GUILDERLAND — For many years, the word "Shen" has been a four-letter dirty word to the Guilderland football team.
But for the 2007 edition of the Dutchmen, when they hear "Shen" it will bring back fond memories.

The Dutchmen jumped out to a big early lead on Friday and held off the Plainsmen to win, 34-21. The win over the previously unbeaten Shenenendehowa team gave the Dutchmen a share of the Class AA Empire Division title — with Shen and Ballston Spa — their first title of any kind since 1971. The Dutch also earned the top seed from the division for the upcoming sectionals.

Guilderland earned the top seed based on Section II’s quarter-point system. The Dutch finished Friday’s game with more quarter points than Ballstson Spa and Shenendehowa.

The Duthmen will host Schenectady — the fourth seed from the Liberty Division — on Friday night.

Last Friday, the Dutchmen got four touchdowns from Paul Booker and one from Andrew Smith to roll to the victory and earn one of the biggest wins in Guilderland football history.
"They are great football players," said Guilderland Coach Dan Penna. "They are also great citizens. Going into the playoffs, we have one of the great backfields. Tonight, they let their talents shine."
"It’s unbelievable," Smith said after the game. "I’ve never lost to Shen. But they were undefeated and one of the winningest teams in Section II. We have a great group of guys. My line, I love them, and my backs, I love them. This win is unbelievable."

Stout defense

The win wasn’t too unbelievable based on the way Guilderland played on Friday night.

After playing a field position battle in the first quarter, and to start the second quarter, the Dutchmen had a drive stall at the Shenendehowa 38-yard line.

Smith punted the ball and it was downed by the Dutchmen inside the one-yard line.

Shen did not get any yards on its ensuing possession and punted out of its end zone.

Smith caught the ball at the 25-yard line and returned it to the seven to give his team excellent field position.

On the next play, Booker took a handoff from Smith, busted through the line, and ran into the end zone for a touchdown. E.J. Genzano’s extra-point kick gave the Dutchmen a 7-0 lead with 9:46 left in the second quarter.

Guilderland’s stout defense forced another Shen punt and got the ball back at its own 40-yard line.

The Dutch moved the ball, but were facing a fourth down and two yards to go; they decided to send the punting unit out on the field.

The snap went to back Tony Denn instead of punter Jesse Terzian. Denn picked up three yards to keep Guilderland’s drive alive.

With the ball at the 50-yard line, Smith connected on a pass to Parker Wolff who made a nice catch with defenders near him and picked up 20 yards.

Smith picked up 10 yards on a run, and then Booker capped the drive with a 21-yard run to pay dirt. Genzano’s kick made the score 14-0 with 2:40 left in the second stanza.

Again, Shen was forced to punt and the kick was downed at its own 48-yard line.

Guilderland scored on the next play.

Smith found Booker in the middle of the field and threw a pass to his running back. Booker made a great catch as a Shen defender just missed the ball. Then the 6-foot, 4 inch, 205-pound Booker ran 35 yards, breaking tackles to make it into the end zone for his third touchdown of the quarter.

The Dutchmen led 21-0 at halftime and held that lead as Jesse Lutz intercepted a halfback option pass at his own four-yard line. That play ended Shen’s best drive of the first half.

Blood thirsty
"We came out and wanted blood," Booker said. "We were upset at losing to Ballston Spa [two weeks ago]. We showed what Guilderland really is."

Shen did score after taking the second-half kickoff and moving the ball down the field.

A 14-play drive was capped as Shen quarterback Charles Miller hit Rodney Campbell with a nine-yard pass into the end zone on fourth down.

A Guilderland turnover led to Shen’s second score of the game. The Plainsmen recovered a fumble at their own 41-yard line.

Shen moved the ball down the field and got another touchdown on a fourth down play. Darrell Evans capped this drive with a two-yard run.

The touchdown with 1:54 left in the third quarter made the score 21-14.

Guilderland took control of the game again early in the fourth quarter.

Booker picked up his fourth touchdown of the game. This one came on a 38-yard run and the extra point gave the Dutchmen a two-touchdown lead, 28-14, with 10:30 left in the game.

Shen answered, scoring on its next possession. Jason Bedard scored from two yards out to cut the lead to one touchdown, 28-21, with 4:33 left in the contest.

But the Dutch put the game away on its next possession.

On the first play from scrimmage after the kick-off and an offsides penalty on Shen, Smith scored for the Dutchmen.

Smith took the snap, read the field, and then took off. Once he got through the line, he was not going to be stopped as he out-sprinted the Shen defenders and ran into the end zone for a 59-yard touchdown.

"The biggest win"
"Drew is a hell of an athlete," Booker said. "The kid is like my bigger brothers. He helps me in school and everything."
"I love him just as much," Smith said of Booker. "We’re childhood friends."

That capped the scoring and, as Smith took a knee on the last two snaps of the game, the Dutch players’ cheers got louder.
"This is the biggest thing that has ever happened to us," Booker said after the game. "All the guys, I love them to death. We worked so hard and we’ve come a long way and played together for years."
"This is the biggest win we’ve had by far," said Penna. "Programs like Shen have been great for years and years and we’ve been good for the past couple of years, but we want to be like them, a great football team, year in and year out.
"This was the first game we came in as an underdog," Penna added. "We weren’t using that as motivation, but we prepared hard. The kids took off and we continued to ride that confidence. I think this shows that, if we tighten up our mistakes, that we can play with any team in the AA’s."
"We have high hopes," Booker said. "Everybody has to come after us. There is no other way to do it."
"We’re number-one going into the playoffs," Smith said. "That is huge for Dutchmen football. But anything short of a Super Bowl appearance would be disappointing to me."