By JUSTIN PORRECA
News Editor
Despite Ky’Ere Tillery’s domating performance in the running game, the defense was porous, and exploited by the Saratoga Springs Blue Streaks, who took advantage of that, routing the Albany High Falcons, 69-29 Friday night.
Poor tackling, lack of intensity, lack of execution and poor assignment coverage plagued the Albany High Falcons on defense and special teams all four quarters in their third Suburban Council divisional game. This was the third week in a row where the Albany High defense looked lethargic and atrocious, getting beaten off the ball and manhandled by the opposing offense.
“We’ve got to get just as excited to play defense as we do offense and that’s something we’re going to work on. Get these guys excited to play defense, excited to stop someone and we’ll see what happens,” said coach Joey DiPiazza.
Per usual, Albany High got behind quickly, giving up a Dakota Harvey 80-yard kick return touchdown on the first play of the game. A Saratoga Springs scoring onslaught ensued.
The Blue Streaks scored 20 points in the first 6:35 of the game, thanks in part to a Ryan Manlapaz eight-yard touchdown run and an 86-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brian Williams to running back Robert Haughton. The Saratoga Springs offense continued to push the ball down the field on the Falcons’ anemic defense, never seeming to lose steam.
“I think they tried to do a great job of taking away our outside run game and we were able to counter that by running the ball back inside and early on throwing the ball,” said coach Terry Jones.
By the 4:12 mark in the second quarter, the Blue Streaks had a cozy lead against the Falcons, 41-0. However, ahead of halftime, Albany High established some momentum, going on an 11-play, 52-yard drive, capping it off with a five-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Noah John to wide receiver Jarrell Chaney.
Both defenses were absent in the second half, getting gashed for huge chunks of yards.
Albany High opened up the half with a seven-play, 83-yard drive, capped off by a seven-yard touchdown run by Tillery.
The Falcons offense continued to run roughshod on the Blue Streaks defense throughout the half, making up for the appalling play by the defense.
However, the defense did produce one highlight. After the Blue Streaks quickly drove down the field, Albany High forced a Manlapaz fumble and recovery.
The Falcons failed to turn that turnover into points and actually turned the ball back over to Saratoga Springs. John threw a deep ball, intended for Chaney, that was intercepted by defensive back Nick Kondo and returned 52 yards to the eight-yard line.
The Blue Streaks capitalized on the ill-timed John interception with a Brian Williams eight-yard scamper up the middle for a touchdown, making it 48-13.
Turnovers continued to plague the Falcons after the interception. A good drive by Albany High came to a screeching halt after Tillery coughed the ball up, his lone mistake in an incredible night for the tailback.
The Blue Streaks, again, made use of the untimely turnover with a 52-yard touchdown run by Justin Degener, increasing their sizeable lead.
A comeback was inconceivable, but that did not deter DiPiazza and his coaching staff from continuing to move the ball down the throat of the Saratoga Springs defense.
The Falcons scored twice more before the final whistle, both scores coming from the duo of John to Chaney, one for 36 yards and the other for 49 yards. The chemistry the quarterback and wide receiver have now is evident, and it’s progressed significantly since week one against Columbia.
These late air strikes from John made the final score 69-29, another loss for the Falcons.
Albany High was the first team this season to score over 14 points on Saratoga Springs. However, 69 points is the most the Falcons have given up this season, and in turn the most Saratoga scored this season.
There’s one glaring Albany High statistic that shows promise for the program, and a cause for concern for the Blue Streaks.
The Falcons gained 528 yards on offense: 324 on the ground and 204 through the air, the most yardage accumulated in a single game for them all season.
“Tonight, from the offensive side of the ball, everyone on that side of the ball should be proud of how they performed,” DiPiazza said. “No one has done that to Saratoga offensively all year long, and I think if teams down the road are going to be looking at postseason play and how do we beat Saratoga, they’re probably going to look at some of the things we did upfront.”
