SARATOGA SPRINGS — Senior running back Josh Thomas and junior quarterback Will Griffen are the dynamic duo at the forefront of this year’s No. 1 rushing team in Section II.
With a combined 1,820 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns, the dominance of the two captains has helped the No. 7 state ranked Schuylerville Black Horses earn the position of hosting tonight’s Class B semifinal game against Cohoes.
“I’ve been very fortunate with them as this year’s captains,” said second year Schuylerville head coach John Bowen. “They lead in their own individual ways. Neither one is really overly vocal, so when they do speak, their words carry weight. They’re very business-like in their approach and very serious, which as a coach I appreciate. They’re an outstanding pair.”
Thomas comes into Halloween night as the No. 4 leading rusher (956 rushing yards/120.5 per game) in Section II Class B.
“[Josh] is definitely one of the best football players I’ve had the chance to work with and he’s a great guy on and off the field,” Griffen said. “I feel like I’m blessed just to be with that kid.” Meanwhile, Griffen hasn’t missed a beat from day one. His 13 rushing touchdowns are tied with Thomas for the team lead and he has also only thrown one interception this season.
“[Will] is very talented and very smart,” Thomas said. “He makes the right choices. He’s always executing his plays. We’ve been in the same program for a long time, which is definitely a big factor. Not only me and Will—everybody knows each other. We’ve all been together that long, so that really helps out.”
Both Griffen and Thomas accredit their success on the ground to the offensive line and the ability of other backs to be involved. The duo’s 1,820 yards rushing yards this season make up just over 58 percent of the team total (Section II-leading 3,125 yards on the ground heading into Friday).
Sophomore Zach Pierce has nine touchdowns this season and 454 yards rushing, while senior Jake Petralia and junior Skyler Bateman have also added depth to the on-ground attack.
“Without the line, Josh and I aren’t going to do anything,” said Griffen. “And then the other backs—they get their carries and it works out real well.”
“The biggest factor is our offensive linemen,” Thomas said. “Those guys really don’t get enough credit. They come and work just as hard as we do. Unfortunately it seems like they don’t get the recognition. I’m sure that goes that way for every team, but they’re definitely the biggest factor.”
The No. 1W Black Horses (8-0) head into the Final Four undefeated and with the mantra of “family”— a word the team echoes at the end of every huddle on the gridiron and then carries off the field.
“It’s definitely a big family,” Thomas said. “Coming in in June, you really have to have that bond. Every guy really has his own characteristic on the team, but it makes for a real close family.”
“They’ve all done a tremendous job of buying in and wanting to support each other,” added Bowen. “Coaches talk about that dynamic and a lot of times it just becomes coach-speak when you’re talking about family. These guys have actually embraced that. We, as coaches, really haven’t had to do a lot to foster it. We’ll get at it like brothers will, but when push comes to shove it’s like any brother-to-brother relationship. It’s a pretty neat thing to see it all come together.”
The tightness of the small roster goes back to the days when the current Class B West Division champs began playing with one another in elementary school. Ten years ago, many of them were also kids on the sidelines and in the stands as Schuylerville won back-to- back Class C sectional titles in 2004 and 2005.
That doesn’t exclude Griffen and Thomas, who was a water boy for the Black Horses in those days.
“When I was little I always looked up to those guys,” said Thomas of the Section II Class C championship teams. “That was my dream. It was all I ever thought of when I was little. I just wanted to be a Black Horse. I was always looking forward to being around those guys every Friday.”
“I was one of those kids over there on the sidewalk high-fiving them as they walked in at halftime,” added Griffen. “It’s definitely big. I’ve always dreamt of being up here and it’s great to live it.”
Bowen added that being around Schuylerville football and its tradition for so long is just another dimension that adds to the depth of this year’s team.
“Certainly Josh and Will, a lot of these guys, their fathers were the youth coaches as they came up through,” Bowen said. “These guys were on the sideline. Josh’s dad has been doing stats for them for a number of years, so they’ve been around Schuylerville football their entire lives. This moment that they’re living in right now, this isn’t a one-year journey. This is something these guys have been looking forward to for a long, long time.”
Now, one game away from a berth into the Class B finals against either No. 1R Shalmont (8-0) or No. 2W Broadalbin-Perth (6-2), the 2014 Black Horses have an opportunity to bring home another sectional championship.
To do that, they will have to go through No. 2R Cohoes (5-3), who carries an explosive threat in running back Shelton Alston. Alston has 19 overall touchdowns this season and is the No. 2 leading rusher in Class B with 1,241 yards on the ground.
“They have a really good running back and they’re quick on the perimeter,” Griffen said. “They have really good team speed, so we have to watch out with that and stick to our defensive jobs and do what we do on offense.”
The Black Horses have been sticking to what they do on offense all season. They run the football (No. 1 in Class B with 343 rushing attempts).
Last season, in Bowen’s first year, the team began to sense things clicking toward the end.
According to Griffen and Thomas, that momentum carried over to the offseason and throughout the regular season.
It’s been working, and the stats don’t lie. Last week’s 33-0 quarterfinal win over Albany Academy gives the Black Horses an astounding 329-67 scoring differential against opponents this season.
Two weeks ago, Bowen said the only statistic the team cares about is getting a “W” in the game that takes place the weekend after Thanksgiving—the Class B state championship game at the Carrier Dome on Sunday, Nov. 30.
Of course that would include Schuylerville winning the section for the first time in 10 years.
“It would mean everything [to win the Section II Class B title],” Thomas said. “As a team, we put in so much work for many years. It’s always been my dream, so I’m hoping we can really execute this. I’d definitely like to keep winning and win a sectional championship and then keep going on the road to Syracuse.”
