Woodlands Remains Undefeated With an Impressive 39-6 Win Over Dobbs Ferry

The Woodlands Falcons football team had some unfinished business from the 2011 season when they took the field at Dobbs Ferry. It was less than a year ago when the Eagles knocked the Falcons out of the playoffs in a game under terrible weather conditions.

There were several inches of snow on the field last year and the Falcons weren’t able to pass the ball. The Eagles would go to win the game and ended up winning the 2011 New York State Class C Championship.

On Saturday it was a picture perfect fall day and the Falcons made the most of this opportunity. They used an extremely strong running game to beat the Eagles 39-6 and with their win the Falcons improved to 6-0.

There was never a doubt that the Falcons wanted to dominate this game. After a solid defensive hold during the Eagles’ first offensive they were able to score a touchdown on two plays.

After their first offensive play resulted in a 19-yard run by running back Raymond Jackson, the Falcons called Jackson’s number again on the next play and he raced through the opponents defense for a 40-yard touchdown. Kicker Sebastian Ovelar nailed the extra point to make it 7-0 with 9:15 to go in the first quarter.

The next possession of the game perhaps was the turning point. It looked like the Eagles were putting together a scoring drive fueled by running back Tim Soave who is leading Section 1 in rushing yards this season. He entered the game needed a little less than 100-yard rushing versus the Falcons to go over the elusive mark of 1000 yards for the season.

Eight plays into the Eagles second offensive drive they were in the opportunistic place to score a touchdown having a first down and goal to go from the nine-yard line. After three plays the Tigers were knocking on the door with about a half-yard to gain on fourth down to score a touchdown.

It was never a doubt that Soave would receive the ball on the next play. Soave took the hand off from the quarterback and tried to get through the right side of the Falcons’ defense but he didn’t get into the end zone giving the Falcons the ball back. After this possession the Eagles’ offense wouldn’t have a better situation to score in the entire game.

Their defense provided the only scoring of the game versus the Falcons. Two plays after a strong goal line stand the Falcons had their worst play of the game. They were lined up in a shotgun formation and the center snapped the ball over the head of quarterback Justin Riccio and the Eagles defense recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point was missed.

After that hiccup that led to the Eagles score the Falcons answered with a scoring drive right away. The drive resulted in a touchdown on a fourth down and goal to go Riccio passed the ball to Dylan Eddy for a 15-yard touchdown.

The score was 20-6 in favor of the Falcons at halftime. The Falcons third touchdown of the game came when Tyrone Barber took the hand off from Riccio and sprinted 45 yards through the Eagles’ defense to the end zone. Ovelar added the extra point.

In the second half the Falcons kept pouring on the heat on the Eagles defense adding three more touchdowns. The first touchdown came on a 60-yard run by Jackson early in the third quarter. Wide receiver Ron Richards scored the next touchdown on a two-yard run later in the half. D’Andre Tilford scored the Falcons final touchdown versus the Eagles on Saturday.

Even though the Falcons won 39-6 they didn’t have a clean fundamental game on Saturday. They had over 100 yards of penalties called against them and also had trouble with their snaps on offense. These mistakes were hidden by the success of their offense.

Whenever the Falcons had a big penalty assessed against them they would answer with a big running play by Jackson or Barber. These tactical errors must be limited to a very small number if the Falcons want to advance far in the playoffs.

After the game the Falcons rejoiced about remaining undefeated.

“It feels real good. We worked real hard in the off season and it’s showing now,” said Jackson who led the Falcons with 145 yard rushing and two touchdowns. “This is one of the best games I’ve played. I hope for the rest of the season I keep playing like this.”

The victory over the Eagles served multiple purposes for the Falcons in that it kept their season going in the right direction and also gave them a little revenge after last year’s loss in the playoffs.

“They won the state championship last year. They were the team to beat this season. We beat them,” said Tyrone Barber who rushed for over 100 yards in the victory.

This win meant a lot to the Falcon’s head coach Mike Meade.

“It just erased it. I’ve had that in my head for a whole year. It just erased it. I don’t have to worry about that loss anymore,” said Meade about Saturday’s victory making up for the painful 2011 loss.

The Falcons play their final regular season game against Tuckahoe at home on Saturday.