With the win, the Sabres (4-0 league, 5-2 overall) clinched the West Division title for the second year in a row and gained the No. 1 seed for the Class B Sectionals.
“It was very important,” said Schalmont coach Joe Whipple. “Our first goal this year was to win all of our divisional games. The kids played [against Broadalbin-Perth] like another important game.”
Quarterback Vincent Gallo had a strong overall game for Schalmont. The senior rushed for 218 yards and a pair of touch-downs, and he completed five of his eight passes for 92 yards, nearly half of which came on a 40-yard scoring strike to Jared Ramundo in the third quarter.
Dashawn Banks also made his presence known. Banks rushed for 92 yards on only 10 carries and had a 19-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to get Schal-mont on the scoreboard.
“We moved Dashawn back to running back ... and he’s been running the ball well the last couple of weeks,” said Whipple. “He’s moved very well between the tackles.”
On the other side of the ball, Schalmont’s defense kept Broadalbin-Perth (1-3, 3-4) bottled up. The Sabres limited the Patriots to 104 rushing yards, and Broadalbin-Perth’s lone touchdown came on a 51-yard scoring strike from quarterback R.J. Pingatore to Aaron Bagwell in the fourth quarter.
Schalmont will need a balanced attack and another strong defensive effort to get past Friday’s quarterfinal opponent, Albany Academy. The Sabres met the Cadets (1-3, 4-3) in the season opener and had an 18-14 lead before Albany Academy scored three times in the fourth quarter to pull out a 35-18 victory.
“We have to play four quarters this time because we didn’t play four quarters the first time we faced them,” said Whipple. “We need to slow down the game with our offense and contain their offense.”
Niskayuna (4-1, 5-2) will also be in playoff action Friday. The Silver Warriors will host Queens-bury in a Class A quarterfinal.
Niskayuna is coming off a 35-7 loss to Troy (5-0, 7-0) last Saturday. Ryan Alden’s touchdown pass to John-Michael Fragnoli was the Silver Warriors’ lone score.
