October 9, 2015, feels like just yesterday to Saratoga Coach Terry Jones. In discussing the Blue Streaks week one matchup this season with CBA, Jones immediately went back to that first-round playoff game in 2015 and giving off an almost we-got-away-with-one vibe said, “even a few years ago, when we had our team that went to the state finals, it was CBA that gave us fits all game long.” On paper, The Brothers weren’t supposed to be there with the Blue Streaks, but Saratoga barely ended up winning 25-24 and that was their toughest game en route to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse and the state championship game.
Fast-forward three years and Jones knows this could be an interesting matchup because of the fact that CBA presents unique challenges.
“Joe (Burke) does a great job of running his offense and defense and they’re both a little different than most other teams do,” said Jones of his counterpart this weekend.
Friday night will be no different. Coach Burke will run things a bit different and the defensive-minded head coach won’t let his team get run out of town. Burke says the biggest challenge of week one in all his years of coaching is the unknown.
“You just don’t know what the other team has done. You don’t know how their JV has progressed as they move up the ladder and that’s always the surprise. That’s the uncertainty. Those are the things that lead to the anxiety all summer long and most importantly the week of the first game,” Burke said.
The nights Burke has spent racking his brain over the Blue Streaks are made more difficult by the fact that Saratoga graduated a lot of starters.
When we looked at the schedule, this was one of two Class AA games that jumped out. However, after the initial thought of this could be a great game to start off with, was the thought that both of these teams are replacing a lot of talent and there’s so much uncertainty. After mulling it over and going back and forth, we came back to CBA vs Saratoga. It’s like shopping for a car, the first one you test drive you really like, but you can’t commit that quickly. In the end you find yourself back at the dealership buying that first car you drove. We’re back at the dealership with this matchup for a couple reasons. In this day and age, the coaches who have longevity at our big schools are still there for a reason: they’ve sustained success. You don’t keep jobs at the AAs just because you have a great personality.
This is true for Terry Jones of Saratoga and Joe Burke of CBA. You can never really count either of these teams out and both have coached championship teams. Then there’s that history between the two and some great games in the past. Heck, Terry Jones still remembers that game from three years ago as if it were yesterday.
Team Breakdowns
Saratoga has a new junior QB in Jake Williams. Williams was a backup last season on varsity and has the confidence of a two-year starter already. He’s not arrogant, but he’s a gamer. He wants to be “the guy” when the game is on the line. He spent all last year watching “the guy,” Wes Eglentine. Eglentine had big-play capability and was clutch. We’ll see if Williams carries that swag into the game.
CBA has focused a little more this year heading into the season on keeping players fresh. That means anything from less tackling at times to a few more days in just shoulder pads rather than full pads. The Brothers won’t have as many guys on their sideline as Saratoga, so keeping them fresh will be important.
Every game matters
In Class AA this year, we will have eight weeks of the regular season meaning only four teams will make the playoffs. There are 10 teams in Class AA this season, so playoff sports are at a premium.
How to watch
Catch this Class AA game live on Spectrum News. Coverage begins at 7 p.m.