Okay, quick rundown. Ready, go.
Girls Soccer
Clinton vs. Westhill (at Chittenango) - Two traditional powers that always seem to end up around here. Both teams have been ranked highly all year, and you always expect a good one. That being said, Westhill is tough, they do not let you score, and they score enough to feel comfortable. I think Jayanna Monds, Kelly Lippert and Co. will move on to meet Lowville in the final, 3-1.
Beaver River vs. Bishop Grimes (at Fulton) - Bishop Grimes has been the #1 team in the state in Class C alllll year long. The Beavers - or the Orange Crush - are no strangers to getting deep into sectionals, but they're running into a buzzsaw. Grimes has been motivated all year after last year's heartbreak, they also don't let anyone score, and Kennedy Yearby is an animal. I'll say 3-1 in this too, Cobras.
Sackets Harbor vs. Poland (at Lowville) - Sackets is the Cinderella of the tournament this year, knocking off #5 Oriskany and #4 Morrisville-Eaton to get to the semis. With all due respect to Oriskany and an injury-depleted Morrisville team, they're not Poland. I continue to underrate the Frontier, but there is no beating the Tornadoes unless the Patriots play a very physical brand of soccer and get Poland out of their comfort zone. I think Poland advances, 4-0.
Remsen vs. Copenhagen (at Lowville) - Remsen is getting hot at the right time. The 6 seed certainly had talent beyond their seeding, but things hadn't fully panned out for them. Senior and long-time varsity stud Joleen Marfone hadn't been producing nearly as much offensively this year.. ya know, until sectionals. She had 13 goals & 9 assists in the regular season, and has put through 7 goals & 3 assists in two sectional matches. If Marfone keeps up the high rate we know she can perform at, and Elisha Hamilton, Hailey Murray and others keep up their pace, Remsen and their youth (5 seniors, with leading scorer Hamilton being a sophomore and GK Woolheater a freshman) can pull it off. Copenhagen has a great talent in Claire Stackel, and Emma Roberts & Maci Spaulding compliment her very well. By the way, they're all back next year. 2 are juniors, Spaulding's a sophomore. If they score early, they'll win. However, I'm picking against the Frontier again as I think Remsen's just a team that no one wants to bump up against right now. 2-1 final for the Ewes.
Boys Soccer
Jamesville-Dewitt vs. Indian River (at Watertown) - For some reason, there's been a lot of crap-talking on social media about this one. Same with the ESM game before. The larger Frontier schools have shown they're not quite as strong as the OHSL this year, but I think Indian River is an exception. The top seed will move on in what's nearly a home game for them, 3-2.
General Brown vs. Cazenovia (at Fulton) - Caz has shown dominance in Class B this year, and I think that continues tonight. Their quickness up top mixed with strength is too much for General Brown to overcome. Although it's been a nice season for GB, giving the crowd another option besides football, it ends tonight. 3-1 Lakers.
Clinton vs. Skaneateles (at Chittenango) - Can't get much better of a semifinal matchup. It's an evenly matched game, but I think Gavin Gleasman and company have been this far too many times without closing the deal. It changes tonight. There won't be 2 Lakers moving on, as Clinton eeks out a 2-1 victory.
Fabius-Pompey vs. Manlius Pebble Hill (at Chittenango) - These two start off the tripleheader at Chittenango tonight. They split the season series with Fabius-Pompey winning more convincingly in their game, buuut throw all that out the window now that we're at the sectional semis. Gerrit Church has been on a roll lately, and I'll take his MPH squad to hold off Fabius-Pompey just enough on defense in a 2-1 W.. maybe OT needed.
Hamilton vs. Watertown IHC (at Liverpool) - Hamilton's another team hot at the right time... and they drew a pretty favorable schedule. They beat Westmoreland and top-seeded Sauquoit - both league opponents, and Hamilton had already just beaten Sauquoit - to get here. IHC is always tough in sectionals because of playing against As and Bs all year and dropping to lower classes in the postseason. Hamilton's not afraid of the moment, but I'll roll with the Cavaliers 2-0.
Alexandria Bay vs. Sackets Harbor (at Lowville) - Who had a 14/7 semifinal in their bracket this year? Props to you, dawg. Truthfully speaking, I think the only thing that could stop the Purple Ghosts' magical run through this postseason is another Frontier squad that knows them. After Alexandria Bay knocked off 3rd seeded Bishop Ludden and 6 seed Old Forge, I think it comes to an end at the hands of a Sackets Harbor squad that pulled an upset of 2nd seeded Owen D. Young to get here. Sackets went 2 for 2 in the regular season, and I'm voting for them to go 3 for 3 in a 4-2 win.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
I Smell A Skunk
It appears that the Whitehall BOE is living up to their moniker, railroading head varsity football coach Justin Culligan out of the position. Just a ho-hum day of power hungry individuals holding onto old-time glory. A story like this shakes me to the core. I get the feels over it. Why? Well... I've been through it.
I'll give you the background. I coached basketball for a year - girls basketball, modified girls basketball - at a Class C school. If you know me, you know what school. I'm young, but an old-fashioned type of guy whose two favorite things in life are basketball and winning. I can be difficult - but they're 7th & 8th graders, so I toned it back quite a bit. There were issues right off the bat. Some parents enjoyed having me as the new hire. Others didn't like it because I was so young (21, after an ankle injury that put me out 11 months kind of ended my college hoops days). Others did like that I was young because they thought they'd be able to influence my decisions - I don't play that game, though. We had A & B level teams instead of 7th & 8th grade. I could have an 8th grader on the Bs (which I did), I could have a 7th grader on the As (I had 3). One 7th grader missed the first day of practice because they didn't hand in their paperwork to our athletic director. I didn't pull her up right away simply because I hadn't seen enough of her yet to be confident in that decision. Of course, one of her parents called the school. This person is well-connected with the school's BOE, along with being the vice principal of a much larger school district in the area. Asked for a meeting with me, got his meeting. I stated why she wasn't moved up right away (guess what? I was moving her up anyway) but he still felt the need to go off about it. Talked about lack of communication - ask the people who played in the King of Kings College Prospect Division this summer. I'm such a good communicator, it's friggin' annoying. Just wanted to let his presence be felt. Oh well. The season goes on, and we're good. I mean, we're a Class C school whose only loss is to a Class A, while beating two Class Bs, another Class A, and a Class AA in the process. Kids were having fun, getting better noticeably, responding well - not much to complain about, or so I thought. A particular game happens that a (larger) school almost comes back to beat us - my squad won by 1. This is modified girls basketball, remember. The other coach and I had an agreement that we wouldn't play our starters in the 2nd & 4th quarters because she had so many kids on her team to filter in. Well, someone directs me to the wonderful website Topix the next day, where people feel their opinion matters. I'm getting blasted. Oh, this guy doesn't know what he's doing. Oh, he's just like the varsity coach who sucks. Oh, he doesn't play my kid enough. Oh, he gives everyone equal playing time. People, shut the hell up. (Enter town name here) - where you'll find a 25 comment post about a girls modified basketball coach and playing time.
The team had an interesting dynamic. Half of the players on this A team - my best players - either came from old-fashioned homes, where if the kid comes home complaining about practice being hard, the parent says 'you probably deserved it', or they came from broken homes. The other half was a VP's kid, the basketball booster club president's kid, the school superintendent secretary's kid, the kid of a neighboring district's superintendent... you get my drift. Tensions were rising. The pampered crew didn't get their own way, and it was killing them. A game we had late in the season got chippy. I almost picked up a technical foul due to the reckless abandon the game was being played with. Gotta defend the kids, right? Well, late in the game there was a hard foul and one of my players on the bench (one of the more fortunate ones) yelled 'punch her in the face!'. I quickly turned around, told her to sit down, pulled her aside and said we don't condone that type of stuff. She's an 8th grader, of course she cried a little bit. Ohhh boy. It was a lynch mob after the game was over. I had 5 parents walk over... all the privileged ones, and of course two were related (yeeeehaw!). All of them started yelling. One gave me a little shove. I would've knocked his ass out if we weren't somewhere with kids around. I refrained. I very quickly stated my case, but for the most part, I let them run their mouths to build mine. I was calling the athletic director right after. The AD was on my side all the way - he said he'd handle it.
Unfortunately, this well-connected group of parents went to board members. There was a board member who apparently walked into school the next morning saying that he wouldn't leave until I was fired. I don't know what happened, but this much I know: the superintendent of the neighboring district (who was not at the game) went to lunch with the school's interim superintendent that day. When the interim came back, I was immediately put on administrative leave. Smell fishy to you? Yeah. At this school, whenever someone gets put on leave, there automatically has to be a case put together and presented to the 'review board'. The AD puts the case together. Thank God the AD is like me - not part of the clique. He did a wonderful job, interviewing unbiased people who were at the game and have been around at different parts of the season. Officials, opposing coaches and athletic directors. I had parents - the good parents - calling me and saying they'd back me up in whatever way possible. Thank God for them. The others? Well, they never had the balls to say something to my face again. I have to them, and I would again. The AD interviewed 16 people, with not a bad word said, according to him. When the case was presented in its entirety, they had no choice but to reinstate me. It was proven I had done nothing wrong. A board member was on the record saying that me being put on leave was 'bullshit' and 'there were things that were withheld' from them at the start.
That was great, I beat the case. It marred our otherwise phenomenal season, where the B team improved drastically from beginning to end and the A team had more success than they've ever had. It marred their outlook on basketball season when their last game had to be cancelled. It put a bad taste in my mouth for my first actual coaching experience. Weeks after I was reinstated, I was offered the JV coaching job. I politely turned it down. I want nothing to do with that district anymore. I don't care about coaching there after they tried to run me out as a method of laughing in their face. This past year, I was offered the varsity job. I turned it down. I even was offered an assistant coaching job at the local college for men's and women's basketball. Yeah, your modified coach that you tried to can could've been a college assistant within a year & a half of the incident. I may have taken that if I stayed in the area, but I moved, so I turned it down. I'm cool with not coaching - I'm too young to deal with the headaches of parents and the board of education politics. I just run the leagues that the best high school players in upstate New York play in as a 23 year old.
So, that brings me back around to Whitehall. I think we all know the situation. Coach Justin Culligan was initially not brought back for his coaching position this year because there was a movement to bring the old (really old) coach back around for Whitehall's 100th season. Nostalgia? Second coming of the big man Jesus Christ himself? Did he coach Whitehall in its 1st season as a football program? Who knows. After a community uproar, the decision was reversed and he was back. They really didn't want him back though, as this showed. Two days after a fight and consistent overly angry play forced officials to call a game between Whitehall & Rensselaer a couple weeks back, the board unanimously voted to can Culligan, the head coach. Mind you, the assistant coach was accused of tackling & choking a kid on the opposing team, but he's fine. Due process. The head coach who had the three Cs down pat compared to the others? Oh he's the three Cs alright; canned, canned, & canned. After even stronger community upheaval, a board meeting where they already had their minds made up to hold their decision regardless of what anyone said, and a week of beating around the proverbial bush, they came out with a 'reason' today. I quote reason because it's more of an excuse. They say they canned him over swearing. Cursing. Use of profane language. Ya know, something that every varsity football coach does? Every varsity coach, basically? Every football coach? I've heard Pop Warner coaches curse at kids.
I don't condone that. I'm just saying.
First off, if that's the actual absurd reason, then why not say it right off the bat? Second, do you realize that none of us are buying your sack of crap? I think the only people that believe the Whitehall BOE & superintendent's released excuse are the washed brains of the Whitehall BOE & superintendent. Remember, I've been through this before. I can smell a skunk, and there's some stinky shit going on here.
Even Mr. Krabs smells it. We can all tell you it's the sweet smell of bullshit. I'm sure the Whitehall Board of Education will never read this, and there may never be someone from Whitehall that does (although I hope they do). I've never made it up there for a game, I've never watched them play. Hell, I've never been there at all. Like I said, there's a certain agenda that the powers that be in Whitehall want to follow, and a football season - the 100th football season, and as I'm well-aware, some senior years that people from small schools treasure so dearly throughout life - that are marred because of it. Not to mention that a coach, apparently a good one considering the program's success now, is out of a coaching job. But apparently this doesn't go on his permanent file. Why? They say it's not bad enough. Well, no shit. Of course it isn't. He didn't do anything. The real reason is because they hope there will be no evidence of the putridity of all this down the road. They don't want to be remembered for the idiocy of all this. So how about we just don't put anything on paper and try to sweep it under the rug?
Long story short, this is one big case of a few things:
1.) How not to handle a situation if you're a school adminstrator
2.) Why many people, young and old alike, now hesitate to get into coaching in the amateur ranks
3.) People are smarter than administrators in general like to think - they can read through BS
4.) How about the boom of social media? This is a tiny town, and all of NYS and western VT know about this.
