Mustang Boys Kings of the Mountain vs. Adirondack

The Saratoga Mustangs Boys Super A's traveled to Saranac Lake on Saturday, May 10th, as the Adirondack Barkeaters hosted league play for the second time of this VYRA season. Last year's exhibition match was won by the Mustangs in a close one and the Barkeaters' coach expected a tight one this time around as well.
Up first on the day was the girls' match which kicked off at 11:00 am. As soon as the final whistle blew in that match, the boys hit the field. With the infamous Father as the referee, Saratoga received the initial kick at 12:40 pm. It wasn't but five minutes into the game that 8-man Mike Matrazzo (junior, BHBL) put the Mustangs' up 5-0, with a motivated run through traffic. The early portion of the game was predominately played in the pack, with the Mustangs on a slight advantage. With the gritty forwards play, loose head prop, Tyler Farrar (senior, BHBL) fought in for the Mustangs second try at the 18th minute of the first half.
After Saranac Lake came to within a try at 10-5 at the 26th minute, the Mustangs went back to the forwards, which were led by hearty scrum half, Matt Bynon (sophomore, BHBL) and his smart game management. As the forwards continued to win ruck after ruck, it was Bynon who came across the try line for the Mustangs' third and final score of the half.
At half time, the Mustangs made a few line-up changes but expected the much of the same play from the opponent. This was the case in the early portions of the second half and the forwards battled each other for possession. It wasn't until the Barkeaters' back line made a play for position did the scoring re-commence. Upon a mis-handled ball by the Mustangs fullback, the speedy Barkeaters sprinted onto the loose ball, and while playing the Sir's advantage, scored an uncontested try and cut the lead to 15-10 at the 20th minute of the half.
Play continued back and forth, with punishing hits being dealt by both sides. Rookies Chris Heckman (freshman, Ballston Spa), flanker, and Tony Penella (freshman, BHBL), wing, made some key tackles in the tightly contested second half. With these stops and some great poaching by the Mustangs, Saratoga kept riding the play and fast motor of Matrazzo who kept the team up from start to finish. Keeping the ball with the pack, Saratoga made it back into the scoring column as Bynon put his second try across the line at the 30th minute.
With Saratoga ahead in the waning minutes, they might have gotten a little complacent as the Barkeaters spread the ball wide and zipped down the sideline for a try. After the conversion, the Barkeaters found themselves trailing only 20-17 at the 34th minute. The Mustangs stayed focused, though, and reorganized themselves as they prevented any more scoring before the final whistle blew. In the end, it was Saratoga 20 - Adirondack 17. The game's man of the match was Matrazzo for his dedicated and unstoppable play throughout the match.