by Steve Bradley
The Hoosick Falls Panthers met the Chatham Panthers last Friday night in a Super Bowl game that both teams have looked forward to for the entire season. Each felt that the game would be close and that a break here or a break there would be the deciding factor. And that’s just how it played out. HF created their own breaks, a result of their awareness and ability to steal the ball, and made the best of them, resulting in a win.
[private]Chatham kicked off to HF to start the game. The first drive moved from the HF 13 to the Chatham 28 where HF ran out of downs and turned the ball over. Chatham moved out to their own 41, where on a long pass play Levi Brewster made a nice interception, giving the ball back to HF at midfield. With a mix of Mike Matatt runs and quarterback Garrett Wright passes, HF moved to Chatham’s 7, where Wright ran the ball in on a QB keeper. With a successful Damon Dubois PAT, Hoosick Falls took a second quarter 7 – 0 lead.
Hoosick Falls kicked off. Five plays later Mark Hackett snatched the ball out of a Chatham running back’s hands, giving HF the ball at the Chatham 36. It went in the record book as a fumble, but it was never fumbled, it was just plain stolen. After a go forward some, go backward some, drive, HF was at the Chatham nine where Wright rolled out to the right and found Conner McCart in the end zone. With the PAT, HF was up 14 – 0.
Hoosick Falls kicked off once more. On the first two plays Chatham gained 15 yards. On the next three plays, they lost 28 and punted from their own end zone. The Chatham punter did two great things on the play. He grabbed a bad snap out of the air that was far over his head, saving a safety, and then made a 54 yard punt to make HF start from their own 46 yard line.
But the Hoosick Falls offense was rolling. With less than two minutes remaining in the half, HF quickly moved through the air to the Chatham ten. From there Wright took the shotgun snap, turned to his right and found a completely uncovered McCart in the end zone for a HF score. Halftime, HF 21 – Chatham 0. McCart left the game at this point with a knee injury and did not return.
After halftime, Chatham came out roaring. Starting at their 28 they quickly moved downfield, highlighted by a 57 yard run. The runner was kept from getting a touchdown only by the fleet feet and long arms of Brewster being able to reach out on a dead run and grab the Chatham runner at the five yard line. From there Chatham went in two directions, backwards and sideways. After running out of downs at the 10, Chatham gave the ball back.
Hoosick Falls moved the ball out to the 28, where they were forced to punt. Chatham took over at midfield and once again quickly moved to the HF 16. From there the Chatham quarterback rolled out to the right, was hit by Dave Hardesty and Shane Richard and coughed up the ball for Hackett to gather in for his second recovery of the evening.
In the end, Chatham got into the HF red zone (inside the 20) four times in the second half. With two minutes left in the game they finally scored. To their credit, they moved the ball and held HF scoreless in the second half. But HF created their own luck with five takeaways, and that was the difference.
Levi Brewster, with two interceptions and one fumble recovery, was named Overall Player of the Game. Mark Hackett was named Defensive Player with 11 tackles and two fumble recoveries. Conner McCart, with two TD catches, was named Offensive Player. Wright threw 22 passes, completing 14 for 137 yards. Mike Matatt had 73 hard earned rushing yards and 22 in the air.
Our Panthers have now won 50 straight Section 2 games. The 51st will have to wait until next year.
Next Up, Ogdensburg Free Academy
This week the hometown (10 – 0) Panthers will go to Stillwater to face Section 7/10 champion (9 – 1) Ogdensburg. The Ogdensburg Blue Devils defeated Saranac Lake last week 27 – 19. On the November 3 Road To Syracuse website, the Panthers are ranked number one, and Ogdensburg is ranked number 10. Hoosick Falls will be on the home side (large bleachers). Game time is 7 pm on Friday, November 15. Game time temperature looks like it will be about the same as last week, with temps in the 40s.
Ogdensburg is located on the St. Lawrence River. It is the only American port on the river. Due to its proximity to the St. Lawrence International Bridge, a bridge of 6 spans totaling 1.5 miles, Ogdensburg has become a major cross border shipping center. Canadians have packages shipped to receiving centers in Ogdensburg to avoid higher costs and shipping charges, then go across the bridge to retrieve the packages. It is the home of the Frederic Remington Art Museum, which houses the art of the famous painter of the American West. Ogdensburg is the site of two NYS correctional facilities that provide many good paying jobs.[/private]