Last but not least, this is just the latest in an alarmingly growing amount of cases where a coach pisses off the wrong person in one way or another, and they lose their job over it. It happened in my area with Coach Casale at Mt. Markham, Byron Abraham at Notre Dame, me kinda... It's happened other places. Coach Bennett at C-NS, one of the winningest softball coaches you'll find. Coach Al Knapp, one of the most decorated basketball coaches in NYS history, got out of it because of parents and the influence they can have. Well, Florida was a nice reason too. Add Justin Culligan to the list. And like always, everything the Whitehall Board of Education and superintendent presented over the last 10 days was a crock of shit. I swore a few times in this... are you firing me first or can I just walk out?
I'll give you the background. I coached basketball for a year - girls basketball, modified girls basketball - at a Class C school. If you know me, you know what school. I'm young, but an old-fashioned type of guy whose two favorite things in life are basketball and winning. I can be difficult - but they're 7th & 8th graders, so I toned it back quite a bit. There were issues right off the bat. Some parents enjoyed having me as the new hire. Others didn't like it because I was so young (21, after an ankle injury that put me out 11 months kind of ended my college hoops days). Others did like that I was young because they thought they'd be able to influence my decisions - I don't play that game, though. We had A & B level teams instead of 7th & 8th grade. I could have an 8th grader on the Bs (which I did), I could have a 7th grader on the As (I had 3). One 7th grader missed the first day of practice because they didn't hand in their paperwork to our athletic director. I didn't pull her up right away simply because I hadn't seen enough of her yet to be confident in that decision. Of course, one of her parents called the school. This person is well-connected with the school's BOE, along with being the vice principal of a much larger school district in the area. Asked for a meeting with me, got his meeting. I stated why she wasn't moved up right away (guess what? I was moving her up anyway) but he still felt the need to go off about it. Talked about lack of communication - ask the people who played in the King of Kings College Prospect Division this summer. I'm such a good communicator, it's friggin' annoying. Just wanted to let his presence be felt. Oh well. The season goes on, and we're good. I mean, we're a Class C school whose only loss is to a Class A, while beating two Class Bs, another Class A, and a Class AA in the process. Kids were having fun, getting better noticeably, responding well - not much to complain about, or so I thought. A particular game happens that a (larger) school almost comes back to beat us - my squad won by 1. This is modified girls basketball, remember. The other coach and I had an agreement that we wouldn't play our starters in the 2nd & 4th quarters because she had so many kids on her team to filter in. Well, someone directs me to the wonderful website Topix the next day, where people feel their opinion matters. I'm getting blasted. Oh, this guy doesn't know what he's doing. Oh, he's just like the varsity coach who sucks. Oh, he doesn't play my kid enough. Oh, he gives everyone equal playing time. People, shut the hell up. (Enter town name here) - where you'll find a 25 comment post about a girls modified basketball coach and playing time.
The team had an interesting dynamic. Half of the players on this A team - my best players - either came from old-fashioned homes, where if the kid comes home complaining about practice being hard, the parent says 'you probably deserved it', or they came from broken homes. The other half was a VP's kid, the basketball booster club president's kid, the school superintendent secretary's kid, the kid of a neighboring district's superintendent... you get my drift. Tensions were rising. The pampered crew didn't get their own way, and it was killing them. A game we had late in the season got chippy. I almost picked up a technical foul due to the reckless abandon the game was being played with. Gotta defend the kids, right? Well, late in the game there was a hard foul and one of my players on the bench (one of the more fortunate ones) yelled 'punch her in the face!'. I quickly turned around, told her to sit down, pulled her aside and said we don't condone that type of stuff. She's an 8th grader, of course she cried a little bit. Ohhh boy. It was a lynch mob after the game was over. I had 5 parents walk over... all the privileged ones, and of course two were related (yeeeehaw!). All of them started yelling. One gave me a little shove. I would've knocked his ass out if we weren't somewhere with kids around. I refrained. I very quickly stated my case, but for the most part, I let them run their mouths to build mine. I was calling the athletic director right after. The AD was on my side all the way - he said he'd handle it.
Unfortunately, this well-connected group of parents went to board members. There was a board member who apparently walked into school the next morning saying that he wouldn't leave until I was fired. I don't know what happened, but this much I know: the superintendent of the neighboring district (who was not at the game) went to lunch with the school's interim superintendent that day. When the interim came back, I was immediately put on administrative leave. Smell fishy to you? Yeah. At this school, whenever someone gets put on leave, there automatically has to be a case put together and presented to the 'review board'. The AD puts the case together. Thank God the AD is like me - not part of the clique. He did a wonderful job, interviewing unbiased people who were at the game and have been around at different parts of the season. Officials, opposing coaches and athletic directors. I had parents - the good parents - calling me and saying they'd back me up in whatever way possible. Thank God for them. The others? Well, they never had the balls to say something to my face again. I have to them, and I would again. The AD interviewed 16 people, with not a bad word said, according to him. When the case was presented in its entirety, they had no choice but to reinstate me. It was proven I had done nothing wrong. A board member was on the record saying that me being put on leave was 'bullshit' and 'there were things that were withheld' from them at the start.
That was great, I beat the case. It marred our otherwise phenomenal season, where the B team improved drastically from beginning to end and the A team had more success than they've ever had. It marred their outlook on basketball season when their last game had to be cancelled. It put a bad taste in my mouth for my first actual coaching experience. Weeks after I was reinstated, I was offered the JV coaching job. I politely turned it down. I want nothing to do with that district anymore. I don't care about coaching there after they tried to run me out as a method of laughing in their face. This past year, I was offered the varsity job. I turned it down. I even was offered an assistant coaching job at the local college for men's and women's basketball. Yeah, your modified coach that you tried to can could've been a college assistant within a year & a half of the incident. I may have taken that if I stayed in the area, but I moved, so I turned it down. I'm cool with not coaching - I'm too young to deal with the headaches of parents and the board of education politics. I just run the leagues that the best high school players in upstate New York play in as a 23 year old.
So, that brings me back around to Whitehall. I think we all know the situation. Coach Justin Culligan was initially not brought back for his coaching position this year because there was a movement to bring the old (really old) coach back around for Whitehall's 100th season. Nostalgia? Second coming of the big man Jesus Christ himself? Did he coach Whitehall in its 1st season as a football program? Who knows. After a community uproar, the decision was reversed and he was back. They really didn't want him back though, as this showed. Two days after a fight and consistent overly angry play forced officials to call a game between Whitehall & Rensselaer a couple weeks back, the board unanimously voted to can Culligan, the head coach. Mind you, the assistant coach was accused of tackling & choking a kid on the opposing team, but he's fine. Due process. The head coach who had the three Cs down pat compared to the others? Oh he's the three Cs alright; canned, canned, & canned. After even stronger community upheaval, a board meeting where they already had their minds made up to hold their decision regardless of what anyone said, and a week of beating around the proverbial bush, they came out with a 'reason' today. I quote reason because it's more of an excuse. They say they canned him over swearing. Cursing. Use of profane language. Ya know, something that every varsity football coach does? Every varsity coach, basically? Every football coach? I've heard Pop Warner coaches curse at kids.
I don't condone that. I'm just saying.
First off, if that's the actual absurd reason, then why not say it right off the bat? Second, do you realize that none of us are buying your sack of crap? I think the only people that believe the Whitehall BOE & superintendent's released excuse are the washed brains of the Whitehall BOE & superintendent. Remember, I've been through this before. I can smell a skunk, and there's some stinky shit going on here.
Even Mr. Krabs smells it. We can all tell you it's the sweet smell of bullshit. I'm sure the Whitehall Board of Education will never read this, and there may never be someone from Whitehall that does (although I hope they do). I've never made it up there for a game, I've never watched them play. Hell, I've never been there at all. Like I said, there's a certain agenda that the powers that be in Whitehall want to follow, and a football season - the 100th football season, and as I'm well-aware, some senior years that people from small schools treasure so dearly throughout life - that are marred because of it. Not to mention that a coach, apparently a good one considering the program's success now, is out of a coaching job. But apparently this doesn't go on his permanent file. Why? They say it's not bad enough. Well, no shit. Of course it isn't. He didn't do anything. The real reason is because they hope there will be no evidence of the putridity of all this down the road. They don't want to be remembered for the idiocy of all this. So how about we just don't put anything on paper and try to sweep it under the rug?
Long story short, this is one big case of a few things:
1.) How not to handle a situation if you're a school adminstrator
2.) Why many people, young and old alike, now hesitate to get into coaching in the amateur ranks
3.) People are smarter than administrators in general like to think - they can read through BS
4.) How about the boom of social media? This is a tiny town, and all of NYS and western VT know about this.
Last but not least, this is just the latest in an alarmingly growing amount of cases where a coach pisses off the wrong person in one way or another, and they lose their job over it. It happened in my area with Coach Casale at Mt. Markham, Byron Abraham at Notre Dame, me kinda... It's happened other places. Coach Bennett at C-NS, one of the winningest softball coaches you'll find. Coach Al Knapp, one of the most decorated basketball coaches in NYS history, got out of it because of parents and the influence they can have. Well, Florida was a nice reason too. Add Justin Culligan to the list. And like always, everything the Whitehall Board of Education and superintendent presented over the last 10 days was a crock of shit. I swore a few times in this... are you firing me first or can I just walk out?
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
The Magic Conch: Section 3, October 28
Straight semifinal action now! Just a pair of boys semis, one in Class A & one in D, but the girls take the stage as 60% of the finalists will be determined by tonight, including both finalists in Class AA & A. Who do I like tonight?
Boys Soccer
Fulton vs. Marcellus (at Liverpool) - Marcellus has done just fine with the move up to Class A this year. After kind of a shaky start, they've won 7 of their last 8. Fulton's had a nice run so far as the 7 seed, winning a pair of games against Utica area teams to get this far. The 2nd was against previously undefeated 2 seed VVS. Both squads are clustered in the scoring column, with no one dominating the load. The leading scorer between the two squads has 8 goals. Both teams improved against competition as the season went on, but Marcellus is slightly better against common opponents. Maybe that's why they're the higher side. I'll pick the 6 seed to advance to finals in a 3-2 game.
Cincinnatus @ Copenhagen - The Class D bracket has been wild... at least on one side. This top half has been all chalk, with this being a 1/4 semifinal. Cincy may be the 4 seed, but losing isn't in their DNA - just 1 loss on the season. Common opponent (McGraw) shows they have every shot of winning this game. However, I've clearly shown that I've understated the Frontier Ds this year. The other quarterfinal - a 14/7 matchup - features Frontier teams that knocked out 3rd seeded Bishop Ludden, 6th seeded Old Forge, and 2nd seeded Owen D. Young. Copenhagen handled both of these teams easily. This might be the best game left in the Class D bracket, and I pick the winner of this to be a big favorite in the finals, but I'll give it to Copenhagen by the slightest of margins. 3-2 final, and they might need extra time to do it.
Girls Soccer
West Genesee @ Cicero-North Syracuse (at CBA) - The CNYCL has been competitive all year long, with the difference in opponents not being too great. The Northstars have the top seed because of how dominant they've been on the defensive end, and they'll ride to the finals in a 2-0 W.
Liverpool vs. Baldwinsville (at CBA) - They split the season series - Liverpool winning 1-0, Baldwinsville winning 2-0 in OT - so this should be another beaut. The Bees have won 12 of 13 since starting 2-2, and Liverpool hasn't taken a loss since Baldwinsville a day short of a month ago. This one's a dead heat, and I'll roll with Liverpool by a nose... or an Ore Akinpelu boot. 1-0 final.
Whitesboro vs. Jamesville-Dewitt (at Chittenango) - Don't they always play each other in sectionals? Don't they always play in Chittenango? I've watched J-D win the finals in this scenario more than once. It's the semis now, and each of these teams just seems to retool. A couple years ago, J-D and their high D1 recruit (Jess Holmes, who moved on to Boston College) beat Whitesboro and theirs (Ashley Williams, who took her next step to Syracuse). Now it's Paige Sherling and company against Mariah Williams - Ashley's sister, a UAlbany Great Dane commit. Whitesboro has the best player in Williams, J-D has the best team. 2-1 Red Ewes.
East Syracuse Minoa vs. Marcellus (at Liverpool) - Marcellus girls have also handled the jump to A just fine, and I think they'll also advance to the finals. ES-M made it to the finals from the 7 seed last year, so they have this whole 7th seed thing down. For the 2nd straight year, they beat a 10 and a 2 to get to the semis. I don't think they'll beat the 3 this time. Belvito & Co. know how to win - that's all they do, and I've got them advancing with a 3-1 victory.
Cazenovia vs. Lowville (at Camden) - You had to give me the hard one, didn't you? Cazenovia has firepower up front, Lowville doesn't let anyone score.. pretty much literally. Caz has a pair of players with 20+ goals on the season, with Audrey Burbidge near the top of the section at 34. They've lost 3 games - which is as many games lost as goals given up by Lowville. I get it, I know, I don't give the North Country much love. They're proving me wrong this year. I'm going to do it again, though. Lowville is traditionally strong but they haven't bumped up against the type of offense that Cazenovia has, and with them being a team that isn't the most adept scoring squad, a couple Laker goals can mean a big problem. I'll take Caz, 2-1.
