Burnt Hills football prevails over Niskayuna after wild fourth quarter

BURNT HILLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake football team continues to churn out victories, and they're even taking down Class AA programs in the process.

Burnt Hills celebrated its Homecoming Saturday by defeating Niskayuna, 17-14, to extend its win streak to five games. The Spartans surrendered a 10-point lead, but managed to hang on for the win after a fourth-quarter scoring frenzy that saw three touchdowns in the final nine minutes.

Defense dominated the first half. Burnt Hills came away with two red zone stops, while Nisky only allowed the Spartans to reach its half of the field once. The two sides headed for the locker room with the score still 0-0.

Burnt Hills came up empty on its first series of the third quarter, but Logan Tomlinson pinned Nisky deep with a booming punt. The Silver Warriors went three-and-out on offense, and Burnt Hills took over for its second possession of the half at the Nisky 32-yard line.

Burnt Hills running back John Gload picked up a first down with a 17-yard ground gainer. The Spartans stalled out from there, but Tomlinson was able to bury a 33-yard field goal to finally open up the scoring at the 5:03 mark of the quarter.

That relentless Burnt Hills defense shined again late in the quarter when Peyton Marshall took an interception 62 yards to the house, growing the Spartans' edge to 10 points.

But Nisky woke up in a big way in the final stanza, reaching the end zone twice in the span of just minutes. Star wide receiver Cameron Grasso found the end zone on a 65-yard run. Then quarterback Ethan Gilson linked up with Chase Meisner for a 32-yard TD strike through the air, and the Silver Warriors led 13-10 win 6:14 remaining.

Burnt Hills would not be denied, though. Nearly three minutes later, senior running back Sam Karlitz broke off a 65-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-five, reclaiming the Spartans a 17-13 edge.

The Burnt Hills defense made one final game-altering play on Nisky's ensuing series. Senior defensive lineman Ricky Flauto-Nickals recorded his second strip sack of Gilson for the game, and the ball was recovered by his teammate, Elijah Rosendo. The Spartans ran out the remaining 2:32 of the game clock to lock up the victory over their former Class A foe.

Burnt Hills (5-2, 3-0) closes out the regular season next week with a league matchup against South Glens Falls in hopes of clinching the top spot in the Grasso Division.

Niskayuna (3-4, 3-3) is fighting for its postseason life. The Silver Warriors are currently outside the Class AA sectional tournament picture. They return home in Week 7 for a massive game with Shenendehowa. Shen sits just one game ahead of Nisky in the league standings.