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Shaker High quarterback Jake Iacobaccio breaks a long run for a touchdown against Burnt Hills at Shaker High in Latham, N.Y., on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Jim Franco/Special to the Times Union)

Shaker High quarterback Jake Iacobaccio is hoisted in the air by Ryan Mazzariello after scoring a touchdown against Burnt Hills at Shaker High in Latham, N.Y., on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Jim Franco/Special to the Times Union)

Shaker High running back Porter Ninstant hits a hole on the way to a touchdown against Burnt Hills during a game at Shaker High School in Latham, N.Y., on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Jim Franco/Special to the Times Union)

Burnt Hills football coach Matt Shell during a game against Shaker High at Shaker on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Jim Franco / Special to the Times Union)

Shaker High receiver Sean Gilday catches a pass for a long gain in front of Burnt Hills defender Colden Swisher at Shaker High School in Latham, N.Y., on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Jim Franco/Special to the Times Union)

Shaker High running back Porter Ninstant fights for yardage against Burnt Hills defenders Justin Gray (No. 3) and Sean Cable at Shaker High School in Latham, N.Y., on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Jim Franco/Special to the Times Union)

Shaker High lineman Aidan Lafnitzegger gets a hand on a pass by Burnt Hills quarterback Tyler Manning at Shaker High School in Latham, N.Y., on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Jim Franco/Special to the Times Union)

Shaker High quarterback Jake Iacobaccio fights for yardage in front of Burnt Hills defender John Shea at Shaker High School in Latham, N.Y., on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Jim Franco/Special to the Times Union)

Shaker High football coach Greg Sheeler during the home opener against Burnt Hills on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Jim Franco/Special to the Times Union)

Burnt Hills running back Jaleel Joseph looks for running room against Shaker during a game at Shaker High School in Latham, N.Y., on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Jim Franco/Special to the Times Union)

Shaker High quarterback Jake Iacobaccio spots receiver Porter Ninstant during the home opener against Burnt Hills on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Jim Franco/Special to the Times Union)

Shaker High receiver Dwayne Newkirk catches a long touchdown pass against Burnt Hills at Shaker High School in Latham, N.Y., on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Jim Franco/Special to the Times Union)

The Burnt Hills cheerleaders cheer for their team against Shaker High during a game at Shaker High School in Latham, N.Y., on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Jim Franco/Special to the Times Union)

The Shaker High cheerleaders cheer for their team during the home opener against Burnt Hills on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Jim Franco/Special to the Times Union)

Shaker High had a huge student section for its home football opener against Burnt Hills on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Jim Franco/Special to the Times Union)

The Shaker football teams takes the field for its home opener against Burnt Hills on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Jim Franco/Special to the Times Union)

LATHAM — Two plays that appeared destined for failure Friday night turned into two of the signature plays made by quarterback Jake Iacobaccio in his first varsity start for the Shaker football team.

Twice during the first half, Iacabaccio had a pass rush closing in around him. The speedy sophomore turned potential losses into a pair of touchdown runs.

Iacobaccio also threw in an 87-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Newkirk and 185-pound junior defensive tackle Malachi Moore turned in a stellar showing on defense with four tackles for losses to go along with a sack as the Blue Bison posted a 28-7 victory over Burnt Hills.

Shaker and Burnt Hills both competed in sectional finals in Class AA and A, respectively, during a 2020 campaign contested during March and April of this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Friday, fans wore masks, but were in attendance to cheer on their teams. Shaker's student section had plenty to exult about during the first 24 minutes as Iacobaccio made a trio of monster plays.

Iacobaccio, who played varsity football for Christian Brothers Academy during the spring, opened the scoring on Shaker's second drive when he scrambled for a 46-yard touchdown run. He later followed his long touchdown strike to Newkirk with another scramble that he turned into a 45-yard touchdown scamper with 7:45 left in the first half as Shaker opened a 21-0 advantage.

"They just changed the whole tenor of the game," Burnt Hills coach Matt Shell said of Iacobaccio's two touchdown runs. "They played very good defense too, but they also had it going with the momentum."

Shaker coach Greg Sheeler echoed Shell's sentiments regarding Iacobaccio's impact.

"I thought those runs were huge," Sheeler said. "One of those runs was on a screen that Burnt Hills really defended well and he just improvised, broke a tackle and had some real good downfield blocks. Those are things we hoped he would bring to our offense, where he made something out of nothing."

"Honestly, I feel like they set the tone for the rest of the game," Moore said. "He got the rest of the team hyped and really took any doubts away."

"He's good. I watched him play (during the spring against us) when he was with CBA. We knew full well what he could do," Shell said of Iacobaccio. "He's a good athlete, a good runner and, obviously, he can make things happen. He is tough on a defense."

Moore registered his sack in the second quarter and also made two stops on runs behind the line of scrimmage in the first half. Burnt Hills (0-1, 0-0 Class A) did not register its opening first down until there were five minutes remaining in the first half.

Before practice started in August, Shaker lost standout lineman Ryan Stein and Anthony Schrom with season-ending injuries. Earlier in the week, the Blue Bison (1-0, 0-0 Class AA) suffered another injury up front as Justice Dupree went down and missed Friday's contest. The Blue Bison still managed to produce 381 yards on offense, including 282 yards in the opening half.

"This was a very important game for us. We wanted to set a good tone for the rest of the season," Moore said.

"Any time you beat a team like that, you are happy and you move on to next week," Sheeler said. "There are some things we have to improve upon, but they are fixable things."

Iacobaccio completed 6 of 11 passes for 154 yards and one touchdown. He added 94 yards on 13 carries rushing.

"He is going to have a bright career," Sheeler said of Iacobaccio.

Shaker senior running back Porter Ninstant, who had a 70-yard touchdown reception called back on a holding penalty, managed to find another path to the end zone with an electrifying 74-yard touchdown run on which he ran to the right, cut back to the middle and outraced the defense.

Moore had only one run and one reception on offense Friday, but he led a defense that limited the Spartans to 57 yards in the first half.

"He is a heck of a player, and one of our best running backs too," Sheeler said. "We went away from him on offense because he was playing so much defense."

Burnt Hills junior running back Luke Zoller, who had an interception on defense, scored on a 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

"I thought we did a lot of good things, but big plays hurt us," Shell said. "We needed some big plays on offense, but we just couldn't get them."

James Allen has covered Section II athletics since 1989. He also works as a broadcaster for local radio and television outlets. He joined the Times Union in 2006. He covers high school sports. Contact him at jallen@timesunion.com or 518-454-5062.