Sauquoit vs. Tully (at Chittenango) - The problem with choosing winners in semifinals is they're so damn hard to pick. There's a reason teams get this far generally. Sauquoit tends to play to the level of their competition. They don't blow bad teams out, but they beat really good teams. Tully tends to be in go mode, and they're tough defensively. The Indians have firepower up front with Jenna Mazza, Nakeya Stedman, and Elma Sarajlija (40 goals between them, and Mazza has 16 assists as well), more than anything Tully has seen. They're certainly a little more used to the moment too - tough one, but I'll take the 3 seed 3-2.
Boys Soccer
Fulton vs. Marcellus (at Liverpool) - Marcellus has done just fine with the move up to Class A this year. After kind of a shaky start, they've won 7 of their last 8. Fulton's had a nice run so far as the 7 seed, winning a pair of games against Utica area teams to get this far. The 2nd was against previously undefeated 2 seed VVS. Both squads are clustered in the scoring column, with no one dominating the load. The leading scorer between the two squads has 8 goals. Both teams improved against competition as the season went on, but Marcellus is slightly better against common opponents. Maybe that's why they're the higher side. I'll pick the 6 seed to advance to finals in a 3-2 game.
Cincinnatus @ Copenhagen - The Class D bracket has been wild... at least on one side. This top half has been all chalk, with this being a 1/4 semifinal. Cincy may be the 4 seed, but losing isn't in their DNA - just 1 loss on the season. Common opponent (McGraw) shows they have every shot of winning this game. However, I've clearly shown that I've understated the Frontier Ds this year. The other quarterfinal - a 14/7 matchup - features Frontier teams that knocked out 3rd seeded Bishop Ludden, 6th seeded Old Forge, and 2nd seeded Owen D. Young. Copenhagen handled both of these teams easily. This might be the best game left in the Class D bracket, and I pick the winner of this to be a big favorite in the finals, but I'll give it to Copenhagen by the slightest of margins. 3-2 final, and they might need extra time to do it.
Girls Soccer
West Genesee @ Cicero-North Syracuse (at CBA) - The CNYCL has been competitive all year long, with the difference in opponents not being too great. The Northstars have the top seed because of how dominant they've been on the defensive end, and they'll ride to the finals in a 2-0 W.
Liverpool vs. Baldwinsville (at CBA) - They split the season series - Liverpool winning 1-0, Baldwinsville winning 2-0 in OT - so this should be another beaut. The Bees have won 12 of 13 since starting 2-2, and Liverpool hasn't taken a loss since Baldwinsville a day short of a month ago. This one's a dead heat, and I'll roll with Liverpool by a nose... or an Ore Akinpelu boot. 1-0 final.
Whitesboro vs. Jamesville-Dewitt (at Chittenango) - Don't they always play each other in sectionals? Don't they always play in Chittenango? I've watched J-D win the finals in this scenario more than once. It's the semis now, and each of these teams just seems to retool. A couple years ago, J-D and their high D1 recruit (Jess Holmes, who moved on to Boston College) beat Whitesboro and theirs (Ashley Williams, who took her next step to Syracuse). Now it's Paige Sherling and company against Mariah Williams - Ashley's sister, a UAlbany Great Dane commit. Whitesboro has the best player in Williams, J-D has the best team. 2-1 Red Ewes.
East Syracuse Minoa vs. Marcellus (at Liverpool) - Marcellus girls have also handled the jump to A just fine, and I think they'll also advance to the finals. ES-M made it to the finals from the 7 seed last year, so they have this whole 7th seed thing down. For the 2nd straight year, they beat a 10 and a 2 to get to the semis. I don't think they'll beat the 3 this time. Belvito & Co. know how to win - that's all they do, and I've got them advancing with a 3-1 victory.
Cazenovia vs. Lowville (at Camden) - You had to give me the hard one, didn't you? Cazenovia has firepower up front, Lowville doesn't let anyone score.. pretty much literally. Caz has a pair of players with 20+ goals on the season, with Audrey Burbidge near the top of the section at 34. They've lost 3 games - which is as many games lost as goals given up by Lowville. I get it, I know, I don't give the North Country much love. They're proving me wrong this year. I'm going to do it again, though. Lowville is traditionally strong but they haven't bumped up against the type of offense that Cazenovia has, and with them being a team that isn't the most adept scoring squad, a couple Laker goals can mean a big problem. I'll take Caz, 2-1.
Sauquoit vs. Tully (at Chittenango) - The problem with choosing winners in semifinals is they're so damn hard to pick. There's a reason teams get this far generally. Sauquoit tends to play to the level of their competition. They don't blow bad teams out, but they beat really good teams. Tully tends to be in go mode, and they're tough defensively. The Indians have firepower up front with Jenna Mazza, Nakeya Stedman, and Elma Sarajlija (40 goals between them, and Mazza has 16 assists as well), more than anything Tully has seen. They're certainly a little more used to the moment too - tough one, but I'll take the 3 seed 3-2.
The Magic Conch: Section 2, October 28
Well if this isn't confusing enough... we've got quarterfinals and semifinals both going on today, and there's no such thing as a split class. From what I know of, there's 4 boys games and 8 girls one. Boys are all in semis now, and it's the Class A & D ones going off today. On the girls end, we have the Class A semis along with 2 Class AA quarters and all of the Class Cs. What do I think about them? Let's see!
Boys Soccer
Scotia-Glenville @ Queensbury - The Q got hot midway through the season and haven't cooled off yet, winning 9 straight after starting 4-4. One of those 9 wins was against this Scotia team, who's remained consistent all year minus a couple blips on the radar. It's two evenly matched squads that know each other well. What else could you ask for in a 2/3 matchup? I'll pick Queensbury getting a slim lead and then hitting the insurance goal late to win 3-1.
Averill Park @ South Glens Falls - So, this one is really interesting. South Glens Falls is the Foothills champ and they're rolling lately. 3 losses, but 6-0 in October. Averill Park is the squad that shows you how much better the Suburban is than the Foothills (or any other conference with As in it). They only won 3 regular season games, but were able to beat Albany Academy in the quarterfinals to get here. I watched both teams play and can honestly say I think it's a toss-up. Averill Park is the stronger team physically, but SGF's Alec Potter is the best finisher. When it gets to this point of the season, the best players make big plays and I think Potter does that tonight with some help from Teddy Bruschini. 2-1 Bulldogs.
North Warren @ Northville - The battle of the Norths. I wonder if North West is officiating? North Warren pulled a mild upset of 2nd seeded New Lebanon to advance to semis, but they face a slightly different animal in Northville. New Lebanon's offense was 'we need to get Justin Bingham the ball by any means necessary in order to score', Northville spreads the wealth because they can. They have a more controlled style, and they're almost not used to D competition because they played Cs almost exclusively all year in the WAC. The fact that Will Wilson, their leading scorer, will be playing - he was given a red card against Argyle in the quarterfinals which eventually was overturned after the game - makes a huge difference. Picking Northville to win this one 3-1.
Loudonville Christian @ Fort Ann - Fort Ann is the top seed for a reason, and they certainly showed it. 8.. count em, 8!.. Cardinals scored in their quarterfinal victory. Loudonville Christian will present more game of a challenge, but not enough of one. Lack of potent finishing will do them in, as the top seed rolls 4-0.
Girls Soccer
Niskayuna @ Guilderland - If these two teams play each other 10 times, each will win 4 and they'll tie twice. Exactly what you hope for in the 4/5 game. Unless you're trying to pick a winner. The loss of Sophia Constantine has killed Nisky, a team that I initially thought was the top of AA while she was controlling the center. They were 6-2-1 with her in the box score, and they've been 4-3 since the last time she posted a point (a loss to Shen). Their first loss of the season was a 1-0 fall to Guilderland. Speaking of Guilderland, they've won 4 straight since dropping their previous 3. Both teams will be shaking off the rust early, as it's been 12 days without a game, but the same thing applies to me in this one as did in a game above - big players make big plays. No disrespect to anyone else, but Marika Contompasis is arguably the best player in Section II when she's fully engaged. It's sectionals - I'm assuming she'll be engaged, and I'm saying it'll be enough to get Nisky a 2-1 victory on the road to avenge their 1st loss.
Shaker @ Shenendehowa - Shaker would be so much better if they could put the damn ball in the net. In their ten games that haven't been wins, they were shut out in 7 of them. The last one was in their last game - a 2-0 loss to Shen 12 days ago. Shen has possibly been the most consistent team all year - you get what you expect from them every night, and consistency is big at this time of year. They've also been stingy, with just 11 goals given up all season. That number will stay tonight in the Plains(wo)men's 2-0 victory.
Mohonasen @ Scotia-Glenville - Mohonasen is another one of those Class A Suburban examples. You just can't judge them by their record. 4 wins all regular season blah blah, they proved their worth by blanking South High in the quarterfinals. This is a very young team with only 4 seniors, and their leading scorer (by far) is a freshman. Lexi Canavally has been behind 14 of the team's 21 goals. They also have one of the top GKs I've seen this year in Saeeda Abdul-Aziz. However, Scotia's the top seed for a reason. Gracie Mailey & Maddy Carroll can finish, Abby O'Connor controls the middle, Dom Puglisi is just too good. They only have one blemish on their record, a 3-1 loss to a Queensbury squad that had LaPlant. She scored all 3. The Tartans have rolled 14 straight since, and although this one might be the most challenging, I think it'll bump to 15 tonight in a 3-2 game.
Queensbury @ Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake - Queensbury's a little bit inflated of a 3 seed. They had a nice chance of winning the section before Brittany LaPlant went down, now they're just.. ehh. You can't be 'ehh' against Burnt Hills. They struggled a little more than usual in the Suburban this year, but they got better as the season progressed and look to be on a track straight for the finals... again... where they've won about a generation in a row. BH-BL takes this one 4-1.
Lake George @ Canajoharie - Canajoharie has been in the top 5 in the state in Class C all year, sitting at #2 for most of it. However, the WAC is an average at best conference for a competing C school. The only other relatively competitive squads are Schoharie and Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville - Canjo tied one and split with the other. They are beatable, but I don't think by Lake George. The Logans and Koelbl will take over in a 4-1 victory.
Berlin @ Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville - The defending Class D champs have been doing just fine in C. O-E/St. J has only lost once in the last 5 weeks, but they get a game opponent in Berlin today. Jewel Pietrzak has averaged 2 goals and an assist per game to lead her team through - their league is not strong, but their win over Hoosic Valley gives me a general idea of what to expect. I like the home team (on the scoreboard - it's being played at Johnstown) in this one though. Leann Clark is a solid goalie, Rylie Smith's had a phenomenal rebound back to the field leading this squad, and they're finally playing a little bit loose. I'll pick the Pack, 3-1.
Cambridge @ Greenville - It seems like what the Suburban is to the As, the Wasaren is to the Cs. It isn't the best B league, but Class C schools that are average in it compare well with other C schools. We could consider Cambridge, the 11 seed, a below average Wasaren team. They went on the road in the 1st round to beat 6th seeded Middleburgh, an above-average WAC team. They have a team full of juniors that matter, and I've always believed junior year is when players tend to be the hungriest. Greenville is a bona fide competitor in C, though. They boast one of the top scorers in Section II, speedster Carly Johnson. Her 35 goals are 1 off the section lead, but her 2 assists in the 1st round win over Mayfield shows that she will dish it, too. In a competitive match, I'll take the 3 seed to move onto semis because I don't see Cambridge being able to outscore Greenville. 3-1 final.
Stillwater @ Schoharie - Wasaren vs. WAC. Red hot Wasaren vs. somewhat dominant WAC. Every year, there's a team that gets on a wild run midway through the season, and no one is at hot as Stillwater. 2-5-1 in the first 8 games, 7-1-1 since. They've nearly had double the goal output in the 2nd half compared to the 1st half, and they've only given up 1/3 of the amount of goals. Playing against the same teams. Whaaat? Schoharie's only loss is to Unatego, a team that's won Class C in Section IV in the not-so-distant past. I watched them lose a close one to Sauquoit in regionals back in 2011. They've also outscored opponents by an ungodly number this year, 81-8. 4 players have both double digit goals & assists on the season, led by Kaitlyn Kendle (25 & 12) and Carolyn Krohn (23 & 18). Only one of the four is a senior (Kendle) and Krohn is a freshman. We'll see exactly how good each team is today, and no matter who loses in this 2/7 match, a good team is going home. I'll go against the grain and pick the upset in this one. I pick an upset every day, and I can't help but have the itch that Lockrow & Nichols will turn it up, with Stillwater's defense hanging on for dear life and holding off a very strong Schoharie team juuust long enough. 2-1 for the visitors.
Boys Soccer
Scotia-Glenville @ Queensbury - The Q got hot midway through the season and haven't cooled off yet, winning 9 straight after starting 4-4. One of those 9 wins was against this Scotia team, who's remained consistent all year minus a couple blips on the radar. It's two evenly matched squads that know each other well. What else could you ask for in a 2/3 matchup? I'll pick Queensbury getting a slim lead and then hitting the insurance goal late to win 3-1.
