Turnovers spur Shaker

Clifton Park

For as much as Shenendehowa football coach Brian Clawson wanted his squad to defeat Shaker on Friday night, he also didn't want his charges to think any result achieved against the Blue Bison — good or bad — would define their season in Week 2.

What Clawson did hope to see from his squad was a strong start against the program that captured the 2018 Section II Class AA title and edged his team last fall during the regular season. Shaker dashed those wishes by turning a pair of turnovers to open the game into scoring drives.

The Blue Bison also opened the second half with another scoring march and went on to capture a hard-hitting 28-14 victory at Steuerwald Stadium.

"We look at this game as the most critical one of the year. It is always a dogfight," Shaker senior fullback/linebacker Jake Notarino said. "It was huge for us to start well, getting the turnover right off their first possession. It boosted us immediately."

Notarino scored on a trio of short touchdown runs, including a 1-yard TD plunge to cap Shaker's opening series following a Shenendehowa fumble by quarterback Michael Decker that was recovered by defensive end Tyler Kruegler.

The second possession for the Plainsmen (1-1 Class AA, 1-1 overall) also concluded with a fumble after driving into Blue Bison territory. Shaker proceeded to drive down the field and sophomore Porter Ninstant found the end zone on a 4-yard touchdown run to help establish a 14-0 advantage with 3:27 left in the first quarter.

"They had us on our heels for a little while, so to go up 14-0 early was a huge part of the game for us," Shaker coach Greg Sheeler said.

The Plainsmen settled down following their sluggish start and junior speedster Dyvante Terrelonge made a nifty move to record a 5-yard touchdown run that he...