by Steve Bradley
The Panthers had a different type of weekend starting at kick-off time on Friday evening. Everything was in place for Friday night lights at HFCS – Class C Hoosick Falls Panthers against Class B Broadalbin – Perth Patriots. The teams were ready, the snack bar was open, the crowd was pumped, and the weather was warm. The Alma Mater and the Star Spangled Banner were sung, and the crowd cheered. Let the game begin. Oh, wait, there are no referees. We can’t play a football game without referees.
The crowd sat patiently as some phone calls were made and after about 30 minutes it was determined there weren’t going to be any referees. It was announced that a time and place to play the game would be determined as soon as possible. Fans milled around and visited with friends and neighbors for an hour, mostly because it was a September Friday evening, and, without football, fans didn’t quite know what to do.
Later Friday evening, it was agreed the game would be played Saturday at 7 pm on the HFCS field.
Saturday evening came along, and the fans once again came to the field. On their way in, every fan looked for the referees, something no one had ever done before. Yes, there were the refs. Formalities were once again staged, and the game began.
B – P took the kick-off and, to the surprise of every Panther fan there, the Patriots went right down the field and scored. Starting at their own 30 yard line and using a balanced attack, the Patriots used a 20 yard rush and a 39 yard pass play, capped by a one yard rush, to put the first six points of the game on the board. The extra point was good and B – P led 7 – 0.
The Panthers came right back at them. Moving the ball down the field through the air and on the ground, the Panthers moved to the Patriot nine yard line, where the drive stalled. From here, the Panthers attempted a field goal that went wide left, and the drive ended with no points.
A three downs and out for the Patriots gave the ball back to the Panthers at the B-P 48 yard line. Three rushes later and the Panthers were at the Patriots four yard line. Quarterback Garrett Wright handed off to Colby Davendonis, and he scored. After the extra point try was missed, the Panthers were looking at the short end of a 7 – 6 score.
Another three downs and out for B-P and the Panthers had the ball back. Starting at their own 10 yard line, the Panthers methodically moved downfield, gaining all but five yards on the ground. From the 14 yard line, Davendonis put the finishing touch on the drive when he started into the middle then bounced outside to take the ball into the end zone. Damon Dubois tacked on the extra point, and all was once again well in the world, the Panthers led, 13 – 7.
The Patriots came back before the half, putting together a drive to the Panther seven yard line. Here they came to a fourth down situation and decided to attempt a field goal. The field goal was good. The score was 13 – 10, and the game went to the half.
Early in the third quarter the teams traded punts. After one Panther punt, B-P started a drive at their own 35 yard line. The Patriots drove 65 yards, all on the ground, to score from two yards out. The good extra point gave the Patriots the lead, 17 – 13.
A Panther punt after a three and out once again gave the Patriots the ball. Starting with the ball at their own 14 the Patriots ran four plays, one with a penalty, and they still were at the their own 14 yard line. With the Patriots attempting a punt, Noah Labarge came blasting in from the Panther right side and blocked the kick. The ball went backwards and slid out of the end zone before any Panther could get control of it for a touchdown. The safety put two big points on the board for the Panthers, and made the score 17 – 15, Patriots. This play changed the momentum of the game and put the Panthers a field goal away from the lead.
Under the rules a team that scores a safety receives the ball back via punt from the 20 yard line. After receiving the punt and getting set back for a penalty on the runback, the Panthers took over at their own 20. Austin Pitt became the workhorse on this drive, gaining all 57 yards that put the Panthers on the B-P 23 yard line. On the next play, Wright took the shotgun snap, faked a run to Pitt, then stepped back and lofted a pass to Connor McCart at the goal line. McCart, who was facing Wright, caught the ball over his defender, who had his back to the play and never saw the ball until after McCart caught it. After McCart caught the ball and his feet touched the ground, the defender grabbed the ball. By the time the referee got to the play, both McCart and the defender were lying on the ground claiming possession. Unsure what to call, the referee conferred with his mates, and, after some discussion, the catch was determined to be a touchdown. The Panther faithful exploded into cheers; the Patriot fans began to boo. It was a big moment in a great game. The Panthers misfired on a two point after touchdown attempt. The score was Hoosick Falls 21, Broadalbin-Perth 17.
With the game now in the fourth quarter, the Patriots needed a touchdown. They were not about to roll over at this point. After the kickoff, B-P took over at their own 33. One rushing play and they were out to their own 48. With a face mask penalty tacked on, B-P was at the Panther 36 yard line. A little too close for comfort from a Panther point of view. Three rushes and 11 yards later, B-P had first and 10 at the Panther 25. The Patriots only gained three yards, and that brought up a fourth down. The Patriots tried a pass into the end zone, but the pass fell untouched.
This put the ball at the 22 yard line of the Panthers. One play and one 10 yard penalty later, the ball was sitting on the Panther 13 yard line. A nine yard rushing play brought the ball back out to the 22 yard line, where the Panthers would throw incomplete on third down. This set up a play that could have changed everything.
The Panthers got into punt formation. Punter Damon Dubois was waiting for the ball at the 10. Everything was going great until the ball was snapped. The snap landed about two feet in front of Dubois, fortunately to his left. Dubois, a left footed kicker, was able to chase down the ball and get a quick kick off from the six yard line. Disaster was narrowly averted. The kick rolled past the 50 to the Patriots’ 48.
The Patriots were unable to move the ball and after a couple of ineffective possessions by both teams, the most exciting football game on the HFCS field in years came to an end. The Panthers had been tested and come through with the victory. It was a good test and toughened them up for games to come later in the season.
Colby Davendonis continued to carry the ball well, ending with 131 yards on 16 carries. Davendonis also had 86 yards on four kick returns. Austin Pitt had 16 carries for 65 yards. Wright ended the night with 16 attempts, with eight completions for 87 yards. On the defensive side of the ball, Mark Hackett had a whopping 13 tackles, two for losses. Evan Hand had 10 tackles.
Next up, Friday, October 3, the Panthers face the Corinth Warriors on the HFCS field. Corinth, 3 – 0, has been playing well and beat Greenwich last week, 37 – 14. Game time is 7 pm. You can be sure there will be referees there.