Saturday, October 25, 2014 by Aidan Joly
Many missed opportunities were the name of the game for Saratoga’s junior varsity football team as they ended the season Thursday at the high school.
The Saratoga Blue Streaks fell to Bethlehem Thursday night at Saratoga High School by a score of 12-6, in a very low-scoring affair.
“It wasn’t them, it was us…we had a couple breakdowns,” said head coach Anthony Spackmann when asked about Bathelehem’s tough defense.
The game first saw scoring with about four minutes left in the first half, when it became 6-0 Streaks after Wes Eglintine’s 10 yard pass to Dane Feldhaus gave Saratoga a touchdown and the lead.
A few minutes later, it was tied at six apiece when Bethlehem quarterback Ben Wander passed to Steven Mendleson into the end zone for a touchdown.
At the half, the score remained tied at six.
In the first Saratoga possession of the second half, the Streaks had all of the momentum, but a fumble picked up by the defense, which became a 57 yard run touchdown from Mendleson, made it 12-6 Bethlehem.
“It was just one of those plays where my call and their call happened to work out for them,” said Spackmann.
Late in the fourth quarter, Saratoga again had a big possession at around midfield with about two minutes left, but a last-ditch interception by Eglintine went right into the Bethlehem defense.
A torrential downpour at the beginning of the second half, lasting until through the end of the game, was a main factor in the result of the game.
“It poured at times and it was just a sloppy game,” Spackmann said of the weather.
This game put the Streaks JV squad under .500. They finish the season at 3-4. The Saratoga varsity team lost a quarterfinals game Friday night against La Salle by a score of 41-13.
Aidan Joly is a freshman covering sports for The Lightning Rod.