Panthers Stop Millbrook In Their Tracks, 29 – 0
by Steve Bradley
The Hoosick Falls Panthers headed down the Thruway last Saturday with the thoughts of a real struggle to earn the right to advance to the State championship game in Syracuse. This year they were playing a new opponent, the Millbrook Blazers, in the semifinal game at Kingston. [private]Expecting a tight game where any mistake would be costly and every point would be important, both teams made their mistakes and in the end, the memory of every point that could have been quickly faded into a dominating victory for the Panthers. Players and fans alike came away surprised and elated at how the game unfolded and the final outcome.
Both teams made their share of mistakes in the first half. On the Blazers’ first possession, they fumbled the ball on a bad lateral from the quarterback to the running back. On the Panthers’ first play of the first possession, quarterback Garrett Wright overthrew slotback Austin Pitt for an interception. Neither turnover hurt the teams, but future Millbrook miscues took their toll on the Blazers.
Early in the game it became apparent that the Panthers had a defensive plan that could stop the Blazers. The Blazers were a one option offense – it was on the ground or nothing. Their star running back, 230 pound Mike DoCarmo, carried the team the previous game with 238 yards and seven touchdowns. On this day, when DoCarmo hit the line of scrimmage there were four Panthers waiting for him. DoCarmo ended the day with 108 yards on 27 carries, and he earned every inch of that yardage.
In the middle of the first quarter, Connor McCart went in motion, outside to inside, then took a Wright handoff and took off on an end around that ended 52 yards later in the end zone for the Panthers’ first score. With the missed kick for the PAT, the Panthers had that important first lead, 6 – 0.
After a three play and punt series for the Blazers, Pitt took the Blazers’ DoCarmo punt at the Panther 30 yard line and threaded his way up the center of the field to the Blazers’ 37 yard line. Eight rushing plays later, with fourth down at the 15, the Panther kicker, Damon Dubois, just missed on a 32 yard field goal attempt. During this drive it became obvious that the Panther offense was able to rip off ten to twenty yard gains on the ground. The offensive line was tearing open big holes in the Blazers’ defense, and Austin Pitt was running through them.
In the second quarter, the Blazers had an unusual play. Lined up for DoCarmo to make a punt at his own 23 yard line, DoCarmo received the long snap, saw rapidly approaching Panther Jake Bakaitis and punted the ball almost straight up into the air. The ball came down and quickly went backward and was downed by the Blazers one yard further upfield from where it had been punted. The Panthers moved the ball up to the 21 yard line, but the field goal attempt from there was no good.
The Blazers took over at their own 21 and, with DoCarmo being the quarterback in a shotgun formation, the center made the shotgun snap. The ball sailed over DoCarmo’s reaching hands and bounced its way all the way into the end zone where Jake Bakaitis jumped on it for a Panther touchdown. Panther players and fans erupted into cheers and high fives, and the Pep Band led the celebration. The PAT was missed and the score was 12 – 0.
This doesn’t sound like a big lead, but a team that depends almost solely on the run isn’t built to come from behind. Millbrook depended an their ground attack for wins, and their ground attack was not moving the ball. Things were not going well for Millbrook.
Before halftime the Panthers put together another drive that ended successfully with a Dubois 23 yard field goal. This put the Panthers up 15 – 0.
This was a dire situation for the Blazers. They had zero passing yards. A team that totally depends on the run game is at a severe disadvantage when they have to come from behind. The Blazers count on playing a ball control game with a lead, and the Blazers’ ground game was grinding to a halt, and they had no points. They were making mistakes. Things were coming apart at the seams for them by the half.
“I think I got outcoached today,” Blazers’ Head Coach Sean Keenan would say after the game.
In the third quarter the Panthers stopped the Blazers on a fourth and four, giving the Panthers the ball at the Blazers 40. On the first play, quarterback Wright took the snap and laid out a perfect pass to Alex Mendez who was streaking down the sideline. Mendez hauled in the pass at the 15 and was tripped up at the Blazers’ six. On the next play, Wright handed off to Colby Davendonis, who ran up the middle for the score. Dubois’ PAT kick put the Panthers up 22 – 0.
The Blazers next series was a three and out. DoCarmo once again was back to punt. Once again he punted the ball almost straight up. The ball left his foot at the ten yard line, went way up and came down at the 30 and quickly bounced backward and was downed by the Blazers at their own 24 yard line. Although it didn’t go far, it did have good hang time, causing players on the field to be spinning around trying to figure out where the ball was.
Two Panther plays and a PAT later, the Blazers were down 29 – 0. Pitt took the ball in from the 21 yard line, and Dubois kicked the PAT. Millbrook was toast.
There was no scoring in the fourth quarter. To their credit, Millbrook never gave, encouraging each other and playing tough to the end.
