Let's talk.
It's the game I keep hearing about - and the game I'll be at. Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, ranked 14th in the state in Class B at 4-0, makes the trip to Sabre Drive to battle 2nd ranked, also 4-0 Schalmont. Schalmont is coming off an enormous win; this may be Ravena's first challenge. A challenge is an understatement in this one, as the Sabres have been putting the hurt on teams, including being up as much as 27 against Burnt Hills last week, one of the top teams in the state in Class A.
Ravena certainly has their work cut out for them. They've been able to score against all 4 of their opponents, putting up numbers in the 30s in three games and 42 last week. They like to keep it on the ground, but are capable of beating you in the air with the limited attempts they usher. David Warnken didn't have a TD pass last week, but has 7 on the season thus far. They've rushed for 200+ yards in every game at this point, and they're at 973 through those 4 outings. No one really shoulders the load - Warnken, Steve Kross, and Fred Pechette all have between 200 and 300 yards on the ground. The knock on Ravena is the schedule they've had to this point. The 4 teams they've beat (by a combined score of 146-50) are a combined 4-12... and it'll be 4-13 by the time I submit this, as Albany Academy is getting sodomized by Schuylerville. Nothing you can do about it necessarily, you just have to beat the teams on the schedule, but they aren't really battle-tested.
You can't make the same quip about Schalmont after last week. They beat Burnt Hills 34-28, then ranked #4 in the state in Class A, after being up as much as 34-7. Besides that, they've been putting their Class B foes into the dirt. Glens Falls? Night night. Cohoes? Nice try. Academy? Better luck next time. They've outscored their opponents 219-41 - take out the Burnt Hills game and keep it against B opponents, and it's 185-13. People on message boards like to say the Sabres keep their starters in the whole game to run up the score. I mean, I don't know about every game, but they thoroughly whooped Cohoes in the 2nd half with their 2nd string and pretty much everyone but the cheerleaders in the game. Nick Gallo and Hunter Gac lead the charge for Schalmont. Gallo - a better version of Sean Crandall, for any Section 3 people reading this - does a lot of his work on the ground, but will beat you over the top as well. He's thrown for over 400 yards and rushed for over 300, with 4 TDs in the air and 9 on the ground. Gac has rushed for 526 yards on just 36 carries (nearly 15 yards per carry), with 7 TDs on the ground and 1 receiving TD as well. They've rushed for over 1,300 yards already. They bumped up from 3rd to 2nd in this week's polls, passing Cazenovia even though Caz handled their opponent easily last week. There's something to be said about going out and playing/beating teams perceived to be better than you.
What do I think? It doesn't matter - but I saw this play out last year. A 4-0 Schalmont playing a 4-0 Cobleskill, both teams state ranked and playing at Schalmont. My first Sabre experience, actually. Schalmont started off sluggish, but overcame that to beat Cobleskill easily. 28-0 maybe? Something like that. I expect more of the same tonight. The Sabres, in my eyes, would beat the vast majority of teams in Section 2 regardless of class. Stick them in AA, they'll be ok. Ravena might like the role of underdog though. They know people aren't expecting them to win this. Nothing to lose, right? We'll see what happens tonight!
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