Sunday, September 28, 2014 by Aidan Joly Photos by Eli Fisher
Despite a second half comeback attempt, the Saratoga Blue Streaks Junior Varsity football team were unable to get past Shenendehowa.
The Shenendehowa Plainsmen beat the Blue Streaks Saturday morning at the East Side Recreation Field by a score of 34-15 in a big rivalry game. The same matchup at the varsity level saw a 35-6 win by Shen the night before.
The Plainsmen started the day with a bang, putting the ball in the end zone just a few minutes into the game and a successful two-point conversion made it 8-0 Shen very quickly.
Saratoga freshman receiver Harry Lazar ran the kickoff to Shen’s 10-yard line, but the offense was stopped from scoring, and ended up turning the football over on downs after four plays.
The ball continued to shift around for the remainder of the first quarter, and it made the score 8-0 Plainsmen after a quarter had been played.
The Plainsmen came up with 19 unanswered points from three touchdowns over the course of the second quarter, which included a long run at the end of the second quarter which was about 70 yards, but no touchdown. At halftime, it was 27-0 Shen.
On Shen’s first possession of the second half, quarterback Michael Spulnick was sacked into the Plainsmen end zone for a safety, and the Blue Streaks put their first points on the scoreboard while still trailing by 25 points. Shenendehowa led by a score of 27-2, a rare instance where a team’s only scoring came from a safety.
After the safety, the Streaks got the ball, and scored a touchdown from a five-yard run from freshman quarterback Wes Englintine, but the extra point was blocked by the defense, and that made the score 27-8 Plainsmen just a few minutes into the third quarter. The Blue Streaks offense had already put up more points in a few minutes than they had the whole first half.
“We played a better second half,” Saratoga Coach Anthony Spackmann said after the game.
A Shen drive downfield towards the end of the third quarter was the last possession of the quarter, and the score was 27-8 Shen at the end of three quarters at East Side Rec.
The drive continued into the fourth quarter and was ended by a rushing touchdown and the extra point was good, making it 34-8 Plainsmen as the game was winding down.
The Saratoga possession ended by way of a rushing touchdown by Eglintine, which was his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon.
“Wes Eglintine had a great game…and he’s a workhorse,” Spackmann added.
After the touchdown, it was 34-15 Shenendehowa with the game winding down, and this would be the last scoring of the game with just a few minutes left.
Shen got the ball for the last possession of the game, and were able to get the ball a little bit past midfield, where a false start penalty was called on the Plainsmen and the ball was kneeled by Spulnick to end the game for a final score of 34-15 Shenendehowa.
An unidentified Blue Streak lineman suffered from concussion-like symptoms during the game, and came out of the game early in the third quarter.
The varsity Blue Streaks were defeated by Shen in Clifton Park on Friday, by a score of 35-6, where Shen Quarterback Ryan VanGalen passed for 338 yards, a new school record.
The JV game Saturday was originally scheduled to be played at the high school stadium, but was moved to the East Side Rec’s Beau Kilmer Field due to a grub infestation at the high school field. However, a Wednesday Freshman Football game and the Varsity game against Albany on Thursday are still scheduled to be played at the high school. The JV team hits the road Thursday for a 3:30 p.m. game against Albany.
The Lightning Rod’s SSHS sports schedule
Aidan Joly is a freshmen covering sports for The Lightning Rod.
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