Cohoes crushes Johnstown in season opener, 32-6
By BILL CAIN, The Leader-HeraldArticle Photos
JOHNSTOWN - The offensive and defensive lines of Cohoes dominated the first half of their game against Johnstown to lift the Tigers to a 32-6 season-opening win Friday night.
Johnstown stopped Cohoes for a three-and-out on its opening possession, but the Tigers moved the ball 86 yards on 12 plays on their second drive. They scored on three of five possessions in the first half.
"Our offensive and defensive lines, that's where our team starts," Cohoes coach James Ducharme said. "Tonight, they did a great job. They opened up the holes offensively and we were able to hit some of them hard. Defensively, we were able to get some pressure on them all night long. It all started up front tonight and that allowed everything else to follow on through."
The Tigers ran for 236 yards on 36 carries. Quarterback Mark Gallerie found the end zone on a keeper with 1:26 left in the first quarter to open the scoring. He also ran in the conversion. Cohoes went for two after each of its four touchdowns, converting each attempt.
The Tigers scored again on a 46-yard run up the middle by Tommy Durrant, capping a two-play, 55-yard drive with 10:22 left in the half.
Durrant scored again on a 9-yard carry with 1:57 left in the half. Steve Weaver carried in the conversion on Durrant's first score and Anthony Fogarty converted the second.
Ducharme said when his offensive lines open a hole, his big ball carriers are hard to stop.
"They came out and they were fired up," he said. "And we have some big backs - Durrant is over 200 pounds, Weaver is over 200 pounds, Fogarty is over 200 pounds. Those are some big, physical backs who just like to run the ball downhill. That's where, after that first possession, we were able to move the ball."
Fogarty led the Tigers with 75 yards on 10 carries, while Weaver had 74 yards on 14 carries. Durrant had 68 yards on five carries, all in the first half before he dinged up his knee. He sat out the second half with his team up big.
Defensively, the Tigers were camped out in the Sir Bills backfield. Johnstown's Jake Arrunategui was kept from getting around the edge when he took a toss on three of his four first-half carries, as the Cohoes defenders were on top of him as he received the ball. He finished with 23 yards on six carries.
Fullback Craig Cook was the only Sir Bill able to move the ball routinely, amassing 92 yards on 13 carries. Cook, however, was shaken up on defense on the last play of the third quarter and did not carry the ball in the fourth.
"They got really used to being 2 or 3 yards deep in our backfield," Johnstown coach Bob Kraemer said. "It's hard to run an offense when we don't have any time. We made some adjustments at the half and played a good second half. They just came out firing and we couldn't slow them down."
Johnstown quarterback Adam Biron threw for 79 yards on a 10-for-18 night. With 7:21 left in the third quarter, he forced the ball to Tony Cook on a quick slant at the goal line for a 7-yard score. Tony Cook had a defender on his hip waiting and watching as Biron made his intentions clear but strong-armed the ball exactly where it needed to go.
The score capped a 12-play, 65-yard drive to open the second half. Marcus Whitman was stopped on the conversion run.
"We came out and still thought we were in this football game," Kraemer said. "We didn't think we were out of it at all. We wanted to win each quarter and it just didn't work out that way. That's a very good football team and it'll be interesting to see how they do this year."
Tony Cook caught six passes for 40 yards, Arrunategui had one reception for 25 yards on a screen up the middle.
Arrunategui's reception ended with him getting his bell rung when he hit the ground. As he walked off the field on his own, his teammate and the other starting tailback, Corey Palmateer, was on his back having his left leg looked at. Arrunategui was back on the field after sitting for a play and Palmateer was out for the game.
Johnstown's Matt Wendel recovered a Cohoes fumble in the red zone in the second quarter. Jeff Roth sacked Gallerie in the fourth quarter.
Gallerie ran in another touchdown on a 24-yard draw play with four minutes left in the third quarter. He threw to a wide-open Sean Littlejohn for the conversion. Weaver also played at defensive end for the Tigers (1-0 overall) and had a sack, as did the other defensive end, Mike Jackson. The ends were quick around their blockers all night.
