Let's get right to it.
1.) Section III vs. Section IV football. Let's put it this way. Does Section III have a chance? The only class they've had success in over recent years has been AA, and even last year's CBA squad was knocked off by EFA-SS last year, which gave Section IV a clean 5-0 sweep. The small school games have been straight beatdowns. All 5 classes offer a new champion in Section III - and it's much of the same faces from the Southern Tier. Union-Endicott, Maine-Endwell, Chenango Forks, Tioga... all perennial powers, although it looks like M-E is far from the usual M-E this year. Union-Endicott, the Class B rep, hasn't lost a game in what, 4 years? Just about. Cazenovia gave them a heck of a battle at U-E last year, and it's Homer's chance this year. Chenango Forks & Waverly go back and forth winning C in Section IV, and the top-ranked team in the state gets a new Class C champ in Notre Dame this year. Tioga has won Class D in Section IV 4 years in a row, and Dolgeville marks their 4th different Class D opponent. They beat Westmoreland soundly in 2011 (55-14?), Sandy Creek in 2012 (I left that game at halftime, 40-0), Herkimer last year (43-14). See a pattern? Ahhh, let's see if Dolgeville can keep it under 4 touchdowns. For the record, I think Section III will do better this year than last - I mean, you can only go up anyway - but Section IV will still run the regional.
2.) Jamesville-Dewitt. Is it their year for something besides hoops? They're one of two schools in all of NYS with both boys & girls soccer making it to the state semifinals (Section IV's Lansing being the other). The girls team was basically expected to get to this point all year. Don't want to say the boys were an underdog because they were at the top of a pretty balanced field in Section III, but they weren't the prohibitive favorite in the way the Lady Rams were. Regardless, they're in the same spot: 2 wins away from a state title. They'll be competing 2&1/2 hours away from each other, with the boys battling the East Hampton Millionaires (ok, I'm assuming that's not their team name, but it sounds right) bright and early at 8:30 and the girls taking on Somers at 2:30. Both teams have won relatively convincingly in their sub-regionals and regional finals - the boys have outscored opponents 6-0 in 2 post-sectional games, and the girls have done it by a whopping 14-0. Do the Sir and Lady Red Rams have what it takes this weekend?
3.) Is Schoharie ticked because they're still flying under the radar? The Section II, Class C girls soccer champs closest call really came in the section quarterfinals. 7th seeded Stillwater gave them all they could handle, but the Indians won 1-0. They won the semis over Greenville by the same score, but it was a much more convincing win on the field. Another 1-goal win over the top seed (ranked #2 in the state at the time) Canajoharie in the finals, but they were up 2 until 3 minutes remaining. Then they beat Potsdam in regionals, 2-0. They haven't been making people take notice with gaudy numbers, but they keep on shutting teams out. Only 1 goal given up in postseason play and 9 all season. They keep on winning. They get Lansing in the semis, and I certainly hope the buzz will happen if they win that one. They're doing it with a lot of underclassmen. Hell, their leading scorer is a freshman & scorers 3 and 4 (both in double digits in goals & assists) are juniors. Let's see what the squad brings to Cortland this weekend.
4.) How many people watching high school soccer in Cortland on Saturday will wish they were partaking in Cortaca festivities instead? Ehh, I'm leaving that question alone.
5.) The usual powers won again in Section II football. Shenendehowa, Queensbury, Schalmont, Hoosick Falls, and Cambridge/Salem all brought home the hardware. I've made mention that Section II & Section III are very different in football. Long story short, Section III is more competitive. However, the top teams (as in literally the top team in each class, not the top few) in Section II are generally a bit stronger than the top ones in Section III. Where Section III teams have a dogfight to win the section and proceed to get blasted by the Southern Tier, Section II champs have a pretty easy go of it, but are strong enough to go much deeper into the state playoffs. How successful will they be this year? I'm interested to see if Schalmont can get over that hump and win the state in Class B. Let's see what Shen has to offer, too. CBA gave them a little more of a battle than I thought would happen last week. Not to skip ahead, but I'd love to make the trip to Dietz next Friday for Queensbury/Cornwall...
6.) You guys ready for another hell of an action-packed weekend? Bring it on!
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