Section Nine Football

The unpredictable prognosticator still strives to reach that 80% mark as we get to crunch time:

O’NEILL – The Raiders take a Thursday stroll up Liberty way, hoping to get the offense going this week. The Red Hawks have looked better the past few weeks.

SAUGERTIES – As the third seed in Class B, the Sawyers host #6 Beacon after winning the regular season league game in Bulldog country by three touchdowns. The winner goes to Marlboro for the semifinal.

HIGHLAND – The #4 Huskies played a good second half at #5 Red Hook to beat them in the B-2 game two weeks ago, 22-15. The Raiders had to forfeit their scheduled game at Roosevelt due to low player availability last week, while Highland fell short at Chester. Top Class B seed Port Jervis awaits the victor.

PINE BUSH – The Bushmen clinch the #4 seed in Class AA with a win over Kingston. Should the Tigers pull off a win, then we have to check out possible tiebreaker scenarios with Valley Central.

MIDDLETOWN – The Middies could have a perfect season going sans a few untimely penalties and miscalculations at M-W. Nonetheless, Middletown expects to knock off Valley Central and become spectators at the Saturday NFA @ M-W affair.

MINISINK – The A-1 champions conclude the regular season at home with Monticello, followed by a Class A semifinal versus the loser of Cornwall-Our Lady of Lourdes.

WALLKILL – Senior QB Chris Bartolone is inching closer to coach Joe Pillitteri’s school record for career passing yards. The Panthers host Goshen this week and will play a season-ending crossover game in week nine. He still needs over 600 yards to get that done.

CORNWALL – The Dragons seem unstoppable right now and will clinch yet another division title with a win at Our Lady of Lourdes. This would set up the other Class A semifinal next week at home against the winner of Warwick @ Washingtonville.

CHESTER – New Paltz has had a down year so we’ll make the Hambletonians the favorite in front of the home crowd. Chester looked good in their challenge with Class B Highland , sporting a 35-12 win.

SPACKENKILL – The Spartans ride to Dover Plains to take on the winless Dragons. We anticipate a Spackenkill kind of night to bring the ‘W’ back home.

FALLSBURG – After two straight weeks without a game, the #3 Comets host #6 Tri-Valley in an 8-man quarterfinal. We’ll find out if coach Dominick Scanna has to shake the rust off his team in the first quarter. T-V has had trouble getting the offense started recently.

ELDRED – Wow! we missed big time with the Yellowjackets putting up a 50-spot at home on Onteora last week. Maybe Eldred will continue that sense of enthrallment at Millbrook/Webutuck?!

RONDOUT – In the other meeting at Ellenville, the Blue Devils won a high-scoring 40-34 game over Rondout. We’re gambling on the Ganders at Meehan-Million Field this time to pick up a nice rivalry win.

NEWBURGH – This Goldbacks rendition may not quite have the firepower of the 2022 state finalist edition, yet we slightly favor them in the annual big clash at Monroe-Woodbury. A Crusaders win means that M-W wins the division and #1 Class AA playoff seed, with Middletown earning #2 and NFA taking #3. A Newburgh triumph likely brings about the 3-way SNF tiebreaker. Stay tuned!

WASHINGTONVILLE – The Wizards have a powerful offense and the Warwick defense will have its paws full all afternoon. The Wildcats don’t seem to have enough of an offensive capability to keep up. The winner plays a Class A semifinal on the road against the winner of Cornwall @ Our Lady of Lourdes.

BURKE – In an absolutely difficult pick, we’ll go with Class D #7 (NYSSWA) Burke at home entertaining a very good Class A independent in Roosevelt. What a test!

ONTEORA – In the other 8-man quarterfinal, this presents a rematch from that exciting Eagles 42-36 overtime win at #5 Pine Plains/Rhinebeck. That win earned Onteora a home playoff game as #4. Onteora last played postseason football in 1992, when they made it to the state semifinal maximum round, losing 34-9 to a tough Albany Academy team. The full state tournament commenced the next year.