Section Nine Football

SECTION NINE FOOTBALL TOP FIVE RANKINGS AFTER WEEK SEVEN

CLASS AA/A:
1. CORNWALL – The Dragons didn’t miss a beat after the week six layoff as they ran away from Goshen to retain the undefeated record. This week Cornwall visits Our Lady of Lourdes where the winner will claim the A-2 division championship. The loser of that game still makes the Class A playoffs. The winner would get a home playoff Class A semifinal against the winner of this Saturday afternoon’s Warwick @ Washingtonville game. The loser of Cornwall-OLL will play at Minisink in the other Class A semifinal.

2. MIDDLETOWN – The Bears posted a solid 20-point Class AA victory over Pine Bush and wrap up league play at Valley Central this Friday. Middletown should take care of business in that contest and then watch the big NFA @ M-W game on Saturday, which will determine playoff seeding.

3. NEWBURGH – After a somewhat slow start, the Goldbacks eventually pulled away from archrival Kingston to win an 11th consecutive game in that long-time series. The trip to M-W will certainly define how the standings line up going toward the Class AA SNF tournament. Right now, the numbers show Newburgh having that 11-pont loss versus Middletown while the Middies had a 4-point defeat at M-W earlier in the season. A win at M-W would create a 3-way tiebreaker and the team whose point margin loss is closest to zero would win the division to earn top seed. The head-to-head matchup of the other two teams would determine the second and third seeds.

4. MINISINK – The Warriors won a big non-league showdown at M-W to climb in these rankings, shutting out the Crusaders in the second half. MV has already clinched the A-1 division and will play the loser of Cornwall @ Our Lady of Lourdes in the Class A playoff semifinals. First, Minisink will host league opponent Monticello to complete the regular season.

5. MONROE-WOODBURY – The Crusaders will try to clinch the division title but will have to get past tough Newburgh this Saturday afternoon. If M-W wins, they get the top playoff seed while Middletown takes the second and NFA the third seed. A Newburgh win brings the SNF tiebreaker scenario. The #4 seed is still up for grabs with Pine Bush hosting Kingston this Friday night and with Valley Central also still in the mix. Pine Bush gets the playoff #4 spot with a win over Kingston or if Kingston beats them by 12 points or less with a Middletown win at VC. Valley Central could sneak in by beating Middletown and with Kingston knocking off Pine Bush. The Vikings also would win a 3-way division tiebreaker over PB and Kingston if Kingston beats PB by 13 or more points.

CLASS B/C/D:
1. PORT JERVIS – The Raiders poured it on at New Paltz to the tune of a 61-0 win. They have earned the top seed in Class B for the postseason and a quarterfinal round bye. In this case, they will host the winner of the (#5) Red Hook @ (#4) Highland playoff game.

2. MARLBORO – The second seed Iron Dukes blanked Spackenkill going into a bye week, awaiting the winner of (#6) Beacon @ (#3) Saugerties for a home semifinal matchup

3. BURKE – The Eagles showed a Class D #7 NYSSWA ranking entering week seven play and only confirmed that stance with a 14-0 win at O’Neill. Burke has won seven in a row and now entertain Class A independent Roosevelt in a very interesting meeting this Saturday.

4. O’NEILL – The Raiders could not get anything substantial going on offense in that tough loss against Burke. Next up is a journey to play the Liberty Red Hawks, a Class B team that narrowly missed a playoff spot in a 12-9 loss to Beacon.

5. SAUGERTIES – As expected, the Sawyers picked up a sixth win on the season at Dover. Now it’s playoff quarterfinal time in a home game against Beacon. A win in this game would means a rematch with Marlboro in a semifinal playoff meeting.

8-MAN:
1. PAWLING – The Tigers won the battle of the unbeatens over Sullivan West, 36-6, in a possible preview of the SNF title game. Week eight brings about a bye week so #1 Pawling may scout the Pine Plains/Rhinebeck @ Onteora quarterfinal playoff game. Pawling will get a home playoff semifinal versus the winner of that matchup.

2. SULLIVAN WEST – The second-seed Bulldogs get to take the week off to recover from that loss at Pawling but also to watch the Tri-Valley @ Fallsburg playoff and prepare to host that winner in an 8-Man semifinal.

3. ELLENVILLE – The Blue Devils fall victim to the SNF 3-way tiebreaker system where their 18-point loss earlier in the season to PP/RB does them in. Ellenville is more than likely better than a few of the teams that made the playoffs, especially now that they’re riding a 4-game winning streak. This week they’ll visit Rondout for a second encounter on the season.

4. RONDOUT – The Ganders picked up a forfeit win as Livingston Manor/Roscoe could not field a complete team. The Ganders cannot play any postseason games in 8-Man as a Class B team, but they’ll get a second chance vs. Ellenville at home in week eight.

5. FALLSBURG – The Comets have not played the last two weeks because of a forfeit win and a bye week. They need to have a good practice week in preparing for the quarterfinal playoff at home against Tri-Valley. Fallsburg knocked off the Bears in a league meeting earlier this season by a 40-20 score.