SCHUYLERVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Schuylerville football head coach John Bowen is no stranger to the big stage. He's been on the winning side of three state semifinal games during his time at Schuylerville.
As Bowen seeks to guide a fourth group of Black Horses to the JMA Wireless Dome, he's tried to share his experience of what that feeling of accomplishment is like with his team.
""When that clock hits zero, and if that scoreboard is in our favor, you will have a feeling that you've never felt before in athletics,"" said Bowen. "It's an amazing feeling, and that's gonna be our message to these guys as we continue on through the week."
In order to achieve that feeling, Schuylerville will have to get through Section I's Valhalla in a Class C semifinal matchup down at Middletown High School Saturday.
The Vikings are undefeated this year and ranked fourth in the state for Class C.
But Schuylerville already had to get through a couple high-caliber teams just to get out of Section II. The Black Horses defeated Fonda-Fultonville in the sectional semifinals when the Valley Hawks were ranked 17th, and took down previously unbeaten and sixth-ranked Cobleskill-Richmondville for the sectional championship.
So, as Schuylerville gets ready for another major challenge, it's all about trying to keep things status quo.
"We've gotta make sure that we don't try to re-invent what's gotten us to this point," said Bowen. "A lot of times teams will over-coach this moment. Often times when you do that, you end up getting outside of who you are what got you there."
And the same goes for preparing his team to play on one of New York high school football's biggest stages.
"We're gonna make sure that our guys are doing as much as we can [this week] from a traditional standpoint," said Bowen. "It's more just preparing them mentally for it, so that when we get there in the moment, it's not as daunting to them."
Schuylerville has looked the part of a state championship-caliber squad for much of the season. After losing their lone game of the year to Warrensburg/Lake George/Bolton back in Week 2, the Black Horses have won nine straight; their average margin of victory in those games is 41 points.
They took down Gouverneur in last Friday's Regional Final, and are hoping to carry the momentum that has snowballed throughout the season into Saturday.
"Since the Warrensburg game, we've definitely been rollin' with confidence," said senior quarterback/defensive back Ollie Bolduc. "I think that's what we live on with this group - just being confident in one another, trusting each other when we're in the game and knowing our assignments. Not many people get the opportunity to play in the state semis at Middletown, and we're grateful to do it. Hopefully we can come out with the win."
"Rolling confidence is what we need," added senior offensive lineman/linebacker Chase DeLisle. "We need to be able to trust the game plan and execute it. We gotta strive for perfection."
Kickoff from Middletown Saturday is set for noon.
