GUILDERLAND — Athleticism led to domination for the Guilderland football team on Friday night.

The Dutchmen controlled play at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, allowing Guilderland’s superior athletes to beat Shaker, 26-13, in the opening game of the football season at Guilderland High School.
"We played with great effort tonight," said Guilderland Coach Dan Penna. "We executed on offense. We played four quarters of football. We won the line of scrimmage."

The Dutch controlled the game early as they scored on their first two possessions of the game and never looked back as they shut out the Blue Bison for three quarters.

The Dutchmen followed the running of senior Kevin Forbes and got two big pass plays to score on the opening drive.

Senior quarterback Greg Barcomb completed a pass to tight end Paul Malamood on second down and 11 yards to go for a nine-yard gain that gave Forbes an easy run to pick up the first down on the next snap.

The bigger pass play came a few plays later. On third and nine, Barcomb rolled left and hit a wide open Joe Lima for a 38-yard pass play that put the ball on the Shaker one-yard line. Barcomb scored on a run on the next play and, after Nick Zanotta’s extra-point kick, the Dutch led, 7-0.

The score came with 5:35 left in the 12-minute first quarter.

The Dutch shut down Shaker on its first possession, forcing a punt and capitalized on the defensive stand.

Drew Smith, who also played quarterback in the game, took a handoff from Barcomb and outran the Shaker team for a 24-yard touchdown run. Smith also had a 16-yard run on the previous play to help set up the score.

Zanotta’s extra point made it 14-0 with just 1:50 left in the opening frame.

The offensive line — guards Christian Cortes and Matt Glock, center Russell Qulia, and tackles Devan Van Auken and Kyle Hussey — continued to control the line of scrimmage for the Dutch. Guilderland couldn’t get another score until the fourth quarter.

The defense, though, led by linebacker Pete Stanish, Hussey, and safety Jarrell Gatterson and two interceptions by Drew Smith kept the Blue Bison off the scoreboard.

The Dutch had a touchdown taken off the board in the second quarter. Paul Booker took a handoff and made some cuts and jukes and then sprinted to the end zone for an apparent touchdown. But an illegal blocking penalty by a Guilderland player wiped out the score and kept the game 14-0.

The Dutch also missed a field goal after Zanotta recoverd a fumble on the Shaker 17-yard line. Hussey made the hit that jarred the ball loose.

"Selfless football"

Guilderland scored on the first play of the fourth quarter when Forbes capped a drive with a one-yard touchdown run.

Smith took over at quarterback and had a 50-yard run where he used his speed and elusiveness to avoid Shaker defenders. After making many spectacular moves, he was caught at the five.

Barcomb re-entered the game at quarterback and handed the ball to Forbes for the touchdown. The extra point was blocked and the score was 20-0.

Shaker came back with a touchdown on the next possession. Eddie Cross threw a pass to Tony Mercadante for a 36-yard touchdown.

After the Dutch punted on their next possession, Smith made one of his two interceptions and returned the ball to the 20-yard line.

Two plays later, the Dutch used a trick play to add to their lead. Forbes took a hand off and then handed it off to Nick Ranalli who was headed in the opposite direction. Ranalli ran 11 yards for the touchdown and made the score 26-7.

Shaker scored with 55 seconds left to make the score 26-13. The Dutch recovered the on-side kick and ran out the clock to seal the win.

It was a dominating team effort for the Dutchmen.
"The running game was producing in any offense we put in," Penna said. "We spread the ball around. We had a number of different backs that carried the ball. The receivers made plays when we needed them. We have a stable of five or six kids that play fullback, wingback, and halfback that made successful plays. We had fresh legs carrying the ball."

Forbes and Smith were the leading rushers, but Jason Lawrence, Josh Sawyer, Booker, and Gatterson also carried the ball in the game.

Smith finished the game with 108 yard rushing and Forbes ran for 105 yards.
"We beat them on the ground," Barcomb said.
"But we still can air it out," Smith added.

The Dutch defense also did a great job of containing Cross and the Shaker offense.
"The key on defense," Penna said, "was we wanted to contain them. We expected the option offense. We knew Shaker would play a tough four quarters.
"But we played the whole football game," Penna added. "We made some mistakes. As certain teams get better, we need to get better too."

And the quarterback sharing seemed to work.
"The kids are buying into selfless football," Penna said. "They shared the football. I’m pleased with the kids. It was great team spirit."

Smith and Barcomb said there is another attitude that is driving the team.
"We have a chip on our shoulder," Smith said. "We want to come out and win every game we play."
"We are under the radar a little bit," Barcomb said. "A lot of people don’t think Guilderland can go and beat some teams. This puts us in the right direction."

Guilderland will try to continue its trek in the right direction with a home game against Troy on Friday night. It will be Pop Warner Night, honoring the youth league in Guilderland.
"This was a big win," Barcomb said. "But we have to get ready for Troy. They have kids that can play."