Saturday, Sep. 10, 2011: Recapping Friday's football highlights

   Leading off today: Amsterdam, outscored by Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake by a combined 116-27 the past two seasons, scored a 23-7 football victory Friday to end the Spartans' 31-game winning streak against Section 2 competition.

   Burnt Hills, which turned the ball over seven times (four on fumbles), had last lost to local competition against Lansingburgh in the 2007 sectional championship game.

   “Our program has been very fortunate to win a lot of football games over the last seven years," Spartans coach Matt Shell said. "We’re not going to let one game on one night in Week 2 put a damper on our season, There is a lot of football still to be played.”

   Amsterdam scored two defensive touchdowns after Burnt Hills opened the night with a 10-play, 60-yard scoring drive. The lead held up until Hector Hill returned an interception 46 yards for a TD, and Nate Farley scored with a 7-yard fumble recovery midway through the third quarter.

   Torrid start to season: Pittsford senior Dominick DeLucia scored six touchdowns in the opener and tacked on five more in Week 2, including the winner with one second left as the Panthers edged Hilton 35-33.

   Pittsford drove 70 yards in 45 seconds, capped by DeLucia's 1-yard run. He finished with 30 carries for 183 yards to offset the Cadets' Derek Richards (28 carries, 179 yards, four TDs).

   Many happy returns: UB recruit Marcus McGill, who returned one kickoff for a TD in the opening loss to Pittsford, brought back two more in the fourth quarter Friday during a 30-27 win over Webster Schroeder.

   McGill returned kicks 98 and 86 yards, wrapped around a 13-yard TD run as the Spartans outscored Schroeder 21-20 in a wild fourth quarter. He rushed 18 times for 88 yards.

   Overcoming adversity: Taking the field for the first time since the death two weeks ago of coach Dan Ricci's mother, Ossining rallied to score 22 straight points and beat John Jay 28-21.

   "I thank these guys for pulling through," Ricci told The Journal News. "I think my mom was watching today."

   Ossining pulled off the comeback without QB Brian Connolly, a Bucknell recruit, who was woozy after taking several hits in the first half. Stephen Candelaria ran for 125 yards and a touchdown, and Sebastian Montenegro scored the winning TD with :22 to go.

   After Justin Davidoff threw a 26-yard scoring pass to Candelaria to cut the Indians' lead to 21-18 with about 4:00 to go, Ossining blocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety and then Ossining drove 41 yards for the winning score.

   Unlikely tiebreaker: Weedsport capped a rally vs. Onondaga with a safety that turned out to be the margin in a 30-28 victory.

   Anthony Heer's punt from the Onondaga end zone with under 5:00 to go crashed off the helmet of Weedsport defender Eric Leach and out of the end zone. "When I

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jumped, it just bounced off my face. I thought, holy crap, I just blocked it. And, where’d it go?” Leach told The Post-Standard.

   Weedsport rallied from a 28-14 deficit late in the third quarter. Lance Myers capped a 63-yard drive -- complete with conversions of a fourth down and a third-and-9 situation -- with a 5-yard run. Then Weedsport drove 90 yards, this time capped by Myers' 8-yard run one play after a circus catch by Kyler Brown chewed up 33 yards.

   High octane: Oceanside and Uniondale combined for five TDs in the games first five possessions, and Oceanside went on to a 37-26 triumph.

   The turning point was Oceanside successfully executing an onside kick and scoring three plays later on John Grassi's 12-yard throw to Eddie Lally for a 21-13 advantage with 2:13 to go in the opening quarter.

   Grassi was 15-for-24 for 291 yards and three touchdowns.

   A name to remember: Whitehall tailback Josh Hoagland ran for more than 1,300 yards as a sophomore and is in fine form again this fall, racing for 244 yards and two TDs on 21 carries in a 30-0 win over Lake George.

   Hoagland ran for TD of 71 and 59 yards, and had another long gain negated by a penalty. The 59-yarder came on the second play of the second half.

   Also worth noting: Hoosick Falls scored 41 points on just nine plays in the first half of its 41-6 win vs. Stillwater. Billy Pine went 4-for-4 for 168 yards and three TDs. Tanner Williams scored on receptions of 31 and 58 yards and a run of 59 yards.

   Speaking of perfect quarterbacks, Austin Kay went 7-for-7 for 133 yards and two TDs to pace Mount Sinai past Bayport-Blue Point as Long Island opened its season.