We’ve talked all about the size of Averill Park’s line for most of the season and then you show up and see Ballston Spa’s line and think, “oh wow, they’ve got some good size there too.” That’s what we saw in this one. 

Both defenses played pretty well. Averill Park put up another shutout on air. Head Coach Zach Gobel said the offense needed to clean some things up after the game, but praised his defense, “Feels great. Tough loss last week our guys responded tonight.  Our defense played exceptionally well.” 

Averill Park is moving on to the semifinal round and they will take on the winner of LaSalle and Queensbury. If it’s Queensbury that defense will get a workout next week. The Spartans have one of the toughest and most potent offenses.   

I do want to highlight one player on the offense for Averill Park though, Austin Bradway.  Bradway is a 6’6” 320 pound senior lineman.  He is tough, not just because of his size, but we showed up to the game and realize he had both arms in casts.  Yes, he played with two broken wrists AND a sprained ankle.  There was no way he wasn’t playing in this game.

Ballston Spa has a chance, with their crossover game next weekend, to have a winning season.  It’s not ending the way they wanted, but they are trending in the right direction.
 
They are progressing as a program. Last year they started six sophomores on their team.Those players were all back with a year experience under their belts this year. They should all be back again next season, plus the other juniors who started this season. This was a year of experience for the Scotties as they turn a program around and they’re off to a good start.