by Steve Bradley
Last Saturday the Panthers took to the Stillwater field on a cold, blustery day. A win would give the Panthers a chance to participate in the 2014 Section II, Class C Super Bowl. The team was playing Corinth, a team they faced several weeks earlier and didn’t play particularly well against. The Panthers defeated the Warriors 30 – 7 in that earlier game but struggled doing it.
There was no struggle in this game. The Panthers came to play, and they played well. The defense made the stops; Corinth didn’t move the first down chains until midway through the third quarter. The offense ran over and through anything the Warriors did to try and stop the onslaught. Austin Pitt and Colby Davendonis combined for 317 yards on 46 carries to carry the load. The offensive line did a tremendous job opening holes for the backs to run through.
The special teams held up their end of the deal. Placekicker Damon Dubois booted a school record 48 yard field goal that was dead center between the pipes, and it would have been good from at least another five yards. Granted, the wind was at his back, but nowhere in the record book does it say what speed and from which direction the wind was blowing when the kick was made. A stronger wind may have been at the back of the kicker that set the record Dubois broke.
The Panthers had one miscue. After the Panthers took a 7 – 0 first quarter lead, Corinth punted and the Panthers started at their own 21 yard line. A holding penalty on the first play put the Panthers back another ten yards and a five yards loss on a rush put the offense back another five yards. The Panthers fumbled on the handoff, and Corinth recovered at the Panthers’ six yard line. With Corinth just yards away from a TD, they immediately went for the score and got it with a quick pass to the left. The extra point was tacked on, and this tied the score at 7 – 7.
In the long run this didn’t work out so well for the Warriors. The sequence appeared to ignite the Panthers, and they responded with the single focus of winning this game. On the Panthers’ next possession, starting at the HF 35 yard line, the Panthers ripped off four straight rushes of at least ten yards a play. Now one yard out, Pitt dove in for a score. This put Hoosick Falls up 14 – 7. From that point, the Panthers just ran away, and there was nothing Corinth could do about it.
At the end of the first half, the Panthers held a 38 – 7 lead. After their fumble, the Panthers completely dominated the remainder of the game. With little need to put the ball up into the rapidly moving air, the quarterback Garrett Wright had four completions for 39 yards. The ground game carried the Panthers on this day, with Pitt and Davendonis each scoring two touchdowns behind the tremendous play of the line. Wright and Noah LaBarge each had a touchdown.
Dubois added nine points to the score, three with the field goal and six PATs. Dubois topped off his day by putting five kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks, negating any hope the opponent may have had of scoring on a kickoff return. Long snapper Shane Richard and holder Garrett Wright both contributed to the effectiveness of Dubois’ kicking.
The defense was excellent, never giving Corinth a chance to believe they might be able to move the ball. Linebackers Mark Hackett and Evan Hand were everywhere, with Hackett taking down the ball carrier 13 times and Hand contributing 10 tackles. Hackett also had an interception that he ripped away from a receiver. Lineman Logan Hoyt had eight tackles. Connor McCart and Davendonis each recovered a fumble.
One other segment of PantherLand deserves mention. The fans, the Pep Band and the cheerleaders. The Pep Band and cheerleaders are always there to keep up the spirits of the fans and team. Sometimes their importance on game day gets lost in the mix, but these students and their “coaches” can always be counted on. Nice weather days and rotten weather days, they are there. They are the ones that create the great atmosphere of a Panther game. The cheerleaders and the band springing to life after a score or a big turnover takes Panther games to a whole other level, for the players and the fans.
Ahh, the fans. Aren’t they something? Panther fans don’t care what the weather is – there is a game to go to. Last Saturday was cold, drizzling and windy. The flag was snapping all afternoon. It was downright miserable. But the fans were there, lots of them. They’re always there. When the Panthers play, the whole community comes out, not just parents and grandparents. The fans are a devoted bunch, and they love their Panther football. While the opposing team has 50 fans in the stands, Hoosick Falls has hundreds. If the game is in November and a hundred miles away, the fans are there. The Panther fans are special, and the fans believe the Panther players and their games are something special.
Each game the Panthers play adds to the record book. Hoosick Falls now has 59 straight Section II wins, the last loss coming in November 2008.
This Friday, November 7, the Panthers will face Fonda-Fultonville High School. Game time is 7 pm. Hoosick Falls will be the away team in white uniforms. Fonda defeated previously unbeaten Voorheesville last Friday 37 – 7 for the chance to face the Panthers in the Class C Super Bowl.
This will be the Panthers’ sixth straight Super Bowl appearance. A win would set an all time record for consecutive championships in Section II. Several other teams have reached five, but no one has ever gotten six.