8/31 Most Valuable Thoughts: Cazenovia/RFA Boys Soccer

Cazenovia 2, RFA 0

This one was a little more of a mystery for me. I walked into this one never having seen either squad play, just having a little knowledge about their programs in the past. Luckily, the rain held off just enough… it came down during warmups, but turned into a drizzle by game’s start and tapered off over the next few minutes. Standing in the rain for 2 hours wouldn’t have been a great look. Oh well, time to talk about what I saw.

Cazenovia looked like the class of the 2 squads early, putting a nice string together that nearly culminated in a goal over the first couple minutes. A Henry Mann header hit the top post and bounced down right in front of goal before the RFA keeper swarmed on it. However, RFA started to take that away over the last 20 minutes of the first half. They rarely generated opportunities, but they kept it on their half much more often. It looked like a typical first game – lack of communication, inability to string passes together and make good-looking opportunities, and some occasional bursts of ‘wow, can’t wait to see them in 3 weeks’ attached. We went to the half all knotted up at goose eggs. That didn’t last much longer. Kevin Porter was on the receiving end of a nice ball forward, and he rippled the net to start the scoring for Caz with 33:22 to go. Cazenovia started to gain more control once the first goal was scored, with RFA only getting chances off of a couple nice runs made by their striker throughout most of the rest of the way. With the score remaining at 1-0 though, anything could happen. At the 9:46 mark, Porter answered the bell again, putting one through to give them the insurance goal they wanted. RFA had the ball in their attacking 3^rd over the last couple minutes, but no attractive chances arose and the clock ran out on the Black Knights’ day. Great for Caz, not so good for RFA. The B beating the AA will look nice on the sectional points sheet – but the AA dropping one to the B isn’t so impressive. Caz is now 1-0, RFA 0-1.

It was somewhat even, but Cazenovia had a little bit of control, as shown by the MVT Rudolph stats that no one includes in the games. Caz had a slight (12-10) edge on shots, and even though the amount of SOG were the same, Caz obviously made better with their 4. Interesting stat: RFA had 12 goal kicks compared to Cazenovia’s 6. Doesn’t mean anything in itself, but what it shows is that Caz was the aggressor for most of the way, and they were able to push into the Black Knights’ attacking third more often. When you do that, good things happen… including 2-0 wins.

8/30 Most Valuable Thoughts: Fayetteville-Manlius @ Jamesville-Dewitt Girls Soccer

Jamesville-Dewitt 2, Fayetteville-Manlius 1

On Friday, I had the pleasure of making the trip from Utica to Syracuse and back… twice. Once was to get soaked watching Fall Out Boy at the State Fair, but the other was to catch a girls soccer opener between two squads looking to be contenders in their respective classes. I have my worries about how awful the first game of the year can look for teams, but this game wasn’t half-bad. Let’s get to it.

Fayetteville-Manlius, who returned some girls, but lost their leading goal-scorer from a team that lost in the AA final last season, started the game off strong. Good possession game and some crafty play from Alexis Muraco up top gave them some early control and scoring opportunities. However, they came up empty in this spurt, which may have come back to bite them. Jamesville-Dewitt, who made it all the way to the state final in A last year, needed some time to get going. They graduated Jessica Holmes (now at Boston College) and Maddy Devereaux (Hobart & William Smith), but still have many key pieces from last season intact. They looked a bit sluggish through the first 30 minutes, but were able to even up play late in the first half, generating some scoring opportunities and keeping pressure away from returning goalie Allison Butler. That being said, the game was still scoreless at half. It remained the same until the last 16 minutes… then that changed. Quickly. The Red Rams had knocked on the door a couple times in the previous few minutes before, and with 15:57 left, Paige Sherling did the honors for J-D, putting one through the pipes to open up the scoring. I barely had enough time to relax before the Hornets’ Rachel Dise made a pretty play around 3 J-D defenders and evened the score with 12:32 to go. But wait, we’re not done yet! Barely over a minute after that, Julia (not to be confused with Julie) Slisz played a pretty ball through on the left side to Allie Balotin, who poked it past F-M’s keeper to give J-D a 2-1 lead with 11:21 showing on the clock. Both teams had some daylight late, with the Hornets getting the last peppering in, but the score remained, and J-D picked up a nice opening W over a tough F-M squad. It just looked like the Hornets ran out of gas during a period of time where the Red Rams were firing away. J-D is now of course 1-0, and F-M is 0-1.

