by Steve Bradley
In their first daytime game of the season, the Hoosick Falls football team traveled the very familiar road to Stillwater to face the Fonda Braves. The beautiful Stillwater turf field has become the Panthers’ home away from home. The Panthers have won more football games on Stillwater’s turf than Stillwater’s own football team.
Last Saturday the field was good to them once again as they tacked another notch in the win column, downing the Braves 36 – 0. With the win, the Panthers will once again go down the same road to face the Chatham Panthers in the Super Bowl Friday evening, November 8.
The Braves were coming into the game with a 7 – 1 record, so the Panthers were taking nothing for granted. In the first couple of series both teams were feeling each other out, and the series ended with punts for both teams. On the Panthers’ third possession, the Panthers moved from the midfield stripe to the Braves 33 with four rushing plays. On the fifth play of the drive quarterback Garrett Wright took the shotgun snap and looked downfield to see a totally uncovered Austin Pitt waving to him at the twenty yard line. Pitt made a nice catch at the fifteen and ran into the endzone untouched to record the Panthers’ first score. Damon Dubois tacked on the extra point, and the Panthers were up 7 – 0.
The Panthers kicked off to the Braves who moved the ball from their 20 to the 50 where they were forced to punt. The Panther offense took over at their own six yard line. Nine plays later the Panthers were at the Fonda 22 and faced fourth down. From here, Dubois kicked a 38 yard field goal that just dropped over the crossbar. The Panthers led, 10 – 0. That was the halftime score.
The Braves received to start the second half. Levi Brewster put an end to the Braves’ first possession with a nice interception at the HF 44. The Panthers scored on the ensuing drive, highlighted by the power rushing of Mike Matatt, who blasted in from the one, and the Panthers owned a 17 – 0 lead.
The next two Panther scores came on a Wright to Brandon Hodges 10 yard screen pass and a four yard Matatt blast up the middle. The final score came after a nice interception of a deflected pass by senior Peter Muratorri, who raced 59 yards untouched to his first HF varsity touchdown.
Matatt was the workhorse for the day, gaining 125 ground yards on 26 carries with two TDs. He was named Player of the Game. Wright ended the day with 12 of 22 passes for 186 yards. Brewster, 5 catches for 67 yards, and Pitt, 3 catches for 66 yards and a TD, were the top receivers. On the defensive side of the ball, Pitt recorded seven tackles while Thomas Peabody contributed six of his own. Brewster, Muratorri and David Hardesty had interceptions. Damon Dubois turned four of five kickoffs into touchbacks, a very demoralizing factor to an opponent who has to start at their twenty yard line every time.
The Super Bowl
With the win, the 9 – 0 Hoosick Falls Panthers will face the 9 – 0 Chatham Panthers. Chatham beat Corinth Saturday 54 to 6 get the opportunity to face the HF Panthers once more in the Super Bowl. This has the making of a fantastic battle between two very good teams. Hoosick Falls is ranked number one in the State, Chatham is at number seven. HF has won 49 straight Section 2 games.
Chatham has beaten common opponents by similar scores through the 2013 season. They are loaded with seniors with years of experience. They are confident and have been looking to avenge the disappointments of past years in the battle to advance to State play. HF has defeated Chatham in three of the four Super Bowls. Chatham has scored 467 points on the 2013 season to HF’s 357 (HF got only two points for one forfeit win). Chatham has given up 48 points to HF’s 19.
Sideline oddsmakers say Chatham is the favorite to win this game. They say Chatham has better linemen, their passing game is better, they’re bigger, they’re faster. And, hey, that may all be true. But the Hoosick Falls Panthers have something that Chatham does not. Hoosick Falls has the best coaching staff, hands down. No question. The HF Panthers may have the best coaching staff at any level in Section 2. No staff makes a better game plan. No other coaching staff makes better adjustments at halftime or on the fly during a game. This factor gives HF the edge.
The game will be at Stillwater High School, on Friday, November 8, starting at 7 pm. The long range weather forecast is calling for temperatures in the forties. This has the making of a great game so you don’t want to miss it.
If you are planning to stop at Henderson’s for pizza, they have closed. However, Schag-A-Val is just down the street from the fairgrounds (on the same side of the road) and the report is their pizza is good.