Winning championships, or at least having an opportunity to play for one, is what motivates many athletes to play sports, and Shenendehowa and CBA will line up Friday to battle it out for the Class AA title.

“Playing the sectional championship game in your own section, there’s nothing like it,” CBA head coach Bob Burns said.

“Football in Clifton Park, as you know, was started by coach Steuerwald, (and) means a lot to a lot of people," Shen head coach Brian Clawson says. "To be able to get to the AA championship this year is very meaningful.”

And for Shenendehowa and CBA, it’s a chance to run back one of the more exciting games of the season from just two weeks ago.

But there’s so much more on the line.

For the Brothers, they look to become just the fourth team in program history to win it all.

“It’s something that not everyone has been through," CBA junior Vincent Durante said. "And a lot of kids that he (Burns) said he’s coached before would die to come back to this time just to be in another Super Bowl.”

“At the end of the day, you’re crowned a champion and nobody can take that from you," Burns says. "That’s something special.”

Up the road in Clifton Park, the Plainsmen are seeking their second football title since 2019, and to add to a long list of fall sectional champions that includes field hockey, girls volleyball and both boys and girls soccer teams in 2021 alone.

“We want to be a part of that," Shen senior Mason Courtney says. "We want to be a part of teams that go on to win sectional championships and hopefully, go farther. We want to keep that culture going here at Shen. Keep that fall success going.”

And for the winner, it’s a shot at glory, a moment to hold close for the rest of time.

“To look back on it would really be something special," Durante said. "I would thank everyone at CBA for everything they’ve done for me just because they’ve all helped me get here.”

And to win?

“It’s really just how hard we play and who wants it more,” Durante says.

“Everybody has to know they're key," Courtney said. "Everybody has to know what their job is and do their job. We’re just going to come out and show who the better team is.”