Averill Park @ South Glens Falls - So, this one is really interesting. South Glens Falls is the Foothills champ and they're rolling lately. 3 losses, but 6-0 in October. Averill Park is the squad that shows you how much better the Suburban is than the Foothills (or any other conference with As in it). They only won 3 regular season games, but were able to beat Albany Academy in the quarterfinals to get here. I watched both teams play and can honestly say I think it's a toss-up. Averill Park is the stronger team physically, but SGF's Alec Potter is the best finisher. When it gets to this point of the season, the best players make big plays and I think Potter does that tonight with some help from Teddy Bruschini. 2-1 Bulldogs.
North Warren @ Northville - The battle of the Norths. I wonder if North West is officiating? North Warren pulled a mild upset of 2nd seeded New Lebanon to advance to semis, but they face a slightly different animal in Northville. New Lebanon's offense was 'we need to get Justin Bingham the ball by any means necessary in order to score', Northville spreads the wealth because they can. They have a more controlled style, and they're almost not used to D competition because they played Cs almost exclusively all year in the WAC. The fact that Will Wilson, their leading scorer, will be playing - he was given a red card against Argyle in the quarterfinals which eventually was overturned after the game - makes a huge difference. Picking Northville to win this one 3-1.
Loudonville Christian @ Fort Ann - Fort Ann is the top seed for a reason, and they certainly showed it. 8.. count em, 8!.. Cardinals scored in their quarterfinal victory. Loudonville Christian will present more game of a challenge, but not enough of one. Lack of potent finishing will do them in, as the top seed rolls 4-0.
Girls Soccer
Niskayuna @ Guilderland - If these two teams play each other 10 times, each will win 4 and they'll tie twice. Exactly what you hope for in the 4/5 game. Unless you're trying to pick a winner. The loss of Sophia Constantine has killed Nisky, a team that I initially thought was the top of AA while she was controlling the center. They were 6-2-1 with her in the box score, and they've been 4-3 since the last time she posted a point (a loss to Shen). Their first loss of the season was a 1-0 fall to Guilderland. Speaking of Guilderland, they've won 4 straight since dropping their previous 3. Both teams will be shaking off the rust early, as it's been 12 days without a game, but the same thing applies to me in this one as did in a game above - big players make big plays. No disrespect to anyone else, but Marika Contompasis is arguably the best player in Section II when she's fully engaged. It's sectionals - I'm assuming she'll be engaged, and I'm saying it'll be enough to get Nisky a 2-1 victory on the road to avenge their 1st loss.
Shaker @ Shenendehowa - Shaker would be so much better if they could put the damn ball in the net. In their ten games that haven't been wins, they were shut out in 7 of them. The last one was in their last game - a 2-0 loss to Shen 12 days ago. Shen has possibly been the most consistent team all year - you get what you expect from them every night, and consistency is big at this time of year. They've also been stingy, with just 11 goals given up all season. That number will stay tonight in the Plains(wo)men's 2-0 victory.
Mohonasen @ Scotia-Glenville - Mohonasen is another one of those Class A Suburban examples. You just can't judge them by their record. 4 wins all regular season blah blah, they proved their worth by blanking South High in the quarterfinals. This is a very young team with only 4 seniors, and their leading scorer (by far) is a freshman. Lexi Canavally has been behind 14 of the team's 21 goals. They also have one of the top GKs I've seen this year in Saeeda Abdul-Aziz. However, Scotia's the top seed for a reason. Gracie Mailey & Maddy Carroll can finish, Abby O'Connor controls the middle, Dom Puglisi is just too good. They only have one blemish on their record, a 3-1 loss to a Queensbury squad that had LaPlant. She scored all 3. The Tartans have rolled 14 straight since, and although this one might be the most challenging, I think it'll bump to 15 tonight in a 3-2 game.
Queensbury @ Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake - Queensbury's a little bit inflated of a 3 seed. They had a nice chance of winning the section before Brittany LaPlant went down, now they're just.. ehh. You can't be 'ehh' against Burnt Hills. They struggled a little more than usual in the Suburban this year, but they got better as the season progressed and look to be on a track straight for the finals... again... where they've won about a generation in a row. BH-BL takes this one 4-1.
Lake George @ Canajoharie - Canajoharie has been in the top 5 in the state in Class C all year, sitting at #2 for most of it. However, the WAC is an average at best conference for a competing C school. The only other relatively competitive squads are Schoharie and Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville - Canjo tied one and split with the other. They are beatable, but I don't think by Lake George. The Logans and Koelbl will take over in a 4-1 victory.
Berlin @ Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville - The defending Class D champs have been doing just fine in C. O-E/St. J has only lost once in the last 5 weeks, but they get a game opponent in Berlin today. Jewel Pietrzak has averaged 2 goals and an assist per game to lead her team through - their league is not strong, but their win over Hoosic Valley gives me a general idea of what to expect. I like the home team (on the scoreboard - it's being played at Johnstown) in this one though. Leann Clark is a solid goalie, Rylie Smith's had a phenomenal rebound back to the field leading this squad, and they're finally playing a little bit loose. I'll pick the Pack, 3-1.
Cambridge @ Greenville - It seems like what the Suburban is to the As, the Wasaren is to the Cs. It isn't the best B league, but Class C schools that are average in it compare well with other C schools. We could consider Cambridge, the 11 seed, a below average Wasaren team. They went on the road in the 1st round to beat 6th seeded Middleburgh, an above-average WAC team. They have a team full of juniors that matter, and I've always believed junior year is when players tend to be the hungriest. Greenville is a bona fide competitor in C, though. They boast one of the top scorers in Section II, speedster Carly Johnson. Her 35 goals are 1 off the section lead, but her 2 assists in the 1st round win over Mayfield shows that she will dish it, too. In a competitive match, I'll take the 3 seed to move onto semis because I don't see Cambridge being able to outscore Greenville. 3-1 final.
Stillwater @ Schoharie - Wasaren vs. WAC. Red hot Wasaren vs. somewhat dominant WAC. Every year, there's a team that gets on a wild run midway through the season, and no one is at hot as Stillwater. 2-5-1 in the first 8 games, 7-1-1 since. They've nearly had double the goal output in the 2nd half compared to the 1st half, and they've only given up 1/3 of the amount of goals. Playing against the same teams. Whaaat? Schoharie's only loss is to Unatego, a team that's won Class C in Section IV in the not-so-distant past. I watched them lose a close one to Sauquoit in regionals back in 2011. They've also outscored opponents by an ungodly number this year, 81-8. 4 players have both double digit goals & assists on the season, led by Kaitlyn Kendle (25 & 12) and Carolyn Krohn (23 & 18). Only one of the four is a senior (Kendle) and Krohn is a freshman. We'll see exactly how good each team is today, and no matter who loses in this 2/7 match, a good team is going home. I'll go against the grain and pick the upset in this one. I pick an upset every day, and I can't help but have the itch that Lockrow & Nichols will turn it up, with Stillwater's defense hanging on for dear life and holding off a very strong Schoharie team juuust long enough. 2-1 for the visitors.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Hatty x 2: The Big 3 Leads CCHS to the Semis
Catholic Central 6, Albany Academy for Girls 2
Speed kills, bruh.
Whenever CCHS had an opportunity to break out, that's what they did, and a brand of offense that looked more like the Steve Nash-era Phoenix Suns just put up numbers on top of numbers by the end of this one.
In the Class B 3/6 quarterfinal, the teams played pretty evenly for the first 10 minutes - certainly to the higher seed's pace. The frenetic, keeper to keeper style certainly favors CCHS. Academy GK Ellie Daly would make a save. CCHS keeper Dominique Stavis would make a save. Lather, rinse, repeat. The Crusaders had a pair of near-misses not far apart from each other, the 2nd coming when an AAG defender nearly deflected it into her own net after Daly knocked a shot away. The same defender raced it down and knocked it away just as it was going to hit the goal line. It didn't take much longer for the home team (on the scoreboard - it was played at Watervliet) to break through. Madison Purcell played a ball to Lauren Drake, who hit a sharp grounder in between keeper and left post.. to use baseball terms. It hit the back of the net, giving CCHS the lead at the 27:51 mark in the 1st half. 7 minutes later, AAG nearly tied it up within seconds when a Taylor Lockwood shot rolled just wide of the right post. A few minutes later, she wouldn't be denied. CCHS defenders played the 'you got it!.. no you got it!.. no one got it!' game on a long ball played toward the box, and Lockwood ended up with a 1 on 1 against Stavis, which she finished to tie it up at the 20:32 point.
That's when Alexis Riffel(I put the team on my)bach woke up. She outworked a couple Academy defenders to get possession and knocked one home while getting knocked over to make it 2-1 with 11:56 left in the half. 4 minutes later, Purcell played a perfectly placed ball to a streaking Riffelbach, and the speed demon raced past who was marking her to get some freedom, and her strike made it 3-1 at the 7:32 mark. A few minutes later, the same thing happened - but she got knocked down in the box. She bagged the ensuing PK, making it 4-1 in the 38th minute. The hat trick took 9:28 of game time to happen. What did you do with your day?
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| Not as much as her, probably. |
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| Gotta show some love to Val Taylor... Dangerous with the ball every time it was at her feet. |
The Rest
CCHS student section's chill button broke a long time ago. They were buggin' out all game, even think I heard Sharkiesha out of them... Albany Academy's students won response of the year when they dropped the 'It's alright, it's ok. You'll all work for us someday!' retort to 'Scoreboard'. Score 1 for the Cadets. Needed a few more on the field though... It was cold. In case anyone was wondering... Hoosick Falls beat CCHS 4-3 this year. It was the first game of the season though, things have changed... I think Lexi Riff just scored again.
The Magic Conch: Section 2, October 27
Pretty much finishing off the quarterfinals in boys & girls soccer on this Monday. Let's hope the weather doesn't suck! 9 boys games scheduled - this includes all of the AA and C quarterfinals, along with the last B quarter. 7 on the girls' side, with all of the Class B quarterfinals going off along with 3/4 of the AAs. Let's start off with...
Boys Soccer
Colonie @ Shaker - This isn't a bad game. None of them really are, AA boys soccer has been pretty competitive among many of the Suburban teams. I'm saying this even though Shaker housed Colonie 6-1 earlier in the season. Sure, the top-seeded Blue Bison will handle business in this one - 6-1 might be a little extreme though. I'll pick Shaker to advance by a score of 3-1.
Bethlehem @ Niskayuna - Ahh, the 4/5 games. This is a rematch from the same week the matchup above played - Nisky won that 3-2 on their home field. Things have changed for the Eagles, though. After going 4-5-1 in their first 10, they've reeled off 7 straight wins with their last loss being to Shaker exactly a month ago. They only gave up 3 goals in those games, with 4 shutouts. Nisky has been up and down somewhat. Their ups are realllly high - like beating Shaker high. They beat Shaker 2-1, but Ballston Spa played them to a draw and they only beat Averill Park by 1. Nisky has the potential to beat anyone in the section, but I'll pick the road team in a 3-2 decision to advance.
Saratoga @ Guilderland - Of course this is how it worked. Guilderland has consistently been a little bit better of a team throughout, but they played to a scoreless draw earlier in the season - just going to show you that in the Suburban, anyone could beat anyone. The Dutch have won 4 straight, but they haven't played in 11 days. Will that be an issue? Between home field and their previous sectional experience, I don't think so. I'll take the home team 2-1.
Ballston Spa @ Shenendehowa - To me, this one feels like the least competitive of the four. Although Shen showed they surely were beatable by losing to this team at the beginning of the month, I think the possession game at home will be in full effect. Plus they want revenge. They didn't end the season the way they would hope. Ballston Spa's went 2-2-1 since that game, beating CBA to get here. 2/3 of their goals have come from Connor Defillipis and Anders Trestick - I think Shen keys in on them and holds them to 1 in a 3-1 win.
Coxsackie-Athens @ Broadalbin-Perth - The battle of the hyphens. They actually played each other in a non-league game... about a week agooo! Broadalbin-Perth picked up a 2nd half goal to get the 1-0 victory at home. Same teams, same spot, one week later, and it's anyone's game. Home field will matter in this one, as the Patriots win again 2-1.
Berne-Knox-Westerlo @ Stillwater - The world knows about Ian Cepiel at this point. Stillwater didn't get to be the 1 seed just off of him, though. There's a supporting cast (Brody, Brahe Gazzelli, numerous others) that handle business too. They'll do that again in a 4-1 W.
Berlin @ Lake George - Lake George is at home. Lake George has some steady senior, been around the block leadership. I think Lake George is just flat-out better. I vote for the body of water named after Liberace's brother. 5-2 final.
Mayfield @ Maple Hill - This one will be interesting. I will pick a team for the heck of it, but certainly wouldn't be surprised if the other won. Todd Briggs can just put the ball into the back of the net for the Panthers. He's eclipsed the 20 goal mark for the season, scoring nearly half of Mayfield's tallies. The only thorn in Maple Hill's side this year has been Greenville (the 2 seed). They've got a set of really impressive wins over Hoosick Falls and Ichabod Crane. Although IC didn't have Jimmy Hollister, I don't think his loss is what the game was about. He scores goals, and he wouldn't have got the ball much because Maple Hill controlled possession. After the shenanigans that happened toward the end of Maple Hill's Saturday game, I'm expecting them to come out with a different kind of focus. Tough call, but I'll go with them at home 2-1.
