Photo Caption: Gloversville’s Giorgio Glionna runs into the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk defense during the Section II Class B Super Bowl at Christian Brothers Academy in Colonie Sunday. STAN HUDY/THE LEADER-HERALD
COLONIE — The outcome of Sunday’s Section II Class B Super Bowl had not been in doubt for quite some time.
That didn’t change the approach, though, of a Gloversville football program that worked so hard throughout its season to make sure it played with a championship-level attitude. Against a Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk team that seemingly delivered one big play after another through the game’s first three quarters, Gloversville produced a pair of scores in the final three minutes of regulation to close out a memorable season for the Huskies.
“With this team . . . these boys know not to quit,” Gloversville senior Giorgio Glionna said. “Until the very end, you don’t quit.”
Topping Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, though, proved to be too difficult for Gloversville. In a matchup of two programs that both registered upset semifinal wins and had significant area-championship droughts, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk powered past Gloversville 33-14 at Christian Brothers Academy.
“Right now, you’ve got to take your hats off to Ravena,” Gloversville head coach Jim Robare said. “Today, they were just a much better team than us.”
Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk scored five unanswered touchdowns in the game’s opening three quarters. While the last Section II championship for Gloversville remains the one it won in 1987, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk’s win Sunday was the program’s first area title since 2004.
Sunday’s game, which was postponed from Saturday due to weather conditions, turned on two key plays in the first half of the opening quarter. A promising 10-play opening drive for Gloversville ended with an interception at the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk 2-yard line; then, after the Gloversville defense sent Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk back a yard on its first place from scrimmage, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk junior quarterback Luke Misetich delivered a beautiful pass to senior Xavier Bermudez who had gotten behind the Huskies’ defense.
Several seconds later, Bermudez, Misetich and Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk were celebrating a 99-yard touchdown.
“We’ve got some great skills kids,” Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk head coach Gary Vanderzee said.
“When we first got stopped [on that drive], the nerves really set in,” said Misetich, who credited his team’s offensive line for giving him ample time on the next play. “But I was confident in myself and I was confident in [Bermudez]. We just went and got the job done.”
Gloversville couldn’t find an answer. Making its first championship-game appearance since 2000 and appearing in the playoffs for the first time since 2016, Gloversville had five first-half drives after its opening one, and the Huskies punted on three of them and had the other two end in turnovers. Meanwhile, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk scored on a 54-yard rush, a 17-yard pass and 31-yard pass as it built up a 26-0 lead at halftime.
“When you’re in games like this one, it’s the big plays that hurt you,” Robare said.
Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk had another big play shortly after halftime. On the opening possession of the third quarter, facing a fourth-and-6, Misetich found sophomore Dominick Paljusah with a pass that became a 31-yard touchdown.
Bermudez and Paljusah each scored two touchdowns for Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, while junior Frankie Broadhurst had the team’s other score. Misetich passed for four touchdowns, and was 5 of 7 passing for 171 yards.
The game stayed at 33-0 until Glionna scored on a 7-yard rush with 2:58 to go. After Glionna made the extra point, Gloversville junior Andrew Brae recovered the Huskies’ onside kick, and senior Garrett Dooling connected four plays later with Glionna for a 19-yard touchdown with 1:52 to play.
“If there’s one I’ve wanted to instill in Gloversville, it’s that we’re a never-quit team,” said Robare, who played on Gloversville’s 1987 championship team and became the program’s head coach prior to the 2019 season. “It doesn’t matter what the score is; we’re here to play four quarters of football.”
After Glionna’s second touchdown, Gloversville’s next onside-kick attempt was unsuccessful and Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk was able to run out the game’s remaining time.
“The family we built here, for sure. I’m going to miss it a lot,” Glionna said of what he’d remember most from the Huskies’ season. “That’s what I’m going to miss the most — my brothers, for sure.”
Gloversville and Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk met in an unlikely Super Bowl matchup. During the regular season, each team finished as a runner-up in its division, and Gloversville and Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk each lost to both division winners. But, in the Section II Class B semifinals, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk upset Glens Falls and Gloversville topped Schalmont to earn spots in the championship game.
Gloversville and Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk had met in the regular season, too, with Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk winning that game 28-6.
Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk will play for a regional championship back at CBA. That matchup against Section VII’s Peru will take place Friday at 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, Gloversville will begin its offseason with a sense of urgency. After a successful season, Robare said Gloversville wants to continue its program’s resurgence.
“We’ve got work to do,” Robare said.
Gloversville 0 0 0 14 — 14
Ravena 12 14 7 0 — 33
R — Bermudez 99 pass from Misetich (Conversion unsuccessful)
R — Broadhurts 54 run (Conversion unsuccessful)
R — Paljusaj 17 pass from Misetich (Paljusaj run)
R — Bermudez 31 pass from Misetich (Kick failed)
R — Paljusaj 31 pass from Misetich (McFerran kick)
G — Glionna 7 run (Glionna kick)
G — Glionna 19 pass from Dooling (Glionna kick)