Hoosick Falls dominated this game. The Panthers rushed 41 times for 260 yards. Millbrook rushed 41 times for 158 yards. The Blazers attempted four passes and completed none. The Panthers’ Wright only attempted 6 passes for 47 yards and one interception and was named Offensive Player of the Game. Pitt ended the day with 22 carries for 148 yards and was named Most Valuable Player of the Game. Davendonis carried the ball 13 times for 62 yards. Once again, special mention goes to the linemen who opened those big holes and cleared the way for all those yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, the coaches said the Blazers’ ground game had to be stopped, and that’s what was done. The Panthers’ defense takes great pride in group tackling, and this was a day of that. Pictures show multiple defenders on the opponent’s ball carriers. Evan Hand had 14 tackles and was named Defensive Player of the Game. Davendonis had 9 tackles, and Mark Hackett recorded 8. The Blazers fumbled four times during the game, and Shayne Richard recovered two of them; Alex Mendez got one, and Jake Bakaitis got one for a touchdown. And it was easy to tell Jake was very happy about that.
Millbrook lineman Jacob Higgins summed it up, “They were a lot more physical than we thought, and they were the better team.”
On To The Dome
The 12 – 0 Panthers opponent this week will be the Chenango Forks Devils. The Devils are a proven team with a 22 – 9 State playoff record, the best playoff record of any team in the State. They are the defending State champions and will be looking to repeat. From all online appearances, the school and the fans take their football seriously. The match-up will be between the two most recent State champs, CF last year and Hoosick Falls the prior year.
The game will be held at the Syracuse Carrier Dome on Saturday, November 29. Game time is 3 pm. Travel time to the Dome is approximately 3 hours using the New York State Thruway. Use Thruway Exit 36 for direct access to Route 81 South, then Route 81 Exit 18 to access parking lots at the Dome. Admission costs $10.
Chenango Forks is located nine miles north of Binghamton at the confluence of the Chenango and Tioughnioga Rivers, just north of the V between Interstate 88 and 8. It is in Broome County. The first post office in Chenango Forks was established in 1825.
Panther Football Roster
2 Evan McCart QB / DB FR
4 Noah Conety-McGhee TE / OLB SO
5 Remington Hickey WR / DB JR
7 Alex Mendez WR / CB JR
8 Brandon Decker QB / ILB FR
10 Anthony Hurlburt WR / DB FR
11 Adam Mann WR / DB FR
12 Adam Tomczak QB / OLB JR
13 Wyatt Cushman QB / OLB JR
18 Garrett Wright QB / DB SR
20 Colby Davendonis RB / WR / DB SR
21 Austin Pitt WR / RB / OLB SR
22 Noah LaBarge RB / MLB JR
25 Keegan Aiken RB / DB JR
27 Cole Votra RB / ILB SO
28 Tristan Hunt RB / DB FR
32 Jacob Restino WR / OLB SO
33 Chad Miner WR / OLB SR
35 Mark Hackett TE / ILB SR
40 Connor McCart WR / OLB JR
42 CJ Yavaniski TE / OLB JR
51 Jake Bakaitis OL / DL SR
52 Michael Sprague OL / ILB FR
53 Shayne Richard OL / ILB SR
54 Evan Hand OL / ILB JR
55 Sean Yeung OL / ILB FR
59 Ian Carknard OL / DL FR
60 Logan Hoyt OL / DL SR
61 Alex Hull OL / DL SO
62 Devon Fitzpatrick OL / DL FR
64 Jonathon Bossoni OL / DL SO
66 Dawson Bevis OL / DL SO
66 Jacob Pine OL / DL SO
67 Tegan Wood OL / DL FR
70 Kellan Scott OL /DL JR
74 Robert Richard OL / DL FR
75 Pascal Wilkins OL / DL JR
76 Bryan Thomas OL / DL FR
77 Theodore Brogue OL / DL FR
78 Shane Barss OL / DL SR
79 Stuart McCune OL / DL JR
82 Joshua Wood WR / DB SR
84 Rhyse Cross OL / OLB FR
85 Joseph Guerin WR / DB FR
87 Damon Dubois K / WR / DB FR
88 Drew Hoag RB / LB FR
Bus To The Dome
Peg Bakaitis has organized a spectator coach bus to go to Syracuse for the HFCS football State Championship game on Saturday, November 29.
The bus will be leaving from Hoosick Falls Central School at 10:30 am. The cost is $32 per person. To reserve a seat call Peg at 686-5796.
Hoosick Falls Victorious Season
Sept 07* Hoosick Falls 48 Owego Free Academy 21
Sept 13 Lake George 0 Hoosick Falls 41
Sept 19 Hoosick Falls 58 Tamarac 6
Sept. 27 Broadalbin-Perth 17 Hoosick Falls 21
Oct 03 Corinth 7 Hoosick Falls 30
Oct. 10 Hoosick Falls 45 Greenwich 7
Oct. 17 Granville 8 Hoosick Falls 56
Oct. 24 Chatham 0 Hoosick Falls 42
Nov. 01** Corinth 14 Hoosick Falls 45
Nov. 07 Fonda 14 Hoosick Falls 31
Nov. 15 Saranac Lake 6 Hoosick Falls 24
Nov. 22*** Millbrook 0 Hoosick Falls 29
Nov. 29* Chanango Forks vs. Hoosick Falls
* at the Syracuse Carrier Dome
** at Stillwater High School
*** at Ausable Valley High School[/private]