Shutout streak continues for red-hot Huskies

Pummels Foley on homecoming

The Albany Huskies football team discovered Oct. 14 that shutting out an opponent was so nice, they did it twice.

Behind a hungry defense that forced three turnovers and a stout running game that helped them keep its offense on the field, the Huskies took down the Foley Falcons 34-0 on homecoming at Herges Stadium in Albany.

“It seemed like our effort and heart and attitude was in the correct spot, and we made the adjustments when need be,” said Mike Ellingson, head coach.

Foley, looking to make a statement on Albany’s big day, came out swinging offensively, converting three straight first downs. Albany, however, received its first game-shifting boost when Jack Rieland jumped an out route for an interception. This turnover led to the first score of the game, as Izaac Hutchinson hit Ethan Meyer for a 5-yard passing touchdown on fourth down.

After this brief glimpse of hope, the Falcons found next-to-nothing against a kinetic, dynamic Albany defensive unit, who filled potential running lanes with ease and took down Foley’s ball carriers for minimum gains and losses. The Falcons accumulated 20 rushing yards as a team on 22 attempts.

“We’ve got a swarming defense that has that ability to rally, to where holes open initially, but we have a way of finding a way to close those holes quickly and getting a lot of people to the ball carrier at the same time,” Ellingson said.

One such defender was Hutchinson, who put forth exactly the kind of two-way effort that has made Albany such a successful program for many decades. The senior talent connected with three different receivers for touchdowns as the team’s signal-caller but also registered five tackles, a forced fumble and an interception.

“Izaac seems to put himself in correct places, defensively, and is not afraid to get his nose dirty and get tackles,” Ellingson said. “He does an excellent job for us on the defensive ball as well as a quarterback. He seems to be settling in nicely for us.”

Also displaying excellent athleticism for the Huskies was Ethan Meyer. After making his varsity debut the week before, the sophomore stepped up to lead the team’s vaunted rushing attack, accumulating 158 yards and two touchdowns on the ground on 14 carries, good for 11.3 yards per attempt.

“His first four carries went 10, 16, 54 and 13 yards,” Ellingson said. “That’s the fun part about this team. It allows itself to ride the hot hand, as last week we rode Panek and this week, it happened to be Meyer.”

Meyer was certainly not the only threat in the backfield for Albany. Fullback Isaac Evenson and Cole Panek each turned seven carries into 35 yards, while Joe Schmitt and Adam Dennis logged 23 and 22 rushing yards, respectively. It is a credit to the Huskies’ ability to find a different gear and dictate the pace of play, as evidenced by the team’s response to a halftime speech from Ellingson wanting more from his offense.

“That discussion happened, and they came out and we went on a drive that lasted much of the third quarter and scored,” Ellingson said. “These kids want to be good and do things the right way.”

The Huskies improved to 4-3 on the fall campaign with the win. It will look to enter the playoffs strong, with a regular season finale road game against the Zimmerman Thunder at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 19, at Zimmerman Middle/High School in Zimmerman.

Foley   0     0   0   0-0

Albany 14    6   7   7-34

Passing: Hutchinson 4/7, 59 yards and 3 TDs.