Ballston Spa’s last-second conversion closes lid on Guilderland’s playoff hopes
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Getting grabbed from every angle — Ballston Spa’s Matt Hommel (#22) has his head, Elijah Washington (#44) has his right arm, and another defender has his right foot — is Guilderland’s Ryan Gallup during the second quarter of a game last Friday. The Dutch lost, 29 to 28, and Gallup ended up fumbling the ball on this play; the Scotties recovered the ball. Gallup had three touchdowns.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Offensive leader: Guilderland senior quarterback Andrew Sentz outruns Ballston Spa’s Mike Curcurito during last Friday’s Class AA Empire Division match-up in Guilderland. Sentz amassed 277 total yards of offense — running and passing — with three touchdowns, but the Dutchmen lost, 29 to 28, on a last-second two-point conversion by the Scotties, which erased a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Transition game: Guilderland’s shot at a Class AA playoff spot now seems like a stretch after a one-point loss to Ballston Spa last Friday dropped the team to 1-5. Here, senior Alec Cardinal takes a hand-off for Guilderland from his quarterback, Andrew Sentz, during the game. The Dutch lost on a last-second two-point conversion run by Shane Winkle.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Stampede: Junior Cameron Long starts to turn the corner on a run up the sidelines for Guilderland last Friday in the first quarter that ended in a score against Ballston Spa, but the touchdown was called back for a holding penalty. The Dutchmen lost, 29 to 28, and both teams were called for numerous penalties.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Arm bar: Guilderland’s Ryan Gallup (#2) is tackled by Ballston Spa’s Matt Hommel, right, as Elijah Washington, left, goes to grab Gallup’s right arm…
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
…And the ball is stripped by Ballston Spa’s Elijah Washington, left, as Guilderland’s Ryan Gallup falls to the turf. Guilderland is 1-5 in Class AA.
GUILDERLAND — The football season was already rough for Guilderland, but Ballston Spa made it miserable.
Down by 14 points at the start of the fourth quarter last Friday night, the Scotties chipped away at the Dutchmen defense and won on a two-point conversion sweep run by Shane Winkle. With eight seconds left in regulation play, Matt Hommel had gotten Ballston Spa within one point with a four-yard touchdown catch, off a play-action fake by Derek Chandler. Winkle had converted on a fourth down with that same sweep run to the right that won the game.
On that game-winning sweep run, Winkle waited for his blocks, and made a perfect cut into the end zone. Hearts sank on the Dutch sideline and in the Guilderland stands as the Scotties rejoiced.
“It hurts bad; it hurts a lot,” said Guilderland Head Coach Dan Penna after the 29-to-28 loss at home, which eliminated the Dutchmen from the Class AA playoffs. “It’s a nauseous feeling because we work hard every day.”
The silence was colder than the brisk air as Dutch fans filed out.
“I just try as hard as I can to get a win for my team,” said Hommel, a senior, who had untouchable speed and brawn for Ballston Spa on identical 25-yard touchdown runs. “That scoreboard says 29 points, and that’s all that matters.”
Most of everything seemed to be going Guilderland’s way before the fourth quarter. Quarterback Andrew Sentz was orchestrating an effective offense, connecting with Ryan Gallup for two passing touchdowns, and running for another from the seven-yard line. Defensively, the Dutch were getting stops when the team needed it most.
“That was our best performance of the season, but we broke down late,” Penna said. “Ballston Spa made some key plays, and that’s how football works sometimes.”
The Scotties (2-2, 2-4) had possession for the majority of the fourth quarter, and converted three fourth-down plays during its two drives. The Dutchmen (1-3,1-5) had a chance to run the clock out, but Sentz was tackled for a loss at the 31-yard line with 3:19 remaining, and then overthrew Cameron Long on fourth down.
Throughout the game, Guilderland and Ballston Spa were called for numerous penalties. “Some drives were getting stalled,” said Penna. “Continuity is hard when you have a lot of flags.”
On Ballston Spa’s final drive, Guilderland declined a holding penalty to force the Scotties into a fourth-down conversion, and Chandler found Kyle Basta, who was wide open for the first down. Then, Chandler tossed up an errant pass to avoid being sacked, and Andrew Van Avery jumped to grab the falling prayer while simultaneously colliding with Guilderland’s Casey Chase at the 20-yard line.
Last Friday’s game had a playoff feel to it; the loser would not be making the playoffs.
“Each team had the same destiny,” said Ballston Spa Head Coach Dave Murello, who went out of his way to shake hands with some Guilderland players after the win. “No one wanted to lose this game.”
Coming in, both the Dutch and the Scotties had experienced similar seasons — blowout victories over Albany and a few close losses — which is now separated by a two-yard run play.
“It really is a game of inches, and Ballston Spa had the guts to go for it,” Penna said. “That pitch conversion is a bread-and-butter play, and our tacklers may have taken a poor angle, so we’ll have to look at the film.”
Ballston Spa’s triple-option offense is comparable to Guilderland’s, Penna said. For a defense to be successful against that type of offense, defenders must be responsible for every move that the quarterback, running back, and fullback make.
“All the options can fool you, and make you second guess a play,” added Penna. “We did contain well when we were holding responsibility.”
Ballston Spa’s defense had spent the first three quarters being fooled by Guilderland’s options on offense.
“You pour a lot into this game, and that’s why it hurts,” Penna said.
All that Guilderland can do is come back and try to fix its mistakes, said Penna, as the team prepares to play Shenendehowa, which is the only remaining undefeated team in Class AA. Penna said Guilderland would try to have a winning attitude.
“I’m extremely proud that we feel this pain,” said Penna, speaking for his players, “because that means that they really put forth the effort.”