CLIFTON PARK — Greg Marshall couldn't have asked for a better start Saturday.

The Franklin Academy football team opened the game by forcing Burnt Hills to go three-and-out. Then the Huskies scored on their first possession for an early lead.

That lead was short-lived, however, and Franklin Academy found itself chasing the Spartans all night.

Burnt Hills scored touchdowns on its next six possessions, all in three plays or less. Behind a dominant offensive line, the Spartans rushed past the Huskies for a 63-20 NYSPHSAA Class A regional championship victory at Steuerwald Stadium.

Thomas Ruppel ran for a game-high 267 yards and four touchdowns on just 11 carries to earn Offensive Player of the Game for the Spartans, who had more than 400 yards on the ground at halftime and eclipsed 500 by the end of the game.

"They came out hard, but (Burnt Hills has) way too much speed; they couldn't stay with them," said Marshall, Franklin Academy's coach.

Daniel Porter added 135 yards and three scores on seven carries for the Spartans (10-1), ranked No. 7 in the state. Burnt Hills will play Section IX's Cornwall, ranked 10th in the state, in the semifinals next week at Dietz Stadium in Kingston.

The first few minutes of the game looked promising for Franklin Academy, which was a heavy underdog against Burnt Hills, the Section II Class A champion four years running.

The Huskies went up 7-0 on a 39-yard quarterback keeper by Mitchell Gallagher on fourth down early in the first quarter.

"It's a state playoff game and we knew they're big and strong up front and they have good athletes on the perimeter," Burnt Hills coach Matt Shell said. "It gives you fits. We thought we could do a few things and they got us. They made some great plays."

Porter tied it up when he took a handoff on the Spartans' second play of their second series, raced up the middle and turned right, going 58 yards to tie the game. On his next touch, also Burnt Hills' next offensive play following a Franklin Academy three-and-out, he sprinted 59 yards to paydirt.

Ruppel added touchdown runs of 1 and 77 yards on the next two series for the Spartans to take a 28-7 lead in the second quarter.

Austin Dunlavey caught six passes for 97 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury.

"He's like (former NFL tight end) Mark Bavaro," Shell said of Dunlavey. "If you get the ball three feet in his window frame he's going to come down with it. We haven't seen a big, athletic kid who can play in space like that."

—

Burnt Hills 63, Franklin Academy 20

Franklin Academy     7 13 0 0 — 20

Burnt Hills     21 21 21 0 — 63

First quarter

FA- Gallagher 39 run (Smith kick), 4:06.

BH- Porter 58 run (McDonnell kick), 4:50.

BH- Porter 59 run (McDonnell kick), 6:36.

BH- Ruppel 1 run (McDonnel kick), 8:27.

Second quarter

BH- Ruppel 77 run (McDonnell kick), 0:15.

FA- K. Prue 1 run (Smith kick), 4:21.

BH- Ruppel 85 run (McDonnell kick), 6:08.

BH- Dillon 28 run (McDonnell kick), 9:13.

FA- A. Dunlavey 38 pass from Gallager (pass failed), 11:38.

Third quarter

BH- Ruppel 10 run (McDonnell kick), 4:36.

BH- Porter 2 run (McDonnell kick), 6:27.

BH- Jehle 7 run (A. Marchesiello kick), 11:35.

Individual statistics

Rushing

FA- Gallagher 13-32, TD; J. Picaro 5-28; K. Prue 5-20, TD; Hilyard 5-12; Johnston 2-9; No. 4 1-4; Guerin 1-2; Peck 2-2; Smith 2-(-9). Totals: 36-100, 2 TD.

BH- Ruppel 11-267, 4 TD; Porter 7-135, 3 TD; Dillon 3-36, TD; Danz 2-26; No. 32 2-21; McDonnell 3-13; No. 39 1-8; Jehle 4-1, TD; Mooney 1-0. Totals: 34-507, 9 TD.

Passing

FA- Gallagher 11-20-0-151, TD; J. Picaro 0-1-1-0. Totals: 11-21-1-151, TD.

BH- McDonnell 0-1-0-0.

Receiving

FA- A. Dunlavey 6-97, TD; Smith 4-57; Hilyard 1-(-3).

Interceptions

BH- Ball.