Section Nine Football

O’NEILL – The Raiders nipped Chester by three points in the regular season matchup and this Class C title showdown has the makings of a classic battle. The Hambletonians defeated a good Class A Roosevelt team while O’Neill just missed against AA Valley Central. in the leadup games.

PAWLING – The Tigers beat Sullivan West 36-6 in a non-league game and act as a solid favorite in the 8-Man championship game. Pawling has had a fairly seamless season to this point.

CORNWALL – The Dragons have climbed to #4 on the NYSSWA Class A poll this week and for good reason. Our Lady of Lourdes played well in the Minisink semifinal, winning 14-12. Cornwall beat OLL by four touchdowns in the A-2 divisional game, so we expect a return to states for the talented Dragons.

MIDDLETOWN – The Middies get a return match from last season’s loss to Newburgh in the AA title game. The
Goldbacks, at the same time, get another chance at Middletown after losing 28-17 earlier this season. We’ll go with the Bears in a very close skirmish.

PORT JERVIS – The Raiders want ‘one for the thumb’ in trying to win a 5th straight Class B crown. Marlboro would like to regain its form from the last decade where it piled up several championships. We could see a very good fight here but still feel the game will veer toward Port.

NEW YORK STATE SPORTSWRITERS ASSOCIATION RANKINGS AFTER WEEK NINE

CLASS AA: Middletown (#19) … Newburgh (#22) … Honorable Mention: Monroe-Woodbury.

CLASS A: Cornwall (#4) … Our Lady of Lourdes (#27) … Minisink (#29) … HM: Warwick … Washingtonville.

CLASS B: Port Jervis (#20) … Marlboro (#22) … HM: Saugerties.

CLASS C: Chester (#20) … HM: O’Neill.

CLASS D: Burke (#5)

8-MAN: Pawling (#4) … Sullivan West (#8) … HM: Ellenville … Fallsburg … Pine Plains/Rhinebeck.

SECTION NINE FOOTBALL TOP FIVE RANKINGS AFTER WEEK NINE

CLASS AA/A:
1. CORNWALL – Tyler Vanderpool adds to the Dragon record book with a magnificent season leading to another team appearance in the Class A title game with a semifinal win over Warwick. Next up is a chance to get even with Lourdes for last year’s defeat in the final.

2. MIDDLETOWN – The Middies held serve in knocking out Pine Bush in the AA semis. Now we get to watch a great championship game with Newburgh. As the top seed, Middletown still has to play NFA at Academy Field since Section Nine predetermines these sites. I prefer neutral sites.

3. NEWBURGH – In two straight games versus Monroe-Woodbury, the Goldbacks outscored the Crusaders 63-2. Newburgh gets its rematch with Middletown, after having dropped a 28-17 decision at home to the Bears in the league contest.

4. OUR LADY OF LOURDES – The Warriors get back into our rankings with the 14-12 mild upset semifinal victory at Minisink. Lourdes has lost some close games this season, yet championship game foe Cornwall scored 50 points in their A-2 meeting.

5. MINISINK – A missed two-point conversion try kept these Warriors from an overtime in the 14-12 semifinal loss to Lourdes. Minisink still had a successful season in winning the A-1 division championship.

CLASS B/C/D:
1. PORT JERVIS – The Raiders put 72 points on the scoreboard in a dominating Class B semifinal win over Highland. The championship tilt with Marlboro takes place Saturday at O’Neill in a 1PM kickoff.

2. MARLBORO – The Dukes shut down a very good Saugerties passing game en route to a 20-0 semifinal triumph. They’ll have to raise their game a little in taking on 4-time defending B champion Port Jervis.

3. BURKE – The Eagles did not get a game in week nine due to a Monticello forfeit and will get a week ten bye in waiting for the Section One Class D winner between Tuckahoe and Haldane. Those teams play Friday afternoon in a 3PM start at Arlington HS.

