Kicking off: Try as you may, you're not too likely to have a better day at the helm than the one Tyler Mautner had yesterday.
The Vernon-Verona-Sherrill senior quarterback completed all 14 of his attempts for 232 yards and six touchdowns as the Red Devils, ranked No. 20 in Class B by the NYSSWA, beat Phoenix 70-21.
Mautner's fifth TD of the day, early in the second quarter was Matt Silker's second scoring grab of the day, and the two collaborated on their second two-point conversion pass of the contest for a 35-0 lead.
Eli Cleveland returned the opening kickoff of the second half 80 yards for a 56-0 lead, and teammate Nash Robb brought one back 89 yards after Phoenix's second TD.
The other lopsided score to catch the eye of more than a few observers was General Brown's 85-0 dismantling of Alexandria Bay, which has been outscored 182-0 through three games this fall.
Tailback Kyle Scordo and QB Nick Klusacek each accounted for three of the 13 touchdowns by the state's sixth-ranked Class C squad.
General Brown scored 43 first-quarter points and was ahead by 73-0 at the half. With a roster of just 21 players, General Brown substituted as liberally as logistics would allow.
Two of Klusacek's scores came on punt returns of 50 and 75 yards in the first half, and the Lions also scored on a 30-yard fumble return and a fumble recovery in the Alex Bay end zone.
First down: Chenango Forks' 20-0 win over Chenango Valley was the Blue Devils' 17th consecutive triumph against their cross-river rival.
Fullback Jimmy Miller ran 27 times for 166 yards and a touchdown for Chenango Forks, which rushed for 334 yards on the day.
Chenango Forks has not lost on an opponent's home field since Sept. 2000 at Oneonta, a streak covering 38 games, and has beaten 37 straight opponents from Broome County.
Second down: In the tradition of several other recent shootouts between the clubs, Gloversville held on for a 34-33 victory vs. Glens Falls by stopping Paul Bennett on a two-point conversion run after he had scored a touchdown on an 11-yard carry with 1:35 left.
As The Post-Star notes, Glens Falls won 35-34 in 2008, and Glens Falls by 32-30 in 2005 and 46-34 in 2003.
This time, Glens Falls rallied from a 34-21 deficit in the fourth quarter on a TD pass from Cam Girard (12-for-21, 227 yards and two TDs) to James Rizzo and then Bennett’s fourth TD of the day.
Earlier, Gloversville raced ahead with two TDs in the first 3:17 of the fourth quarter, runs by Greg Mosetti and Michael Johnston after they had lost Andrew Burka to a leg injury on a third-quarter TD catch. Burka was taken from the field on a stretcher.
Halftime: Senior linebacker Brian Nickel made the stop at the 1-yard line as time expired to complete St. Peter's 13-6 win over Bishop Ford. Nickel stopped Xaviah Mattocks after the QB had driven Ford 65 yards to the St. Peter's 12 with completions of 34 and 26 yards to Marcus Shider.
With :12 left, Mattocks rolled right and came back across the field, but was met by Nickel at the 1.
"I thought they had him contained, then he just broke a tackle. It was a nice play by (Mattocks)," Nickel told The Advance. "And at the end, I knew it was me or him scoring a touchdown."
Demetrius Owens rushed for 154 yards and scored two first-quarter touchdowns in his St. Peter's debut at running back.
Third down: Third-ranked Class D squad Dundee had a tough time before putting away a much-improved Red Jacket 40-34 on Nick Raplee's 24-yard throw to Joe Tortolon.
“This was an unbelievable game,” Dundee coach Sheldon Gibson told The Daily Messenger. “It was the most high tension game that I have ever coached in. I’m just glad to come out of here with a win. Mike Schaertl has done wonders with his program. I remember coming up here two years ago and what is here now is not even remotely the same program. Red Jacket is definitely on their way.”
