Section Nine Football

SECTION NINE FOOTBALL TOP FIVE RANKINGS AFTER WEEK FOUR

CLASS AA/A:
1. NEWBURGH – Old-time DUSO rival Middletown pays a visit to Academy Field after the Middies tough loss at M-W. The Goldbacks look unstoppable right now and will undoubtedly amp things up even more with tougher competition.

2. CORNWALL – Tyler Vanderpool has 18 touchdowns and the Dragons use that no-huddle offense expertly to wear down opponent defenses. Minisink presents perhaps the first bit of difficulty this week at Cornwall.

3. MONROE-WOODBURY – The Crusaders worked hard to earn that 24-20 division win over Middletown and want to keep trucking this Friday night at Pine Bush. Newburgh looms in the distance.

4. MIDDLETOWN – The Bears fell just short at M-W but will need to focus 100% at Newburgh. A solid effort could make things interesting.

5 (a). MINISINK – The Warriors got going in the second half to break away from Warwick but now must play a disciplined Cornwall team that won’t beat themselves. Should make for a great watch.

5 (b). WASHINGTONVILLE – The 5-0 Wizards are having quite a season and win #6 is within reach versus Monticello in week five A-1 league business.

CLASS B/C/D:
1. MARLBORO – The Dukes handled Red Hook to pick up a B-2 win. Now we arrive at the BLACK AND BLUE BOWL against Highland, which Marlboro has basically owned since 2010. The Huskies will need to play flawless football here.

2 (a). PORT JERVIS – The Raiders get back into the win column thanks to a 30-14 Saturday morning victory over O’Neill. They will play the favorite at Liberty, as the Red Hawks have had a hard time this season.

2 (b). SAUGERTIES – The Sawyers win again! After collecting only one win in 2022, Saugerties beats Beacon to improve to 3-0 in B-1 and to 4-1 overall. Roosevelt, now playing very good football, will visit in a very appealing non-leaguer this Saturday.

3. O’NEILL – We’ll keep these Raiders in our third slot despite falling short at Port Jervis. This week JIO finally gets a Class C league game in a jaunt over to Dover.

4. BURKE – The Eagles blanked Liberty, 33-0, and travel to Poughkeepsie to take on Spackenkill in a 6PM Friday start. The defense has swarmed since that opening week game with Tioga.

5. CHESTER – The Hambletonians ran away from Dover to gain a league ‘W’ but Class B Red Hook should muster up a good challenge at the Commons.

8-MAN:
1. PAWLING – The Tigers gain the top spot in these SNF rankings going toward a week five regular season showdown with Pine Plains/Rhinebeck. We’ll see if they can stay upon the perch.

2. SULLIVAN WEST – The Bulldogs won a big Division One battle over Fallsburg and earn this runner-up spot. On deck is an away game with Tri-Valley, a team that has gotten a bit better lately.

3. PINE PLAINS/RHINEBECK – The Bombers/Hawks dropped a close 30-25 ballgame at Rondout in the first loss of the season. The game at Pawling this week will tell us a lot about how this division will shake out.

4. FALLSBURG – The Comets lost 32-16 to Sullivan West but we’ll keep them right here for now. Let’s check out how they perform in a week five meeting at Rondout.

5. TRI-VALLEY – The Bears have won two straight after getting off to a slow start. Sully West makes for the perfect test to view T-V progress at this juncture. This could be a good one!