“I think it would be great for these kids to open the playoffs at home,” Blue Streaks head coach Terry Jones said. “You always want to play at home. It’s always nice to play at home than go on the bus and go play someplace else.”
Being in the position of controlling their own fate this late in the season is fulfilling for a senior class that went 3-6 in each of the past two years.
“It feels great because the past years I’ve been here, I’ve been part of 3-6 teams and it’s not fun and it’s not worth putting in all that work that we’ve put in in the past two years,” said senior running back Jordan Wilcox. “In my senior year it feels great to have a playoff berth and have a chance for home-field advantage and the second seed. I think [the Shen win] shows everyone in the section that we are a good team and we can run at anyone, even Shenendehowa, who has beaten CBA, and now up against Guilderland.”
On Thursday, the most recent edition of the 2013 state football rankings by the New York State Sportswriters Association recognized Saratoga Springs (4-1 Empire Division, 5-1 overall) with an honorable mention.
“The senior class is the reason why we are where we are,” Jones said. “They’re the ones who took it upon themselves to change the atmosphere around here, to change the work ethic. Hopefully these younger guys will continue what they’ve done for years to come. These seniors have done it and they brought many of the juniors and sophomores with them and that’s why we’re seeing different results out here.”
With Guilderland being handed their first loss, which also knocked them out of first-place contention, the Blue Streaks will have a lot on their plate, as the Dutchmen (4-1, 5-1) look to respond to last Friday’s 40-6 beat down against CBA (5-1, 5-1).
That arsenal is led by premier Section II standout quarterback Frank Gallo, who only failed to pass for over 200 yards once this season (1,468 combined passing yards).
“[Gallo]’s very versatile,” said Wilcox. “He can throw the ball very well. We have to have a good pass rush on him to limit his time to throw the ball, sit back and see his options. That will be very successful in helping our secondary.”
But Guilderland is not one-dimensional and the Blue Streaks are concerned with stopping a run attack led by Micaiah Henningham, who has punched in eight touchdowns, and Jacob Smith (635 rushing yards).
Knowing that Guilderland poses that duel threat, Jones is aware that CBA jumped on the Dutchmen early last week, forcing them into a more-predictable passing game to play catch-up.
“It’s easier to defend when you know they’re going to throw the ball,” Jones said. “That’s not what Guilderland wants to do. They want to mix the run and the pass, which makes them even more dangerous because they’ve got a couple running backs who run the ball very well, especially the Henningham kid. He’s very good when the ball’s in his hands. When he’s in the backfield that poses a threat and now you have to play run and pass.”
Knowing what Guilderland brings to the table, the Blue Streaks plan on doing what they’ve been doing—running.
“The best way to keep Gallo contained is to not give him the ball,” Jones said. “Sustain drives, use the clock and put points on the board. It doesn’t do any good to have long drives and not put points on the board.”
Establishing the run early was no more evident than the Shen win, when the Blue Streaks opened the game with a pass-less drive, running through the Plainsmen for 84 yards, taking up over five minutes of clock and ending with a Dakota Harvey touchdown, one of his two on the day.
Harvey has followed suit with the senior class, establishing himself as a force alongside the option of Wilcox and quarterback Jake Eglintine out of the backfield. In fact he is the team leader in rushing yards with 590.
“Dakota is a great weapon,” Wilcox said. “You get him in the open field and there’s no way of stopping him.”
With all three of them continuing their consistency, Jones knows his team will be tough to defend when Eglintine, Wilcox and Harvey are getting close to the “same carries and same number of yards.”
Just looking at the numbers will show that balanced philosophy payout this season, as the three have opened up opportunities for each other. Right next to Harvey’s 590 yards is Eglintine’s 566 and Wilcox’s 556.
The Blue Streaks saw just how valuable Wilcox and Harvey were to the team last year when both had to miss plays because of injury. While Harvey was sidelined for a good majority of the season, Wilcox was held out of the offense at times because of a deep thigh bruise.
With all three reasonably healthy, going into Guilderland after playing well against No. 18 ranked CBA for three quarters and beating Shenendehowa is something that has given Jones and the Blue Streaks some confidence heading into tonight’s game, which starts at 7 p.m.
For Friday’s game results, visit saratogatodayonline.com.
