Section Nine Football

THE ORANGE COUNTY LEAGUE LIST OF CHAMPIONS

By FEARLESS PHIL While the old DUSO league was celebrating its 30th anniversary and the Port Jervis-Middletown rivalry was getting ready to play the premier “Battle for the Erie Bell”, the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association was introducing its “Village High School League” for the smaller schools with 11-man teams. The original league members were Highland Falls, Warwick, Goshen, Monroe-Woodbury, Cornwall and Walden. It took a few years for the Orange County League to catch on. Warwick, Goshen and Walden were far more concerned with their “Little Three” title, for example. The Goshen-Warwick rivalry dates back to 1896 and is the oldest in the section.

At the turn of the last century (1900-02), Chester, which is now re-entering varsity football play, was considered an area powerhouse… Cornwall fielded a team way back in 1905… The “Little Three” competition started in 1927… Warwick football historian George St. Lawrence reported that the Wildcats played Monticello in 1928, a year after the Sullivan school had left the DUSO. No wonder. In 1927 the Monties had lost to Port Jervis, 101-0! Highland Falls had played back in the late 20’s; Liberty and NYMA in the 30’s. Of course, several teams came and went from 1953-90. Pine Bush joined in ’58 only to leave in ’61 to join the UCAL where it won a title in ’69. In ’80 the Bushmen rejoined the OCL, but won no titles until sectional play in ’95… In ’58 Walden was replaced by Montgomery – probably just a different name for the same school since in ’60, Walden-Montgomery & Maybrook combined to form Valley Central… So, in 1961 the league consisted of Warwick, Goshen, Valley Central, Highland Falls, Monroe-Woodbury and Cornwall. Newborn Minisink Valley, with students drawn from the rural parts of the Port Jervis, Middletown, Goshen and Warwick school districts, started football in 1960. In ’64 the Warriors entered the OCL only to withdraw in ’67 and ’68. In ’69 Jim Wilson led them back into the OCL to win an immediate title.

‘69 also saw soccer power Washingtonville field its first varsity football team as a new OCL member. When the lack of teams started causing the DUSO to break up, Port Jervis headed to the OCL in 1970. Middletown came in 1973 while Newburgh and Kingston headed to Dutchess County and Section One until ’87 when they joined the OCL. Around ’75 Highland Falls started to go by its new name, James I. O’Neill. In 1981 Rockland County’s Pearl River became the OCL’s twelfth team. Remember, Rockland had been an important part of Section Nine until it moved over to Section One in the late 70’s. But Rockland schools never were a part of any football alliances with Orange, Ulster and Sullivan. Pearl River played here for just two seasons. With 12 OCL members and a 10-game schedule allowed by the state, 1981 saw the OCL split into two conferences, the large school American Conference and the small school National Conference, after much debate. NYMA (New York Military Academy in Cornwall-on-Hudson) joined the National Conference in 1989 and played there for two seasons. The section then went to divisional alignment.

Here are the OCL champs: 1953 – Highland Falls 1954 – Highland Falls 1955 – Goshen 1956 – Goshen 1957 – Walden 1958 – Warwick 1959 – Monroe-Woodbury 1960 – Highland Falls 1961 – Cornwall 1962 – Warwick 1963 – Warwick 1964 – Warwick 1965 – Cornwall 1966 – Warwick 1967 – Warwick 1968 – Valley Central 1969 – Minisink Valley 1970 – Goshen/Port Jervis (tie) 1971 – Port Jervis 1972 – Minisink Valley/Goshen (tie) 1973 – Goshen/Port Jervis (tie) 1974 – Monroe-Woodbury 1975 – Port Jervis 1976 – Monroe-Woodbury/Port Jervis (tie) 1977 – Goshen 1978 – Cornwall 1979 – Port Jervis 1980 – Port Jervis 1981 – Washingtonville (d. Port Jervis, NC Champ) 1982 – Monroe-Woodbury (d. Goshen, NC Champ) 1983 – Port Jervis (d. Monroe-Woodbury, AC Champ) 1984 – Warwick (d. Pine Bush, AC Champ) 1985 – Goshen (d. Monroe-Woodbury, AC Champ) 1986 – Port Jervis (d. Pine Bush, AC Champ) 1987 – Port Jervis (d. Kingston, AC Champ) 1988 – Monroe-Woodbury (d. Port Jervis, NC Champ) 1989 – Monroe-Woodbury (d. Port Jervis, NC Champ) 1990 – Warwick (d. Kingston, AC Champ) *AC = American Conference; NC = National Conference.

NOTE – Chester, Maybrook, Monroe, Montgomery, Pine Bush, and Tuxedo played 6-Man football in years just prior to the OCIAA.