Week Four. We are done with you, but not quite over you. 

Lopsided victories, lopsided touchdowns for single players and a brand-new perspective on just who is and isn’t in the run for Super Bowl victories.

So now here we are again, Sunday Mid-Morning Quarterback. Let’s all look back and re-examine what exactly happened this weekend and why it was good, bad, and overall pretty exciting.


Players of the Week
Brad Burns (Hoosick Falls, RB): The senior back was the driving force behind the unstoppable Panthers offense in Friday’s 40-0 victory over Stillwater. Burns finished with 143 yards and five touchdowns on only eight carries.
Jordan Gleason (Watervliet, WB/DB): The senior was everywhere for the Cannoneers on Saturday afternoon, catching two touchdown receptions and returning a kickoff 97 yards for another trip to the endzone. It wasn’t simply offensive for Gleason though as he also picked off a Coxsackie-Athens pass early in the second half.
Anthony South (Columbia, RB): The Blue Devils fresh-face rushed for 105 yards on five carries, including an 88-yard touchdown sprint to help lead Columbia to a 26-21 victory over Guilderland on Friday night.
Steven Harwood (Rensselaer, QB): The Rams quarterback went 6-for-17 in the air to rack up 147 yards and four touchdown passes in Rensselaer’s 26-6 victory over Canajoharie. The victory pushes the Rams to 4-0 on the season, in the ultra-competitive Class D South division.

Biggest Surprises of the Week
Chatham Shuts Out Fonda: If we’re being honest here, most people thought Chatham might have a pretty solid chance of winning this Class C battle; you’re friendly neighborhood sports writer included. What not many of us did expect was for the Panthers to shutout the Braves 34-0. Fonda has some serious talent on their squad, but they were completely silenced by a Chatham defense on a mission. The unit recorded two sacks, eight almost-interceptions and one legitimate interception. Take note Watervliet, because this is who you’re playing next week.
La Salle is 0-3 in League Play: Remember two weeks ago? The Cadets were on cloud nine. Gabe Smith was running through the school parking lot with the Collar City Cup cheering at the top of his lungs while devoted La Salle fans beeped their horns.  Fast forward to now. La Salle has dropped two straight; a blow out to arch-rival CBA in the annual Sabre game and a second-half loss to Niskayuna on Friday. The Cadets have just 69 points to their name, while their opponents have racked up over 100. Two weeks can make a world of difference.

Biggest Surprise That Probably Shouldn’t Have Been a Surprise
Hoosick Falls is 4-0…Again: Sometimes it seems like the Panthers are on a whole other level from any team in Section II and, quite frankly, most of the time they are. Over the last two weeks, the Panthers have outscored their opponents 68-0. That’s only in the first half. Through the past two games Hoosick Falls has allowed eight points. That’s a single touchdown in 96 minutes of play. The real question we all have to ask ourselves now is who in Class C can challenge that and should they really even try?

Anthony Walker. As Promised.
The Story of One Player’s Complete Offensive Dominance: Last week I promised that if Anthony Walker continued to perform as well as he had been through the first three weeks of the season I would put his name on this blog every single time I post SMMQB. So, naturally, the ‘Burgh running back scored four touchdowns and recorded 287 all-purpose yards and, being a reporter of my word, here is; again.

Worst Stat Line in Section II
Albany: The Falcons have not won a game since 2007, making them the longest winless streak in the state. This is not exactly the record that any team is going out attempting to record. However, despite their best efforts, Albany can’t seem to catch a break. New coaches, different players, even alternating Friday and Saturday games and the Falcons are still 0-3 this season after their most recent loss to Bethlehem on Saturday afternoon.

Best Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Ravena: Over the course of the last two years, the winner of the Albany Academy-Ravena game has gone on to win the Reinfurt Divison at the end of the season. With this year’s matchup early in the season, the playoff implications might not have been obvious, but Ravena still controlled the game as if it were the Super Bowl, walking off with a 20-7 victory and a still undefeated record.

Best Reason to no Longer Call Yourselves an Underdog
Shaker: The Blue Bison are simply finding ways to win football games. When their offense wasn’t able to really break out on Friday night against Schenectady, the defense came to the rescue shutting the Patriots down after the first quarter. Shaker went on to grab the 21-14 victory and maintain their perfect 4-0 record.

Game(s) I’m Looking Forward to Most in Week Five – And You Should Be Too
Shenendehowa at Shaker: Go to this game. Let’s repeat. Go. To. This. Game. This is everything you could want out of Friday night football. Two undefeated teams, a perennial powerhouse, a rising underdog trying to shake their previous reputation, a mid-season matchup with playoff implications. Go. To. This. Game. Shen has yet to be really tested so far this season and the way the Blue Bison are playing, they’re primed to be as difficult a test as a final exam in advanced calculus.
Chatham at Watervliet: This is the game the Cannoneers have to win. If they lose this game, they put their season on the line. Chatham is coming off a dominant shutout victory against Fonda – see that paragraph I wrote above – and Watervliet is coming off their own smackdown victory over Coxsackie-Athens. So why do they need this one game in particular? Class C is a competitive league, with Hoosick Falls sitting squarely on the top. If Watervliet is hoping to topple the perennial champions, they’re going to have to get through Chatham first.

Honorable Mentions of Some Pretty Awesome Games in Week Five
A List: La Salle at Columbia // Schenectady at Troy // Greenwich at Rensselaer //