GLENS FALLS -- Sometimes the Glens Falls Greenjackets made it hard on themselves this year.
But they always got the job done, as they did on Saturday night.
The Jackets overcame a bad start to beat the Southern Tier Warriors 28-14 at East Field to claim the NAFL regional playoff title. They move on to face the Central Penn Piranha next weekend, most likely on the road.
Zorry Williams rushed for two touchdowns and 181 yards, Mike Leonbruno passed for 188 yards and a taped-up Alex Quigan kicked a key field goal as the Jackets improved to 12-0. But they had to regroup in a major way after getting scored on twice.
"In the end we came out on top,'' coach John Millett said.
The Greenjackets had a way of digging themselves a hole early in games this season, and they dug pretty deep on Saturday.
The Jackets' first possession was a total disaster. They went backward 11 yards on three plays, then a snap out of the end zone on a punt attempt gave Southern Tier two points.
It got worse from there. A big run by Williams was negated by a fumble, Southern Tier's Ed Winfield slipped several tackles for a 41-yard touchdown and penalties kept slowing the Jackets down. The offensive and defensive units took turns yelling at themselves on the sidelines.
"We weren't sharp at all,'' Quigan said. "We're a second-half team and we came through. We just had to stick with it.''
The Jackets put it together all at once in the final minutes of the second quarter.
An 81-yard drive was capped by Williams' 15-yard touchdown run with 1:28 left, cutting Southern Tier's lead to 8-6. The Jackets got a big defensive stop and took over deep in Southern Tier territory after a bad snap on a punt.
A personal foul pushed them back to the 26-yard line - the Jackets racked up 93 yards in penalties on the night - but an 18-yard Williams run and Leonbruno's 8-yard pass to John Brennan as the half expired put the Jackets on top.
The Jackets made it 19-8 late in the third quarter, and this is where Quigan's taped-up ankle comes in. Quigan tip-toed along the chalk to stay inbounds as he caught a touchdown pass from Leonbruno, hurting his left ankle in the process. He had to be helped off the field.
A few minutes later, after a Southern Tier touchdown, the Jackets called on Quigan for a 35-yard field goal. He put it through the uprights for what was, at that time, three key points.
"When I hurt myself, I thought there was no way (he'd come back),'' Quigan said. "They just taped it up real good, had me walking on it. ... The only thing I was thinking was, I was hoping I could plant off (the left foot).''
The defense played well for Glens Falls, as it has all season. Southern Tier was forced to punt seven times, not counting the blown snap in the second quarter. The Warriors completed only three passes.
The Jackets have a lower seed than Central Penn, but plan to argue for a home game next week. Failing that, they may try to request a Sunday game because so many players have Saturday commitments with high school teams.
Southern Tier (7-5) 2 6 0 6 - 14
Greenjackets (13-0) 0 13 6 9 - 28
First Quarter
ST - Safety, ball snapped out of end zone, 11:10.
Second Quarter
ST - Winfield 41 run (pass failed), 5:27.
GJ - Williams 15 run (run failed), 1:28.
GJ - Brennan 8 pass from Leonbruno (Quigan kick), 0:00.
Third Quarter
GJ - Quigan 16 pass from Leonbruno (pass failed), 1:28.
Fourth Quarter
ST - Snow 18 run (pass failed), 13:49.
GJ - Quigan 35 FG, 9:36
GJ - Williams 45 run (pass failed), 4:07.
TEAM STATISTICS
S. Tier GJ
First downs 9 16
Rushing-yards 32-183 25-215
Passing yards 57 188
Comp-Att.-Int. 3-114-0 13-23-1
Sacks-yards lost 3-8 0-0
Punts-ave. 7-32.3 2-38.0
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-2
Penalties-yards 8-75 9-93
Return yards 84 83
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - S. Tier: Giannone 5-21; Snow 15-63, 1TD; Rodriguez 6-16; Winfield 6-83, 1TD. Greenjackets: Williams 15-181, 2TD; Godfrey 3-11; Leonbruno 4-8; Brennan 1-12; Gibbs 1-1; Gosselin 1-2.
PASSING - S. Tier: Giannone 3-14-0, 57 yards. Greenjackets: Leonbruno 13-23-1, 188 yards, 2TD.
RECEIVING - S. Tier: Snow 1-(-4); Gillie 2-61. Greenjackets: Williams 2-27; Alberts 5-82; Lane 1-5; Brennan 2-21, 1TD; Quigan 3-53, 1TD.
MISSED FIELD GOALS - None.
Posted in Sports, Football on Sunday, October 18, 2009 12:10 am | Tags: Greenjackets, Nafl, Southern Tier
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