VOORHEESVILLE — With their biggest rivals in town, the Voorheesville football team picked the right time to show off its best game.

The Blackbirds used a good balanced offense and a tough defense to win a testy game, 39-18, over Watervliet at Thomas Buckley Field in Voorheesville on Saturday.

Despite giving up a touchdown on the opening kick-off and playing in a penalty-infested game, the Blackbirds were able to overcome in impressive fashion.
"They are very scrappy," said Voorheesville Coach Joe Sapienza. "We knew they would be."
Referring to the defensive linemen and linebackers, he went on, "They played eight men in the box and we struggled with it offensively. We made adjustments. They are great for a team that came in 0-2. That doesn’t mean anything. It’s always significant when you beat Watervliet."

Things didn’t get off to a pleasant start for the Blackbirds when Desean Kittell fielded the ball at the seven-yard line on the opening kick-off and raced through the Voorheesville team for a 93-yard touchdown. But the Blackbirds were able to stop the extra-point attempt after a bad snap; the lead was 6-0.
"I like the fact that we were able to overcome our mistakes," Sapienza said. "We were able to overcome the kick-off return. We didn’t hang our heads; we got back to business and executed. It’s always a good sign when they returned the kick they don’t get the extra point. You know your team is still willing to get the job done."

On the run

The Birds didn’t hang their heads, either, when they got the ball for their first possession.

Voorheesville moved the ball down the field, using big runs from running back Pat Jones and overcoming some penalties.

A long third-down run by quarterback Jay Conde moved the ball from the Voorheesville 49-yard line to the Watervliet 15-yard line. A penalty for a block in the back brought the ball back, but still gave the Birds a third-down opportunity. Jones picked up the first down and then some on the next play with a run that moved the ball to the 35-yard line.

Conde capped the drive a couple of plays later with a 17-yard run, following a great block by receiver Chris Massaroni.

The extra-point kick was no good, so the game was tied, 6-6, with 7:23 left in the opening quarter.

The Voorheesville defense forced Watervliet — after a tackle for a loss by defensive lineman Jeff Connors — to punt and scored again when the Birds got the ball back.

The Blackbirds used six plays on this drive as Jones finished it off with a nine-yard run for a touchdown.

A fake kick on the extra-point attempt worked to perfection as Tim Robinson ran the ball into the end zone after taking the snap.

The score was 14-6 with 3:19 left in the first quarter.

Watervliet had a drive stall at the Voorheesville 25-yard line after two incomplete passes.

Voorheesville took over and scored in two plays. Conde hit Jordan Murphy with a pass and Murphy ran down the home team’s sideline and into the end zone for a touchdown.

The extra-point was blocked, but the Birds had a 20-6 lead early in the second stanza.

Murphy played the hero on defense on Watervliet’s ensuing drive. He intercepted a pass at the Cannoneers’ 40-yard line and ran it to the 22.

Alex Zvinosky scored on the Birds’ play from scrimmage and Matt Miller kicked the extra point to make the score 27-6 with 9:30 left in the second quarter.

Watervliet finally got some offensive points, scoring on its next possession. A big pass play from Mike Cooney to Dan Bolt gave the Cannoneers six points.

Jones broke up the two-point conversion pass and the score was 27-12 with 6:38 to go until halftime.

Both teams fumbled on their next possessions. The Watervliet fumble was recovered by Sean Fitzmaurice and the Birds ran out the clock in the first half.

Stout defense

The Birds offense bogged down in the third quarter and they were forced to punt for the first time on their first possession of the second half.

But the Voorheesville defense was stout as they stopped Watervliet deep in its territory, forcing three incomplete passes — one broken up by Cameron Taylor.

The defense overcame some mistakes by the offense to keep the Cannoneers from adding any more points in the third quarter.

Watervliet did score with 8:12 left in the fourth quarter.

On fourth down and goal from the six-yard line, Bryan Bruce took the hand-off and was stopped by the Voorheesville defense. But he pitched the ball to Caleb Gleason who ran the ball into the end zone for the score; giving the Birds a nine-point edge, 27-18.

Just when Watervliet appeared to have life, Voorheesville put together a drive that essentially ended the game.

The Blackbirds used nine plays and over seven minutes of the clock.

Voorheesville scored on a nine-yard run by Conde and got the extra point from Miller to make the score 33-18 with 2:49 left in the game.

A fumble on Watervliet’s next possession gave the Birds the ball on the 41-yard line. The ball was knocked loose by Adam Duncan and recovered by Sam Pelham.

Jones scored two plays later to cap the scoring.

Matt Henry made an interception in the next possession and almost ran it back for a touchdown but was stopped at the five-yard line.

The Birds took a knee and the game was over and the victory was theirs.
"I feel we got a little better offense," Sapienza said. "We spread the ball around. We were pretty balanced and we made adjustments. They took some things away. We couldn’t run the option so we’d go with something else. The third quarter, we were too conservative but we did well when we got the ball back in the fourth. We can’t let our defense continue to be on the field."

The Blackbirds are now 3-0 and 1-0 in the Southern Division of Class C. The Birds have a showdown today (Thursday) with Chatham, which is also unbeaten this season. The winner will be in the driver’s seat for the division championship.
"It’s a championship game," Sapienza said. "We have a short week. The kids were concerned about the short week, but we both played today. I told the kids at midseason they don’t need to come out and have big contact practices. It’s about making adjustments and getting healthy."