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Haldane Football Loses Season Opener
by Chris Anderson
Last Saturday the Haldane Varsity Football Team opened up their season against the Valhalla Vikings. In a rematch of last year’s homecoming and playoff games, of which Haldane claimed both victories, the Blue Devils were looking to send a message and beat the bigger, stronger Valhalla squad this year and kick off the season with a win. The fairly new Haldane squad learned much throughout the match-up, but by the time they settled down and played ball, it was too late and the scoreboard did not seem to want to change.
Haldane kicked off first, and on Valhalla’s first drive they were able to barrel down the field, and after a long gain from an unexpected pass, put six points on the board. On Haldane’s first possession, a pass from Ryan McConville to Dylan Griffin was intercepted and returned for the touchdown. With both attempts at the extra points failing, the scoreboard yielded 12-0 Valhalla. It wasn’t before long that the Vikings put another six points on the board, after a bad punt snap flew over the head of John Sawaekis and was recovered in Haldane territory by the Vikings, and later put in the end zone on a sweep run. At the end of the first half the score was 18-0.
At the beginning of the third quarter the Blue Devils came out and started to drive the ball down the field. The passing attack started to come alive as completions were made and the Blue Devils were able to gain momentum and move down the field. However, it wasn’t before long that the ball once again changed possession after an interception by the Vikings. With Valhalla dangerously close to scoring a fourth time, the Blue Devils picked up the heat and denied the Vikings another score. The Haldane defense was strong and did not let Valhalla score in the third quarter. John Sawaekis led the defense with nine tackles; Nick Vetere was right behind him with eight, and Ryan McConville and Brian Bellucio each had seven tackles in the game. The Haldane offense worked hard to try and score throughout the game, but it just didn’t happen and turnovers contributed to their defeat. Valhalla scored once more in the fourth quarter after a turnover on downs and the final score was 25-0.
The Haldane offense was shaky throughout the game, but when they settled down and did not turnover the ball, they moved it nicely and had some opportunities to score. Quarterback Ryan McConville went 5-12 passing for 60 yards with 3 interceptions. He connected with Chris Anderson three times for 36 yards, Dylan Griffin once for a 17-yard gain, and John Sawaekis once for 7 yards. Dylan Griffin led rushing for Haldane with 26 yards on 12 attempts and Ryan McConville also contributed with 20 yards on 4 carries.
"The team played hard the whole game; there was no sign of quit in anyone at any point during the game," said Ryan McConville after the loss. "Everyone just went out there and gave everything that they could. We just have to work harder and improve in a few areas, and I am confident that this team will get better." Haldane’s next game is this Saturday against Bronxville. The game is home at 1:30 pm. Be sure to come out and support your Blue Devils as they look to put their first W in the win column.
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