by Steve Bradley
The HFCS Panther football team traveled to Greenwich last Friday evening to take on the Witches. At stake was first place in the northern division of Class C. If the Panthers lost there would be a first place tie between Hoosick Falls, Greenwich and Corinth. Each team would have one loss.
Greenwich received the opening kick and gained five yards before running out of downs and punting. The Panthers took over at midfield where quarterback Garrett Wright hit Connor McCart with a quick 13 yard pass. On the next play, the second from scrimmage, Wright handed off to Colby Davendonis who burst through the middle of the line and from there went untouched 37 yards to pay dirt. Damon Dubois finished the quick drive off with a PAT and the Panthers led, 7 – 0.
The Panthers moved the ball easily for the rest of the first half, scoring 14 first quarter points on two Davendonis rushing touchdowns. The Panthers came back to score ten points in the second quarter. In second quarter scoring, Connor McCart received a short pass from Wright, quickly turned around and raced into the end zone to complete a 77 yard play. McCart ended the game with 111 yards on seven catches, along with a blocked punt. Dubois capped the second quarter scoring when he booted a 23 yard field goal. He also attempted a 43 yarder in the quarter that was long enough but just a bit wide left.
The Witches had great difficulty just moving the ball forward. So much so that the Witches started one drive at the HF 20 yard line and four plays later it was fourth and 27 to go. At the end of the game, 17 of the Witches offensive plays resulted in lost yardage, and they had a total of five first downs.
Greenwich scored on a second quarter pass play when the ball glanced off the intended receiver’s hands to another Greenwich receiver further downfield. The unintended receiver then sprinted into the end zone for the only Witches score of the evening.
It was more of the same in the second half. With the tandem of running backs, Austin Pitt and Davendonis, running wild, each scored a third quarter touchdown on the ground. Greenwich continued to struggle, never getting into Panther territory. Alex Mendez, who came in as quarterback with the second team, capped the scoring with a five yard rush in the fourth quarter.
Garrett Wright ended the evening 8 of 17 for 172 yards. Davendonis pedaled his way to 214 all purpose yards, including 139 kick return yards. Linebackers Evan Hand (10 tackles), Jake Bakaitis (9) and Mark Hackett (8) led the way for the defense. Bakaitis had three sacks. Dubois was chosen Offensive Player of the Game and Connor McCart Defensive Player of the Game. Davendonis took honors as Overall Player.
The Panthers are now 6 – 0 overall, with a 3 – 0 league record. This season they have outscored their opponents 243 to 57. They have won 54 consecutive Section II games.
Next week brings the final regular season game of the season. The Panthers will take on the Granville Golden Horde on the Panther home field. Game time is 7 pm.