Fort Plain @ Greenville - The Hilltoppers are the only non-chalk team in the quarterfinals, in at the 10 seed after being (7) Hoosic Valley. I like the way they're coming in, big steam of momentum. Greenville didn't exactly have a 2/15 type game against Mekeel, only winning 2-1... in OT... and they were down 1-0 at one point. Fort Plain beat Mekeel by a goal too. I'll call upset alert on this one, with the Hilltoppers going back home with a 1-0 victory.
Girls Soccer
Colonie @ Saratoga - Saratoga has just went on an unbelievable run since a couple slip-ups early on. Ellery Bianco and Ya Ya Van Ness are really good, as is their defense. A combination of skill and unmatched physicality has helped them work up to #5 in the state in AA. They've won 13 straight by a combined score of 50-10. Colonie hadn't beaten a Class AA opponent all year before their 1st round win over Albany. They won't get their 2nd. Blue Streaks at home, 4-1.
Bethlehem @ Columbia - This one's really interesting. Thought about going to it, but it's looking like I'll pass it up. There was a point in this season where Columbia appeared to be in the drivers' seat in Class AA, but they suffered a couple slip-ups late - one being a draw at Bethlehem. Scoring for the Blue Devils has dropped lately - they averaged 2.4 goals per game in the first 10, under 1.3 in the last 7. Good thing for them is they've held up defensively, only giving up 3 goals in the last 10 games. Bethlehem hasn't lost in October - but they've only played 5 games, and they've had an 11 day hiatus between games. I think Columbia pulls one out for the 2nd time in 3 matches, this one a 2-1 tilt.
Shaker @ Shenendehowa - Shaker just cannot score. That's been the issue all year. They've been shut out 7 times, and the team's leading scorer has only 4 goals. They've lost 3 of 4 - all losses being to top 5 seeds in AA, one of them being to Shen in their last game. The Plains(wo)men have been consistent all year, with 1 goal losses to Columbia and Saratoga being the only blemishes. They've also had 4 girls score more than Shaker's leading scorer, with 3 others being tied. Just the interesting stat of the night. Enough small talk, Shen wins a 3rd time 1-0.
Mechanicville @ Schalmont - I hate to just cut it so short because LaFountain, Bowie and Mechanicville have done well and I can talk about Schalmont all day, but this one's pretty basic. Sabres advance 5-1.
Voorheesville @ Coxsackie-Athens - All these 4/5 matchups are interesting. No matter who loses, a pretty good team will be knocked out in this one. I just happen to think it'll be the home team. Coxsackie-Athens is undefeated, they score, and they score some more. 82 goals through 17 games, about 4.8 per game for the non-math majors. Problem: I am far from sold on the level of play in the Patroon this year. Didn't get impressed. Voorheesville hasn't lost to a team not named Schalmont, and they've had a marathon of games in October which help them get into a groove. Common opponents? They both beat Cohoes 3-0 and Chatham by 1 goal. I was really impressed with Veda Hensel when I watched Voorheesville this year, and the offensive prowess of her and Julia Voss (42 goals combined) will put them over the top. Voorheesville on the road 3-2.
Albany Academy @ CCHS - I've been on the Catholic Central bandwagon all year. The knock on them is that teams haven't really pushed them defensively, but when they have, they've given up goals. Hoosick Falls & Scotia put up 4 on them. They've rose to the occasion before though, shutting out South Glens Falls & holding Ichabod Crane to 1 goal last game. Albany Academy has 60 goals on the season, so they know what to do with it - but in the end, there's too much Riffelbach, Purcell, and Drake to go around. Riffelbach (33 g, 17 a), Purcell (25 of each), and Drake (14 & 10) have accounted for 72 of the Crusaders' 81 goals. They like to play fast; the CCHS sectional road show has them playing at Watervliet tonight, a turf field. Fast. I like the Crusaders again 4-2.
Schuylerville @ Hoosick Falls - This 2/7 game has all the makings of providing a little upset. Schuylerville's proven that they will beat or at least hang with stronger teams, they just beat Tamarac (2nd place in Hoo Falls' league) 3-0, this is the favorite team of Schuyler Lemal-Brown (his dad's the dean), Jordyn Haynes is playing for what I know, but she's doing it injured - the stars are aligned for Schuylerville to pull it off, and I still don't think it will happen. Winners win because it's all they know how to do, and I at least don't see a quarterfinal exit. If Haynes is on the field in any capacity, it makes a big difference - the junior has over 100 career goals. Rachel Pine & Taylor Mann have put forth the same kind of production, and I think it's a little too much for Schuylerville to overcome. The home team wins in a shootout at the OK Corral, 4-3.
Boys Soccer
Colonie @ Shaker - This isn't a bad game. None of them really are, AA boys soccer has been pretty competitive among many of the Suburban teams. I'm saying this even though Shaker housed Colonie 6-1 earlier in the season. Sure, the top-seeded Blue Bison will handle business in this one - 6-1 might be a little extreme though. I'll pick Shaker to advance by a score of 3-1.
Bethlehem @ Niskayuna - Ahh, the 4/5 games. This is a rematch from the same week the matchup above played - Nisky won that 3-2 on their home field. Things have changed for the Eagles, though. After going 4-5-1 in their first 10, they've reeled off 7 straight wins with their last loss being to Shaker exactly a month ago. They only gave up 3 goals in those games, with 4 shutouts. Nisky has been up and down somewhat. Their ups are realllly high - like beating Shaker high. They beat Shaker 2-1, but Ballston Spa played them to a draw and they only beat Averill Park by 1. Nisky has the potential to beat anyone in the section, but I'll pick the road team in a 3-2 decision to advance.
Saratoga @ Guilderland - Of course this is how it worked. Guilderland has consistently been a little bit better of a team throughout, but they played to a scoreless draw earlier in the season - just going to show you that in the Suburban, anyone could beat anyone. The Dutch have won 4 straight, but they haven't played in 11 days. Will that be an issue? Between home field and their previous sectional experience, I don't think so. I'll take the home team 2-1.
Ballston Spa @ Shenendehowa - To me, this one feels like the least competitive of the four. Although Shen showed they surely were beatable by losing to this team at the beginning of the month, I think the possession game at home will be in full effect. Plus they want revenge. They didn't end the season the way they would hope. Ballston Spa's went 2-2-1 since that game, beating CBA to get here. 2/3 of their goals have come from Connor Defillipis and Anders Trestick - I think Shen keys in on them and holds them to 1 in a 3-1 win.
Coxsackie-Athens @ Broadalbin-Perth - The battle of the hyphens. They actually played each other in a non-league game... about a week agooo! Broadalbin-Perth picked up a 2nd half goal to get the 1-0 victory at home. Same teams, same spot, one week later, and it's anyone's game. Home field will matter in this one, as the Patriots win again 2-1.
Berne-Knox-Westerlo @ Stillwater - The world knows about Ian Cepiel at this point. Stillwater didn't get to be the 1 seed just off of him, though. There's a supporting cast (Brody, Brahe Gazzelli, numerous others) that handle business too. They'll do that again in a 4-1 W.
Berlin @ Lake George - Lake George is at home. Lake George has some steady senior, been around the block leadership. I think Lake George is just flat-out better. I vote for the body of water named after Liberace's brother. 5-2 final.
Mayfield @ Maple Hill - This one will be interesting. I will pick a team for the heck of it, but certainly wouldn't be surprised if the other won. Todd Briggs can just put the ball into the back of the net for the Panthers. He's eclipsed the 20 goal mark for the season, scoring nearly half of Mayfield's tallies. The only thorn in Maple Hill's side this year has been Greenville (the 2 seed). They've got a set of really impressive wins over Hoosick Falls and Ichabod Crane. Although IC didn't have Jimmy Hollister, I don't think his loss is what the game was about. He scores goals, and he wouldn't have got the ball much because Maple Hill controlled possession. After the shenanigans that happened toward the end of Maple Hill's Saturday game, I'm expecting them to come out with a different kind of focus. Tough call, but I'll go with them at home 2-1.
Fort Plain @ Greenville - The Hilltoppers are the only non-chalk team in the quarterfinals, in at the 10 seed after being (7) Hoosic Valley. I like the way they're coming in, big steam of momentum. Greenville didn't exactly have a 2/15 type game against Mekeel, only winning 2-1... in OT... and they were down 1-0 at one point. Fort Plain beat Mekeel by a goal too. I'll call upset alert on this one, with the Hilltoppers going back home with a 1-0 victory.
Girls Soccer
Colonie @ Saratoga - Saratoga has just went on an unbelievable run since a couple slip-ups early on. Ellery Bianco and Ya Ya Van Ness are really good, as is their defense. A combination of skill and unmatched physicality has helped them work up to #5 in the state in AA. They've won 13 straight by a combined score of 50-10. Colonie hadn't beaten a Class AA opponent all year before their 1st round win over Albany. They won't get their 2nd. Blue Streaks at home, 4-1.
Bethlehem @ Columbia - This one's really interesting. Thought about going to it, but it's looking like I'll pass it up. There was a point in this season where Columbia appeared to be in the drivers' seat in Class AA, but they suffered a couple slip-ups late - one being a draw at Bethlehem. Scoring for the Blue Devils has dropped lately - they averaged 2.4 goals per game in the first 10, under 1.3 in the last 7. Good thing for them is they've held up defensively, only giving up 3 goals in the last 10 games. Bethlehem hasn't lost in October - but they've only played 5 games, and they've had an 11 day hiatus between games. I think Columbia pulls one out for the 2nd time in 3 matches, this one a 2-1 tilt.
Shaker @ Shenendehowa - Shaker just cannot score. That's been the issue all year. They've been shut out 7 times, and the team's leading scorer has only 4 goals. They've lost 3 of 4 - all losses being to top 5 seeds in AA, one of them being to Shen in their last game. The Plains(wo)men have been consistent all year, with 1 goal losses to Columbia and Saratoga being the only blemishes. They've also had 4 girls score more than Shaker's leading scorer, with 3 others being tied. Just the interesting stat of the night. Enough small talk, Shen wins a 3rd time 1-0.
Mechanicville @ Schalmont - I hate to just cut it so short because LaFountain, Bowie and Mechanicville have done well and I can talk about Schalmont all day, but this one's pretty basic. Sabres advance 5-1.
Voorheesville @ Coxsackie-Athens - All these 4/5 matchups are interesting. No matter who loses, a pretty good team will be knocked out in this one. I just happen to think it'll be the home team. Coxsackie-Athens is undefeated, they score, and they score some more. 82 goals through 17 games, about 4.8 per game for the non-math majors. Problem: I am far from sold on the level of play in the Patroon this year. Didn't get impressed. Voorheesville hasn't lost to a team not named Schalmont, and they've had a marathon of games in October which help them get into a groove. Common opponents? They both beat Cohoes 3-0 and Chatham by 1 goal. I was really impressed with Veda Hensel when I watched Voorheesville this year, and the offensive prowess of her and Julia Voss (42 goals combined) will put them over the top. Voorheesville on the road 3-2.
Albany Academy @ CCHS - I've been on the Catholic Central bandwagon all year. The knock on them is that teams haven't really pushed them defensively, but when they have, they've given up goals. Hoosick Falls & Scotia put up 4 on them. They've rose to the occasion before though, shutting out South Glens Falls & holding Ichabod Crane to 1 goal last game. Albany Academy has 60 goals on the season, so they know what to do with it - but in the end, there's too much Riffelbach, Purcell, and Drake to go around. Riffelbach (33 g, 17 a), Purcell (25 of each), and Drake (14 & 10) have accounted for 72 of the Crusaders' 81 goals. They like to play fast; the CCHS sectional road show has them playing at Watervliet tonight, a turf field. Fast. I like the Crusaders again 4-2.
Schuylerville @ Hoosick Falls - This 2/7 game has all the makings of providing a little upset. Schuylerville's proven that they will beat or at least hang with stronger teams, they just beat Tamarac (2nd place in Hoo Falls' league) 3-0, this is the favorite team of Schuyler Lemal-Brown (his dad's the dean), Jordyn Haynes is playing for what I know, but she's doing it injured - the stars are aligned for Schuylerville to pull it off, and I still don't think it will happen. Winners win because it's all they know how to do, and I at least don't see a quarterfinal exit. If Haynes is on the field in any capacity, it makes a big difference - the junior has over 100 career goals. Rachel Pine & Taylor Mann have put forth the same kind of production, and I think it's a little too much for Schuylerville to overcome. The home team wins in a shootout at the OK Corral, 4-3.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Let's Sort This Out - Section 2 Girls Soccer
Girls soccer will also be interesting to type out because some classes are still in quarterfinals and some have moved onto the semis. But that's what this is for, right? Time to sort it all out.