All-in-all, the game was pretty evenly matched, as depicted by the official stats no one cares about or includes in the games, aptly titled the MVT Rudolph stats. F-M attempted more shots (13-10), but more of J-D’s shots were on goal (7-4). Keeper stats were pretty much even – 5 F-M saves to 3 J-D, but 8 non-save keeper touches for J-D compared to 5 for F-M. Relatively evenly matched game that I wouldn’t mind seeing again later in the season!

The Pre-Cap: Herkimer & Remsen Boys Soccer

The Remsen/Herkimer boys soccer scrimmage this afternoon was exactly why you can't rely on scrimmages to tell you much. Final score? Herkimer 4, Remsen 1. Andrew Stilwell scored all 4 Magician goals, and Remsen's goal was with 35 seconds left. Sounds like Herkimer was the class of the field, right? But wait. Not for a second did Remsen play with 11 players. With only 10 active for today's outing (a few guys were missing some necessary individual practices in order to participate), it bounced back and forth between 11v10 and 11v9. It actually took me a while to figure it out because the discrepancy didn't make itself so clear until the 2nd half rolled around, when the Rams started to wear down. It was a game marred by sloppy play and poor possession game. However, each team did show some bright spots. Letter grades!

Herkimer: C. Looks like a wildly young team out there. I'd be surprised if more than 4 or 5 kids were older than sophomore year. This shows you there's some weakness and inexperience. However, they showed promising signs that they'll be able to connect on scoring opportunities this season. Something they had a problem with last season was connecting a head or foot to a solid cross. 3 of the 4 goals today came off of crosses into the box. Far from the quickest team. Brightest spot is sophomore GK Austin Perry. He came on strong last season, making a lot of beyond-freshman saves, and he did the same today. Made a couple diving stops early - that can be a nice little momentum shift when games roll around. It's nice to have a security blanket between the pipes like that. Won't be the best season for Herkimer, but look for them to have a stronger 2nd half of the season - once the youngins get their feet wet.

Remsen: D (Incomplete). I think it's obvious why the incomplete is there. Kinda tough to give a grade when you don't see 11 players on a field. The theory is brilliant. I saw a lot of things that I probably wouldn't have seen if there were 11 out there. Maybe those Herkimer crosses wouldn't have connected. Maybe they would've been able to string better possessions together. Maybe they wouldn't have been more tired than a fat kid that had to sprint a mile to the buffet. However, that's a lot of maybes, and I can't grade maybe. I can grade what I saw - which is only fair. They worked their way to some opportunities early, including a strong one that made Herkimer GK Austin Perry make a retreating dive to his right to prevent the ball from getting by. However, as the game went on, the whole being undermanned thing caught up to the Rams. Chances came less often, and getting back to protect the box became more inconsistent, where a skinny, yet taller Stilwell was able to clean house. Hopefully I'll see a better Ram team take the field in a few weeks when that roster turns from 10 to 15.


I'll be at Jamesville-Dewitt bright and early tomorrow morning for Fayetteville-Manlius/J-D girls soccer! Get ready for the first installment of Most Valuable Thoughts - Fall 2013 style.

The Pre-Cap: Herkimer, Holland Patent, Mt. Markham, Poland Girls Soccer

Got the chance to head to Herkimer this morning for a scrimmage featuring these 4 teams. You can guess what it was like - a lot of jitters, miscommunication, and a little bit of rust. Kids getting their feet back underneath them, playing against someone from a different school for the first time this year. There's only so much you can take from a setting like this. Also, since it's a scrimmage, score wasn't kept - not like there needed to be. Not a whole lot of scoring was done. The "low" scores were also affected by the short "games" - 30 minutes in length per game. I didn't see any team score more than 1 goal in a 30 minute sitting. That being said, we'll deliver some 1st scrimmage grades, as promised.

Poland - B+ (incomplete). There's a reason why the defending NYSPHSAA Class D champions were only at a B+, and it's the same reason they have an incomplete. Just didn't see the full squad. Not sure if they played, but didn't see Mikki Blumenstock (MVT Small School Girls Soccer Co-Player of the Year last year) or Paige Sullivan, their 2 best players in my opinion, out there. Didn't even see Paige anywhere. They were still the best of the 4 teams, from what I saw. However, having those two out there would've put them in a different league. Shiane Irwin has made progress from last year, stronger with the ball and asserting herself much more. She's a youngin too... their defense wasn't threatened much because they were able to possess the ball in the attacking half a lot. Just didn't put the ball in the net too much.

