baker, flanked by Cambridge Central School Superintendent Frank Greenhall and longtime Baker coaching and teaching friend, Richard Reeve, presented The Jug to HFCS Coach Ron Jones, the last starting quarterback on a Baker coached Hoosick Falls squad. Baker was varsity gridiron boss at HFCS from 1972-1985. Doug Luke, head coach at CCS for the past eleven years and a Cambridge graduate who had served under Baker at Cambridge as an assistant coach, stood by as both teams spread across the football field, perpendicular to one another, as the presentation took place. Baker coached at CCS from 1986-1995. It was a whale of a game.

Cambridge, the defending Section Two Class C champions, and who had won 89 games the past ten years under Luke’s direction, took a 7-0 lead in quarter one when junior quarterback Kyle Parmenter hit sophomore Jesse Lybert with a twenty-one yard scoring play. Sophomore starting running back Matt Best kicked the point after touchdown as CCS took a 7-0 lead with 8:21 left in period one.

But HFCS came roaring back. Senior Panther signal caller Kevin Woods hit 6’5” junior wide-out Kevin McMahon with a 22 yard touchdown pass and junior Hutton Rasmus booted the PAT as the score was deadlocked at 7-7. Hoosick Falls, dominant in recent years under Jones’ tutelage, winning four consecutive divisional championships in the past five years, including two sectional titles, one regional crown and a trip to the State championship game in 2003, took a 13-7 lead. Senior running back Dan Okerman took a screen pass from Woods and bolted down the right sideline for a 60 yard TD play. Rasmus’s PAT boot gave HFCS a 14-7 spread with 5:26 left in the opening half. HFCS wasn’t done yet in first half action. In two plays, the last one being a 61 yard touchdown strike to senior wide out Jordan Brogue, Hoosick Falls extended its lead to 20-7. Rasmus’s PAT boot gave HFCS a hard earned 21-7 lead at the break.

Cambridge came back in period three, narrowing their deficit to 21-13 as Parmenter hit junior running back Joel Ferguson with a fifteen yard TD strike. The Indians’ PAT boot failed.

It was a busy fourth period as both teams continued to play solid football. HFCS took a 27-13 bulge

This spectacular catch by Logan O’Brien put HF in great position. The next pass resulted in a TD. (Bea Peterson photo)
This spectacular catch by Logan O’Brien put HF in great position. The next pass resulted in a TD. (Bea Peterson photo)

when Woods found junior wide-out Greg Stifter with a five yard scoring pass. CCS blocked the ensuing Panther extra point attempt.

Cambridge came right back. Parmenter scored on a five yard run with 8:51 to play to narrow the Indians’ deficit to 27-19. But Hoosick Falls put the game away when Woods connected from two yards out with McMahon to give the Panthers a 33-19 spread. Rasmus’ PAT boot made the final score 34-19 in favor of HFCS. In the Panthers’ final drive, junior Alex Hansen broke a tackle and turned a short pass into a 28 yard reception. 

Under the Goalposts: Both teams played pretty well in their opening game effort. Woods looked very impressive in the Panthers’ spread offense, throwing for almost 350 yards as he rifled the ball all over the field to a cast of HFCS receivers. A young Cambridge team is only going to get better, and I wouldn’t want to draw CCS in sectional play. On Friday night, September 12, HFCS travels to Schuylerville in a big Class C match up with the Black Horses. The winner of that game most likely will have a leg up on the Class C North Division crown. Watch out for the Horses’ junior quarterback Austin Bateman and running back Shane Larkin. They have hurt HFCS in recent years. It should be a dandy.

