Potsdam 24 Malone 12
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2010
POTSDAM – The steady rain finally stopped at halftime and the fireworks began midway through the third quarter for Potsdam in Friday night’s Northern Conference Class A football showdown versus Malone.
With the score tied 6-6 after 30 minutes of play, the Sandstoners proceeded to outscore the Huskies 18-6 over the final 18 minutes of regulation for a 24-12 victory, locking down the top seed for the upcoming Class A sectionals.
Potsdam (6-0, 4-0 Class A) picked off three Huskie passes and took advantage of five Malone turnovers overall on the night.
The Sandstoners scored 12 second-half points as, after a John Coleman interception near midfield, they marched 54 yards on seven plays to take a 12-6 lead with 6:18 left in the third quarter, Jesse Bradish bulling in from five yards out.
In the fourth quarter, Malone quarterback Mitch Gallagher (8-of-10 passing for 127 yards) fumbled near his own goal line and Josh Adams pounced on the ball in the endzone for his second fumble recovery of the night and an 18-6 Potsdam lead with 8:02 to play.
The Huskies responded with a 71-yard kickoff return by Joey Tousignant to the Potsdam 18 yardline and a 2-yard touchdown run by Greg Monica with 5:26 left.
But Coleman and Adams sealed the deal as the Sandstoner quarterback, who finished with 109 yards rushing on nine carries, raced 63 yards to the Huskie 11 yardline on the next series and then carried over the goal line from a yard out with 1:39 left. Adams intercepted a final last gasp pass by the Huskies (2-3, 2-1).
“Defense won the game tonight, the line, everybody in there. They had all those key turnovers.The field position they gave us was huge,” said Potsdam coach Jim Kirka who is 6-0 as a head coach for the first time.
“Our question mark this season was pass defense and so far they’ve answered. We had some great individual plays tonight,” said the Potsdam coach who received seven tackles from Coleman and six apiece from Bradish, Jacob Moose and Todd Sharlow, with Bradish also making an interception.
The teams traded first half touchdowns as Ryan Lashomb capped a 12-play, 88-yard drive with a one-yard plunge on Potsdam’s first possession of the game and Malone answered early in the second quarter when quarterback Mitch Gallagher hit Jordan Cosgrove over the middle for an 18-yard touchdown strike.
“Malone did a good job of mixing it up on offense and they were very physical. John did a good job running the ball for us,” said coach Kirka after two of his other backs also turned in solid performances, Zac Linsky rushing 20 times for 117 yards and Jesse Bradish nine times for 38 tough yards.
Courtesy of Daily Courier-Observer
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