VOORHEESVILLE - The rains finally ended, but that didn't stop some members of the Voorheesville football team from taking one more dip in the mud.

The Blackbirds had just wrapped up the season, winning a crossover game against Hoosick Falls, 7-6, in a contest that was played mostly in the rain and mud. Though the rain ended midway through the fourth quarter, the mud stayed and numerous Blackbirds were, well, happier than pigs in slop. After the victory, they ran, jumped, and slid in the mud that covered the middle of the field.

The Blackbirds were playing in a crossover game after a tough 28-21 loss last week to Cambridge in the Class C Section II quarterfinals.
"You always worry about a letdown in these games," said Voorheesville Coach Joseph Sapienza. "Sometimes teams do not come ready to play."

The Blackbirds came ready to play but the weather affected what both teams could do on offense, resulting in a low-scoring affair.

Senior fullback Adam Duncan scored the lone touchdown for Voorheesville with 42 seconds left in the first quarter. He plunged into the end zone from one yard out to cap a nice scoring drive for the Blackbirds.

Lee Fenner, a junior goalie on the soccer team, kicked the extra point to give the Blackbirds the lead.

It ended up being the winning point.

Hoosick Falls had scored early in the fourth quarter as Dan Okerman ran from five yards out to cap a long drive that started from its own 16-yard line.

The Panthers went for the two-point conversion to try to take the lead.

Okerman got the ball again on a handoff but was stopped in the middle of the line by a flock of Blackbirds.

Voorheesville held on to the lead with 11:04 left to play.

The Blackbirds were able to hang on even after a fumbled snap gave the Panthers the ball at the Voorheesville 44-yard line.

Hoosick Falls marched down to the 19, but the Blackbird defense held and forced a punt. The Panthers never got the ball back.
"I was really impressed with how both teams executed in the conditions," Sapienza said. "We made the plays we had to on defense and offense. We stopped that two-point conversion. That was the game there."

Senior running back Pat Jones finished the game with 177 yards on 27 carries.

Okerman ran for 127 yards on 24 carries.

The win was a good way for a talented group of seniors to end their football careers at Voorheesville. It is a group, Sapienza said, that the dirtiest thing they might have ever have done was sliding in the mud.
"As I told the kids," the coach said, "I never had a problem with anything this year. This group will take care of themselves."

The Blackbirds caught a tough break with some injuries late in the year, and a loss to Coxsackie-Athens without Duncan and Jones and a couple of other contributors, knocked them down to the number-four seed from the South Division of Class C.
"I said in the pre-season that an injury would devastate us," Sapienza said.

Eleven seniors will graduate from the team, and many have a chance to continue to play in college if they want, Sapienza said.
"A large group of them could go on to play college football," Sapienza said. "Realistically, a handful of guys are capable, and there will be another handful of guys that are capable and won't play and decide to hang it up after this. They are all good students and good citizens as well."

The seniors on the team are Jimmy Carroll, Evan Christner, Jay Conde, Brad Donaldson, Duncan, Sean Fitzmaurice, Dan Flynn, Jones, Chris Massaroni, Jordan Murphy, and Brendan O'Keefe.
"This is a good group of 11 kids who are totally dedicated to it and dedicated to each other," Sapienza said. "I think that, with this group, they will be disappointed when they come out Monday and are not coming out for football practice. It means that much to them."

As some of the seniors get ready for college, Sapienza will start to get ready for next fall.
"We relied on some sophomores this year," he said. "We had a few young guys that had the opportunity to have key roles and did a good job. It will then be their time to step up and be guys that will show us the way."