STILLWATER -- Ron Jones' team was leading 13-0 at halftime Saturday at Stillwater High School, but he saw his Hoosick Falls Panthers dragging a bit.

"We weren't playing poorly, but our body language and our energy level were down," Jones said.

So the veteran head coach challenged his players.

"We called them on it, we pointed to the positive things and asked them to step it up," Jones said. "They really responded. We had some guys sick, and they did it anyway."

The undefeated Panthers (9-0) scored two quick touchdowns in the third quarter and pulled away to a 32-0 shutout of Granville in a Class C semifinal of the Section II Football Tournament.

With the win, Hoosick Falls advances to the Class C final for the first time since winning the Section II title in 2006. They will face either Cambridge or Chatham on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Stillwater.

Facing strong gusting winds all afternoon, the Panthers borrowed a page from Granville's playbook and controlled the ball with the run, and still found some success through the air.

Senior Alex Hansen rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries to lead Hoosick Falls, while junior Mike Brewster passed for two scores and ran for another.

"It's all about tough, physical play, being disciplined, making big plays and getting excited when it happens," Hansen said.

"We knew they were coming in tough, but we felt we were tougher," two-way lineman Jake Colliano said. "The second half we really showed it."

"Our first evaluation after a game is, 'Did we get better?' I think we did get better this week," Jones said. "We asked them to ramp it up, and they did."

Granville, which ended the season at 7-2, came up just short of scoring in the fourth quarter, at the tail end of a 13-play, 71-yard drive. Colliano recovered a fumble at his own 1-yard line with 4:56 left in the game, ending the Horde's final threat.

"On defense, we get a new mentality in the red zone," said Hansen, a linebacker and defensive end. "It's our end zone - we're not gonna let you in."

"We sustained some drives, but we were unable to finish," Granville head coach Mario Torres said. "You can't give a team like Hoosick Falls momentum. When we had it, we couldn't score."

The Panthers seized the momentum at the end of the second quarter, when they led 7-0. Hansen, a solidly built 5-foot-7, 170-pounder, took a handoff and rocketed up the middle for a 59-yard touchdown run 29 seconds before the half.

"At the end of the half, going into 30 mph winds, I'm not running my two-minute offense," Jones said. "We saw they didn't have a safety in the middle, so if we get Alex through there, he could pop it. And he got there."

"We played with them in the first half, but the score before the half deflated us a bit," Torres said.

The Panthers struck even quicker in the third quarter. On the third play of the period, Hansen sprinted 34 yards for a touchdown.

Three plays later, Logan O'Brien made a diving interception of a Jamie Hicks pass at the Granville 35. After an incomplete pass and a 23-yard run by Brewster, the quarterback found Greg Stifter over the middle for a 12-yard touchdown pass. With 9:01 left in the third, Hoosick Falls led 26-0.

Kevin McMahon completed the scoring late in the period, making a leaping catch in the end zone of a 24-yard pass from Brewster.

Brewster finished the game 5 for 8 passing for 88 yards, and rushed for 81 yards on eight carries.

Despite the loss, Granville senior Jayson Osborne rushed for 115 yards on 26 carries.

"We never played on a stage this big, but our kids played hard," Torres said. "Now we have to take this to the next level and build on it, same as we did when we were 0-9 and built up to 4-5 last year.

"We'll take 7-2 this year, but our guys can hold their heads up, they put their heart and soul into this season," Torres added. "These seniors are role models for our younger kids; they showed them that you can come through adversity with hard work. This year was an example of that."

Granville (7-2) 0 0 0 0 - 0

Hoosick Falls (9-0) 0 13 19 0 - 32

Second quarter

HF - Brewster 5 run (Q. Rasmus kick), 6:11

HF - Hansen 59 run (kick failed), :29

Third quarter

HF - Hansen 34 run (kick failed), 10:42

HF - Stifter 12 pass from Brewster (Q.Rasmus kick), 9:01

HF - McMahon 24 pass from Brewster (kick failed), :14

Gran HooF

First downs 12 18

Rushes-yards 42-143 34-297

Passing yards 36 88

Comp-Att-Int 3-8-1 5-8-0

Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-0

Punts-avg. 3-29 1-42

Penalties-yds 1-5 3-30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Granville: Osborne 26-115, Hicks 11-24, Scribner 5-4. Hoosick Falls: Hansen 21-192, 2TD; Brewster 8-81, 1TD; Burns 5-24.

PASSING - Granville: Hicks 3-8-1, 36 yards. Hoosick Falls: Brewster 5-8-0, 88 yards, 2TD.

RECEIVING - Granville: Macura 3-36. Hoosick Falls: McMahon 3-53, 1TD; Williams 1-23; Stifter 1-12, 1TD.