Class AA - Quarterfinals heavy on Monday. (8)Colonie heads to top seed Saratoga for a 3:00 start, and then there's (6)Bethlehem playing at (3)Columbia along with (7)Shaker facing off with (2)Shenendehowa, both 6:30 starts. The other quarterfinal is Tuesday at 3:00, with (5)Niskayuna heading to (4)Guilderland. Fast forward to Halloween, where the semifinal teams will be looking to wear the costume of a winner. The bottom half bracket winners (3/6 vs. 2/7) play at 4:30, and the top half (4/5 vs. 1/8) get going at 7:00 Friday at Lansingburgh. The sectional finals are up at Stillwater, next Wednesday 11/5 at 6:00.
Class A - Semifinal time! All chalk so far. We get things popping on Tuesday up at Stillwater. (3)Queensbury battles (2)Burnt Hills at 4:30, and (4)Mohonasen/(1)Scotia get the nightcap with a 6:30 anticipated start. The winners of those games meet in the finals on Saturday, 5:30 start at Lansingburgh.
Class B - Still waiting for the quarterfinals in Class B as well. All of them will be on Monday with 3:00 start times - (8)Mechanicville @ (1)Schalmont, (5)Voorheesville at (4)Coxsackie-Athens, (6)Albany Academy at (3)CCHS, and (7)Schuylerville heads to (2)Hoosick Falls. The semifinals migrate to Lansingburgh, where the bottom half winners play at 4:30 on Wednesday and the top half winners get the 7:00 nightcap. The B finals are right before Class A's, Saturday at 3:00, back at Lansingburgh.
Class C - Quarterfinals are kicking off on Tuesday - nearly all chalk with one lower seed still standing. All games are scheduled for 3:00 as of now - (8)Lake George at (1)Canajoharie, (5)Berlin at (4)Lake George, (11)Cambridge gets (3)Greenville, and (7)Stillwater makes the trip to (2)Schoharie. If Stillwater wins again, they get a home game in the semifinals - Stillwater is hosting the semis on Friday, Happy Halloween! The top half winners play at 4:30, with the bottom half going at 6:30. The Class C finals are Wednesday, 11/5 at 7:00 in Lansingburgh.
Class D - Semis are already here, and you get to wait a little while for them. More stuff going on at Stillwater, with (3)Fort Ann playing (2)Mekeel at 4:30, with (4)New Lebanon facing (1)Bolton-Warrensburg at 6:30. The finals are the following Wednesday at Lansingburgh, right before the C finals with a 4:30 start.
You want it structured in a list format so you don't have to read those big, ugly things called paragraphs, don't you? Ugh.. have it your way like BK.
Monday 10/27
Class AA - (8) Colonie @ (1) Saratoga Springs - 3:00
(6) Columbia @ (3) Bethlehem - 6:30
(7) Shaker @ (2) Shenendehowa - 6:30
Class B - (8) Mechanicville @ (1) Schalmont - 3:00
(5) Voorheesville @ (4) Coxsackie-Athens - 3:00
(6) Albany Academy @ (3) CCHS - 3:00
(7) Schuylerville @ (2) Hoosick Falls - 3:00
Tuesday 10/28
Class AA - (5) Niskayuna @ (4) Guilderland - 3:00
Class A (at Stillwater) - (3) Queensbury/(2) Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake - 4:30
(4) Mohonasen/(1) Scotia-Glenville - 6:30
Class C - (8) Lake George @ (1) Canajoharie - 3:00
(5) Berlin @ (4) Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville - 3:00
(11) Cambridge @ (3) Greenville - 3:00
(7) Stillwater @ (2) Schoharie - 3:00
Wednesday 10/29
Class B (at Lansingburgh) - 3/6 winner vs. 2/7 winner - 4:30
4/5 winner vs. 1/8 winner - 7:00
Thursday 10/30
Class D (at Stillwater) - (3) Fort Ann/(2) Mekeel - 4:30
(4) New Lebanon/(1) Bolton-Warrensburg - 6:30
Friday 10/31
Class AA (at Lansingburgh) - 3/6 winner vs. 2/7 winner - 4:30
4/5 winner vs. 1/8 winner - 7:00
Class C (at Stillwater) - 3/6 winner vs. 2/7 winner - 4:30
4/5 winner vs. 1/8 winner - 6:30
Saturday 11/1 (at Lansingburgh)
Class A Finals - 5:30
Class B Finals - 3:00
Wednesday 11/5
Class AA Finals (at Stillwater) - 6:00
Class C Finals (at Lansingburgh) - 7:00
Class D Finals (at Lansingburgh) - 4:30
Class AA - Quarterfinals heavy on Monday. (8)Colonie heads to top seed Saratoga for a 3:00 start, and then there's (6)Bethlehem playing at (3)Columbia along with (7)Shaker facing off with (2)Shenendehowa, both 6:30 starts. The other quarterfinal is Tuesday at 3:00, with (5)Niskayuna heading to (4)Guilderland. Fast forward to Halloween, where the semifinal teams will be looking to wear the costume of a winner. The bottom half bracket winners (3/6 vs. 2/7) play at 4:30, and the top half (4/5 vs. 1/8) get going at 7:00 Friday at Lansingburgh. The sectional finals are up at Stillwater, next Wednesday 11/5 at 6:00.
Class A - Semifinal time! All chalk so far. We get things popping on Tuesday up at Stillwater. (3)Queensbury battles (2)Burnt Hills at 4:30, and (4)Mohonasen/(1)Scotia get the nightcap with a 6:30 anticipated start. The winners of those games meet in the finals on Saturday, 5:30 start at Lansingburgh.
Class B - Still waiting for the quarterfinals in Class B as well. All of them will be on Monday with 3:00 start times - (8)Mechanicville @ (1)Schalmont, (5)Voorheesville at (4)Coxsackie-Athens, (6)Albany Academy at (3)CCHS, and (7)Schuylerville heads to (2)Hoosick Falls. The semifinals migrate to Lansingburgh, where the bottom half winners play at 4:30 on Wednesday and the top half winners get the 7:00 nightcap. The B finals are right before Class A's, Saturday at 3:00, back at Lansingburgh.
Class C - Quarterfinals are kicking off on Tuesday - nearly all chalk with one lower seed still standing. All games are scheduled for 3:00 as of now - (8)Lake George at (1)Canajoharie, (5)Berlin at (4)Lake George, (11)Cambridge gets (3)Greenville, and (7)Stillwater makes the trip to (2)Schoharie. If Stillwater wins again, they get a home game in the semifinals - Stillwater is hosting the semis on Friday, Happy Halloween! The top half winners play at 4:30, with the bottom half going at 6:30. The Class C finals are Wednesday, 11/5 at 7:00 in Lansingburgh.
Class D - Semis are already here, and you get to wait a little while for them. More stuff going on at Stillwater, with (3)Fort Ann playing (2)Mekeel at 4:30, with (4)New Lebanon facing (1)Bolton-Warrensburg at 6:30. The finals are the following Wednesday at Lansingburgh, right before the C finals with a 4:30 start.
You want it structured in a list format so you don't have to read those big, ugly things called paragraphs, don't you? Ugh.. have it your way like BK.
Monday 10/27
Class AA - (8) Colonie @ (1) Saratoga Springs - 3:00
(6) Columbia @ (3) Bethlehem - 6:30
(7) Shaker @ (2) Shenendehowa - 6:30
Class B - (8) Mechanicville @ (1) Schalmont - 3:00
(5) Voorheesville @ (4) Coxsackie-Athens - 3:00
(6) Albany Academy @ (3) CCHS - 3:00
(7) Schuylerville @ (2) Hoosick Falls - 3:00
Tuesday 10/28
Class AA - (5) Niskayuna @ (4) Guilderland - 3:00
Class A (at Stillwater) - (3) Queensbury/(2) Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake - 4:30
(4) Mohonasen/(1) Scotia-Glenville - 6:30
Class C - (8) Lake George @ (1) Canajoharie - 3:00
(5) Berlin @ (4) Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville - 3:00
(11) Cambridge @ (3) Greenville - 3:00
(7) Stillwater @ (2) Schoharie - 3:00
Wednesday 10/29
Class B (at Lansingburgh) - 3/6 winner vs. 2/7 winner - 4:30
4/5 winner vs. 1/8 winner - 7:00
Thursday 10/30
Class D (at Stillwater) - (3) Fort Ann/(2) Mekeel - 4:30
(4) New Lebanon/(1) Bolton-Warrensburg - 6:30
Friday 10/31
Class AA (at Lansingburgh) - 3/6 winner vs. 2/7 winner - 4:30
4/5 winner vs. 1/8 winner - 7:00
Class C (at Stillwater) - 3/6 winner vs. 2/7 winner - 4:30
4/5 winner vs. 1/8 winner - 6:30
Saturday 11/1 (at Lansingburgh)
Class A Finals - 5:30
Class B Finals - 3:00
Wednesday 11/5
Class AA Finals (at Stillwater) - 6:00
Class C Finals (at Lansingburgh) - 7:00
Class D Finals (at Lansingburgh) - 4:30
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Let's Sort This Out - Section 2 Boys Soccer
Soccer gets a little more complicated to type about as we're not necessarily into the semifinals yet for all classes, but you know me. Imma do my best anyway.
Class AA - Quarterfinals all take place this Monday - (8)Colonie heads to top-seeded Shaker at 3:00, (5)Bethlehem plays at (4) Niskayuna at 3:00, another 3:00 start as (6)Saratoga makes the trip to (3)Guilderland, and the lone night start pits (7)Ballston Spa against (2)Shenendehowa, scheduled for a 7:00 kickoff. Semifinals are on Thursday at Colonie, with the winners of the bottom half of the bracket playing at 5:00 and the top-half semis scheduled for 7:00 (top half is 1/8, 4/5; bottom is 3/6, 2/7.. remember that). AA boys soccer finals are the only thing going on at any point Monday, 11/3. That's scheduled for 5:00, also at Colonie.
Class A - We're already in the semis here - (3)Scotia gets (2)Queensbury, and (5)Averill Park will take on (1)South Glens Falls, both at Johnstown.. nice little drive. Get some Romana's while you're at it! Start times are 5:00 and 7:00 on Tuesday. The A finals are part of a Saturday marathon, the 3rd of 4 games at Colonie HS with a 2:00 start.
Class B - 3 of the 4 quarterfinals have been completed - the 4th one is Monday, with Coxsackie-Athens (I think they won today) playing at Broadalbin-Perth. Semifinals are up at Queensbury, both start times set for 3:00 on Wednesday. The winner of the remaining quarterfinal will play (2)Schalmont, and (4)Schuylerville gets (1)Ichabod Crane. Basically a home game for Schuylerville compared to the other 4. The B finals are Saturday at high noon, Colonie as well.
Class C - Quarterfinals Monday! (8)Berne Knox gets top-seeded Stillwater for the lone night game, 7:00 start. (5)Berlin heads to (4)Lake George at 3:00, and the same start times are in play for (6)Mayfield at (3)Maple Hill and (10)Fort Plain at (2)Greenville. Fast forward to the C semifinals, which are Wednesday at Johnstown. Bottom half of the bracket plays at 5:00, top half gets the 7:00 slot. Hope they get their sleep Halloween night; the C finals are at Colonie at 10:00 in the morning on Saturday!
Class D - Semis are set and good to go for Tuesday in Queensbury - (4)Loudonville Christian vs. (1)Fort Ann and (7)North Warren vs. (3)Northville play side-by-side at 3:00. The D finals are actually the 'late' one on Saturday, slated for a 4:00 start at Colonie.
Alright, here's your chronological order stuff. Brat.
Monday 10/27
Class AA - (8)Colonie @ (1)Shaker - 3:00
(5)Bethlehem @ (4)Niskayuna - 3:00
(6)Saratoga @ (3)Guilderland - 3:00
(7)Ballston Spa @ (2)Shenendehowa - 7:00
Class B - (6)Coxsackie-Athens @ (3)Broadalbin-Perth - 3:00
Class C - (8)Berne Knox Westerlo @ (1)Stillwater - 7:00
(5)Berlin @ (4)Lake George - 3:00
(6)Mayfield @ (3)Maple Hill - 3:00
(10)Fort Plain @ (2)Greenville - 3:00
Tuesday 10/28
Class A (at Johnstown) - (3)Scotia/(2)Queensbury - 5:00
(5)Averill Park/(1)South Glens Falls - 7:00
Class D (at Queensbury) - (4)Loudonville Christian/(1)Fort Ann - 3:00
(7)North Warren/(3)Northville - 3:00
Wednesday 10/29
Class B (at Queensbury) - (4)Schuylerville/(1)Ichabod Crane - 3:00
3/6 quarterfinal winner/(2)Schalmont - 3:00
Class C (at Johnstown) - 3/6 quarterfinal winner/2/10 quarterfinal winner - 5:00
4/5 quarterfinal winner/1/8 quarterfinal winner - 7:00
Thursday 10/30
Class AA (at Colonie) - 3/6 quarterfinal winner/2/7 quarterfinal winner - 5:00
4/5 quarterfinal winner/1/8 quarterfinal winner - 7:00
Saturday 11/1 (all at Colonie)
Class C Finals - 10:00
Class B Finals - 12:00
Class A Finals - 2:00
Class D Finals - 4:00
Monday 11/3 (at Colonie)
Class AA Finals - 5:00
Class AA - Quarterfinals all take place this Monday - (8)Colonie heads to top-seeded Shaker at 3:00, (5)Bethlehem plays at (4) Niskayuna at 3:00, another 3:00 start as (6)Saratoga makes the trip to (3)Guilderland, and the lone night start pits (7)Ballston Spa against (2)Shenendehowa, scheduled for a 7:00 kickoff. Semifinals are on Thursday at Colonie, with the winners of the bottom half of the bracket playing at 5:00 and the top-half semis scheduled for 7:00 (top half is 1/8, 4/5; bottom is 3/6, 2/7.. remember that). AA boys soccer finals are the only thing going on at any point Monday, 11/3. That's scheduled for 5:00, also at Colonie.
