LATHAM, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The Shenendehowa football team picked up a big win in its rivalry game against Shaker Friday night, beating the Blue Bison, 40-14, to bolster its positioning in the Class AA standings.
Shen entered the day tied with Saratoga Springs for second in the AA standings at 3-1 in divisional play, while Shaker went into the contest tied with Guilderland for the final playoff spot at 2-2 in the division.
The Shenendehowa offense was first to strike, finding the end zone in the first quarter when Jack Clawson connected with Ryan Heptig for a nine-yard touchdown strike that resulted in the lone seven points of the opening frame.
The Blue Bison would respond in the second, evening the contest when Avery Jones took a handoff and reached paydirt from five yards out.
The Shen run game would get going from that point, with Joey Cardinale punching in his first of of three scores to give his team a 14-7 lead at halftime.
Shen came out in the second half looking for some breathing room, and found it on a two-yard touchdown run from Jakub Tomaszewski.
Shaker would have a response, though, as quarterback Austin Marohn and Bless Demand linked up for a 50-yard TD strike to bring the margin back to one score.
It was at that point the Shen ground game really took off. Cardinale closed the third stanza with back-to-back touchdown totes of seven and thirty yards, growing Shen’s advantage to 34-14 going into the fourth quarter. Tomaszewski added a 54-yard rushing touchdown to seal the victory.
