First let me apologize to everyone for no posts in the last three days. I was enjoying a little time off, so that is why I have yet to respond to any comments directed toward me. I will get to them tomorrow. I promise. Hope you guys don’t hate me.

In the meantime, here’s something to feat on. Here is my final regular season report on NewsCenter Now. I spoke with anchor Ben Sosenko about the upcoming playoff picture and wish I was able to get more in, but you know how it is with TV. I actually mentioned John Jay and Greeley as teams to look for in Class AA and Lakeland, Keio and surprising Harrison as teams to keep an eye on in Class A as well. But it was edited out due to time constraints. So to all those teams don’t think I forgot about you.

Just click on the screen below. And yes, I have a cold by the way so don’t make fun of my voice.

Download:

The teams remain the same, though the order changes. Ursuline is rising, and, along with Pelham, is on the doorstep.

1. North Rockland (15-2): Needed overtime, but still prevailed over Minisink Valley thanks to Loryn Ginley’s two goals and Megan Lavecchia’s three assists.

2. Horace Greeley (13-2): Scored a season-high six goals against Yorktown. Appear to be in great shape entering postseason.

3. Mamaroneck (11-3-1): Turns out that game with Mahopac might be played after all. Mahopac coach Joe Zappavigna said it’s definitely on, then Tigers coach Ron Blain said they’re still trying to fit it in. I’ll update the blog when I know.

4. Briarcliff (15-0): The Bears are now one goal behind Rye Neck in the overall scoring race. They’re averaging 5.73 a game.

5. Nanuet (16-1): Last weekend’s rained-out game at Tappan Zee will be made up on Wednesday. Having such a tough game on the season’s final day will offset Briarcliff’s contest against Albertus.

6. Hackley (10-0): Hackley’s season extends well past Section 1’s. It plays its final game on Nov. 3, followed by five days of NYSAIS playoffs.

7. Yorktown (11-4-2): Samantha Russo’s goal in the loss to Arlington gave her 20 on the year. The sophomore is already a veteran on Yorktown’s young squad.

8. Byram Hills (14-2-1): gets a final playoff tuneup against White Plains on Tuesday. White Plains is playing well and looking to make some noise of its own.

9. Hen Hud (11-5): Monday’s 6-1 win over Brewster was its first multi-goal win since late September.

10. John Jay (9-3-3): This team has such trouble scoring sometimes, as evidenced by Monday’s 0-0 tie with Fox Lane. You wonder how long the defense can carry them against playoff opponents.

Panas’s recent win over Hen Hud had me thinking about this year’s most surprising upsets. Is it just me or have there been more this year than in recent seasons? That’s a good thing, at least from a reporter’s perspective. Parity and unpredictablity makes for better viewing. It’s definitely been the case with Section 1 football, where the 42-0 drubbings that were standard are suddenly very rare.

But back to soccer. There’s been enough upsets that I feel the urge to create a deliciously ubiquitous top 10 list. Some of these were off the top of my head, though it took some research to fill out the list. It’s a virtual certainty that someone got left out. So please, let me know if I forgot your team and maybe I’ll release an updated list later.

10. Pearl River 0, Albertus Magnus 0, Oct. 16: A couple years ago this would have been a premier matchup and a typical result. Not so in 2007, when the Pirates (6-9-1), already in a transition year, were beset by injuries. Shauna Conroy made nine saves to keep Albertus (11-4-1) off the board. 

9. New Rochelle 3, Clarkstown North 1, Sept. 29: New Rochelle has one win and one tie all season, and both made this list. Nora Haney scored twice to push the Huguenots (1-7-1) past a decent North (7-7) squad.

8. Rye 3, Eastchester 1, Oct. 2: It may not look like a big deal now that Rye (9-6-1) is second in League 3-B and Eastchester (9-4-2) is fourth, but at the time the Eagles were riding high at 6-1-1 while the Garnets were 2-6. Rye would go on to sweep the season series. (On a side note, Rye hasn’t lost in the month of October. Look out Pelham!)

7. Ossining 2, Nyack 1, Oct. 15: Nyack has provided a few head-scratchers, good and bad. Even though the Indians (9-7) haven’t lived up to their own expectations, they’re still pretty good. So how do you explain a loss to Ossining (3-11), which to that point had seven goals in 11 games?  

6. Lakeland 2, Nyack 1, Sept. 27: This game was the subject of much excitement among Lakeland’s hungry players. Kristen Reiche had 15 saves for the Hornets (3-12), who, in part because of a vicious league, followed the win with 11 straight losses.

