Friday Night Lights Shine Around the Albany Area – Week 1 in High School Football

Showing plenty of muscle on offense, Troy overpowered Scotia-Glenville, 46-12, in a Section II Class A Southeast Division Friday night at Scotia.

Daquan Holmes and Dan Reichelt each scored twice to lead a high-powered offensive unit that produced over 400 yards.

The game was tied 6-6 and then the Flying Horses scored 34 unanswered points to grab a 40-6 advantage.

It was a memorable opener for the Class AA defending champions.

In a Class AA Liberty Division game, Shaker came from behind to stop Columbia, 32-28.

"I can tell you it was stressful. They (Columbia) were big and physical and ran the football extremely well. There were many big plays during the course of the game and we were very fortunate to just have one more big play in us then they did," said Shaker head coach Greg Sheeler. "Ryan Griffin had a huge game for us as fullback, linebacker, kicker, and punter. He had some huge runs and also had several touchbacks."

Griffin scored twice and put together 170 yards on 11 carries and Kenny Jackson added one touchdown plus 105 yards on nine carries.The Blue Bison trailed 20-12 at halftime. The turning point came on Shaker's last drive which covered 73 yards on 10 plays and lasted four minutes. Tyler Oppelt capped the drive off with a 21 touchdown yard run.

Shenendehowa easily defeated Bethlehem, 50-0, in a Class AA Empire Division contest. Tony Fusco, Jared Allen and Mercellino Christie scored two touchdowns apiece. Fusco had a terrific day on the ground compiling over 200 yards on 17 carries.

In Class A Northwest Division, quarterback Vinny Sobkowich tossed three touchdown passes and ran for another to lead Amsterdam past Queensbury, 29-7.

Queensbury got off to a 7-0 lead but then it was Amsterdam with all the points in an impressive victory.

Sobkowich started with five incompletions and eventually settled down for an 8-for-15 effort and 164 yards.

"We knew they (Queensbury) had success early. We just asked them to stick with it. I thought we ran our keys well. They're a tough, physical team. We bent a lot on defense but didn't break. It was a good win. We have to be able to run the football better. All in all, we played pretty well," said Amsterdam head coach Pat Liverio.

And the wheels keep turning at Burnt Hills.

Tom Ruppel returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown and it was all Burnt Hills from that point in a big 36-6 win over Gloversville in Class A Northwest Division.

Ruppel also scored on a six yard run as the Spartans jumped out to a commanding 34-0 lead at the halfway point and never looked back.

A good early-season matchup will be held on Friday night when Burnt Hills travels to Amsterdam at 7 p.m.

Lansingburgh relied on the talents of Ohmeiere Jones to knock off Averill Park, 34-9 in a Class A Southeast Division encounter.

Jones reached the end zone three times and picked up over 200 yards. The Knights also enjoyed a fine game on the ground with over 400 yards.

The first weekend of high school football continues today. Schenectady welcomes Colonie in a Class AA game at 7 p.m. That game will be televised by Time Warner Sports.

Two Section II teams are making a trip to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse today. Ravena takes on Watertown (Section 3) at 2 p.m. while Cobleskill-Richmondville battles Alden (Section 6) at 4 p.m.

Article by Mike Collar