Blackbirds kick Cannoneers in the 2nd half
VOORHEESVILLE The second half of Saturdays game was a test of will for the Voorheesville football players.
They passed with flying colors.
The Blackbirds came from behind to knock off fellow unbeaten and long-time rival Watervliet, 19-18, at Thomas Buckley Field in Voorheesville.
"Someone was going to wear out in the second half," said Voorheesville senior captain Adam Duncan. "It came down to conditioning in the fourth quarter. Overall, we had great blocking for the whole game. And the defense stepped up in the second half."
"Our defense was tremendous," agreed Voorheesville Coach Joseph Sapienza. "We were completely behind the eight-ball the whole first half. This is a special win."
Slow start
The Blackbirds trailed, 6-3, at the end of the first quarter and at one point in the second quarter they trailed, 12-3. The Birds scored a touchdown late in the first half to pull within two, 12-10, at halftime.
Watervliet scored another touchdown to go up 18-10 late in the third quarter before Voorheesville started its comeback.
The Blackbirds dominated the last couple of minutes of the third quarter and the entire fourth quarter in pulling out the victory.
Voorheesville started a drive at its own 20-yard line and drove the ball up the field. The Blackbirds got in trouble early in the drive.
On the second play of the drive, a fumble on a first-down play handed the Birds a second down and 23 yards to get a first down.
Senior running back Pat Jones picked up 22 yards to set up a third down and one.
Then, the Blackbirds moved the ball up the field behind the running of Jones and Duncan.
The drive was capped when senior quarterback Jay Conde completed a pass to classmate Jordan Murphy.
The two-point conversion run was stopped but the Blackbirds cut the lead down to two points, 18-16, with just over nine minutes left in the contest.
Fenners footwork
The Voorheesville defense held and forced Watervliet into a punting situation. The snap was fumbled and the punter was tackled at his own 47-yard line, giving the Blackbirds good field position.
On the next play, Jones took a hand-off from Conde, burst through the line, and sprinted up the field for a 27-yard gain that put the Birds on the Watervliet 20-yard line.
The Blackbirds moved to the three-yard line on the next four plays, the big play being an eight-yard run by Jones. That put the ball on the three-yard line and gave Voorheesvilles kicker a good spot from which to attempt a field goal.
Fenner easily connected on the field-goal attempt, which was from the same distance as an extra point, to give the Blackbirds the lead, 19-18, with 1:51 left in the game.
It was Fenners second field goal of the game and the first two of his career.
The junior is the starting goaltender on the Voorheesville soccer team.
"It was not necessarily the best position to put him in," Sapienza said. "He has never place kicked before. He wanted to do it. And he prepared himself for it."
"Even though he’s a soccer player, he’s alright," Duncan said with a laugh.
Big plays
Watervliet still had plenty of time to put together one final drive and started at its own 30-yard line.
After a nine-yard gain on first down, the Voorheesville defense, and in particular Duncan, made three big plays.
Duncan made a huge tackle on a pass play that lost two yards for the Cannoneers. Then sophomore Daniel Whiteley sacked Watervliet quarterback Mike Cooney for a two-yard loss.
Duncan then made another big play, sacking Cooney on fourth down and ending any chance the Cannoneers might have had for a comeback.
"Coach [John] McClement asked me if I had one more play in me," Duncan said. "It was the first time I blitzed all day."
The Blackbirds ran out the clock, then celebrated a hard-fought and well-earned victory.
"It was a real gut check," Duncan said.
"I like the fact that we can win by being scrappy," Sapienza said. "The kids refused to give up, and that’s the best way to win."
Recap
Watervliet scored five plays into the game. Cooney connected with Chris Hughes for a 38-yard touchdown pass.
The two-point play was stopped by Duncan, but the Cannoneers led, 6-0.
Fenner kicked a 39-yard field goal with 3:45 left in the first quarter to cut the lead in half, 6-3.
Neither team could score until Watervliet did, with just over a minute left in the half.
Cooney threw his second touchdown pass, this time hooking up with Dan Bolt. The two-point attempt failed and the Cannoneers were up, 12-3.
But the Blackbirds put together a perfect quick drive in the final minute before intermission.
Voorheesville started at its own 30-yard line and moved the ball up the field on a 15-yard run by Duncan and a 22-yard pass from Conde to Evan Christner put the ball on the Watervliet 34-yard line.
After an incomplete pass and a six-yard loss on a sack, Conde threw a pin-point pass by two defenders into the waiting arms of Christner. Christner then sprinted to the end zone for a touchdown.
Fenner kicked the extra point and moved the Birds within two points, 12-10.
"Jay orchestrated a tremendous drive," Sapienza said.
Jones rushed for 97 yards and Duncan added 70 yards for the Birds.
"People are obviously keying on Pat," Sapienza said. "Without a doubt for the past two weeks, they have really run at him a lot. Adam is one of the best backs in the area. Teams can take away one, but they aren’t going to take away the other."
Up next for the Class C South Division leaders is a trip to Mechanicville on Saturday. Kick-off is at 1:30.
"It’s never easy," Sapienza said. "But the kids work hard all week and they will be ready to get back on the field next week."