Class A - We're already in the semis here - (3)Scotia gets (2)Queensbury, and (5)Averill Park will take on (1)South Glens Falls, both at Johnstown.. nice little drive. Get some Romana's while you're at it! Start times are 5:00 and 7:00 on Tuesday. The A finals are part of a Saturday marathon, the 3rd of 4 games at Colonie HS with a 2:00 start.
Class B - 3 of the 4 quarterfinals have been completed - the 4th one is Monday, with Coxsackie-Athens (I think they won today) playing at Broadalbin-Perth. Semifinals are up at Queensbury, both start times set for 3:00 on Wednesday. The winner of the remaining quarterfinal will play (2)Schalmont, and (4)Schuylerville gets (1)Ichabod Crane. Basically a home game for Schuylerville compared to the other 4. The B finals are Saturday at high noon, Colonie as well.
Class C - Quarterfinals Monday! (8)Berne Knox gets top-seeded Stillwater for the lone night game, 7:00 start. (5)Berlin heads to (4)Lake George at 3:00, and the same start times are in play for (6)Mayfield at (3)Maple Hill and (10)Fort Plain at (2)Greenville. Fast forward to the C semifinals, which are Wednesday at Johnstown. Bottom half of the bracket plays at 5:00, top half gets the 7:00 slot. Hope they get their sleep Halloween night; the C finals are at Colonie at 10:00 in the morning on Saturday!
Class D - Semis are set and good to go for Tuesday in Queensbury - (4)Loudonville Christian vs. (1)Fort Ann and (7)North Warren vs. (3)Northville play side-by-side at 3:00. The D finals are actually the 'late' one on Saturday, slated for a 4:00 start at Colonie.
Alright, here's your chronological order stuff. Brat.
Monday 10/27
Class AA - (8)Colonie @ (1)Shaker - 3:00
(5)Bethlehem @ (4)Niskayuna - 3:00
(6)Saratoga @ (3)Guilderland - 3:00
(7)Ballston Spa @ (2)Shenendehowa - 7:00
Class B - (6)Coxsackie-Athens @ (3)Broadalbin-Perth - 3:00
Class C - (8)Berne Knox Westerlo @ (1)Stillwater - 7:00
(5)Berlin @ (4)Lake George - 3:00
(6)Mayfield @ (3)Maple Hill - 3:00
(10)Fort Plain @ (2)Greenville - 3:00
Tuesday 10/28
Class A (at Johnstown) - (3)Scotia/(2)Queensbury - 5:00
(5)Averill Park/(1)South Glens Falls - 7:00
Class D (at Queensbury) - (4)Loudonville Christian/(1)Fort Ann - 3:00
(7)North Warren/(3)Northville - 3:00
Wednesday 10/29
Class B (at Queensbury) - (4)Schuylerville/(1)Ichabod Crane - 3:00
3/6 quarterfinal winner/(2)Schalmont - 3:00
Class C (at Johnstown) - 3/6 quarterfinal winner/2/10 quarterfinal winner - 5:00
4/5 quarterfinal winner/1/8 quarterfinal winner - 7:00
Thursday 10/30
Class AA (at Colonie) - 3/6 quarterfinal winner/2/7 quarterfinal winner - 5:00
4/5 quarterfinal winner/1/8 quarterfinal winner - 7:00
Saturday 11/1 (all at Colonie)
Class C Finals - 10:00
Class B Finals - 12:00
Class A Finals - 2:00
Class D Finals - 4:00
Monday 11/3 (at Colonie)
Class AA Finals - 5:00
Let's Sort This Out - Section 2 Football
Alright, guys. There's been so much action the last 2 or 3 days, even I couldn't keep up with it. It's time to break down the schedule (as far as it's gone at this point) to the best of my ability.
Football
Class AA - All chalk in AA as the top 4 seeds advance to semis. (4)LaSalle heads to (1)Shen, and (3)CBA gets a rematch at (2)Shaker, both games starting at 7:00 on Friday. Winners meet at UAlbany's Bob Ford Field in the finals on Friday, 11/7 at 7:00.
Class A - Not all chalk, but no upsets either. (3)Burnt Hills takes the trip to (2)Amsterdam, both coming off easy wins, for a 7:00 kickoff on Friday. Saturday at 1:30, (5)Scotia plays at defending state champ (1)Queensbury. Winners play in the finals at Shenendehowa, Saturday 11/8 at 7:00.
Class B - Chalk city. The top 4 seeds all play on Friday night to try and advance to the finals - (4)Broadalbin-Perth at (1)Schalmont, and (3)Cohoes at (2)Schuylerville. The B finals are also at Shenendehowa, Saturday 11/8 at 3:00.
Class C - Guess what? Chaaaalk. Neutral sites for these games. (2)Fonda will take on (3)Voorheesville, and top-seeded Hoosick Falls plays (4)Corinth at Stillwater HS Saturday. Corinth/Hoosick Falls is at 1:00, and Blackbirds/Braves starts at 7:00. Winners make the trip back to Stillwater the following week for the finals - that's Saturday, 11/8 at 7:00.
Class D - With just 4 teams making it, playoffs haven't started yet. This coming Saturday marks the semifinals, with (3)Rensselaer playing (2)Cambridge-Salem and (4)Canajoharie bumping up against (1)Whitehall - both games at Schuylerville HS, start times at 1:00 and 7:00. Finals are back at Schuylerville, 1:00 start on Saturday 11/8.
Want it all in chronological order? Fiiine... Have it your way.
Friday 10/31 (start times at 7:00)
Class AA - LaSalle @ Shen
CBA @ Shaker
Class A - Burnt Hills @ Amsterdam
Class B - Broadalbin-Perth @ Schalmont
Cohoes @ Schuylerville
Saturday 11/1
Class A - Scotia-Glenville @ Queensbury - 1:30
Class C (at Stillwater) - Corinth vs. Hoosick Falls - 1:00
Voorheesville vs. Fonda-Fultonville - 7:00
Class D (at Schuylerville) - Rensselaer vs. Cambridge/Salem - 1:00
Canajoharie vs. Whitehall - 7:00
Friday 11/7
Class AA Finals (UAlbany, Bob Ford Field) - 7:00
Saturday 11/8
Class A Finals (Shenendehowa HS) - 7:00
Class B Finals (Shenendehowa HS) - 3:00
Class C Finals (Stillwater HS) - 7:00
Class D Finals (Schuylerville HS) - 1:00
Football
Class AA - All chalk in AA as the top 4 seeds advance to semis. (4)LaSalle heads to (1)Shen, and (3)CBA gets a rematch at (2)Shaker, both games starting at 7:00 on Friday. Winners meet at UAlbany's Bob Ford Field in the finals on Friday, 11/7 at 7:00.
Class A - Not all chalk, but no upsets either. (3)Burnt Hills takes the trip to (2)Amsterdam, both coming off easy wins, for a 7:00 kickoff on Friday. Saturday at 1:30, (5)Scotia plays at defending state champ (1)Queensbury. Winners play in the finals at Shenendehowa, Saturday 11/8 at 7:00.
Class B - Chalk city. The top 4 seeds all play on Friday night to try and advance to the finals - (4)Broadalbin-Perth at (1)Schalmont, and (3)Cohoes at (2)Schuylerville. The B finals are also at Shenendehowa, Saturday 11/8 at 3:00.
Class C - Guess what? Chaaaalk. Neutral sites for these games. (2)Fonda will take on (3)Voorheesville, and top-seeded Hoosick Falls plays (4)Corinth at Stillwater HS Saturday. Corinth/Hoosick Falls is at 1:00, and Blackbirds/Braves starts at 7:00. Winners make the trip back to Stillwater the following week for the finals - that's Saturday, 11/8 at 7:00.
Class D - With just 4 teams making it, playoffs haven't started yet. This coming Saturday marks the semifinals, with (3)Rensselaer playing (2)Cambridge-Salem and (4)Canajoharie bumping up against (1)Whitehall - both games at Schuylerville HS, start times at 1:00 and 7:00. Finals are back at Schuylerville, 1:00 start on Saturday 11/8.
Want it all in chronological order? Fiiine... Have it your way.
Friday 10/31 (start times at 7:00)
Class AA - LaSalle @ Shen
CBA @ Shaker
Class A - Burnt Hills @ Amsterdam
Class B - Broadalbin-Perth @ Schalmont
Cohoes @ Schuylerville
Saturday 11/1
Class A - Scotia-Glenville @ Queensbury - 1:30
Class C (at Stillwater) - Corinth vs. Hoosick Falls - 1:00
Voorheesville vs. Fonda-Fultonville - 7:00
Class D (at Schuylerville) - Rensselaer vs. Cambridge/Salem - 1:00
Canajoharie vs. Whitehall - 7:00
Friday 11/7
Class AA Finals (UAlbany, Bob Ford Field) - 7:00
Saturday 11/8
Class A Finals (Shenendehowa HS) - 7:00
Class B Finals (Shenendehowa HS) - 3:00
Class C Finals (Stillwater HS) - 7:00
Class D Finals (Schuylerville HS) - 1:00
Friday, October 24, 2014
The Magic Conch: Section 3 Football, Quarterfinal Style
It’s about that time! Quarterfinals this week, let’s
break it down.
AA
West Genesee @ Henninger – WG comes in on a 2 game losing
streak to CBA and Liverpool, Henninger was up 40 in the 3rd on
Auburn last week. Henninger beat Baldwinsville & CBA; WG got cracked by
both. Typical 1/8 matchup. Too much Collier, Scott, Everson, everyone.
Henninger will move on, 42-7.
Auburn @ Corcoran – The Cougars are 2 points away from
being undefeated – their only loss was a 7-6 Week 1 L to undefeated Liverpool.
They’ve made some statements since then, including cracking CBA by 27 a few
weeks ago. They’ve only given up 57 points this season and have shut out their
last 2 opponents. Auburn is an exciting squad to watch, high octane offense and
have clearly been in the 2nd tier of good teams all year. However, I
think Corcoran is right on that top tier, plus they’re at home. 28-15 Corcoran.
CBA @ Baldwinsville – This one’s beautiful. The Bees held
their opponents to single digits in the first 4 games, but they’ve given up 20+
in each of their last 2 outings – including their lone loss to Henninger. CBA
has been all over the place, going from ‘they can win the section’ to ‘wait,
this is varsity?’. They lost a close one to Henninger, had Liverpool on the
ropes before giving it away, but they had to make a comeback to get by Central
Square along with getting torched by Corcoran. Right when you think they have
it figured out, they fall back. A lot of these guys have tasted the sectional
championship before though and the staff has certainly been there enough –
there’s something to be said for that. In what might be the game of the week,
I’ll take CBA in a mild upset, 27-21.
C-NS @ Liverpool – Ahh, the rivalry game. I’m sure
Liverpool will be packed to the rafters for this one! The Northstars are banged
up, but only lost to B’ville by 1 last week. They’re figuring some things out.
One thing they won’t be able to figure out is how to beat Liverpool, who
trashed them earlier in the season. The strongest defense in Section III will
come through again, and Liverpool will go 2/2 – 34-7.
A
Oswego @ Indian River – Indian River keeps on impressing.
They’ve broken just about every game open against A competition in their
undefeated run, and they beat F-M in a way that most AAs couldn’t do. Oswego’s
won 2 of their last 3 to get in, but the Buc stops here. (ha, I’m so punny)
48-7 Indian River.
Carthage @ Fulton – Congrats, Fulton! You get a home
game. You get to play a team that beat
you by 38. That’s what happened when these two met at Carthage, but that
was the beginning of the season. Things have turned around for Fulton
(obviously) since then, and they’ll be able to get the Comets on their home
field instead of making the bus ride. Carthage is coming in angry after getting
whalloped by Whitesboro, but I think that game was an anomaly, so expect the
Comets to go home with a rematch against Indian River on their minds. Comets
win, 34-19.
Jamesville-Dewitt @ Whitesboro – Talk about riding high
for the Warriors, beating Carthage down 31-0 last week. These two played each
other early in the season at J-D. Whitesboro scored the first 21, then gave up
21 straight and needed a 32 yard FG in the waning moments to escape with a win.
