And it wasn't pretty - at least for Mechanicville. For Schuylerville, however, the game was a thing of beauty as the Horses rolled, 44-6, to remain undefeated at 5-0. The Raiders fell to 1-3.

Schuylerville scored on five of its six first-half possessions to take a 37-0 lead at intermission, effectively putting the game out of reach.

"Our goal was to come out and take control of the game early," said Black Horses coach Greg O'Connor. "We talked about playing a full 48 minutes, and I felt we did that tonight. Last week (in a 22-21 victory over Broadalbin-Perth) we didn't play a good 48 minutes."

Schuylerville's starting backfield of Austin Bateman, Shane Larkin and Brad Lyon scored two touchdowns each. Bateman led all rushers with 77 yards on 9 carries. The junior quarterback only completed two passes, but both went for touchdowns. His touchdowns came on a 24-yard run and 27-yard interception return. Larkin scored on 1- and 12-yard runs.

Lyon had a terrific all-around game, accounting for 219 yards in total offense - and that was just in the first half. He was on the receiving end of both of Bateman's TD passes (one for 31 yards, the other for 53), rushed for 71 yards on just 6 carries, and returned a pair of punts for another 64 yards.

"The kid makes plays," O'Connor said of the junior running back. "He plays at full speed. The line knows they'd better move because he's going to be coming. He's strong and he's tough - he's also one of our hardest workers."

To its credit, Mechanicville played hard for the full 48 minutes. And when the Raiders got their lone break - recovering a fumble deep in Schuylerville territory late in the fourth quarter - they took advantage, with freshman quarterback Sam Connors taking it in on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard-line.

"We had a lot of guys playing who hadn't had the opportunity this year," Raider coach Kevin Collins said of his injury-depleted squad. "Schuylerville is a fantastic football team, but the kids didn't quit. They did the best they could, and I'm proud of them for that."

The Black Horses drew first blood midway through the first quarter when Lyon made a leaping grab of Bateman's high pass on a post pattern from 31 yards out.

"I was like, 'Am I going to catch this, or am I not going to catch this?'" said Lyon. "But I was determined to bring it down."

On Schuylerville's next possession, Lyon's 40-yard punt return gave the Horses a first-and-10 at the Mechanicville 12. Larkin ran it in on the next play to make it 13-0.

Schuylerville scored four times in the final 5:22 of the second quarter, with the final three points coming on a 33-yard field goal by Dan Ladd with 13 seconds remaining. Lyon scored on a 53-yard pass from Bateman and helped set up another score with a slashing 35-yard run down the right sideline.

"I have to give credit to my line," Lyon said. "Every time I came through with the ball, I could see guys getting blown out.

"I think we've exceeded a lot of people's expectations this year," he added. "We're young but we're quick, and we're working hard every week. We don't have any weak links on this team."