VOORHEESVILLE — The players on the Voorheesville football team were stunned.

Everything they worked hard for all season had suddenly come to an end in the football equivalent of a flash.

Trailing by just one touchdown, the Blackbirds were outscored 28-7 in the second half en route to a 49-21 loss at Chatham in the Class C semifinal game on Friday night.

The loss ends Voorheesville’s season with a 6-3 record.
"They made some nice adjustments at halftime," Voorheesville Coach Joe Sapienza said of the Panthers. "Defensively, they made us work harder than in the first half. Their overall speed on offense was key. They basically struck for some big plays. They wore us down, and their running backs were able to get outside, and we started having problems.
"Athletically," Sapienza added, "they may be the best in Section II."

Chatham was able to overcome the 275 rushing yards of Voorheesville’s Pat Jones.

The score was 21-14 with over two minutes left in the third quarter when Chatham scored on a three-yard touchdown run by Tucker Lancelin.

The Birds trailed by two touchdowns in their previous meeting with Chatham in late September before they made an attempt at a comeback. However, things went differently this time.

"Big plays"

Voorheesville turned the ball over on downs early in the fourth quarter and Chatham took advantage. Lancelin scored on a 26-yard run and the extra point made the score 35-14 with 8:51 left in the game.

Voorheesville was driving, but Chatham’s Drew Doty intercepted a Jay Conde pass at his own 41-yard line and raced to the end zone for a touchdown to make the score 42-14, essentially ending the Blackbirds’ season.

But the Voorheesville kids didn’t give up. They put together a nice drive and scored with 2:35 left in the contest.

Jones ran for a 56-yard score and Cameron Taylor’s extra-point kick made the score 42-21.

But the Blackbirds were hit with another big play; Lancelin did it to them again. Lancelin fielded the ensuing kick-off after the touchdown from his own 15-yard line and ran it all the way to the end zone to add another six points for the game.

It was Lancelin’s fifth touchdown in the contest. He caught a 37-yard pass in the first quarter for a score and had a five-yard scoring run in the second quarter.
"They hit a couple of big plays at the end that put it away," Sapienza said.

Lancelin scored first for Chatham with 1:03 left in the first quarter, but Voorheesville answered right back.

The Birds got a 57-yard run from Jones that put the ball at the Chatham 13-yard line.

A holding penalty on the next play moved the Birds back 10 yards but a pass completion from Conde to Chris Massaroni got most of the lost yardage back. Conde scrambled for five yards and, then on the next play, hit Jordan Murphy for a nine-yard touchdown pass.

Chatham scored again on its ensuing possession. Lancelin gave his team the lead on a five-yard run.

Voorheesville tied the game with 1:14 left in the second quarter. Jones ran into the end zone from one yard out. The score was set up after a fumble recovery by Sam Pelham at the Chatham 32-yard line.

Jones picked up eight yards on a run and Conde found Massaroni for a 23-yard pass play that put the ball on the one-yard line.

But Chatham took a seven-point lead at the half as it scored with no time on the clock.

Josh Hutchinson scored on a three-yard run. But quarterback Zach Kraham had a big series completing passes to Matt Rutschmann, Hutchinson, and Doty to put the ball on the three-yard line.

The Blackbirds were led by Jones’s 275 yards rushing, but Conde also picked up 64 yards on 10 carries and Adam Duncan ran for 59 yards on 10 carries.

Conde threw for 96 yards on nine completions. Massaroni caught four of those passes for 55 yards.

"Great group"

The Panthers were able to neutralize Voorheesville’s dominant defensive front line.
"They did a couple of things for the first time," Sapienza said of Chatham. "Today, they were moving Kraham in the pocket. They were blocking a moving pocket. They got us moving up field and taking us away. Kraham moved in the pocket and that neutralized our defense. His backs ran short patterns and he was able to get rid of the ball to them."

The loss ends the careers for a large group of seniors for Voorheesville. The Birds will lose three members of its strong front defensive line — Pelham, Charlie McGrail, and Jeff Connors. Also graduating will be offensive linemen Steve Cardinal, Sean Hognestad. Jon Fuglein, and Steve Bingham.

Tight end Tim Robinson and defensive back Cameron Taylor will also be graduating along with linebacker Rob Selby, and receivers Curt Hoffart and Matt Henry. Alex Zvinovsky, Matt Miller, and Jimmy Cillis also contributed for the Blackbirds this fall.
"This is a great group of kids," Sapienza said. "They are big in numbers and big in size. We have a group of kids that have been on the varsity for three years. This is a special group of kids. We’re fortunate every year to have the type of kids we have."