They’re at Chiz Frye Field now and haven’t given up a point in the last couple
weeks, so I’m expecting a game that lacks the need for heroics. Home team
advances 35-20.
New Hartford @ ES-M – New Hartford is 4-3 with a couple
of non-league wins over B schools. ES-M, the 2 seed, is also 4-3. They won the
(by consensus) weaker of the A divisions, for what it’s worth. They’ve turned
up the offense in the last couple weeks, scoring a combined 95 points in 2
wins. Considering they’re also the only team to really give Indian River a 4
quarter push so far, you’ve gotta favor them in this one. ES-M 28-13.
B
Skaneateles @ Cazenovia – Another battle of the Lakers.
Caz’s girls soccer team just handled Skaneateles yesterday. Skaneateles likes
to air it out from time to time, and that’s fine and dandy, but not sure how conducive
this weather is to throwing the ball. Cazenovia dominates teams by winning the
trenches, and this is the sort of game that winning the trenches means winning
big. While the parents argue over who has more money and who has the better
lake, Cazenovia will win 42-7.
Mexico @ Westhill – This one could be interesting, but
there’s a reason Class B has been a four-headed monster. There’s 4 teams better
than everyone else, and Westhill is one of them. Mexico can surprise teams with
how well they run the ball sometimes, but it’s been inconsistent and I don’t
expect it to be enough to handle Easterly & the Warriors on their home
turf. Westhill takes this one 36-13.
Marcellus @ Oneida – This one may have the potential of
being more interesting than the 4/5 game. Marcellus won their first 4 before
dropping a pair of games – to Westhill and Homer – and sit at 5-2. Oneida is
6-1, but that includes a couple of squeakers past VVS and Mexico before getting
drubbed by Cazenovia. The Mustangs are a team that could nip Oneida and
normally I wouldn’t be surprised to see it, but today is different. I think
Oneida comes in pissed off of that beatdown they took, and they’ll take it out
on their quarterfinal opponent. Indians win, 28-7.
South Jefferson @ Homer – Homer will score more points in
the 1st quarter than South Jefferson has players on their roster.
They play hard, but barely have enough to field a team. Homer plays quick and
kills you up front. Advantage, home team. 58-6.
C
Canastota @ Herkimer – Canastota had a chance for a home
game, but lost to Jordan-Elbridge in Week 7. Bet they wish they had it now,
sitting at the 8 and having to face an absolute red-hot Magicians squad.
Herkimer has a history of starting games off slow, so the 1st
quarter might not be indicative of what it turns into, but Herkimer will take
control and win 47-13.
Thousand Islands @ Jordan-Elbridge – Ahh, this one
already happened before. It was an ugly one opening night, with J-E winning 8-7
on their home field. A safety and TD in the 2nd half won it.
Thousand Islands then beat Institute of Tech, J-E’s division winner, the
following week. They have been up and down all year, and I think their season
ends in another close one tonight. Jordan-Elbridge will get the liberty of
playing Herkimer after a 20-14 win.
Notre Dame @ Institute of Tech – The Jugglers had this
matchup last year – on the road again – and handled business. Despite their 6
seed (done because of seeding rules in Section III), ND is the 2nd
best team in the section in Class C. I think Kev & the boys will show it
again, going off in a big 35-13 win.
Sherburne-Earlville @ General Brown – Sherburne pounded
General Brown earlier in the season, but it was in Sherburne. They now head to
Dexter for Part Deux, with GB on a positive swing after pounding Thousand
Islands to win the division and S-E on a negative one after getting flat-out
busted by Herkimer. Much closer this time around, but I think S-E advances by a
28-27 score.
D
Onondaga @ Dolgeville – No one in Class D has challenged
Dolgeville. Not Morrisville/Hamilton, who was smacking everyone coming into
that game. Not Westmoreland, who nearly beat General Brown and did beat
Canastota. The only loss for D-ville? 30-14 to top-seeded Class C Herkimer. I’ll
take that loss. Too much Foster, Doerrer, everyone else that the Blue Devils
utilize in a 49-0 decision.
Westmoreland @ Cato-Meridian – This hasn’t exactly been a
Westmoreland-type season. You’re not used to seeing them lose to begin with,
let alone take a beatdown unless it’s in regional play, and they took a
smacking from Dolgeville. Cato-Meridian has had a great season to this point,
but Westmoreland wants that rematch a little too badly to let it end this week.
Bulldogs move on, 34-22.
Weedsport @ Morrisville-Eaton/Hamilton – Weedsport’s not
had the type of season they wanted after their QB went down very early in the
2014 campaign. M-E/H has went through a magical run so far, turning around
their fortune from last year and doing things that not many (except for me)
expected from them. They seem to be back on the right trail after getting
handled by Dolgeville, with last week being an easy W over Waterville. This
will be one of the better games of the night, but I’ll take the home team to
continue its run with a 28-21 W.
West Canada Valley @ Sandy Creek – This matchup happened
last year, and Sandy Creek handled business on WCV’s home field. This matchup
happened this year, and Sandy Creek handled business by more on their home
field. 3rd team will not be a charm for the Indians. Sandy Creek
rolls onto the semifinals, 34-14.
The Magic Conch: Section 2 Football, Quarterfinal Style
It’s sectional time. 16 quarterfinal games in Section 2,
since the Ds go straight to semis (that’ll be next week). I don’t think there’s
any debating that football in this region has certainly been lopsided this year
with clear front-runners, so many of these quarterfinal matchups aren’t the
most compelling. However, there are a few potential gems. Let’s pick em!
AA
Colonie @ Shenendehowa – No team has been able to stop
the aerial attack of the Plainsmen. Ryan Van Galen can throw the cheese, and
he’s got a few guys (starting with Jordan Zlogar) who know what to do with it.
Colonie is an interesting team, tough to beat at their best, but they’re pretty
inconsistent – hence being the 4th in their division. No problem
here, Shen 41-7.
Bethlehem @ CBA – This is one that I could see being interesting.
There’s no question what Bethlehem will do, and that’s throw Ben Zonca at you
over and over again with reckless abandon. He’s one of 6 backs in Section 2
with over 1,000 rushing yards on the season and they give him the pill quite
often, including 41 times against Colonie and 36 against La Salle. CBA can beat
you on the ground or in the air – Jaylen McIntyre has breakout potential and
Joe Kolbe has thrown for 10 TDs on the year. Home team gets my vote, CBA 28-13.
Ballston Spa @ Shaker – Spa is coming off a loss to
Saratoga Springs that I was surprised they really hung around in. They’re in
sectionals with just 2 wins, and the wins (Albany, Guilderland) aren’t
impressive. Shaker has improved quite a bit since an opening week loss to CBA,
giving up just 37 points in the last 6 games compared to 34 that week. Allllll
Shaker. 34-0.
Saratoga @ La Salle – This is a rematch of opening week,
when Saratoga won 49-28 on their home field. They haven’t been able to get any
real momentum, going 4-3 this season and alternating wins & losses each
week. QB Brian Williams had his most productive night of the season last week
in their W over Ballston Spa, accounting for 5 TDs and over 200 total yards.
They’ll need more of that from him. It’s tough to get a read on LSI,
considering how crazy inconsistent they’ve been. How does a team beat Colonie by
25 and lose to Bethlehem by just 1, but only beat Columbia by 1? The world may
never know. Whether Weeks 3-5 LSI or Weeks 6-7 LSI comes to play will determine
this outcome. For now, I vote Saratoga making it 2 for 2, although closer this
time: 35-22.
A
Averill Park @ Queensbury – I like Averill Park, but they
just got picked apart by Scotia. Queensbury (#1 in the state in Class A) picked
Scotia apart. AP’s option offense plays right into Queensbury’s hands. Game,
set, match – The Q. Maybe they can recruit that soccer player who got the red
card Saturday to get some tackles too. Spartans advance, we’ll say 49-8.
Troy @ Burnt Hills – The Flying Horses will glide over to
the same place they got trounced at 5 weeks prior. I can’t act like I’m
interested in seeing this, because I can expect the same thing (maybe worse) to
happen – add that Burnt Hills will be playing angry after taking one on the
chin against Queensbury, and this could get Susan Boyle ugly. Burnt Hills 34-6.
Gloversville @ Amsterdam – If for nothing else but the
rivalry of it all, I could get myself pumped for this. The game itself? Ehh,
not so sure. They already played… a high scoring 1st quarter both
ways turned into a high scoring rest of the game just one way in Amsterdam’s
55-22 win. Bryan Stanavich couldn’t be stopped, but no one can. He’s at over
1,300 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards on the season already, and it won’t
stop after this week. Quantel McGee is tough for Gloversville, but not enough.
Rams 41-13.
Scotia @ Bishop Maginn – Let’s face it, the Northwest
division is much stronger than the Southeast. Scotia finished in 3rd
in NW behind the Q and Burnt Hills, Maginn took their 1st loss
Friday and finished in 2nd in the Southeast behind Amsterdam. Maginn
might be the home team, but watching both, Scotia’s the better squad talent-wise.
The way Maginn will have a chance is by keeping it slower and low-scoring. If you let the pace be quick, Scotia's offensive prowess and balance takes over and it can become a long night. Long drives, limit possessions... this is where Bishop Maginn can find success. Home field could matter and it may be interesting with the contrasting styles, but I’m putting my money
(I’m broke) on the Tartans. 24-14 for this one.
B
Johnstown @ Schalmont – I’m not going to say much about
this one besides if Johnstown won, it would be the biggest upset since Gary
Busey beat cocaine. 66-7 Sabres.
Glens Falls @ Cohoes – This is another rematch from the
middle of the season, where Glens Falls won at home 40-20. Cohoes was up at
half, but gave up 20 points in the 4th quarter. Things have changed
since then. A very injury-plagued Tiger team is still banged up, but they’ve
been able to figure out their way. They had a big 4th quarter last
week, scoring 20 unanswered of their own, in beating #21 Ravena 27-16. Glens
Falls had a monster win against Johnstown as well, but with renewed life (and a
field they can finally call home) on their side, I’m rolling with Cohoes here
in a good one. 27-21 is the prediction.
Albany Academy @ Schuylerville – Academy got in by virtue
of a week 7 win over Hudson. Congrats! You play an undefeated team.
Schuylerville has been trouncing opponents, with 5 of their 7 wins being by 30+
points and the other two being by 27 and 16. Oh yeah, one of the 30+ point wins
was over Academy. Black Horses gallop away with a 48-14 win.
Ravena @ Broadalbin-Perth – Oooh yeah (Affordable
Furniture jingle voice.. if you remember that). I like this one. B-P took back
to back losses to Schuylerville and Hoosick Falls mid-season, but are back to
handling business. Ravena has been state-ranked for most of the year, but will
probably drop out after last week’s loss. The state ranking means nothing to
them though, it’s about this game. This may be the most competitive
quarterfinal game – unlike the classes above them, these two divisions are
relatively balanced. Now that Vinny DiCaterino has also made his way back to
B-P, I’ll give them a little bit more of an edge. Home team advances, 28-20.
C
Chatham @ Hoosick Falls – Chatham’s responded nicely over
the last few weeks, not having lost since taking a 50 point drubbing to Fonda.
To be fair, the opponents they’ve had certainly aren’t Hoosick Falls. HF has
been rolling again, and I’ll expect them to do the same this Friday. Too much
Davendonis, Pitt, & Co., Panthers 38-8.
Coxsackie-Athens @ Corinth – Coxsackie-Athens is on the
road despite having a better record (5-2) than Corinth (4-3), but Corinth’s
record is deceiving. Their 3 losses have come to the top 2 seeds in Class C –
Hoosick Falls and Fonda – and Schuylerville, who won their division in Class B.
Corinth nearly beat Fonda as well last week, coming back and losing by just 1
point, while Fonda trounced C-A the week before. With Corinth averaging nearly
300 yards per game on the ground, expect more of the ground & pound in a
convincing home win, 38-15.
Mechanicville @ Voorheesville – Ooooh, a dandy. Probably
where I’ll end up Saturday afternoon. These two played each other earlier in
the season, and it was Mechanicville’s only loss. They’ve won their last 4 by a
combined 160 points, probably raring for an opportunity to get back at the
undefeated Blackbirds. Each side has an accomplished back leading the show –
Matt Feller moved over the 1,000 yard mark on the season last week and has
1,046, and Chase DeLossantos moved past that number a longgg time ago, now at
1,527. This one’s a you pick ‘em type game, but I’m going for the slight upset.
This was the only game that DeLossantos averaged less than 10 yards per carry,
and I think they’ll get him some more room this time around. Mechanicville in a
dandy, 21-18.
Greenwich @ Fonda – Greenwich has a nice season going for
them, which includes a tight win over Coxsackie-Athens. Fonda has a win over
C-A that wasn’t so tight. Siniscaro, Hart, and the rest of the gang has too
much going for them and perhaps with renewed focus after nearly letting one
slip away against Corinth, they’ll be ready. Picking the Braves to defend home
field with relative ease, 42-20.
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