GUILDERLAND — Turnovers and penalties doomed the Guilderland football team in its game Friday night against Colonie.

The Dutchmen committed five turnovers and had a touchdown wiped out by a penalty in a 21-0 loss to the Garnet Raiders.

The wet, rainy conditions didn’t help either team, but Colonie’s potent offense was able to take advantage of the Dutchmen’s mistakes.
"We came out tight," said Guilderland Coach Dan Penna. "And to beat the best teams, you have to be so focused. We started to step up and make plays. We had five or six turnovers and a couple of penalties. But there was a touchdown called back on Colonie. One of the great things about this team is that we love to fix the mistakes that are hurting us."

An interception led to Colonie’s first score.

Guilderland quarterback Bill Rafferty threw a pass that was intercepted by Colonie at the 40-yard line.

A big pass play by Colonie quarterback Hunter Moffatt to Joe Griner moved the ball to the Guilderland five-yard line. After two running plays, Moffatt capped the short drive with a run from the one-yard line. Moffatt added the extra-point with a kick and the Garnet Raiders led, 7-0, with 5:33 left in the opening stanza.

Guilderland punted on its next possession, but then caught a break. On Colonie’s first play from scrimmage after the punt, the running back fumbled after a hit by Kevin Forbes. Pete Stanish recovered the fumble and gave the Dutch the ball at the 36-yard line.

But the Dutch could not take advantage and had to punt. Nick Zanotta booted the ball and it slid into the end zone to give Colonie the ball at its own 20-yard line.

Colonie then proceeded to move the ball down the field behind the running of Chris Wiley and Heath Furbeck.

The Garnet Raiders capped the 80-yard drive with a six-yard run by Furbeck. Again, Moffatt kicked the extra point and Colonie led, 14-0.

Guilderland put together a good drive of its own on its next possession.

The Dutch got some hard running by Kevin Doherty and used a fake punt on a fourth down play.

The Dutch were facing fourth-and-one from their own 41-yard line. Ian DeSol snapped the ball directly to Forbes and he leaped over linemen and dove for the first down.

But Guilderland couldn’t move the ball after that and had to punt on the fourth down.

This time, the ball got away from Zanotta and the ball was downed at the 34-yard line.

Guilderland’s defense held and got a sack by Kyle Hussey and Judd Robinson on fourth down to end the Colonie drive.

The score remained 14-0 until halftime.

"We made some mistakes"

The Dutch fumbled on their first two possessions of the second half. The second led to Colonie’s final score.

On their second possession, the Dutch had the ball on their own 38-yard line.

On the first play from scrimmage, Rafferty ran an option play to his left and kept the ball. He broke some tackles to get into the open field then sprinted to the end zone for an apparent touchdown.

But a holding penalty on the Dutchmen wiped out the play and, two downs later, they fumbled and Colonie recovered the ball at Guilderland’s 29-yard line.

It took Colonie four plays to score as Moffatt completed a pass to Joe Poleto on fourth down for the touchdown. Moffatt kicked his third extra point and Colonie led, 21-0.

The Dutch fumbled on their next possession and Colonie recovered on the 37-yard line.

But Guilderland’s defense held when Joe Lima knocked a pass away on fourth down.

Guilderland had a decent drive going as runs by Doherty and new quarterback Greg Barcomb moved the ball to the 50-yard line.

Barcomb then completed a pass to Tim Montgomery for nine yards and Doherty picked up a first down with a six-yard run.

But Barcomb was intercepted by Rob Goo at the 11-yard line.

The wet weather hampered both teams’ offense, but Colonie was able to make some big plays in the air.
"We did a good job of stopping the run," Penna said. "Ironically, they threw the ball fairly well. We had some coverage mix-ups. That’s a mistake we have to fix. Colonie’s a good football team. We knew they threw the ball well. We have to make more plays against the pass."

And with an offense like Colonie’s, mistakes will lead to points.
"We made some mistakes," Penna said. "We gave them a short field and they were able to punt the ball and pin us back a few times."

The Dutch have a record of 1-5 and have three games remaining. They wrap up the regular season with a match-up at Bethlehem on Friday.
"The kids have a lot of heart and desire," Penna said. "We’ve got to come back and re-group and get some wins in our last three games of the season.