Corn Maze Officially Open

By

The Corn Maze at Kettle Farms officially opened Saturday, September 6, with a ribbon cutting ceremony that included (l-r) Hoosick Councilman Kevin O’Malley, County Legislators Lester Goodermote and Stan Brownell, Hoosick Town Supervisor Marilyn Douglas and owners Tammy Morgan and Charlie Bowers. (Bea Peterson photo)

The Corn Maze at Kettle Farms officially opened Saturday, September 6, with a ribbon cutting ceremony that included (l-r) Hoosick Councilman Kevin O’Malley, County Legislators Lester Goodermote and Stan Brownell, Hoosick Town Supervisor Marilyn Douglas and owners Tammy Morgan and Charlie Bowers. (Bea Peterson photo)

by Bea Peterson

It rained Friday night and Saturday afternoon but the weather held for the official ribbon cutting ceremony at the Kettle Farms Corn Maze. On hand for the event were Rensselaer County Legislators Lester Goodermote and Stan Brownell, Hoosick Town Supervisor Marilyn Douglas and Hoosick Councilman Kevin O’Malley. NYS Assemblyman Roy McDonald was delayed and didn’t get to visit the Maze until later in the day.

The speakers heaped praise on Tammy Morgan and Charlie Bowers for showing initiative for this energetic project. They were proud to say they had the largest corn maze in the whole northeast, never mind Rensselaer County! All of them hoped the maze and the planned events will draw tourists to this beautiful area.

Tammy got a little emotional when she told the gathering how she and her husband had dreamed of this project for years. She couldn’t believe it was really taking place. A 20 acre corn maze and giant pumpkin patches are a huge endeavor for first time farmers. “We’ve lived here for 15 years,” she said. “We want to be a viable part of this community; we want to be a permanent fixture and continue to give back to the community.” She thanked the community for the support they have given the couple, especially Supervisor Douglas, Lorraine Robichaud, Charlie Filkins, her brother Randy Morgan, her father Leo Morgan and her husband Charlie. “No matter what idea I came up with or what I wanted done, Charlie did it,” she said. 

The maze has 7.8 miles of trails. The trails range in length from .5 to 3.2 miles. There are maps to guide visitors through the corn. Saturday, September 13, is Community Day at the Maze. Everyone who brings something for the Food Closet will receive $1 off on a maze ticket. At 5 pm the Hoosick Falls Community Band will perform.

St. Mary’s Academy Golf Scramble A Huge Success

By

Kevin Gorman, George Smith, Taylor Bellemare and Brian Wysocki won the Annual St. Mary’s Academy Golf Scramble. In front, Miles and Matthew Smith join in the fun.

Kevin Gorman, George Smith, Taylor Bellemare and Brian Wysocki won the Annual St. Mary’s Academy Golf Scramble. In front, Miles and Matthew Smith join in the fun.

Despite the change of date due to rainy weather, St. Mary’s Academy’s Annual Golf Scramble on Friday, August 22, made over $6,500 for the school. The weather was perfect for the 60 golfers who came out in support of St. Mary’s. Joanie James was a hit at the grill providing everyone with a lunch of burgers and hot dogs in memory of her brother, Bob Burns, SMA Class of 1955. 

The winning team, sponsored by Mahar Funeral Home, was made up of George Smith, Kevin Gorman, Taylor Bellemare and Brian Wysocki. George Smith was also the big winner of $250 in the Ball Drop but generously donated his winnings back to St. Mary’s.

St. Mary’s would like to thank everyone who helped in any way to make our annual event so successful. We couldn’t have done it without the help of Mike Baratto, Scott McCart and George Smith at the Hoosick Falls Country Club and all those who sponsored a hole, donated prizes for the raffle, made food or supported the Ball Drop and raffle.

Junior Golfer Wins 2008 Men’s Hoosick Falls Country Club Championship

By

Three weeks after winning the HFCC Junior Club Championship, sixteen  year old Taylor Bellemare overcame a four shot deficit with a one under par 67 on Sunday. Bellemare’s thirty-six hole total of 143 was three shots better than two time Club Champion Kevin Gorman, Sr. Gorman held the first round lead with a four over par 72. Joe DuBuke finished third in the Championship Flight with a 77 – 72 total of 149.

First Flight winner Steve Wilson’s scores of 79-77 (156) put him three shots ahead of Josh Wysocki’s 80 -79 (179).

Other Winners

Third Flight, Kurt Landry 81-85 (166)

Men’s Senior – Mike Shea 74 – 77 (151)

Men’s Super Senior – Leo Bartoski

Ladies Club Champion – Peg Crossman 

Over All Net Winner – Kurt Landry (60-64) 124