Kyle Milligan 
Schuylerville used their physicality and bully-ball game style to hold Fonda off in a 26-16 victory Friday night for their third straight Section 2 Class C championship.
Lead by QB/RB brother duo Owen and Lukas Sherman, the Black Horses are on their way to the state tournament. “We battled this whole game, we faced valleys, and then we were able to rise to the occasion, and ultimately get on the mountaintop, but we’re still not done yet,” said senior QB Owen Sherman.
The Horses have now won 18 straight games, 11-0 this season. They will now play up north against either Saranac Lake or Ogdensburg Free Academy next weekend in a quarter-final matchup.
“We got a big step up next. That’s what we’re thinking right now. The Carrier Dome is a nice carrot at the end, but certainly not something we’re talking about right now,” said Schuylerville head coach Bowen on the opportunity of playing at Syracuse University for the state title.
Fonda (7-3) put up a great fight against the undefeated Horses. They were on the board first with an 8-yard touchdown pass from junior QB Jackson Cusack to TE Owen Hicks in the first quarter.
“We knew we were going to have our hands full… It’s extra special to know we had to fight against a great team like Fonda, they were so well prepared,” said Bowen.
Schuylerville responded with a 20-yard touchdown run from sophomore RB Lukas Sherman. That made the game 8-6, Fonda with the lead.
Sherman would go on to score another touchdown four minutes later, playing bully ball the whole way on this drive to give the Horses a 12-6 lead.
Fonda set up their two-minute offense but three penalties back to back to back would force them to go to the punting unit. They attempted a fake punt, but Schuylerville was having none of it.
The highlight of the night came with 32 seconds left in the first half. Owen Sherman threw a deep ball to junior WR Otto Buldoc who caught the ball against his helmet and ran for a 49-yard touchdown. At halftime, the score was 20-8.
“I saw Otto one on one and I thought I would give him a chance, he makes plays like that all the time, and he made one of the greatest catches I’ve ever seen,” said Owen Sherman.
Both defenses came out of the second half strong forcing many three and outs. Fonda forced a fumble and recovered it, and finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run from senior RB Giovanni DiCaprio that shortened Schuylerville’s lead 20-16.
The momentum was starting to shift, but Schuylerville was on a mission to stop it. They did just that by going right back to Lukas Sherman for another 7-yard touchdown run that would seal the game with three minutes to go, 26-16 Schuylerville.
“We just stay calm. We’ve faced a lot of challenges throughout the course of the year in a lot of different games,” said Owen Sherman.
Cooper Priamo 
Russell Phoenix