VOORHEESVILLE — Don’t get too excited, Voorheesville.

Saturday’s 42-14 win was against a second-year varsity program and Coach Joe Sapienza knows his team has a lot to work on but also has a lot of potential.

Voorheesville scored early and often then cruised to an easy victory against Hoosic Valley, which first played a varsity schedule last fall.
"We played well in spurts," Sapienza said. "We won the game, 42-14, but we lost, 14-7, in the second half."

Of course, with a 42-0 lead, Sapienza cleared his bench and his less experienced players gave up two late touchdowns.

Hoosic Valley showed a lot of pride and athleticism throughout the game and especially in the fourth quarter.

But Voorheesville also has a lot of new players on its varsity team as well.
"We had to rely on the younger guys, no doubt about that," Sapienza said. "We’ll get better as we go."

Big plays

Voorheesville received the opening kick-off and had its best drive of the game.

The Blackbirds started at their own 27-yard line and moved the ball down the field using the running of Pat Jones and Adam Duncan along with the passing of quarterback Jay Conde.

The Blackbirds scored in 12 plays. The 12th was a one-yard run by Jones for a touchdown.

Lee Fenner, the goalie on the Voorheesville soccer team, kicked the extra point to give the Blackbirds a 7-0 lead.

Jones scored on a 75-yard run later in the first quarter.

Hoosic Valley had a nice drive going but stalled on the Voorheesville 25-yard line as the Indians could not pick up a first down.

The Blackbirds took the ball and Jones got a hand off from Conde. Jones ran to the left side and up the visitors’ sideline untouched for a 75-yard score.

Fenner booted the extra point and Voorheesville led, 14-0.

Hoosic Valley had another good drive starting late in the first quarter. The Indians moved the ball and got a first-and-goal on the Voorheesville seven-yard line.

After a run lost three yards and an incomplete pass, another Hoosic Valley pass was tipped into the air.

The ball landed in the waiting arms of Voorheesville’s Jordan Murphy who raced down the far sideline and 93 yards later had a touchdown for the Blackbirds.

After Fenner’s extra-point kick, the Blackbirds led, 21-0, with 7:19 left in the second stanza.

Another interception on the next Hoosic Valley possession added to the Voorheesville lead.

The Indians attempted a short pass but defensive end Evan Christner picked the ball off the 37-yard line and raced untouched to the end zone for a touchdown.

Jones added a touchdown before halftime.

The Blackbirds recovered a fumble at the Hoosic Valley 36-yard line. Chris Massaroni covered up the loose ball to give Voorheesville possession.

Three plays later, Jones capped the drive with a 35-yard touchdown, his third of the game. After the extra point, the Blackbirds led, 35-0.

Voorheesville scored its final points in the fourth quarter.

Duncan scored on a 38-yard run with 9:50 left in the game. Fenner connected on the extra point for a 42-0 lead.

The Indians came back against the Blackbirds’ subs, scoring on the next two possessions before Voorheesville ran out the clock.
"Hoosic Valley is much improved," Sapienza said. "They are decent. They will win some games."

Sapienza was pleased with the win and with the way his team played in certain situations.
"With turnovers, we dominated," the coach said. "We forced turnovers and scored off them. But we did not play on every single down.
"The first drive was a very nice drive," Sapienza said, "but relied on the big play. And we left the defense on the field for too long."

Jones led the Blackbirds with 151 yards on 11 carries. Duncan added 59 yards on five rushes.

Murphy had two interceptions in the game and Christener had one.
"Our work cut out for us"

With a roster of just 23 players, Sapienza feels that his team got tired in the game.
"We are going to do a lot of running this week," he said. "We need to get in better shape."

The Blackbirds will have to do a lot of work quickly. They play Friday night at Tamarac High School.
"We have a short week to get a lot done," Sapienza said.

Sapienza also said that the Birds need to work on the offensive side of the ball. They have to get back to what has made the Blackbirds tough over the years.
"We need to get back to understanding that we need to drive the ball," Sapienza said. "We cannot rely on the big play. Somebody will take the big play away from us. We need to control the line of scrimmage. We have the ability to control the line of scrimmage. But we got shut down in the second half."

The Blackbirds can’t be so quick to score, but need to take their time and control the game and clock.
"We have to play every single offensive play like we did on that first drive," Sapienza said on Saturday. "And on defense, we have to play every single play like we did inside the 10. We stopped them, but we let them get there."

The coach knows that this team can make the proper adjustments and will get better each week. They will have to for this week’s game.
"This is a great group of kids," Sapienza said. "They have the type of character that they are not satisfied. I think we have our work cut out for us this week. Tamarac is a tough scrappy team."