GUILDERLAND — All season long, the Guilderland football team has been living on the edge each week as it retains its perfect season.

On Friday, the Dutchmen were finally pushed over the edge.

A gallant Guilderland comeback fell short in the fourth quarter and the Dutchmen’s unbeaten streak ended with a 32-27 loss against Ballston Spa in that Saratoga County village.
"We made too many mistakes," said Guilderland Coach Dan Penna. "That’s tough to do against an explosive team like Ballston Spa."

The Dutchmen entered the contest with a 4-0 record. The Scotties had just one blemish on their record, a loss in week one to Shenendehowa.

The first mistake the Dutchmen made was not taking advantage of great field position in most of the first quarter.

Jesse Terzian took the opening kickoff, taking the ball from his own 10-yard line and returning it all the way to the Ballston Spa 20-yard line.

Then, after a 10-yard run by Paul Booker, the Dutchmen couldn’t get into the end zone, even though they were knocking on the doorstep. A fourth-down field goal attempt was short.

Guilderland got the ball right back, again, in great field position.

A Ballston Spa fumble was recovered on the Scotties 32-yard line by junior lineman Devan Van Auken. But four plays later, the Dutchmen turned the ball over on downs.

The Dutchmen then forced Ballston Spa to punt and got the ball at the 50-yard line.

Guilderland moved the ball down to the 20-yard line, but couldn’t capitalize on the field position and the Dutch were forced to kick a short punt, which worked out well for them as they downed the ball at the Scotties own three-yard line.

Guilderland finally got some points on the board as it got the ball back early in the second quarter.

Guilderland started a drive on Ballston Spa’s 35-yard line.

The Dutchmen moved the ball down to the nine-yard line. Junior fullback Jason Lawrence capped the drive with a nine-yard run into the end zone.

E.J. Genzano kicked the extra point and the Dutch led, 7-0, with 8:05 left in the second quarter.

Burying the Dutchmen

The second Guilderland mistake came on the ensuing kickoff.

Eric Marciano took the kick, blew past the Guilderland coverage, and sprinted 82 yards for a touchdown.

The extra-point kick was good, and the game was knotted up at 7-7 with 7:52 left until halftime.

The return just started a tidal wave of momentum for the Scotties and buried the Dutchmen.

Guilderland got the ball back at its own 20-yard line after the kickoff.

On the first play from scrimmage, Guilderland fumbled the snap even though there was a flag on the field.

The Guilderland coaches and players thought an offside penalty on Ballston Spa was coming. But a penalty was not called and Ballston Spa kept the ball after recovering the fumble. If a penalty had been called on the defense, Guilderland would have kept possession of the ball.

The Scotties scored on the next play as quarterback Mark Seager ran the 20 yards into the end zone. With the extra point, the Scotties led 14-7 with 7:39 left until the intermission.

The Dutchmen fumbled again on their next possession.

This time, quarterback Drew Smith fumbled while running with the ball and Ballston Spa recovered on the Guilderland 41-yard line.

On the next play, Steve Duncan ran off tackle and went the 41 yards for a touchdown. The extra-point kick made the score 21-7 with 7:21 left in the second stanza.

Ballston Spa added a field goal later in the quarter and led, 24-7, at halftime.

"A tale of two halves"

What followed proved the heart and mettle of the Dutchmen.

Guilderland stopped Ballston Spa after the second-half kickoff, then got the ball back and moved it down the field to get a big score.

Behind the running of Smith and a nicked-up Booker, the Dutchmen moved the ball. Smith capped the drive with a 15-yard run on the right side. Genzano’s extra-point kick made the score 24-14 with 3:45 left in the third frame.

Ballston Spa answered on its next possession. Marciano scored on a 55-yard option run. The Scotties added two points on a pass and led, 32-14, with 2:03 left in the third quarter.

But the Dutchmen didn’t quit and moved the ball down the field on their next possession, after starting on their own 18-yard line.

The big play of the drive was a 48-yard completion from Smith to Parker Wolff along the visiting team’s sideline. Smith aired the ball out and it hit off the Ballston Spa defender. But Wolff kept his concentration on the ball and grabbed it as it was bouncing around.

The catch put the ball on the eight-yard line and ended the third quarter.

The Dutch scored four plays later, as Smith leaped into the end zone from one yard out.

The extra point missed, so the score was 32-20 early in the fourth frame.

Guilderland forced the Scotties to punt and got the ball back on its own 14-yard line.

Again Guilderland put together another great drive. This one was led mostly by Smith’s legs, though he did complete short passes to Nick Ranalli and Wolff; he got help running the ball from Booker and Tony Denn.

Smith had runs of 14, 10, and 23 yards, before finishing off the drive with a 15-yard run for a touchdown. The extra point made it 32-27 with 2:09 left in the game.

Guilderland attempted an on-side kick to try and get the ball back, but Ballston Spa recovered.

The Dutchmen got the ball back after forcing a punt, at their own eight-yard line.

After three incomplete passes, Smith picked up 28 yards on a run down the home team sideline.

But Guilderland would not get any more yards as Smith’s second down pass was intercepted at the Ballston Spa 32-yard line.

The Scotties ran out the clock and celebrated a hard-fought win.
"My hat’s off to Coach [John] Bowen and Ballston Spa," Penna said. "In the first half, we were not reading our [defensive] keys and guys were biting. But I have to give them credit. They ran their schemes well.
"It was a tale of two halves," Penna added. "It was similar to the game that happened last week. A loss stings more, though, and maybe that will makes us play four quarters."

After winning their first two games convincingly, the Dutchmen won their last two games by one score — 10-7 over Bethlehem and 21-14 over Christian Brothers Academy.

Guilderland is now 4-1 and still has a spot in the playoffs. The Dutch are battling for position and will look to do so against Saratoga on Friday. The game is Guilderland’s homecoming and kickoff will be at 7 p.m.

The Dutchmen will also look to clean up their mistakes.
"We know that you can’t make mistakes against a good team," Penna said. "We outscored them, 3-1, in the second half. We need to make plays. We have great athletes, but we are continuing to learn."