BURNT HILLS - The game was hanging in the balance Saturday afternoon and Login Tomlinson wanted some action headed his way on offense. The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake senior is a four-year varsity performer with the first three years spent playing linebacker, guard and kicker for the Spartans.
This season, Tomlinson donned the No. 44 after previously wearing No. 51. He doesn't start on offense, but he helped seal the win in a Class A showdown against Columbia.
With the score tied late in the fourth quarter and BH-BL attempting to take the lead, the Spartans countered Columbia's run-blitzing tactics with a play-action fake. Junior quarterback Tristan West found Tomlinson open in the flat and the 5-foot-10, 220-pound bulldozer rambled 52 yards for a touchdown as the Spartans posted a 22-15 victory over the Blue Devils.
"I have never scored. That was the first one," Tomlinson said. "I was pumped."
"We were grinding them. We wanted to keep doing it, but with a kid like Tristan back there, we trusted him," BH-BL coach Kevin DeBonis said. "We had to give that play a shot. I couldn't really see it. … We kind of went, 'Here you go, LT. Here is your chance.' He made it there somehow."
For Tomlinson, a Siena University lacrosse commit, it was just his second reception of the season. The Spartans (7-0 overall, 6-0 Class A), ranked No. 13 in the state, clinched a playoff berth after rallying from a 12-7 halftime deficit to hand Columbia (4-3, 4-3) its third consecutive defeat.
The Blue Devils forfeited to Troy in Week 5 and were overrun in the second half last week, falling 43-13 to Ballston Spa. Saturday, Columbia led 12-7 at halftime on the strength of a 5-yard touchdown run by Desmond White in the first quarter and an 82-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Connolly to Trey Pettograsso.
"We knew they were going to give us all they've got," said Tomlinson, who excelled at linebacker Saturday.
"It is the first time we've been down like that, especially at halftime," BH-BL junior running back Talon Immel said. "I am proud of the way our guys came back. ... Our counterpunch was hard."
Immel, who led the Spartans on the ground with 107 yards on 17 carries, helped put BH-BL ahead 15-12 with a 6-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Columbia tied the score with a 25-yard field goal by sophomore Carter LaGrave, capping a 20-play drive, but Tomlinson's heroics kept the Spartans undefeated on Homecoming Weekend and Seniors Day. Last year, BH-BL went 4-6 overall.
"I am proud of them," DeBonis said. "Last year, we had so many kids thrown into situations that they weren't ready for. We had so many injuries. They battled and were so close in many of the games we lost. This year, we get in matchups like this and they win. You have to go through games like this to believe in yourselves."
Key moment
The touchdown to Tomlinson was executed perfectly as the Blue Devils sent their linebackers in on a run blitz, which left the middle of the field open. West rolled to his right and he hit the senior with the ball near the Columbia 30. Tomlinson veered away from one defender and raced into the end zone for his first career touchdown.
"We had been practicing that play a bunch. We went to it once during the season and went back to it again," Immel said. "I am really happy we got to pull that one out."
Star of the game
On an afternoon when the Spartans used Immel and junior Huggins' running (seven carries for 89 yards), West completed 5 of 7 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns. The junior's first touchdown pass covered 29 yards to Michael Bies in the opening quarter. West rebounded from his first interception of the season, which Pettograsso snared along the sideline in the first quarter.
Numbers to know
- 334: Yards gained on offense by the Spartans over 33 plays.
- 98: Yards receiving for Pettograsso on three receptions.
- 47: Yards gained by Columbia over 20 plays on the drive that consumed more than 12 minutes and eventually tied the game at 15 following LaGrave's field goal.
What's next
- Columbia: The Blue Devils play their final Class A contest Friday at home vs. Mohonasen.
- Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake:
The latest chapter in a long-standing rivalry arrives Friday as the Spartans entertain Queensbury.
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There’s more to Albany with the Times Union. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Logan Tomlinson's first career touchdown rallies BH-BL football to win over Columbia.