By JUSTIN PORRECA
News Editor
Despite Ky’ere Tillery’s coming out party, mental mistakes and defensive lapses thwarted Albany High’s chances of getting a win on homecoming. They lost 49-28 to the Ballston Spa Scotties on Saturday afternoon.
“We just made more mistakes than they did, and when you make more mistakes in football, you’re likely to come out with a loss,” said Albany High coach Joey DiPiazza.
Both defenses were seemingly non-existent, giving up huge chunks of yardage.
The Scotties came out swinging, drawing first blood with a drive that resulted in a one-yard rushing touchdown by tailback Zaire Royal. The Falcons countered that with a quick drive of their own, aided by a defensive holding and late-hit call. Quarterback Semaji Jones capitalized on the flags, scampering into the end zone for a three-yard touchdown, drawing the game even.
After their initial scoring drive, the Falcons offense stumbled and the Scotties continued their dominance on the ground.
Ballston Spa scored twice before halftime, once on a 30-yard burst up the gut by Royal and the second time on a five-yard plunge by tailback Ian Graham that gave them a 21-7 lead heading into halftime.
Like last Saturday’s game against Schenectady, it was a tale of two halves for both squads.
“In the second half, when coach gave us the talk, he got us hyped up and we came out hard,” said Albany fullback Lamar Grady.
Albany High’s defense in the first half was hesitant and the offense came out attacking, but lost steam. However, again it came down to the turnover battle.
While the Albany High crowd was loud and energetic, it didn’t take long for silence to ensue.
The second-half kickoff was a squib kick by Ballston Spa that went off the hands of Phillip Williams and Vince McCann and was recovered by the Scotties with generous field position.
The Scotties capitalized off of the Falcons’ miscue with a four-yard rushing touchdown by fullback Elijah Washington, extending their lead to 28-7.
Turnovers continued to plague the Falcons.
On the following drive, after a 15-yard carry by Tillery, Jones threw a deep ball, intended for Jerrel Chaney, over his head and into the awaiting hands of Ballston Spa safety Christian Leva for an interception.
Ballston Spa continued to take advantage of the Albany High turnovers.
A 74-yard bolt up the sideline by Graham put the Scotties in the redzone, looking to add to their massive lead. Graham had his number called once again at the half-inch line on third and goal, where he slithered his way in for a touchdown, increasing Albany High’s deficit to 27.
The momentum took a drastic swing in favor of the Falcons.
The score 34-7, DiPiazza made a quarterback switch mid-game, giving Noah John the nod after the Jones interception.
“We like competition. We like guys to be able to compete at [different] positions, and sometimes guys are going to have good games and bad games, and you have to figure out which guy is going to put the team in the best situation,” DiPiazza said.
On the back of stud running back Tillery, the Falcons scored quickly with a 22-yard passing touchdown on a running back pass from Tillery to Chaney, decreasing Albany’s insurmountable deficit.
Albany High willed themselves into a comeback mindset in the third quarter.
Down three touchdowns, the Falcons forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, resulting in a Tillery two-yard rushing touchdown, cutting the deficit to two touchdowns, 34-21.
Albany High forced another fumble, but failed to capitalize. The Scotties seized control of the momentum and the game once again with a 35-yard touchdown run up the heart of the Falcons’ defense by Royal, re-extending their lead back to three scores.
“I wouldn’t have been able to get those runs if it wasn’t for the line blocking for me,” Royal said.
Poor tackling and lack of aggression on defense continued to be the headache for the Falcons, and the Scotties continued to exploit those weaknesses.
“We’ll look to get better this week and be more disciplined staying home, knowing what your assignment is, and I feel confident that we’ll improve,” DiPiazza said.
The score 41-21, a comeback was inconceivable.
Despite quarterback Ryan Reed’s fumble at the beginning of the fourth quarter and a 50-yard burst up the sideline by Tillery, resulting in a three-yard touchdown by Grady, it wasn’t enough to stage a comeback.
Turnovers dictated the remaining ten minutes of the game, in which the Falcons shot themselves in the foot.
John threw an ill-timed interception to Scotties defensive back Tyler Warrington, which Ballston Spa capitalized off of with a first-play, 60-yard touchdown run by Washington that put the nail in the coffin.
With 4:21 left on the clock, Albany High put the ball in Tillery’s hands, but on a running back pass. He threw an interception to Leva that sealed the game for the Scotties.
Royal finished the game with 103 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Graham also ended up with 100 yards on the ground, 108, and two touchdowns. Overall, the Scotties accrued a mind-boggling 491 yards on the ground, chewing the Falcons defense apart.
“We want to run. At the end of the day, I’d love to have a game where I don’t have to throw the ball more than once,” said Scotties coach Dave Murello. “We run the ball and that’s what we do, that’s how we have to matriculate first downs.”
The Scotties’ first and only pass attempt came at the 4:25 mark in the second quarter.
In a losing effort, Tillery was the player of the game, racking up 178 yards on the ground, 22 through the air, and two touchdowns.
“The line did their thing today, they did good. I liked the way they blocked today and I got to give credit to my fullback too,” Tillery said.
For both of these teams, it’s back to the drawing board in preparation for next week’s game. For the Ballston Spa Scotties, it’s eliminating the turnovers and mental miscues.
“Big emphasis on ball security, and as we say, Triple A- alignment, assignment, attack. We’ve got to get these young guys knowing what they’re doing. We have to get some young guys to step up and start making plays,” Murello said.
As for Albany High, the keys to practice this week will once again be the fundamentals. Blocking, tackling and focusing on defensive assignments will dictate a short practice week for the Falcons. However, DiPiazza sees the progression in his team from week one to week three.
“The boys keep improving, they keep improving from week-to-week, from day-to-day. They’re committed to coming and getting better and we’ll put it together and we’ll be able to have the success that these boys want to have,” he said.
It’s another division game for the Falcons, a Friday night-lights shootout at Guilderland High School. As for the Ballston Spa Scotties, they are heading back home for a Friday night battle with Christian Brothers Academy.
“I can’t be happier with where we are right now in the season after three weeks, and we’re going to get back to work on Monday, improve and get ready for Guilderland,” said DiPiazza.
