VOORHEESVILLE — The Voorheesville football team traveled to Mechanicville on Saturday and went on the defensive.

The Blackbirds shut down the Red Raiders’ offense and intercepted five passes in a 12-0 win in a Class C South Division game.
"This is a real good win," said Voorheesville Coach Joe Sapienza. "Our defense kept us in it at halftime. They ran something that was completely different than what we saw from them before. There were a couple of adjustments that we didn’t make. We made them in the second half."

The halftime score was 0-0 as neither team could mount any offense. Voorheesville came the closest to scoring but had a pair of penalties take the ball out of scoring position.

A personal foul penalty after a long run by Paul Hognestad moved the ball from the Mechanicville seven-yard line back out to the 22-yard line and the Birds could not make up the yards.

On Mechanicville’s next possession, Voorheesville’s Adam Duncan intercepted a pass and returned the ball to the Mechanicville 31-yard line.

A pass from Voorheesville quarterback Andy Catellier to Nick Duncan moved the Birds to the eight-yard line but a holding penalty negated the play and took the Birds out of scoring position.
"We got sloppy in the red zone," Sapienza said of the team’s play after getting inside the Mechanicville 20-yard line. "We shot ourselves in the foot with penalties. Those are two scores we should’ve had."

"A positive"

The Blackbirds opened the third quarter with a key defensive play.

Nick Duncan made a one-handed catch to intercept a Mechanicville pass and returned the ball to the Red Raiders’ 43-yard line.

Three runs by Hognestad, the last good for 15 yards, moved the ball to the six-yard line.

The Birds lost yards on a running play and a delay-of-game penalty to move the ball back to the 13-yard line.

But this time, the Birds didn’t stall as, on the next play, Catellier completed a pass to Nick Duncan, who reached over his defender to make the catch in the end zone for a touchdown.

The extra-point kick was no good, but the Birds led, 6-0, with 8:23 left in the third stanza.

The Blackbirds scored their second touchdown, again taking advantage of a Mechanicville interception.

Kurt Hoffart intercepted a pass at his own 31-yard line and returned the ball to the Mechanicville 47.

The Blackbirds took 13 plays but Justin Lupien capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown dive into the end zone. The two-point conversion attempt failed, but the Birds led, 12-0, with just 1:10 left in the contest.

The Blackbirds finished the game with five interceptions. Eric Dickson and Catellier also had interceptions for the Blackbirds.

Hognestad rushed for 88 yards on 20 carries to lead the offense. Catellier completed six of 12 passes for 53 yards.

Nick Duncan, who was an all-state receiver last year, had only two catches for 19 yards,
"Their game plan was to take Nick out of the game," Sapienza said. "We had trouble with their coverage. Nick’s phenomenal. Catellier to Duncan is going to be a big combination, and, in the first game of the season, the other team is game-planning to take that away. It says a lot for the kids."

Sapienza said that this is Voorheesville’s first win against Mechanicville since 1998 in the Class C Section II championship game.
"Mechanicville is a powerhouse," the coach said. "It has nothing to do with them having a new coach. That is a good football team."

Sapienza is also happy that his team responded in a tough, physical opening game against a divisional opponent.
"This is a positive for the kids and coaching staff," Sapienza said. "We typically open with a crossover game. We had no reason to be ready."

The Blackbirds will have to get ready for another divisional game this week. The Voorheesville team will travel to Troy to take on Catholic Central High School on Friday night.