Holland Patent - B. They'll be alright. It looks like they still have Ellie Bortiatnyski, their leading goal-scorer last season. She's got a strong leg and she's strong. I didn't catch a whole lot of them - maybe only 20-25 total minutes. Looked a little jittery on the defensive end, but they play hard, which helps. They'll get better as the season goes on - looked like a lot of players in new spots, or groups of players on the field that weren't used to playing together. They'll be tougher in a month than they are now.

Mt. Markham - B-. The Mustangs are, again, a young group. Not the fastest on the defensive end, teams were getting chances on them. Not the strongest on the ball, but they are fast up top. What they don't have in strength, they have in stamina, and they work. Scored a goal on Herkimer just because they worked harder. Not sure what will come of their season, playing in the same league as teams such as Sauquoit, but there are some pieces there.

Herkimer - C+. Tied HP and lost 1-0 to the other 2. A senior-laden group that's played for a while, they communicate well and shut down lanes defensively. GK Chelsea Jory, however, got way more work than she probably should have. Didn't finish off plays on either end. Would shut down lane and then clear to an opposing player. Had many goal-scoring opportunities and only scored once. They will be tough if they can connect on some of these chances, because they did have many good runs. However, you can't win if you don't score.


We'll be back out tomorrow afternoon. Catch us on the road. Coming to a town near you!

5 Burning Questions - Section III Football

Football practice is well underway. Pads are on, shin splints are happening, locker rooms smell awful. Scrimmages are taking place this weekend, and Week 1 officially starts one week from Thursday. Comes up quick, doesn't it? Let's get the discussion underway, with my unknowing input in it.

1.) Will anyone have an answer for CBA this year?

They didn't last year. People make the public/private debate all the time, and I understand that. However, in this instance, I don't care. These boys were tough - and what I saw from them made me think that this year will just be the continuation of a stellar program that's been in the thick of things since the Greg Paulus days. They had no "heroes", just a lot of unsung ones. They weren't huge - they worked hard, had great end-to-end speed and a lot of weapons. I spent a little time on the Brothers' sideline in their AA semifinal, and the coaches run their squad like an NFL team. No huge celebrations, everyone takes accountability for their actions. It was a joy to watch. There will be some stiff competition in AA, though. We'll have to see how it pans out.

2.) Is there another Tyler Rouse out there?

Baldwinsville (now Boston College) running back Tyler Rouse had a season legends are made of last year - a couple first downs short of a 3,000 yard season on the ground and 40+ TDs. That's kinda like that person at the talent show who is the first act and kills it - good luck following that act. I'm not sure if I can see anyone have that kind of season, but if anyone does it, it'll be Naes Howard. West Genny's all-everything back has already committed to the hometown favorite, Syracuse. With that done, it's football time. 3,000 yards and 40 TDs might be lofty, but I wouldn't be surprised to see nearly 2,500 yards out of this explosively quick-for-his-size back.

3.) How many sectional champs will repeat?

Just as a reminder, defending sectional champs are CBA (AA), Nottingham (A), Cazenovia (B), Skaneateles (overall C), and Sandy Creek (D). CBA is CBA. Nottingham lost some impact players, such as their QB and RB, Marty Clanton and Derrick Gore. Cazenovia lost 2nd team all-stater Jake Wilson, but the only other team that was Caz good in B last year, Chittenango, lost much more. Skaneateles lost MVT small school football player of the year Conor Herr, but a capable Tyler Parr replaces him... and they still have playmakers. Sandy Creek has a lot coming back, and a lot of motivation after the beatdown they took at ES-M to Tioga... but C-2 champ Herkimer is now in D, with the vast majority of their impact players (QB Austin Mills, RBs Matt Borek & Ryan Fahy) back.

MVT Picks - CBA repeats in AA, Cazenovia repeats in B, Skaneateles repeats in C. Nottingham falls short in A, Sandy Creek falls short in D.

4.) Will Skaneateles be a team that won a sectional championship, or a program that maintains dominance?

 They had the Green debacle 2 years ago on a team that dominated. Last year, they atoned for it with a sectional championship where no one could question its legitimacy. They had a team that rolled its way through the Class C schedule in Section III, led by QB Conor Herr, now at Ithaca. Tyler Parr will replace him, who got some snaps last year during blowouts, along with extended action in a game where Herr went down with an injury. He's got some game. They've got some playmakers on the outside for Parr to work with, and a tough line again. I think I can answer this one with two words - look out.

5.) What should we expect in D now that Herkimer joined the party?

