VOORHEESVILLE — The Blackbirds scored early, late, and often in Saturday’s homecoming victory.

Voorheesville’s football team put up 61 points and did not allow Coxsackie-Athens any positive yards, posting a shutout win, 61-0.
"I don’t think we gave up a first down," Voorheesville Coach Joe Sapienza said after the game. "It was a very special win because everyone contributed. It’s special and based on the quarter-points system for tie breakers and seedings, you don’t want people to score. And kids came off the bench and helped us.
"Every single player came up with a play that we needed," Sapienza added. "Whether it was stopping a first down or making a block down field on a touchdown, everyone contributed."

The day got off to a bad start for Coxsackie on its first play from scrimmage.

Indians’ quarterback Adam Cole tried for a pass but was sacked by Voorheesville’s Charlie McGrail and lost the football. Stephen Cardinal recovered the ball at the Coxsackie 41-yard line.

It took the Blackbirds three plays to score. Quarterback Jay Conde hit Tim Robinson for an 11-yard pass play; Adam Duncan picked up nine yards on a run and Pat Jones finished off the short drive with a 20-yard touchdown run.

Matt Miller kicked the extra point and the Birds led, 7-0.

Voorheesville scored on its next possession after forcing Coxsackie to punt.

After Jones returned the punt to the Coxsackie 37-yard line, it took Voorheesville just three plays to score. A 21-yard run by Conde set up a one-yard touchdown run by Duncan and the extra point gave the Birds a 14-0 lead.

The Blackbirds scored with 8:27 left in the second quarter. This time, Conde scored from eight yards out and Miller’s extra point made it 21-0.

The score turned to 27-0 on Jones’s 40-yard touchdown run with 4:52 left until halftime.

The Blackbirds struck for one more touchdown in the half.

Another sack and forced fumble by McGrail gave the Birds the ball back. Sam Pelham recovered the fumble at the Coxsackie 12-yard line.

Brendan O’Keefe scored on a nine-yard run for his first career touchdown. Miller’s extra-point kick made the score 34-0.

"Took care of business"

Robinson intercepted a pass early in the third quarter that set up the Blackbirds’ next touchdown.

Coxsackie tried a trick play with a throw from the halfback, but Robinson was in the right position and picked off the pass and ran the ball to the Indians’ 13-yard line.

Duncan capped the drive with a one-yard run and the extra-point kick made the score 41-0.

Jones made the score 47-0 with a 51-yard touchdown run with 3:35 left in the third quarter.

O’Keefe scored his second touchdown on a 12-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

The final Voorheesville points came on a 51-yard run by Alex Zvinosky late in the fourth and final frame.

Jones finished the game with 228 yards rushing on 13 carries. Zvinosky added 69 yards and O’Keefe rushed for 36.

Conde only threw six passes and completed four of them, all to Robinson for a combined 37 yards.
"I can’t say enough about the offensive line," Sapienza said. "They pick everything up and make calls. The backs run low and hard and protect the ball. We like to run the ball and control the ball. We also have a quarterback that runs with the ball well."

The win was also a boost of confidence after a close loss to South Division front runner Chatham.
"The loss last week was difficult emotionally," Sapienza said. "Bouncing back was important and we did that today. We come to play every week regardless if we play a 3-0 or 1-3 team. We came to play and took care of business."

The Birds put the Chatham loss behind them but it took a couple of days.
"I felt like the first couple of days of practice weren’t as good as I wanted them to be," Sapienza said. "The loss affected us. But Wednesday and Thursday, we picked it up. Offense, defense, and special teams, everything clicked. We did the things that we wanted to do."

Next up for the Blackbirds is a Friday-night contest against Tamarac. The Birds need to win to keep pace in the division.
"It’s a great possibility that the seniors played their last game on this field today," Sapienza said. "Hopefully not. Tamarac is 1-3 and beat a D school. We need to win our last two games to finish second. And Canajoharie is a tough, tough team."

The Blackbirds will wrap up the regular season with Canajoharie, which is unbeaten in league play so far this season.
"The kids know what is at stake if we want to secure an automatic spot," Sapienza said. "We control our own destiny, if we win the next two games."