Freshman Narai Danzy threw for seven touchdowns – four of them to junior Azera Gates – and passed for 410 yards Monday as the Albany High School girls’ flag football team advanced to the first-ever Section 2 championship game with a dominating 48-7 win over Shenenedehowa.
Gates powered the win with three clutch plays.
First, her catch and run helped the Falcons to an early 8-0 lead on the game’s first series. Then, after Shen scored midway through the second half to gain back some momentum and cut the lead to 28-7, Gates hauled in a long pass from Danzy to make it 34-7. On Shen’s next possession, Gates picked off a pass and returned it for the decisive score and a 42-7 cushion.
The top-seeded Falcons (12-1) won for the 11th game in a row. They will play No. 2 Columbia for the inaugural Division 1 title at Troy on Wednesday night. Game time is 7 p.m. The Falcons beat Columbia 32-19 during the regular season.
Mia Corazzini and Janae Byrams also caught key scoring passes from Danzy – Corazzini on the last play of the first half for a 22-0 lead, and Byrams on Albany High’s first possession of the second half to make it 28-0.
Gates, who finished with 175 receiving yards, and the Falcons’ defense took it from there.
You can read more about the game in Tuesday’s Times Union. You also can check out more photos on our district Facebook page.