Haven't heard a whole lot of talk about this, and I don't know why. I don't work closely with Herkimer athletics anymore, so it's not like I'm a homer mentioning this, but after watching Herkimer play a lot last year and catching some of Sandy Creek, WCV, & Westmoreland's games last year... I feel like you have to make the Magicians a prohibitive favorite in D. WCV has an upstart program. Westmoreland has savvy smarts. Sandy Creek has The Buffet Award, a massive O-Line that uses brute force and controls the trenches, and John Shirley behind them to wreak havoc, a bit of a bully on the field himself. However, Herkimer has size, the best end-to-end speed in D, the best passing attack in D, one of the top 3 backs in Matt Borek, and arguably the top QB in Austin Mills. Not to mention they've been there before, winning the overall C title 2 years ago and winning the C-2 title before losing to Skaneateles at the Carrier Dome last year. With a bitter taste in their mouth and guys who have been around for both of those seasons, I'd be surprised if they didn't take the Class D title come November.


You know I'll be around at plenty of games this season. Give us a shout, let us know you're listening! We'll see you on the field.

- Jeff Mlinar

Welcome Back!

                What’s going on, world? After a spring and summer away, MVT will be making a comeback for the 2013 fall sports season. If you enjoyed us last year, we’re looking to build upon what we started then. If you’re new, welcome aboard! Our goal is to be the Wal-Mart of high school sports reporting – your one-stop shop. We aim to cover everything in our home section (Section 3) along with our neighbors to the east, Section 2. Also, we are planning on building upon that, breaking into local collegiate games, along with national college & professional discussion and banter, bringing you guys into the talk. It’s not your average reporting – try scores and banter with a comedic, cynical twist. You’ll come to see that this may tick people off from time to time, which isn’t the intent, but it’s what we do best and what makes us love it. One thing we can promise: if you like sports, and if you don’t get your panties in a bunch over some jokes, you’ll love us!

Same commentary, same premise, same guys running the show, but we will be making some changes as to how we run this thing. Last year, as you were aware if you were following us, MVT was very Twitter-based. This included a rundown of every football, soccer, field hockey, and basketball game in Section 2 and 3 (or as many as we could). That meant a lot of tweeting, a.k.a. your timelines being bombarded. The tweets will still be there – but it won’t be as wild. You have options as to how to get scores to us this year. They are the following:

·         Tweet it to us @Section3MVT. Make sure you tag us in it, also tagging goal-scorers, point scorers, TDs, or any pertinent stats and info. We will RT the tweet.

·         Direct message it to us – with the same info. We’ll tweet it.

·         *New* TEXT in your scores. Unless specified otherwise, the text line will be (315) 360-2730. Give us whatever info is necessary, and it will be posted.

As you can see, there are a solid number of options to report your scores. If we don’t get a report or at least a final, there won’t be a post.

Next order of business. We aren’t going to drift away from high school sports by any means – but we’d like to introduce some college/professional talk and banter, and open up the communication lines to all of you. If we’re posting about something, we want to hear your thoughts, your reactions, whether it’s about the topic (preferably) or the post. Each week, there will be an article put up on the new website (more information in the next paragraph), spearheaded by MVTer Robert Drumm. It’ll be on any topic in the “beyond high-school” scope – from who Johnny Manziel is taking pictures with to thoughts on the Jerry Jones saga, from who A-Rod is giving his phone number to instant replay in sports, anything that’s big at the time. It’s not just us talk and you listen. We want to hear your reaction. If there’s a comment box with the post, feel free to comment. If not (or you could do this anyway), tweet your thoughts to us! We may also break out an MVTT (Most Valuable Twitter Topic), a.k.a. a Topic of the Week for Twitter. We spit it out, then we let you guys do the debate! Fun stuff.

Finally, the new website. This is a game-changer. Last year, we had a site (section3mvt.wordpress.com), and it did have a good number of posts. However, we were probably 95% Twitter & 5% website. This year, we want to make that as close to 50/50 as we can. We’ll be at games again – the Twitter live updating will again be spearheaded by me, MVTer Jeff Mlinar. A game article will be posted on the site within 24 hours of the end of the game. As time permits, other articles, poll questions, etc. will be posted on the site. May have links to pictures, maybe even a podcast…? We’ll see! THE LINK TO THE WEBSITE WILL BE COMING SOON. WE’LL POST IT ON EVERYTHING WE HAVE ONCE IT’S READY TO GO.

We’re open to your suggestions. Let us know what you want! We’ll see y’all August 30 for the soccer kickoff. Let’s get it!