4. O’NEILL – The Raiders lost a close game to Class AA Valley Central to get ready for another Class C title showdown with Chester. According to our count, state record-holder in receiving yards, Marek Arbogast, now has 3,508 all-time yards in this category along with an SNF record 40 career touchdown receptions.

5. CHESTER – The Hambletonians defeated Class A Roosevelt in a good ballgame, 28-19, on the road. Chester has had difficulty getting past O’Neill the past few years. This season, they lost a tough 17-14 Class C league game to the Raiders. Their next chance comes in the championship game this Friday at Spackenkill in a 6PM kickoff.

8-MAN:
1. PAWLING – The Tigers dispatched a good Pine Plains/Rhinebeck squad in the semifinal, which sets up the final with Sullivan West at O’Neill in a Friday 6PM start.

2. SULLIVAN WEST – The Bulldogs narrowly got past Fallsburg, 22-20, in the other semifinal. They will play the role of underdog against Pawling, a team that handed SW its only regular season defeat.

3. FALLSBURG – The Comets have come a long way, nearly making it to the championship game this season. Either way, the folks involved with Fallsburg football can take pride in a very good year.

4. ELLENVILLE – The Blue Devils conclude the season with a forfeit win over Mllbrook/Webutuck for a sixth straight win. After getting off to an 0-3 start, Ellenville got together and played some tough football the rest of the way.

5. RONDOUT – The Ganders originally had a week nine game scheduled with Groton that never materialized. Rondout still hopes to get back to 11-man football next season. We’ll keep a lookout on their situation this offseason.

SECTION NINE FOOTBALL WEEK NINE SCHEDULE/SCOREBOARD FOR 11/1-11/4 (7PM Thurs-Fri/1PM Sat unless noted)

WEDNESDAY GAME: Washingtonville 42, Goshen 22

THURSDAY GAMES: Liberty 19, Dover 0 … Kingston 51, Wallkill 36.

MIDDLETOWN-NEWBURGH AA FINAL!!/ CORNWALL-LOURDES REMATCH IN A!!/PORT-MARLBORO IN B!!/PAWLING-SULLY WEST FOR 8-MAN TITLE!!

FRIDAY PLAYOFFS:
CLASS AA SEMIFINALS: #1 Middletown 44, #4 Pine Bush 20 … #2 Newburgh 35, #2 Monroe-Woodbury 2.

CLASS A SEMIFINALS: #1 Cornwall 46, #2 Warwick 6 … #2 Our Lady of Lourdes 14, #1 Minisink 12.

CLASS B SEMIFINALs: #1 Port Jervis 72, #4 Highland 3 … #2 Marlboro 20, #3 Saugerties 0.

8-MAN SEMIFINALS: #1 Pawling 48, #5 Pine Plains/Rhinebeck 14 … #2 Sullivan West 22, #3 Fallsburg 20.

FRIDAY GAMES: Spackenkill 34, New Paltz 22 … Valley Central 23, O’Neill 21 … Chester 28, Roosevelt 19.

8-MAN: Ellenville def. Millbrook/Webutuck by forfeit (21-0 score designation)

SATURDAY GAME: Burke def. Monticello by forfeit (21-0 score designation)

8-MAN: Onteora 40, Tri-Valley 20

Since Boo has gone to visit his cousin, Gib Tespu in a far away land, we gave him the option of just sending us his weekly picks without the usual diatribe.

PLAYOFFS:
MIDDLETOWN over Pine Bush

NEWBURGH over Monroe-Woodbury

MINISINK over Our Lady of Lourdes

CORNWALL over Warwick

PORT JERVIS over Highland

MARLBORO over Highland

PAWLING over Pine Plains/Rhinebeck

SULLIVAN WEST over Fallsburg

CROSSOVERS:
WASHINGTONVILLE over Goshen

LIBERTY over Dover

WALLKILL over Kingston

O’NEILL over Valley Central

SPACKENKILL over New Paltz

ROOSEVELT over Chester

BURKE over Monticello

ONTEORA over Tri-Valley