by Steve Bradley
It was closer than the score would indicate. Really.
Last Friday the Granville Golden Horde made the trip down Route 22 feeling confident they could play the Hoosick Falls Panthers tough. And they did. They had this quick running back named Hoagland who they felt could gain some big yardage. And he did, too. In an unusual regular season game, it wasn’t until the middle of the fourth quarter that the Panther faithful felt they had a comfortable lead.
Granville played Hoosick Falls tough. This was not a typical blowout-by-the-half win for the Panthers. After the first half, which ended with HF ahead 12 – 0, Granville was still very much in the game. The Granville running back was gaining big yardage, and the Golden Horde was moving the ball. They weren’t letting the Panthers run wild on offense either. Hoosick Falls had only scored twice.
Quarterback Garrett Wright put the Panthers on the board first with a 25 yard TD pass to David Hardesty in the first quarter with just over five minutes gone in the game. Granville was gaining yardage but sputtered when they got down deep into the Panthers’ end of the field. In the second quarter, Wright scored on a one yard run. Both PAT (Points After Touchdowns) attempts were unsuccessful for the Panthers.
Late in the third quarter, Brandon Hodges, who had missed some game time after being shaken up in the first half, ran in from 15 yards out to put the Panthers up 18 – 0. Damon Dubois tacked on the PAT to make it 19 – 0. Granville then moved down the field and capped off a drive with a 2 yard run to make it 19 – 6. A close home game by Panther standards.
From that point on, with eleven minutes left in the game, it was all Panthers. They won pulling away. Colby Davendonis received a 35 yard TD pass from Wright. Then Wright tossed Conner McCart a 22 yard TD, and Davendonis sealed the deal with an eight yard TD run.
Wright had a big night, completing 10 out of 18 attempts for 204 yards and three TDs with no interceptions. He also gained 49 yards on the ground. Hodges logged another nice night gaining 167 yards on 16 rushes. Both Levi Brewster, who had 3 catches for 28 yards, and McCart, who had 3 catches for 80 yards, were the big benefactors of Wright’s accuracy. The offense gained 463 yards altogether. Although the defense did give up 175 yards on the ground to the one Granville running back, they still looked solid and tightened up when they needed to. The Granville passing attack only gained 66 yards and suffered two interceptions.
Next week, Friday, September 27, the Panthers travel to Taconic Hills. Game time is 7 pm.