by Steve Bradley
With less than two minutes gone in the game, you knew things were going to go well on a cool Saturday afternoon. The Panthers had six points on the board and the offense hadn’t been on the field yet.
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Kellan Skott blocked a punt attempt on Holy Trinity’s (1 – 4) first possession and ran it in from twelve yards out to get the Panthers off to great start. There was one minute and thirty-one seconds gone in the game. From there it was all downhill as the Panthers easily ran away from HT.
The Panthers (4 – 1) are really coming together. The offense has been clicking, moving the ball consistently upfield, using both the pass and the run. On their first six possessions, the end result of every drive was a touchdown. The defense was really on its game Saturday as its starters gave up only six points. With big games coming up with Corinth and undefeated Greenwich over the next two weeks, the team is putting it all together. The schedule was kind to Hoosick Falls, giving the team a chance to get starters back into shape after many missed time earlier in the season. The Panthers should be in top form for a run.
In this game, everything went right. When HF kicked off after the punt return, the HT returner fumbled at the HT 34 yard line, giving the Panthers the ball back within seconds. On the possession, quarterback Wyatt Cushman, who had 109 yards of offense on the day, threw right to Connor McCart who threaded his way through the HF defense for 25 yards and a score. With both extra point tries no good, the score was 12 – 0. Less than three minutes were gone in the game.
The Panthers scored 26 points in the first quarter. Adding to the two early scores, Noah LaBarge went in from one yard out, Cushman dove in from two yards.
The second quarter was more of the same. Cushman ran in from 10 yards out, LaBarge ran in from nine yards and McCart scored again on a nice pass from Cushman for a 39 yard strike.
Holy Trinity scored once in the second quarter.
Head coach Ron Jones had most of the starters out when the third quarter began. The second team did well, allowing only one fourth quarter touchdown. It was a good chance to give players who will be future starters a chance to gain some playing time in a varsity game.
Cushman threw for 89 yards, going 5 of 8. On the receiving side, McCart accounted for all the catches. Alex Mendez ran for 78 yards on 10 carries, with LaBarge adding 55 more on eight carries. On the defensive side, A.J. Hurlburt had five tackles and Alex Hull two. Mendez and McCart each had an interception.
Friday, October 9, the Panthers will travel to Saratoga County to face the Corinth Tomahawks. The game begins at 7 pm. The Tomahawks are 3 – 2, losing to two currently undefeated teams, Whitehall and Greenwich. Corinth can be reached by going through Saratoga and up Route 9N. The trip takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes.[/private]