Johnstown (0-1 overall) will host Taconic Hills at Knox Field when they return to the gridiron next Friday.
Cohoes 32, Johnstown 6
Cohoes 8 16 8 0 - 32
Johnstown 0 0 6 0 - 6
First Quarter
C - Gallerie 1 run (Gallerie run), 1:26.
Second Quarter
C - Durrant 46 run (Weaver run), 10:22.
C - Durrant 9 run (Fogarty run), 1:57.
Third Quarter
J - T. Cook 7 pass from Biron (run failed), 7:21.
C - Gallerie 24 run (Littlejohn pass from Gallerie), 4:00.
Class A
Gloversville 28, Mohonasen 0
ROTTERDAM - The Gloversville Huskies got their season off to a strong with with a shutout victory over Mohonasen.
Michael Johnston put the Huskies on the scoreboard with a 2-yard second-quarter touchdown run. Gabe Wells extended Gloversville's lead with a 25 yard interception return for a touchdown. Matt Baldwin kicked the extra points to give the Huskies a 14-0 halftime lead.
Nick DiPasquale, who carried the ball 16 times for 145 yards in the game, hit paydirt with an 11-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Aaron Hall scored the Huskies fourth touchdown of the night with a 1-yard run. Baldwin added two more PATs for the 28-0 final score.
"We had some penalties that kept our defense on the field for a long time," Gloversville coach Tom Ciaccio said. "This was an important win for this young team. They kept their focus and composure to recover and stay in the game. They seemed to get better as the game went on and we're able to learn from their mistakes."
Corey Viscosi and Chris Smith added interceptions to their teams stats, while quarterback Chad McCloskey was 5-for-15 passing for 34 yards and an interception.
Gloversville (1-0 overall) will host Bishop Maginn Friday night at Robert E. Gould Stadium at Husky Field. The Huskies will honor the undefeated 1958 football team during halftime ceremonies.
Gloversville0 14 0 14 - 28
Mohonasen0 0 0 0 - 0
G - Johnston 2 run (Baldwin kick).
G - Wells 25 interception return (Baldwin kick).
Fourth Quarter
G - DiPasquale 11 run (Baldwin kick).
G - Hall 1 run (Baldwin kick)
Class B
Broadalbin-Perth 20, Hudson 6
HUDSON - The Patriots got three rushing touchdowns from sophomore Cody Menge en route to their season-opening victory.
Menge found the end zone on runs of 12, 8 and 4 yards and accumulated 72 of Broadalbin-Perth's 153 rushing yards on 11 carries.
"It was great to get this win with a young team like we have," Broadalbin-Perth coach Rick Snyder said. "We were tied at six at halfime and I think they drew a little bit from being in a dogfight. Our entire front line is up from J.V.s last year and they went out and won the third and fourth quarters."
Patriots quarterback Corey Caswell finished the night with a 6-for-14 passing performance for 61 yards and an interception.
Broadalbin-Perth will face Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Friday night under the lights at Broadalbin-Perth High School.
Broadalbin-Perth6 0 6 8 - 20
Hudson6 0 0 0 - 6
BP - Menge 12 run (kick failed)
H - Gray 8 pass from Markidan (kick failed).
BP - Menge 8 run (kick blocked).
BP - Menge 4 run (Andy Weeden run).
Class C
Fonda-Fultonville 65, Catholic Central 7
TROY - Fonda-Fultonville quarterback Josh Nethaway rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two more as the Braves set a new school scoring record.
Tyler Hall and Kevin Hanson were on the receiving end of Nethaway's touchdown passes. Pat Sperow added a pair of rushing touchdowns to the Braves (1-0 overall) scoring attack, while Say Jenkins rushed for one and Alex Lilley returned a punt for a touchdown.
The Braves' defense held Catholic Central scoreless in the second half after the Braves took a 45-7 halftime lead.
Bishop Maginn 27, Amsterdam 13
ALBANY - In another local high school football game from Friday night, Bishop Maginn defeated Amsterdam 27-13 at Bleecker Stadium.#
