CONTACT: R. Sean Coffey, (518) 629-7898, r.coffey@hvcc.edu
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Saturday, September 26, 2009
The Hudson Valley Community College football team went into its homecoming game coming off a huge win against Lackawanna CC and were atop the NFC standings at 2-1 (1-0). Defending champions Dean College, 3-0 (0-0) were looking to spoil the Vikings' homecoming celebration.
Dean set the tone for the physical game as they forced the Vikings into a punt in their first possession. Following Viking possessions generated costly turnovers that lead to Bulldog touchdowns. The points left on the field in the first half would prove to be costly. Hudson Valley trailed 14-0 at the half.
In the third quarter, Hudson Valley looked to reverse its fortune and was sparked by its defense. The Viking defensive pressure was relentless in the second half and required Dean to punt five times and gave up a total of three points for the half. The Viking "D" was led by linebackers Nick Scarpula (Minisink Valley, Otisville) and Brandon Harvey (Laurel, Laurel), who each had 7.5 tackles.
Hudson Valley finally got on the board with 2:55 left in the third quarter on an Andreas Hudson (Frankford, Philadelphia) 19-yard scramble. With the PAT missed, the Vikings were down 14-6.
After trading punts, the Dean offense came up with a field goal midway through the fourth quarter making it a two possession game at 17-6. Then, the Vikings put together their best drive of the day when it counted most. Running backs Ismail Jordan (Watertown, Watertown) and Owusu Anane (Boys and Girls, Brooklyn) had big gains on the nine play, 56 yard drive to pay dirt as Hudson hit freshman tight end, Marcus Brandon (Schenectady, Schenectady) for a one yard touchdown pass. The two followed up with the same connection as the Vikings converted on the two-point conversion to pull within three, 17-14.
That would end up being the final score and the offense would never take possession again as the Hudson Valley defense was unable to get the Dean offense off the field. Hudson Valley forced Dean into tough third down situations in which Dean rose to the challenge, converting for timely first downs. With 1:45 left in the contest, Dean had a fourth down scenario and lined up for a field goal. The kick was hooked left and wide, but the Vikings were hit with an excruciating personal foul penalty that resulted in an automatic first down. Dean could now kneel the clock away and go home with the 17-14 victory.
Other notables for the Vikings were kick returner Kadeem Hall (West Deptford, Camden, NJ), who had another tremendous special teams performance. Hall had 172 all-purpose return yards, including a huge 71-yard kickoff return. Kadeem has already won Special Teams Player of the Week in the NFC this season and was the NFC Defensive Player of the Week last week.
The Hudson Valley football team will be the guest next week when they take on Erie Community College in Buffalo.
