BY PAUL LIOTTI
BATAVIA – If you’re both a Batavia Blue Devils fan and a Syracuse Orange hoops fan, you have to be excited about seeing the Joe Girard III suiting up for the Orange on the basketball court for the next few years.
After all, as a junior Girard averaged 50 points a game last year, is already the state’s all-time leading scorer, is considered one of the top three point shooters in country and chose Syracuse over the likes of Boston College, Duke, Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn State.
The problem is he’s also the star quarterback for the Glens Falls Indians, the last team standing between the Blue Devils and their first on-field state championship. So any excitement Blue Devil/Orange fans have will have will have to be delayed for a few days.
Such is the case when Batavia (12-0/No. 1 NYSSWA) takes on Section II’s Glens Falls for Class B State Championship at noon on Saturday in the Carrier Dome.
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“It all starts with their quarterback Joe Girard who can throw the ball and run the ball,” said seventh-year Batavia coach Brennan Briggs. “You have to make sure you can contain him.”
And if that sounds like a familiar take on a Blue Devils’ state tournament opponent, it is.
The Indians (10-2/No. 2 NYSSWA) line up an offense that is a mirror image of what the Blue Devils faced last week with Skaneateles in the semifinals. In that game, the Lakers brought a highly efficient and balanced which offense led by a dual-threat quarterback, talented receivers and a strong running game.
The Blue Devils held the Lakers in check just enough to escape with a 54-49 win to advance to the championship game.
“It’s a good thing we played Skaneateles because (Glens Falls) is a very similar team,” Briggs said. “Unfortunately, they also have some film on what Skeanateles did against us to score points, and that’s not a great thing, but I do believe that if we can contain Girard and do a good job in our secondary like our kids have done then we are going to be in good shape.”
Just as the scouting report the Blue Devils had on Skaneateles’s Patrick Hackler said, Girard can beat any team by air and by ground. This year Girard has completed 163-of-265 (61.5 percent) of his passes for 2,845 yards and 35 touchdowns against just six interceptions. He’s also tucked and ran the pigskin 95 times for 380 yards and 11 touchdowns. His most prolific passing game was against Queensbury (L 48-34) when he threw for 401 yards. In the 48-28 semifinal win over Marlboro last week, Girard went 14-of-25 for 352 yards and four touchdowns.
Girard, who was named as the Class B State Co-Player of the year last year, spreads the ball around to three adept receivers fairly evenly. Junior WR David Barclay is the big-threat receiver, averaging 18.9 yards per each of his 42 receptions (797 yards) and eight touchdowns. Senior WR Trent Girard (54 receptions 772 yards, 8 touchdowns) and sophomore RB Aalijah Sampson (32/658/10) will also be frequent targets of Girard.
Sampson is also the main threat to run the ball for the Indians, as he has collected 609 yards on 81 carries (7.5 avg) and six rushing touchdowns.
“The skill players aren’t as big or tall as Skaneateles was, but they are quick and very talented,” Briggs said.
Interestingly, there are four Girards on the team, and none are brothers to each other. All are cousins, coming from a family line that runs deep in the Glens Falls area. Joe, Trent and OL/LB Connor are all seniors and Noah is a sophomore backup quarterback.
So defense the Blue Devils will have to be conscious of many playmakers, just as they had to with Skaneateles.
“On defense we always preach pursuit: Pursuing the football, playing fast, playing physical and being relentless, especially on the defensive side of the ball,” Briggs said. “That’s not going change and our kids will have to get to the football when it breaks down.”
Batavia will counter with an offense that is primarily a run-based. Over the last three weeks the Blue Devils have gained 1,559 total yards – 1,447 of which were on the ground – led by record-setting running back Ray Leach who has gained 1,235 yards on 109 carries and scored 22 touchdowns.
But the Indians can’t fall asleep thinking Batavia will be one-dimensional. Despite only throwing the ball four times total the last two weeks, senior QB and captain Ethan Biscaro is more than up to the challenge.
“We haven’t been in the position yet that we have had to throw the ball because of Ray and our offensive line,” Biscaro said. “People have packed the box but we’re still getting six, seven yards a carry. Our line has done an outstanding job opening holes.”
Biscaro has completed nearly 72 percent of his passes this year – 64-for-89 – for 1,064 yards and 16 touchdown passes. He can also carry the ball (291 yards this season) and had a nifty 32-yard run last week on a third-down-and-long play that kept the drive and led to a Batavia touchdown. Taiyo Iburi-Bethel is the main receiving threat and a threat every time he touches the ball, having snared 26 balls for 479 yards (18.4 avg) and six touchdowns.
All that said, Briggs won’t be unveiling an air-raid offense against the Indians, instead dancing with who brought them to the big dance: An impressive front line and a powerful running back.
“These last few games our passing game has gotten lost, because of all the running we’ve done,” Briggs said. “At the end of the day we’re going to hand the ball off (against Glens Falls) and if we have to change things up, we do have some plays on the back burner. And don’t forget, Ethan has some good targets to throw to.”
Biscaro also makes an impact on defense, and leads Section V in interceptions with 12. He and the rest of his defensive secondary mates – Zach Anderson, Andrew Clark and Iburi-Bethel – will have their hands full for the second week in a row.
Glens Falls is senior laden and has made an impact on the state’s stage the last few years, having gotten to the semifinals a year ago after winning it all in 2016. Batavia has also splashed on the state scene the last few years – getting to the quarterfinals in three of the four previous seasons before this campaign. The Blue Devils are in uncharted territory now in the championship, but it’s a position Briggs and Co. have been building toward for the last few years.
“It means a lot to us to get this far,” Biscaro said. “We’ve been putting in a lot of off season work starting in January, and that’s where it really started and it’s paid off.”
The only drawback is that this will be the last time this group will take the field together.
“We’ve maxed out the season and I’m happy for that, but the tough part about this game, is no matter what happens on Saturday, this will be the last time we will be together,” Briggs said. “We have said it before we are like a family and we really enjoy each other’s company; it’s just a great thing we have going right now, and you hate to see it end.”
Of course, bringing home the gold will soothe that pain just a little bit.
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