5. Fox Lane 0, John Jay 0, Oct. 11: Coming off a near-miss against Somers and a 5-3 loss to Yorktown, the Foxes (5-8-1) salvaged something at John Jay (9-3-2).

4. New Rochelle 1, Mahopac 1, Sept. 25: New Ro scored first, then hung on against a Mahopac (9-5-2) team that would go on to win five of its next six.

3. Panas 1, Hen Hud 0, Oct. 18: Desperately needing a win to stay in the playoff hunt, Panas (7-10) got a second-half goal from Erin Donohue and 16 saves from Tiara Johnson—Hen Hud coach Eileen Cancro called her “awesome”—to throw a stop sign in front of the streaking Sailors (10-5).

2. Mahopac 2, Arlington 1, Oct. 9: Arlington was 11-0 when Mahopac made the trip north. The Indians had taken a step in the right direction by beating Ketcham a few days earlier, but that was nothing compared to this win. Carly Villanova scored twice in the second half.

1. Clarkstown South 1, Nanuet 0, Oct. 13: If you’ve followed this blog or Section 1, you might have seen No. 1 coming. If only Nanuet (16-1) could have borrowed some of that foresight. On a homecoming Saturday morning, Taylor Quilty’s direct kick in the final minute provided the season’s most improbable result. It was only South’s (6-9) fourth shot on net. By Wednesday we’ll likely be looking back on it as the only thing between Nanuet and a perfect regular season.

Read them “here.”:http://www.newyorksportswriters.org/reference/current_polls_gsoc_071014.shtml Byram Hills cracked the top 10 in Class A, joining Nanuet as the only LoHud teams with that distinction.

Because of the roll Hen Hud’s been on, I felt I had to feature them in one of Saturday’s girls soccer notebooks. No sooner had I made that decision than the Sailors fall at home to Panas, which is fighting for its playoff life. Hen Hud’s five-game win streak is over, dropping it to 10-5 overall. (I had previously described the streak as longer, but it turns out there was a loss to Lourdes squeezed in there that had never been reported.)

Don’t worry Sailor fans, your team is still in good shape and it’s still getting a notebook item. (Oh, and for fans of that other underreported team, Pelham, I’ll be at at least one of its games next week, possibly two.) Eileen Cancro, the Hen Hud coach, was miffed after the loss but still took time to talk about the team. Panas coach Shawn Sullivan had warned me earlier that the game got so heated that words were exchanged between the two coaches. He laughed it off. Cancro didn’t mention the dispute. She was more frustrated with her team’s inability to finish against Panther keeper Tiara Johnson, whom she’d been impressed with all season. She also hinted that her team may have overlooked Panas after winning both previous matchups this season.

With the win Panas (7-9) moved closer to a playoff berth. It needs to beat either Lourdes tonight or Lakeland on Tuesday to get in. 

If you were driving along I-287 or the Hutch near where those two major Westchester arteries intersect about 5:30 ish today, those three news helicopters weren’t hovering around White Plains High School with the hopes of getting a little footage of the rival Tigers and Huguenots. Apparently, they were in fast pursuit of Joe Torre.

Too bad because they missed an exciting game. New Ro and the Tigers played to a 1-1 deadlock and the Huguenots spent the final 40 minutes of the game a man down thanks to a red card. No matter. They — specifically Daniel Espinoza — scored with about 20 minutes left in regulation and held White Plains scoreless the rest of the way.

It was your typical game between the two — scrappy and emotional. That’s one of the reasons why I love covering games when these two teams meet. The atmosphere and rivalry is unparalled. It’s a big game among the Hispanic contingent of both communities.

“It’s always been a big rivalry with White Plains for years, years, and years (for) Spanish people,” New Rochelle’s Daniel Espinoza said.

A lot of the players know each other and some even play on the same travel soccer teams. It makes for an interesting matchup to say the least. Speaking of interesting, New Rochelle certainly is. The Huguenots are a difficult team to get a read on. One game, they look like gang busters, the next they go belly up. It’s hard to know which team is going to show up on any given day.

“We have our great games and our ups and downs,” New Ro coach Greg Papadopoulos said. “That is unfortunately the negative thing about this team.”

Translation: Don’t be too surprised if the Huguenots lay an egg against Mount Vernon, which is the same thing that happened two days after New Ro upended the Tigers 4-0 two weeks ago. I asked Marco Noriega how are they going to make sure there is no let down this time.

