Jacob Phelps had a football hat trick with a fourth-quarter touchdown reception, fumble recovery and interception as the Warriors earned a 20-6 straight win over Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake in Section 2 Class A. The title game is played Saturday at Steuerwald Stadium in Shenendehowa.
Averill Park is 0-5 in Section 2 finals, including back-to-back losses to Niskayuna in 2022 and 2023. Averill Park earned the program’s most important win in the playoffs, beating Burnt Hills in the semifinal round of each season. Rematch with Sparta.
“Losing my second year, losing my third year, it was really shocking.” said Phelps, a senior running back and defensive back. “I had a picture of the (Section 2 Championship) patch on my wall and I saw it every day. We did it.”
Averill Park (Capital Division No. 1 seed, 8-3) delivered a gut punch when Phelps hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Blake Kilgallon on a fourth-and-goal play with 8:54 left in the fourth quarter. Phelps’ TD catch broke a 6-6 tie (Shawn Ratigan was subsequently stopped on a 2-point attempt) and the Warriors advanced to their fifth straight win and a berth in the state tournament.
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake’s Sam Karlitz looks for a rallying exit by the Averill Park defense in the second half of the Section 2 Class A Super Bowl Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, at Shenendehowa High School. Averill Park beat Burnt HIlls, 20-20. 6 as title.
“That play may not have gone the way we expected, but it was definitely a big play,” Phelps said.
Phelps, a Daily Gazette all-area performer, ended Burnt Hills’ next drive two plays later with his fumble recovery, and his interception stopped the Spartans’ final series of five plays of the season.
In between the takeaways, Drew Canaday scored an insurance touchdown on an 8-yard scamper with 5:38 remaining.
“This was about the kids. This group has been on their tail for three years now,” said Averill Park coach Zach Gobel. “Before the game we didn’t really talk about winning. “I told him to run for his older brother next to him.”
Burnt Hills (Grasso Division No. 1 seed, 8-3) has won eight straight to advance to its 16th Section 2 final and falls to 10-6 in the championship contest, with its last regional banner coming in 2021.
“The growth of this team has been amazing,” said BH-BL coach Kevin DeBonis, whose Spartans opened the campaign with wins against Cornwall and Columbia. “The way they change it is something else. (After going 0-2) They said we can’t do this.”
Averill Park struck first when Canaday ran 8 yards for a third-quarter touchdown. That score was set when standout BH-BL punter Logan Tomlinson gambled and ran deep in his team’s territory to get a first down instead of shooting the ball. His 6-yard effort gave AP the ball at the 13.
“You love that confidence,” DeBonis said of Tomlinson’s first bid. “They have a fast group.”
Phelps was stopped on a 2-point conversion run after Canaday’s TD run, and Tomlinson missed wide left on the PAT as Burnt Hills answered John Gload’s AP score on a 43-yard dash to the end zone.
“I think it’s time,” DeBonis said of Averill Park, which is tied for 30th in the state sportswriters’ rankings. BH-BL ranked 16th. Because there are many seniors, I came here three years in a row. “Today they have turned a corner.”
Tyler Sicko, 16, of Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake reacts after Averill Park running back Jacob Phelps scores a touchdown late in the fourth quarter of the Section 2 Class A Super Bowl Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, at Shenendehowa High School. Averill Park beat Burnt. The title goes to HIlls, 20-6.
Phelps’ big fourth quarter included a two-point conversion catch that made it 20-6 after Canaday’s second touchdown run.
“After they scored a touchdown and tied it, we had to make a play,” Phelps said.
Phelps ran 19 times for 124 yards, and Canada added 95 rushing yards on 15 attempts.
“He is a player. He is an athlete.” Gobel said of Phelps. “Everything he does, he does it to the best of his ability, and that makes a difference.”
Gload led the BH-BL ground attack to 98 yards on 21 carries, and he and fellow senior Ricky Flauto-Nickals recovered a fumble that stalled an AP drive. Flauto-Nickals also made a tackle on Phelps’ 2-point conversion attempt in the third quarter.
“We have a special group of seniors who serve as great examples for the younger players,” DeBonis said.
Averill Park will return to Shenendehowa Friday at 7:30 p.m. for a state quarterfinal game against Somers (11-0). Somers is the defending state Class A champion and won its 25th consecutive game with a 35-21 win over Rye (10-1) in the Section 1 title game.
- Averill Park 0 0 6 14 — 20
- Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake 0 0 6 0 — 6
- AP — Canada runs 8 (failed to run)
- BH — Gload 43 executed (kick failed)
- AP — Phelps 25 pass at Kilgallon (failed to execute).
- AP — Canada 8 (Phelps pass from Kilgallon)
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