Spartans scaling a new summit

Lansingburgh played for the state Class A championship last year at the Carrier Dome, and Amsterdam won it there in 2005. Will Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake be Section II’s next team to get a crack at the top spot in New York football?

“It’s the ultimate goal. It’s everybody’s dream when we start the season,” Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake coach Matt Shell said of a trip to Syracuse. “It’s the ultimate thing you can do in our game. We’re close. We’re not there yet, but we have a great opportunity.”

Burnt Hills (11-0) will take on Nyack (10-1) of Section I tonight at 8 in a televised state Class A semifinal game at Dietz Stadium in Kingston. Nyack used semifinal wins over LaSalle in 2000 and Amsterdam in 2003 as steppingstones toward state championships. The Spartans have never been this far before.

“It’s a huge game, as far as what’s at stake, but a game is a game, and we need to approach it that way,” Shell said. “We’ll be facing the best team we’ve played all year. That’s the reality of the whole thing, and we can’t get caught up in all of the things surrounding it.

“We’ve got to play at a high level if we want to play in Week 13.”

Burnt Hills played at a high level last week in its 35-12 regional drubbing of then-unbeaten Indian River. Nyack advanced with a 24-21 win over Cornwall, coming out on top when a Cornwall touchdown was called back on a penalty with three seconds left, and a 34-yard field goal sailed wide after that.

“You get to this time of year, and everybody is good,” said Shell, whose Spartans are ranked No. 2 in the state, one spot ahead of the Indians. “It’s going to be a tough game. We’re playing a really, really good football team. They’ve won state championships in the past. They’ve been a state finalist. They’ve got a really strong tradition.”

Nyack has won six straight games since losing to Ossining, 20-7, with the Indians beating that same Ossining team in the Section I final, 28-21, before holding off Cornwall. Ray Nichols threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Dom Leonard in that contest, one of only 15 completions on the year for Nichols.

“They’re a run-oriented offense,” Shell said of Indians, who average 270 rushing yards per game. “They’ve got a real good fullback [Anthony Davis] and a good running quarterback. Those two jump out at you, and on film, they look big up front. They’ve got good size on the line.”

Davis ran for 146 yards last week, pushing his season total to 1,202, while Nichols and Leonard have combined for another 1,060 ground yards. Davis has produced 17 of Nyack’s 40 rushing touchdowns.

“We have to make sure we do a good job against the run,” Shell said. “If we can’t, it will leave them with a lot of different options, and that would leave our defense on its heels. We don’t want that.”

Burnt Hills is hoping to contain Nyack on first and second downs and force the Indians into passing situations. The Spartans are anchored by linebackers Connor Hadcock and Chris Van Alstyne, ends Zach Morton and Jacob Meyers, tackles Kevin Crowley and Mike Matrazzo, and defensive backs Keaton Flint and Tyler Paluba.

“Any time you can get a team to do what they don’t want to do, it’s to your advantage,” Shell said. “We’ve got to make plays and hopefully, cause some turnovers.”

A fumble recovery by Crowley set up Burnt Hills’ first touchdown last week, an interception by Van Alstyne ended Indian River’s last drive and the Spartans kept Penn State-bound running back Curtis Dukes out of the end zone. In the Spartans’ 19-0 Section II title-game win over Bishop Maginn, Paluba recovered two fumbles and Camren McKenna picked off two passes.

“Our defensive kids have been great all year,” said Shell, whose team has five shutouts and only once has given up more than 14 points. “To win big games, you have to play great on that side of the ball.”

Quarterback Paul Layton sparked the offense last week with three rushing touchdowns and a scoring pass to Kraig Page, and Paluba also ran for a touchdown as Burnt Hills surpassed the 30-point mark for the 10th time. Layton went over 1,000 yards both passing and running, and has had a hand in 31 touchdowns.

“We’ve got to block and tackle better than them. I truely believe that’s how you win games,” said Shell. “We’ve been very good at both.” Corning West (Section IV,

10-1) and Sweet Home (Section VI, 11-0) meet in tonight’s other state Class A semifinal at PAETEC Park in Rochester. The state Class A championship game is one week from Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Carrier Dome.

Class b

Hudson Falls (10-1) will bring an eight-game win streak into Saturday’s 4 p.m. state Class B semifinal game against Rye (Section I, 11-0) at Dietz Stadium.

Rye is the defending New York champion and has been ranked No. 1 in the state all season. Hudson Falls, which lost in its only state semifinal in 2000 to Rondout Valley, is No. 4.

Joe McMurry ran for three touchdowns and 265 yards, five others scored and Hudson Falls’ first-string defense did not allow a point in a 54-20 regional win over Beekmantown.