“We are going to play as a team and lets see what happens” he said.

White Plains, meanwhile, still controls its own fate in the race for the League I-A title. A win over Mount Vernon Monday would secure it, which gives the Tigers incentive as they prepare for the first round of sectionals next weekend.

“We are in a very good position,” Tigers coach Marcel Galligani said. “We’re exactly where we want to be. We control our own destiny.”

Nothing seems to spark more discussion on here than the weekly state rankings. So … drum roll, please. I present to you, the avid followers of the Just Kickin’ It blog, this week’s rankings as compiled by the New York State Sportswriters Association. And no, I have nothing to do with them.

Remember, these are for games through Sunday.

Have at it ladies and gents. Thoughts?

Thanks to reader Dave Kittay who brought last weekend’s Florida State-Boston College women’s soccer game to my attention. It featured the two best players in Section 1 last year, Hannah Cerrone of R.C. Ketcham (below, center) and Amanda DaCosta of Somers (above). DaCosta’s Florida State Seminoles emerged victorious, 1-0. The winning goal came on a penalty kick when DaCosta was taken down in the box.

“Amanda DaCosta’s ability to turn with pressure on her back is magnificent,” said Seminoles coach Mark Krikorian. “Her escape was fantastic and we saw it in her creating that foul which lead to the goal.”

DaCosta, the 2006 Journal News Westchester/Putnam player of the year, has started every game this season. After the win they’re ranked 12th in the nation. BC is ranked 14th.

Byram Hills, come on down. The Bobcats are the latest winner in the “Poll is Right.”

OK, so I’m no Bob Barker or Drew Carey for that matter. But you guys made your voice heard with out Class A poll, which began on Sept. 25. I’d like to thank all 144 of you who voted. I appreciate you showing a little love to the blog. Although I can say I haven’t been able to get out and watch Lakeland or Keio yet this season, I can’t say that I disagree with the people’s assesment.

Here’s the actual results:

• Byram Hills 65; 45% of all votes


• Lakeland 35; 24% of all votes


• Rye 9; 6% of all votes


• Tappan Zee 13; 9% of all votes


• Keio 22; 15% of all votes

Additionally, I’m working on a comprehensive blog post about the upcoming sectional tournament, which believe it or not, begins nest weekend. So you guys can look forward to that. Meanwhile, chew on these latest poll numbers and offer your thoughts.Also, I’ve created a new poll for Class B and we’ll get to Class C next week.

Dutchess County is out of our coverage area. Therefore neither I nor Rod nor anyone else at The Journal News includes Dutchess teams in our power rankings. That means no Arlington, East Fishkill, Lourdes, etc. It’s not because we’re pretending they’re not good, or they don’t belong. It’s that we never watch them play, we don’t get their results called in, we know very little about them. So Johnny Duke and others, stop accusing us of being idiots for ignoring Dutchess County.

Streaking Hackley and Hen Hud crack the list.

1. North Rockland (13-2): Played a packed week of five games in seven days. Red Raiders are in full playoff tuneup mode right now.

2. Mamaroneck (9-2-1): With four games left in the regular season it’s possible to see the Tigers closing with a 12-game unbeaten streak.

3. Horace Greeley (12-2): Greeley’s played so many good teams. Tough call between them and Briarcliff for the 3-spot.

4. Briarcliff (11-0): I said it in a previous post — Briarcliff is better than last year. The defense is nearly as good, and the offense is much better. That’s not good for Nanuet, Bronxville, Albertus — everyone in Class B.

5. Nanuet (14-1): In Lauren Kahn and Kelly Fanshawe, Nanuet is one of two teams with two top 10 point scorers. Rye Neck, who has the top three scorers in the LoHud, is the other.

6. Yorktown (11-2-2): Huskers probably have the toughest remaining schedule of any team. They play at Greeley, home for Arlington, and home for Somers.

7. Hackley (9-0): Of course I’d like to see Hackley take on more Section 1 teams, but I’ll have to make do with the win over Ursuline. Kerry Ann O’Connor’s penalty kick goal was the fifth they’ve allowed all season.

8. Byram Hills (12-2-1): The 3-0 score wasn’t indicative of how they played against Briarcliff. That game didn’t hurt my opinion of them. I still say they’ll at least make the Class A semifinals.

9. Hen Hud (10-3): Nine wins in a row has to get you onto the top 10. The Sailors move ahead of John Jay based on their Sept. 25 1-0 win over the Indians.

