Horses, Braves square off

The Black Horses were running through defensive drills against a scout team mimicking the offense of their upcoming opponent, Fonda.

"You gotta be out here and take him out of the play," O'Connor, Schuylerville's head coach, directed one of his defensive backs.

They ran the play again and this time, Brad Lyon leaped high and picked off the pass.

The undefeated Black Horses (8-0) cannot afford to lose sight of any of Fonda's receivers, as they host the high-powered Braves (7-1) today at 7 p.m. in a Class C semifinal of the Section II Football Tournament.

The game shapes up as a battle of quarterbacks -- Schuylerville's fleet-footed junior Austin Bateman, and Fonda's strong-armed senior Josh Nethaway. But both teams have plenty of other offensive weapons.

"They have an outstanding quarterback with a good arm," O'Connor said. "We've got to be sure in our coverages and get pressure on him."

"They have a lot of weapons on offense," Fonda head coach Tom Carpenter said. "They throw the ball well, the Bateman kid is a very good athlete at quarterback, the kids in the backfield are tough. I think it will be a challenge for both defenses."

Schuylerville's most important weapon is Bateman, who directs the Black Horses' multifaceted spread-option offense. Bateman has rushed for a team-high 962 yards and 16 touchdowns, and passed for another 549 yards and eight scores.

"It's a nice offense for a kid with his skills," O'Connor said. "It spreads the field, and when you do that, there's going to be running lanes for your backs. If you take something away from him, he can do the other. If you take away the pass, he'll run on you. If you take away the run, he'll throw on you."

Bateman is complemented in the backfield by speedy Brad Lyon (763 yards, eight TDs) and bruising Shane Larkin (391 yards, eight TDs).

Schuylerville rolled through its Class C North schedule, outscoring six division opponents by a combined 267-45, then cruised to a 60-20 rout of Tamarac in last week's Class C quarterfinal.

"Offensively, we'll do what we've been doing -- get the ball in the guys' hands that can make plays, and let them do their thing," O'Connor said.

Fonda has enjoyed an equally strong season, putting up dominating numbers, but suffering a 20-19 loss to Class C South champ Chatham in Week 5, a week after escaping with a 41-39 win over Tamarac.

However, the Braves have allowed at least 18 points in their last six games, including last week's 47-28 quarterfinal victory over defending Section II champion Cambridge.

"Defensively, we haven't been real consistent," Carpenter said. "Chatham was a tough loss, we missed a couple of opportunities, but we came back and beat Watervliet."

Fonda has run a pro-style passing offense since the 1970s, and the latest standout quarterback is Nethaway, a three-year starter for the Braves. He has passed for 1,746 yards and tied the Section II record for single-season touchdown passes with 27, and has thrown just three interceptions. His main targets are Kevin Hanson (26 catches, 541 yards, seven TDs) and Tyler Hall (24-584, 12 TDs).

"He's taken what the defense gives him this year," Carpenter said. "He's more patient than he was; he's using short passes to set up the longer ones. He really understands the game."

Note: Fonda holds a 7-1 lead over Schuylerville in the all-time series. This is their first meeting since 1994.