VOORHEESVILLE — Thursday night’s football game in Chatham was like a drama.

The game had emotional and physical ups and downs, a denouement, and a good finish that left you wanting more.

The Voorheesville Blackbirds traveled to the small Columbia County village for a battle of undefeated teams. Chatham held on for a 27-21 win.
"Chatham is one of the best teams in Class C," said Voorheesville Coach Joe Sapienza. "But by no means are we out of it."

The Blackbirds got off to a slow start and gave up 13 points before getting on the scoreboard at the end of the first quarter.

Voorheesville took the lead in the fourth quarter but lost it when Chatham scored two touchdowns in the final frame. But the Panthers had to hold on as Voorheesville scored, cutting the lead to six points. The Voorheesville drive was interrupted when a cheerleader collapsed.

The Blackbirds’ on-side kick attempt failed.
"A game like this came down to field position," Sapienza said. "It was a battle of field position. In the first half, they had it and, in the second half we had it."

Voorheesville took the lead with 10:47 left in the fourth quarter.

A bad punt by Chatham gave the Blackbirds the ball on the Panther 23-yard line.

It took the Birds one play to score as Pat Jones took a hand-off from quarterback Jay Conde and rushed down the left side to the end zone for the score.

The two-point conversion pass was ruled incomplete even though Tim Robinson attempted a difficult diving catch.

But Chatham came back with a touchdown to re-take the lead.

The Voorheesville defense had the Panthers pinned down in a fourth-down-and-long after a sack by Jeff Connors. But Chatham quarterback Zach Kraham completed a pass to Tucker Lancelin in the corner of the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown.

Lancelin scored on the two-point conversion to give the Panthers a 21-14 lead.

Chatham added six points with 2:57 left in the game. Again, Kraham and Lancelin hooked up for a touchdown pass to make the score 27-14.

"Competitive game"

Voorheesville made a gallant attempt to come back.

Jones returned the ensuing kick-off from his own nine-yard line to the Chatham 45.

The Blackbirds moved the ball as Conde picked up 15 yards on a run and completed a short pass to Jones for an 18-yard gain that put the ball on the Chatham 27-yard line.

The drive then was halted when the ambulance came to take care of a Voorheesville cheerleader who collapsed on the sideline. According to Voorheesville principal Mark Diefendorf, the girls’ parents told him that she is at home and is expected to make a return to school in the next couple of days.

The game resumed after about a 15-minute delay and the Birds got a break.

An interference penalty on a Chatham player during a pass play put the ball on the nine-yard line and gave the Blackbirds a first down.

Conde picked up eight yards on a run on the next play but got hit hard and left the game with a mild concussion.

Robinson took over at quarterback and handed off the ball to Jones who picked up the final yard for a touchdown. Matt Miller’s extra-point kick made it 27-21 with 1:11 left in the contest.

The Birds tried for an on-side kick, but it was recovered by Chatham and the Panthers were able to run out the clock and hold on to the victory in the hard-fought game.
"This was a competitive game," said Sapienza on Thursday night. "They made plays when they needed to make them. I give them all the credit. They did the job. You can’t come out and give them chances, especially against an offense that doesn’t have many weaknesses."

Taking chances

The Birds gave Chatham chances in the first half and that was the difference in the contest.

Chatham went up 7-0 in the first quarter after Voorheesville was forced to punt and the Panthers got the ball in good field position.

Kraham ran the ball in from two yards out to cap a seven-play drive.

Voorheesville fumbled on its next possession and the ball was recovered by Chatham at the Birds’ 22-yard line.

The Blackbirds’ defense did a good job and held the Panthers to just a field goal. Sean Kenny booted the ball from 33 yards to give Chatham a 10-0 lead.

Voorheesville fumbled again on its next possession and Chatham recovered it again, this time at the Voorheesville 36-yard line.

Again, the Blackbirds held the Panthers to a field goal, this one from 21 yards out and the Panthers led, 13-0, with 1:07 left in the first quarter.
"If we start the game different," Sapienza said. "It’s a different game. We were down 10-0 before we got settled in. But we battled. It’s impressive to watch these kids play."

The Birds came back and got a touchdown as the first quarter ended.

Conde hit Jordan Murphy with a great 51-yard pass — Murphy made a tough catch with a defender on him — for a touchdown with no time left on the clock in the first period. The extra point was no good but the score was 13-6.

Neither team scored again until Voorheesville got a safety in the third quarter.

Chatham fumbled a snap on a punt deep in its own territory. The punter, Lancelin, was tackled at the one-yard line.

Voorheesville got the ball on the doorstep to the end zone. But Conde fumbled the snap and Chatham recovered the ball on the one-yard line.

Voorheesville defense showed its toughness as it stopped Paul Morse in the end zone for the two-point safety. Steve Cardinal and Connors were credited with the tackle.
"Our defense produced points," Sapienza said. "What more from a unit can you ask for than that""

The game was a defensive struggle as neither team had great offensive possessions but both took advantage of mistakes and short field position.

Jones, who has rushed for 100 yards in the first three games of the year, ended Thursday’s contest with 39 yards.

Conde had the big game with 157 yards passing on 12 completions. Robinson made six catches for 58 yards and Chris Massaroni made three catches. Two of those catches were in the drive that got the Birds within one touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The loss is the first for the Birds this season and puts them in second place in the Southern Division of Class C. If Voorheesville wins its final three regular season games and Chatham does, too, the Birds will finish in second place but will clinch a play-off berth.

Sapienza doesn’t see that as a detriment for his team.
"I don’t think they will," he said of a possible letdown. "Our goal is to win a championship and we are committed to that. What I take from this game is that Chatham in week four is the best in Class C. But it was 27-21. We’ll get better."