Section Nine Football

After being a head coach at Section Three's Pulaski High for five years (1977-81), Pat D'Aliso came to Monroe-Woodbury where he assisted John Moson. In 1988 he became the Crusader head coach, and the rest is history. He has won two OCL (and American Conference) titles plus 11 Section Nine crowns. In 2004 his squad whipped Saratoga to become the first Section Nine Class AA team to win a state tournament game. That feat was quickly trumped when the Crusaders won the Class AA State Championship in 2005 and followed with three subsequent trips to the state title games.  He retired after the 2011 season. 

Joe Viglione coached for 32 seasons (1957-83 at PJ and 1987-91 at Warwick) after a year in LaPlata, Md. At Port he won three DUSO titles and eight OCL championships. At Warwick he won the final OCL title (which was also played for the Class A crown) plus a Class B title with a state regional crown in 1991. His 13 crowns make him top dog in total championships.

Ron Bauer has more than 40 years of head coaching under his belt. He's served at both Jeff-Youngsville (one WSL title) and Delaware Valley where he earned seven Section 9D trophies before being the natural choice to be the head coach at the then newly centralized Sullivan West. As the head Bulldog, he's won three more sectional crowns. With 11 Section Nine championships, he's tied for the lead in that department! After not coaching Sullivan West in 2017 because the program joined the Roscoe/Livingston Manor/Downsville program, Bauer resumed coaching the Bulldogs in 2018 when the school had enough players to independently change to eight-man football. 

Following Joe Viglione at Port Jervis, Bob Corvino (1984-2007) won 12 titles, including a state regional crown in 1997. Corvino started as a varsity assistant, never coaching below the varsity level.

RON STOVER makes it to this prestigious list, having already won over 100 games for Chester since beginning the program earlier this century. He attained a 29-26-2 slate while coaching at Section One's Sleepy Hollow back in the 90's. He has won nine Class D titles, six state regional championships, and has brought the Hambletonians to three state final appearances.  

Highland's CARL RELYEA took over the varsity reins in 1986. His Huskies were a Class C powerhouse in the 90's, winning six sectional crowns from 1991 to 1998. The 1991 title had provided Highland its first football trophy in two decades. During that span of dominance, the Huskies also won a pair of state regional titles. Relyea retired from Highlandafter the 2015-16 academic year. He has joined his son, Matt, the head coach of Poughkeepsie, as an assistant

Fred Ahart  has 40 seasons of coaching varsity football under his belt. Of his wins, 99 came at Roscoe from 1979-2004. At the helm for the Blue Devils he won both the Western Sullivan League and the first two Section Nine Class D titles in 1989 and 1990. In 1990 his Devils also won a regional title. In 2005 Roscoe football merged with Livingston Manor. Along with co-coach Kevin Clifford, Ahart and the Devil Cats won two games each in 2005, 2008 and 2009.  In 2010 they made it to the Section Nine Class D championship game. Sullivan West joined the already merged schools Roscoe/Livingston Manor/Downsville in 2017 and this four-school hybrid jumped up to Class C, playing C-II division football. In 2018, Roscoe/Livingston Manor/Downsville changed over to eight-man football while Sullivan West had enough players to independently play eight-man football.

Middletown's Dick Wolslayer (1967-78, 83-95) could have won another 20+ games had he coached from 1979-1982. During those four years, he served as an assistant, coaching freshman and jayvee ball after his second "retirement." He stays close to the game and could probably still go out and be a successful head coach today! This underrated and humble mentor won 63% of his games against the toughest of competition. He won a championship in his first season - a DUSO crown. Then in 1993 and '94 he and his Middies won back-to-back Class A sectional titles.  

Rondout's MICKEY MILLION coached from 1969-1991. In his 23 seasons the hometown boy came back to his alma mater and had to follow in the footsteps of Chick Meehan, the "Father of Rondout Valley Football." In doing so, he won two UCAL and two MHAL titles. 

 DON CLARK has brought three AA-II league championships to Washingtonville in his two coaching stints (2003, 2009-present), and won three Class D titles along with six divisional crowns at Section Four's Newfield High School from 1995-2002. 

 An earlier Highland coach also notched over 100 wins. He's Lem Atkins who won 103 games in 16 seasons (1962-1977). In those days the Huskies played in the UCAL where Atkins' teams won titles in 1965, '66, '70 and '71. Atkins tragically died at age 47 from a massive coronary on a Saturday morning with Highland scheduled to play Wallkill.

The legendary Donovan "Al" Chase, known as "The Old Fox," coached at Port Jervis from 1925-42 and from 1945-49. The two missing years were spent serving in the armed forces at the tail end of WW II. In his 23 seasons at the helm, his Red and Black squad, playing against much larger schools, won six DUSO titles. Chase's most famous player was Eddie Dunn who went on to star (and even coach) at the University of Miami where his name is still in the Hurricane record books alongside the likes of Edgerrin James. Later, Dunn's son became a part of the famous Pittsburgh Steeler "Steel Curtain" of the 70's

TOM TEGELER has coached the New Paltz Huguenots from 2001-2018 and has orchestrated four Class B sectional championships in his very successful tenure..