It was a warm sunny morning, the highs for the day were projected to be in the mid-80s; a perfect day for football.

The homecoming festivities kicked off in the back parking lot with food, live music, and students, faculty, and alumni ready and excited for the big football game against the Colonie Raiders at one o’clock. The annual parade was evidence of that excitement, as the students of Albany High filled the streets of North Main Street  and Western Avenue with chants of “Let’s Go Falcons” and “ALLLLLBANY” you could hear from the home turf.

As the game started there was an electric feeling in the stands. Students were on their feet screaming as loud as they could for their Albany Falcons, however those cheers quickly turned to silence as Albany was unable to move the ball offensively and get stops on the defensive end. On the other side, Colonie was able to completely control the line of scrimmage with a running game that seemed unstoppable.

By mid-afternoon, Colonie’s run defense constantly pushed the Falcons’ offensive line back. Unfortunately, struggles on the offensive side of the ball have hindered the Falcons’ success all season (with only 13 points scored after 4 games into the season).

Homecoming was more of the same; missing receivers and negative runs were the status quo in the 41-0 blowout. Students grew annoyed with the team’s run defense (which has been the team’s strong point), led by seniors Ayyub Ward and Zaeqwan Cancer. Unfortunately the defense wasn’t able to produce on Saturday.

The Falcons picked things up in the second half, getting in the backfield to force quarterback scrambles and punts, but this showing was too late, as the fate of the game had already been sealed.

With another eventful and fun homecoming in the books, the Falcons fell to 0-4, and with a home match up against Christian Brothers Academy awaiting them this week, the Falcons will look to get back to their early season defensive formula as well as finding a rhythm on offense.