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The Schuylerville High School varsity football team finds themselves facing the only squad that beat them this year in the Class C Super Bowl.
Schuylerville (8-1) squares off against Cambridge (9-0) at 7 p.m. at the Saratoga Springs High School Friday, Nov. 2. “The kids are focused,” Schuylerville Head Coach Greg O’Connor said. “They have a goal and it’s right in front of them. That’s to win a Class C championship.” Schuylerville won championships in 2004 and 2005, but was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round last year. Heading into the game against rival Cambridge, O’Connor said it is going to be a physical game. “We have to be much more physical this time around,” he said. “It will come down to who makes the big plays.” In the first meeting they were made by Cambridge. The Indians won 46-13 in the first game of the season back on Sept. 1. Cambridge piled up 423 yards on offense, including 267 yards rushing in the first meeting. “Obviously you like to get off on the right foot,” O’Connor said of losing the first game of the season. “We were humbled and embarrassed.” He said the team’s goal the next week was to be 1-1, not 0-2. O’Connor said they took it one win, one game and one practice at a time. “If we do the small things the big things will take care of themselves,” he said. “Fortunately we made it to the end.” O’Connor said his team has to meet Cambridge in the hole. He said the team that tackles better, blocks better and avoids penalties will win the game. Neither team had an easy path to this game. The combined score in Schuylerville and Cambridge’s win was 8-0. In the Class C semi-final playoff game, Schuylerville’s Anthony Casimano scored the only touchdown of the game, which came in the fourth quarter. The Black Horses missed the extra point, but walked away with a 6-0 win over Watervliet. “That was a game of survival,” O’Connor said. “We were happy to get out of there with a win.” O’Connor said the defense came up big all game long, especially with the sloppy conditions of the field. “It wasn’t going to be a shootout,” he said. “We bent but never broke.” Cambridge got to the big game after beating Chatham 2-0 on Oct. 27. |
