Schalmont 27, Cobleskill-Richmondville 0
Well hello there. This was probably the most fun game I've been at all year. Even though it was raining early, and even though I had to park over a quarter of a mile away, it was worth it. The atmosphere was great, the electricity was great, the band was great, and a great team made a good team look bad.
Cobleskill, a team just on the outside looking in when it comes to the NYSPHSAA state rankings in Class B, started off with the ball, and their power running game helped them pick up a first down... but that was the only first down they'd get until late in the 3rd quarter. Schalmont, ranked #3 in the state in Class B, shut them right down. After a stalled drive by Schalmont & a Cobleskill 3 & out, Devon Willis returned a punt to Cobleskill's 15. On the 4th play of the drive, he punched it in from 3 yards out to give Schalmont a 7-0 lead with 4:20 left in the 1st quarter. It took a little while before they got back on the scoreboard - they had a couple sustained drives, but QB Dalton Cooke threw a pick to Matt Davenport, ending one drive, and they turned the ball over on downs on the next one, both in Cobleskill territory. After turning Cobleskill back over on downs at midfield, they turned it around in 2 plays. Willis broke free for a 30 yard gain, and on the next play, Trevon Perez-Tucker bolted the remaining 20 yards, putting the Sabres up 14-0 with just under 3 to go in the first half. They forced a 3 & out again and had another chance to put points on the board late in the half, but a holding penalty early in the drive derailed those hopes. Schalmont held Cobleskill to just 14 1st half yards and gained 168 of their own, but the game was still in the balance by the scoreboard.
However, Schalmont got their breathing room early in the 2nd half. After a 64 yard kick return from Devon Willis was called back on a hold, the offense went to work, with a few different players getting touches on the drive before Cooke hit Nick Gallo with a 30 yard TD strike, putting Schalmont up 21-0 3 minutes into the half. At this point, Schalmont started throwing some guys off the bench in, including Anthony Yezzo taking Cooke's place at QB. A couple completions thrown by him on the next drive brought the ball into the red zone, but they turned the ball over on downs at the Cobleskill 10. Cobleskill answered with their longest sustained drive of the night, but got nothing from it. Seth Billington threw a pick deep in Schalmont territory, taking away the scoring threat. Willis burst out for 54 yards on the first play of that drive, and 2 minutes later, he punched it in from the 4 to put Schalmont up 27-0 with 7:11 to go. Neither team got anything going from there - Schalmont fumbled it away & turned it over on downs their last two drives, and Cobleskill threw 2 picks and punted it away on their last 3. Cobleskill is now 3-2 on the season; Schalmont has tasted sweet victory every week.
#NumbersDontLie - Schalmont dominated. Very tough squad on both ends of the ball. Devon Willis was the guy for the Sabres, carrying the ball 32 times for 238 yards & 2 TDs, along with some electrifying stuff in the return game. Quarterback Dalton Cooke went 10/15 in the air for 76 yards, throwing a TD and a pick. The line did their job, and he got the ball out quickly; he was only sacked once. Another running back and occasional slot guy, Nick Gallo picked up 19 yards rushing on 6 carries, while having 44 receiving yards on 2 catches and a TD. They held Cobleskill QB Seth Billington to just 2/11, 19 passing yards, and 2 picks, along with 20 rushing yards on 18 carries. Running back Matt Davenport was also held to not much, rushing for just 11 yards on 16 carries. He had 23 receiving yards on 2 catches; Davenport also threw once, getting picked off on Cobleskill's last play from scrimmage. Schalmont outgained Cobleskill 412-55. Damn.
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