SARATOGA SPRINGS FOOTBALL DENIED A STATE TITLE AS CBA SYRACUSE CLAIMS 3RD IN A ROW
SYRACUSE - The score at halftime Saturday evening suggested the Saratoga Springs football team was done.
The fight displayed throughout the second half of the Class AA state championship game from the Blue Streaks once again showed why this season's squad was truly something special.
Saratoga Springs scored the first two touchdowns of the second half and forced Section 3 powerhouse Christian Brothers Academy to dig deep in order to finally put away the Blue Streaks. Two touchdowns tallied during the final minute elevated the final margin of victory, as the Brothers captured a 41-12 victory at JMA Wireless Dome.
CBA Syracuse (13-0) won its third straight Class AA state title. It's the fourth state title in five years for the Brothers, who also won the 2021 Class A championship.
The result meant the end to a stellar season for the Blue Streaks (11-3), a squad that entered the Section 2 playoffs as the No. 3 seed in a four-team bracket. Troy remains the lone Section 2 program to have captured a Class AA state championship, with wins in 1998, 2016 and 2017.
"If you asked anyone on the team (before the season), no one would have said we're reaching the state final. No one in the world thought we were going this far," Saratoga Springs senior center Jayden Cox said. "We showed up, showed out and showed the team we really are. I am proud of that and proud of how far we got."
Following the awards ceremony, third-year Saratoga Springs coach Eric Hayden gathered his team for a photo and then addressed them as the Blue Streaks' fans and parents cheered on the team. He thanked them for delivering on what he asked before the game.
"There is a smile on my face right now, not because we lost, but for how my players played," Hayden said. "I think they represented our program, our community, and represented themselves very well. They did what I asked them: I asked them to fight. If we come out here and give it our all, we've done right. The better team will win. The better team won tonight."
"We have a lot of seniors on this team. We knew, no matter what, that these would be our last snaps together," Cox said. "We gave it everything we had on every single play. A lot of juniors really stepped up. All I can say is that I am proud."
Saturday's contest was Saratoga's second time playing in a state title game. Back in 2015, when Hayden served as an assistant coach, the Blue Streaks dropped a 44-19 decision against Section 5 power Aquinas.
Even though CBA Syracuse extended its winning streak to 41 games, Saratoga Springs made the Brothers work hard to ultimately maintain their dominance atop the state's largest football classification.
"Unfortunate the way that it ended. I love these guys for life. They're my best friends and these coaches mean the world to me," Saratoga Springs senior tight end/defensive end Josh Simon said. "In that moment, that surge we made is something I will never forget. I will never forget the outcome and the experience of playing on this field. … When we had that surge, I really thought we were going to do this."
The Brothers led 21-0 at halftime, but Saratoga Springs rallied in the second half to trail 21-12 with 11:54 left in the fourth quarter and narrowly missed on a 2-point conversion pass that could have trimmed the deficit to seven points.
CBA scored the final 20 points over the last 6:45.
"It was 21-12 with seven minutes left and they get a couple of late ones to make it look lopsided," Simon said.
The Blue Streaks had one good drive and a chance to score during the first half. A fourth-down pass to Simon, however, has knocked out of his hands at the goal line, ending the series on downs. CBA then drove 76 yards over 14 plays to increase its lead to 21-0.
The main aspect that separated the teams in the first half was that the Brothers scored their first two touchdowns on third-down pass plays and extended their third scoring drive with a fourth-down conversion. Those three plays gained 67 yards in a half where the Blue Streaks mustered up just 57 yards on 21 plays.
CBA junior quarterback Gradyn Dixon connected on first-half touchdown passes covering 29 yards to Isaiah Coleman, 34 yards to Javon Edenfield and 22 yards to Brayden Johnson.
The Blue Streaks' passing game sparked their second-half rally. The first touchdown came when Cam Toomey got the ball on a jet sweep and then pitched it to wide receiver Jaden Lockrow on a reverse. Lockrow then threw the ball to senior running Ben Coryea for an 18-yard touchdown pass.
Saratoga Springs' second touchdown came when junior quarterback Bobby Morris threw a 10-yard strike to junior receiver Gavin LaFrance on the first play of the four quarter.
Morris ended up attempting 25 passes on the night, while Lockrow also threw a pair of passes. The Saratoga running game, featuring Coryea - who entered the game with 2,507 rushing yards on the season - was limited to 60 yards on 26 carries. Coryea finished with a season-low 46 yards to push his season total to 2,553 rushing yards, the third-most ever for a Section 2 rusher.
"They did a phenomenal job. Our guys up front did not execute the way we wanted in the first half and we made some adjustments," Hayden said. "We got the ball moving, but it is tough to commit to run when your down 21 points. Credit to Bobby and the receivers for opening things up a bit."
For someone like Cox, who played four varsity seasons, such a playoff run as a senior proved to be a fabulous conclusion to a standout scholastic career. Cox, of course, did not like Saturday's result, yet he and his teammates reveled in the journey of reaching the state final.
So did their coach.
"I always believed in them and they committed to everything I told them to do," Hayden said. "They came in and worked hard and grinded hard. I feel very lucky as a coach to be able to work with this group."
Subscribe
There’s more to Albany with the Times Union. Subscribe today for just 25¢. 2025-12-07T04:19:48Z
