Jones, Anderson shine as CBA handles Shen on the road

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. ( NEWS10 ) — If there were any doubts that Christian Brothers Academy was still the team to beat in Class AA, those were squashed Friday night.

The Brothers didn’t face much adversity through the first three weeks of the season. They breezed past Saratoga 28-0 to start the year, had their Week 1 matchup with Bethlehem canceled and rolled Albany 73-0 last Saturday.

Week 3 posed the first major test of the season for Bob Burns’ bunch: a road trip to Shenendehowa in the NEWS10 Sports 1st & 10 “Game of the Week.” And his guys answered the call.

After struggling out of the gate, CBA outscored Shen 33-6 over the final three quarters of Friday’s contest to come away with a 40-20 win – a statement victory for the Brothers. And following a four-touchdown performance, junior quarterback Archie Jones had a statement of his own about what this win means.

“[This] sets the tone, honestly,” said Jones. “We’ll come to your house, and we’ll beat you. If you wanna run with us, go ahead. But I don’t know if you can.”

It looked as if Shen would be able to run with CBA; at least in the first quarter it did. The Plainsmen scored on the game’s opening drive: a 32-yard touchdown pass from Jack Clawson to James Pepper Jr.

The Brothers responded, reaching the end zone on their first series, as wide receiver Lucius Anderson took an end-around in for an 11-yard score.

But Shen struck back, marching right down the field. Fullback Dylan Maye reached paydirt from a yard out at the 43-second mark of the opening stanza, and Shen maintained a 14-7 edge through one quarter of play.

Quarter No. 2 belonged to the Brothers, though. After a 19-yard touchdown pass from Jones to a Amare Coffil leveled the scoring, CBA’s defense forced a Shen turnover on downs. Jones brought the offense across midfield, and Anderson finished the job, taking a screen pass 43 yards to the house to put his team in the driver’s seat at 21-14.

The Brothers maintained that seven-point lead at halftime, and built on it right out of the break. Jones recorded a 14-yard touchdown run to grow the margin to 13. Two drivers later, he linked up with Anderson again; this time for a 23-yard TD strike – Anderson’s third score of the night.

CBA took a 33-14 lead into the fourth quarter, and traded touchdowns with Shen in the final 12 minutes to come away with the 40-20 win.

“Our defense played extremely well, which got the ball to our offense, which is very dynamic,” said Anderson. “Our offensive line was very strong up front, and the other wide receivers gave me an opportunity and gave the team an opportunity to win.”

The question becomes: “Is this Bob Burns’ best CBA team yet?” It might still be too early to tell, but a case could certainly be made after this performance.

“I was happy that we were resilient early,” said Burns. “We struggled a little bit defensively – give [Shen] credit; they had a good plan. We made some adjustments, and were able to come out on top. I’m proud of my guys. We got in some tough situations and dealt with some adversity. We were able to make some plays and get through it. We’re gonna turn the page; we’re movin’ on. It’s still early in the season. Obviously, [Shen’s] still a really good team, and there’s a chance that – once again – we could see ’em down the line.”

CBA (4-0, 3-0 in Class AA) sets its sights now on Schenectady in Week 4. The Brothers will welcome in the Patriots for a 7:00 tilt Friday in Albany. Shen (2-2, 2-2 in Class AA), will look to rebound Friday in Ballston Spa.

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