By JUSTIN PORRECA
Sports Editor
The offense assembled in the victory formation once again, kneeling out the final 1:10 of the game. Jubilant players bum rushed the coaching staff with the 10 gallon Gatorade jugs, dousing them with the contents in the process.
The raucous crowd burst through the metal gate, charging their victorious team at mid-field. The Albany High Falcons controlled the game for all four quarters and bullied their way to a 28-21 win over the Averill Park Warriors on Thursday night, for their third straight victory—a feat last accomplished in the 2007-2008 season.
The Falcons smash-mouth, ground-and-pound offense proved too much for the Averill Park defense throughout the night and their inability to stop the run was their ultimate Achilles heel.
As for the Albany High defense, they had their usual struggles in the early goings, but as the game progressed they improved. They still had some lapses, but for the most part, the Falcons played their best game of the season.
This game, the final game of the Falcons 2015 campaign, was their first game all season where they played a complete game and were near-flawless in all three phases: offense, defense and special teams.
Albany High wasted little time getting on the board, feeding their 1,000-yard rusher, Ky’Ere Tillery, to set the tone and pace of the game.
On the back of their tailback, they marched down the field with ease, capping off their first possession with a Tillery 13-yard score, giving the Falcons the early lead.
On the ensuing drive, Averill Park answered the Falcons scoring possession with one of their own.
The Warriors methodically drove down the field, chewing the Falcons rush defense apart with the duo of tailback Dom Law and freshman fullback Carl Nitz. Averill Park summed the drive up with quarterback Ryan Long dropping back and hitting running back Zach Legare with a 12-yard strike over the middle.
The Warriors opted to go for two and were successful with Nitz plunging up the gut, giving Averill Park the 8-7 lead.
After back-to-back punts by both offenses, the Falcons on their next drive turned the ball over, with quarterback Noah John throwing the ball high to wide receiver Jarrell Chaney and it going off of his fingers and into the waiting arms of defensive back Ryan Wood.
Undeterred by the mental mistake, the Falcons got the ball back, after forcing another Averill Park punt, and quickly drove down the field.
Albany High capped the three-play, 64-yard drive off with Tillery jolting up the gut, making several Warrior defenders miss and running free for a 22-yard touchdown, giving the Falcons a 14-8 lead.
On this same drive, Chaney took a bubble screen up the sideline for a 28-yard gain, but suffered a sprained ankle in the process. He was taped up on the sideline and came back in the game, but failed to be the productive player he is.
“It hurt me to get injured in the first quarter of the game. I couldn’t be effective as I usually am throughout the game, it just put me down,” Chaney said. “I just couldn’t help my team in the way that I wanted to, but I helped in other ways, keeping the team up and being enthusiastic.”
As for the Warriors, their offense was shutdown and forced to punt on each of their remaining first half drives, keeping the score 14-8 heading into halftime.
Adjustments were necessary for both teams heading into the half. For the Falcons it was finding ways to stop the run and being more effective in the pass. As for the Warriors, it was how to be consistent in the running game and being able to stop the Falcons rushing attack.
The Falcons left the locker room after the half and performed a peculiar act. Rather than running out onto the field for warm-ups, they marched through the stands- solidifying coach Joey DiPiazza’s “we-building” philosophy- being one with the community.
Albany High came out of the break and continued their dominance on the ground, not missing a beat.
“We wanted to come out and play Albany High football and that’s just smash-mouth, down-hill football and we said we were going to take the opening drive, dive-right, dive-left and continuously run that play until they stop it,” DiPiazza said.
The Falcons drove 75 yards on 12-plays, putting the ball in the gut of their star tailback 10 out of those 12. They capped the drive off with Tillery bursting up the gut for a one-yard touchdown, extending their lead, 21-8.
In a state of panic, the Warriors needed to answer and answer quickly.
A long kick-return set Averill Park up with great field position. The Warriors capitalized off of it, pounding the ball through the heart of the Falcon defense and finishing the drive with Nitz plunging into the end zone for a five-yard touchdown.
The Falcons never let off the gas and kept the pressure on Averill Park.
On the ensuing drive, once again, Albany High marched down the field and finished the drive off with John scrambling off tackle, scooting up the sideline and barreling his way into the end zone for the 12-yard score, giving the Falcons the 28-15 lead.
A key fourth and 8 was the game-changer on that drive.
The Falcons converted with John dropping back and hitting Tillery on a slant, and the shifty running back weaving and juking his way through the Warriors defense to the 14-yard line for the first down.
Had they not successfully gained the 8-plus yards on fourth down, Averill Park would have got the ball back on the 35-yard line with 9:50 left on the clock.
The Warriors scored once more before the final whistle, with the quarterback, Long, using his mobility and arm to drive Averill Park down the field to put them in scoring position. He capped off the 14-play, 80-yard drive with an eight-yard strike to his wide receiver, Wood.
Down seven, the Warriors had to try an onside kick. However, they blew their chances in recovering it.
Before the ball reached 10 yards, it hit the leg of an Averill Park defender, thus making the ball dead at the spot of contact.
The Falcons ran out the remaining clock with their burly fullback, Lamar Grady, plowing through Warrior defenders, picking up first downs and Albany High’s third win in the process.
Tillery finished the season off with his fourth straight 100-yard game, racking up 158 yards on 24 carries and three touchdowns.
“The line gave a great push and I was running hard and hitting the holes hard,” he said.
John put his first-half mental mistakes on the backburner in the second half, making key plays on the Falcons last scoring drive, that pushed them past the Warriors. He finished the day 5-11 for 81 yards and one interception through the air and had 13 yards on one carry for a touchdown.
“I just kept my head up and knew that I had to keep playing my game and better things would come in the second half,” John said.
As for Averill Park, the freshman, Nitz, had 82 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown and Long was 4-8 for 58 yards and had two touchdowns through the air. On the ground he had 65 yards on 14 carries.
“I’m proud of myself, but at the same time I feel like I could be a lot better and get a lot better,” Nitz said.
The Warriors struggled mightily stopping Tillery and the Falcons’ rushing attack.
“They’re a very good running team. Tillery is a heck of a back, we saw him last year as a sophomore when he played for [Bishop] Maginn and knew he could play,” said coach Zachary Gobel.
“We knew if he didn’t have it inside, he would bounce, so we had to make plays on the outside and we didn’t do it.”
This loss concluded Averill Park’s 2015 season, which saw them go 3-7. Gobel was far from pleased with how the season turned out for the Warriors.
“We’re frustrated with the season—we’re frustrated. We ended up 3-7 on the year, we’re ecstatic about playing a tenth game, but we’re frustrated with it,” he said. “We were very young this year and I hope my young guys are a little ticked off and ready to comeback.”
As for Albany High, they ended their season with a bang. After running the gauntlet of playoff teams through the first seven games, going 0-7 in the process, they finished their last three 3-0, 3-7 on the season, with signs of growth and progression.
“What a great way to end the season, again on our home field, with our student body, our administrators, our teachers, that’s the ‘we-building’ process and we are going to continue to look for that each and every year with this program,” DiPiazza said.
The Falcons journey to the pinnacle of Section II football—the Super Bowl—doesn’t stop with this win. This is only the beginning and the staff and players will be working on next season, starting next week. For now, though, they’ll be cherishing this victory and season.
“As I told the kids tonight, on a personal note, they have no idea that I’ll never forget this, this was something really special,” DiPiazza said.
“To be part of this, in my first year, as a head football coach, I don’t have words. I’m just so happy and the feelings I have—I love being around our kids, they’re a special group.”
