The Pine Plains Bombers were already down by 17 before they got off the bus in Red Hook for the first game of the varsity football season on Sept. 1.
Down by 17 players, that is.
Red Hook dressed 34 students while Stissing Mountain mobilized just 17 in the 90-degree heat and hot sun on a day that had the water flowing freely on the sidelines. It was so hot that the MVP of the first half was the large cloud that passed overhead giving five minutes of relief.
With few backups on hand, virtually the entire Pine Plains team had to play both offense and defense for most of the game. And the final score, 47-14, showed how lopsided that became.
It was apparent early on that this would not be a game of attrition as Red Hook forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown by Brandon Coleman at the 1:19 mark (missing the extra point). They followed up by forcing another fumble on the Bombers’ next possession and driving that into the end zone to go up 13-0 with 8:40 left in the first quarter.
Pine Plains couldn’t put together a successful drive and tried using their running game in attempt to power the ball down the field — to virtually no avail.
The onslaught continued with a short pass from Raiders QB Lucas Brochetti to receiver Coleman with 4:49 left , and a rushing TD by junior running back Dustin Ducey capped the quarter with under a minute to go to make it 27-0. “We got out our first-quarter jitters!” Pine Plains head coach Tom Povall was overheard announcing to his team on the sideline as they gulped water and girded themselves for a long afternoon
In the second quarter, Red Hook slowed their pace, scoring only one touchdown — a confident, long-range pass from Brochetti to Coleman along the sideline to make it 34-0 at the half.
The score remained the same until the end of the third quarter. Red Hook running back Ducey scored again on a toss at the 10:20 mark. The Raiders pulled their starters and Pine Plains claimed their first touchdown after a long drive down the field at 1:31, courtesy of fullback Jake Gomm.
The Raiders would strike again in the fourth on a Dan Acosta touchdown to open the quarter, and would cede another to Pine Plains at the end of the game.
“It is hard to tell how good or bad we are at most things after that game,” Red Hook Head Coach Bill Stutz told The Observer. “We simply did not get to work many things due to the very simple offense of Pine Plains and our ability to score so quickly on offense.”
“Our guys will be ready [next week],” said Stutz. “After the Pine Plains game, our team realizes we have not been tested. This game with Marlboro will tell it all.”
Also contributing to this article, Kristofer Munn
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