BURNT HILLS-BALLSTON LAKE — The defending Class A state champion Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Spartans will play in their eighth straight Section II Superbowl on Saturday night against the only team that has beaten the program in the last 21 games—Queensbury.
After a missed extra point, Queensbury took the matchup of Spartans 28-27 on September 28. That game was Burnt Hills’ quarterback John Clayton’s first start at the position. He was also the one who couldn’t find the space between the uprights.
But the missed field goal hasn’t seemed to slow Clayton down. He has since grown into his role and it didn’t take him and the team long to get back on track, as BH-BL responded with a four straight weeks of dominating opponents by an average margin of 48.8 points per game before last week’s 24-19 win over Troy in Troy.
“The more repetitions you get, the more comfortable you get with the position,” said Burnt Hills head coach Matt Shell. “It’s not like he’s never played it before. We picked him up from the JV and he was doing a really good job for the JV when we called him up.”
Clayton, a sophomore, cashed in on a 24-yard field and finished with a season-high 117 passing yards and two touchdowns in that semifinal game, while last year’s state finals MVP Dan Maynard, who was replaced behind center by Clayton in Week 4, ran for 135 yards on the ground and a touchdown.
Burnt Hills (8-1) responded to Troy’s opening score with a 24-0 run, which was enough to hold off 13 straight points by Troy in the fourth quarter.
“You don’t expect to just walk into someone’s home field and not get a great challenge,” Shell said. “We knew that going in, so we fully expected it to be that way for four quarters.”
Heading into Saturday’s game against undefeated Queensbury (9-0), Burnt Hills is familiar with the fact that they aren’t up against an easy task.
Queensbury held BH-BL leading rusher, Joshua Quesada to a season low 31 yards rushing. Quesada has exactly 1,000 yards rushing on the season (over 111 yards per game) and is the No. 2 running back in Section II in total touchdowns (22), just behind Lansingburgh’s Anthony Walker (25).
“Queensbury has a really good defense and we know that and they did a good job against our entire offense,” Shell said. “Josh has had a really good year for us and he’s been able to get some explosive plays, but Queensbury did a great job against him. We have to find a way to make him more of a factor if we can. It’s not going to be easy. That’s for sure.”
The first time the two squads met up, special teams proved to be a big part of the game. Queensbury’s Christopher Johnson blocked a punt and Taylor Wilson returned it 45 yards for a score, while Queseda returned a punt up the left sideline for a 57-yard touchdown for Burnt Hills.
Queensbury also botched a snap before a punt, giving BH-BL field position at the two-yard line, setting up a Queseda punch in for a 21-7 lead in the third quarter that didn’t last.
“I’ve told the kids, ‘You have to play every snap because you can get points any time in a game,’” Shell said. “It’s nerve-wracking and special teams are a big part of any game whether it’s the game this Saturday or a game earlier in the season.”
To win another Section II Class A Superbowl, Burnt Hills will have to contain the rushing attack of Brett Rodriguez, Kalen Minott and Timothy Voorhis.
“We know who their guys are and their guys have been the same guys all year,” Shell said. “It’s not different than when we played them earlier. They have a lot of talented athletes and young kids who are doing a great job for them.”
Rodriguez, a sophomore, is coming off a semifinal game where he torched Amsterdam for 190 total yards and three touchdowns.
At the same time, Shell is prepared to go up against a balanced Queensbury team that has used some trick-option passing and is looking to beat them for their third loss in two years.
“They really spread the ball around with their offense, so we have to make sure we defend the entire formation because if you think you’re going to key in on one particular player, they’re going to bring in somebody else,” Shell said. “We have to make sure we’re sound overall defensively. It’s a tough offense to defend but you have to play disciplined and physical…They have to make sure they’re prepared to play this game because it’s our biggest challenge.”
Burnt Hills and Queensbury, the teams who rank No. 2 and No. 6 in Section II total points, respectively, will face off against each other at 7 p.m., Saturday at Shenendehowa High School.