10. John Jay (8-3-1): Only got one goal in two games but still managed to go 1-0-1 vs league powers Somers and Yorktown.

Ever since Hackley starting crushing the Fieldstons, Trinitys, and Daltons of the world three years ago I’ve been curious about how the Hornets would fare against Section 1. On one hand its got a competitive advantage because, as a private school, it can recruit. On the other, its a top academic school (which, incidentally, has the feel of a college campus) that probably doesn’t chase athletes who can’t meet strict grade requirements. By student body alone it’s the size of a Class A school. When they were at their best, when Sarah Walmsley was scoring 30 goals and they were destroying everyone 5-0, I had them as one of the five best in the LoHud. Other than North Rockland, and maybe Amanda Arcuri’s Clarkstown South team, I didn’t see a team they wouldn’t match up well against. This was reflected my naming Walmsley as a two-time Westchester/Putnam player of the year.

There was no surefire way to measure them because they never played Section 1 schools. The year before their first NYSAIS state championship, 2003, they took on a 4-14 Nyack club and beat them easily. Not much there. In 2005 they scheduled Yorktown but the game got canceled. Same with Greeley in 2006 — a real pity. Greeley was very good and would have been a powerful test. I’d heard that public schools resented the privates for recruiting their kids and didn’t want to give them recognition or legitimacy by scheduling them. I’m not singling out Greeley and Yorktown here, who probably canceled because they needed to make up league games. So Hackley, 61-1-2 since 2004, just kept bullying lesser league opponents without challenges from their county neighbors.

Until this year, when Ursuline stepped up to the plate. As the date got closer and it became clearer the game wouldn’t be canceled, I got excited to see Hackley finally face a Section 1 school. I wasn’t disappointed. This was as even a contest as could be for 59 minutes. Really anybody’s game. If Ursuline, a historically good program but not having a vintage year, could hand the Hornets their first loss, it would hurt their case as a big-time program. However, Hackley seized control with three goals in 7:20 to put the Koalas away 3-1.

Katie Philpott had two of them, just her second and third of the season. They were huge considering leading scorer Daryl Steiger was out. Coach Julianne Puente wouldn’t reveal the source of her illness. Philpott thought it was a hernia but wasn’t certain.

Ranking Section 1 off the top of my head, I’d put Ursuline in the 14-17 range. If Hackley can win without its leading scorer, that puts it at least in the top 15. You can see if it cracks the top 10 tomorrow in my weekly rankings.

Ursuline coach Malcolm Brown wasn’t exactly impressed. When asked how Hackley compares to other teams he’s faced he responded thusly: “They would get killed by the AA schools. They’re not a good technical playing team in terms of putting it on the ground. They just kick it over the top and run after it.” Brown is a soccer fiend and I’d never question his evaluation of anything. However, it should be noted that he came across as VERY disappointed and may have sounded harsher than he intended.

I wrote my weekly notebook on a fine gentleman named Bob West. He was a fixture in this area well before my time, but as the first African-American coach at Nanuet, his legacy is something that transcends generations in my mind. Of the people I talked to, no one could say anything bad about him. There’s so much I learned that I couldn’t fit in the story, such as how he got kids from a nearby orphanage in Nanuet to come to the school and play soccer.

I have to give credit to the brother of Suffern coach Bob Walkley, Eddie Walkley. He is the one who alerted me to this and he lives all the way down south. I’m grateful he did.

Here’s the story. Please check it out.

Got a chance to see Briarcliff for the first time on Friday. They’re better than last year, which isn’t good news for the rest of Class B. The Bears won the section with a bare minimum of offense. Now they have a freshman trio—Savina Reid, Liana Cornacchio, Danielle Christiano— up front ensuring that this team will score goals.

Reid and Cornacchio scored in the 3-0 win over Byram Hills on Friday. Cornacchio’s goal was one of the slickest I’ve seen this year. It wasn’t a typical header, where a ball is bouncing lightly or coming straight at someone. There was a hard kick, and Cornacchio timed her jump to come up underneath and redirect it just a bit with the top of her head. Kind of like ice hockey, where a guy uses his stick to slightly change the angle of someone else’s slap shot.

Byram did not look bad at all. It had twice as many shots but couldn’t get that one last touch at the end of a sequence to finish. I still think they’re one of the top three teams in Class A, which, by the way, is WIDE open this year. Briarcliff and Nanuet (who I’ll get to in a second) have elevated themselves above the pack in Class B, but A is a class where any of six or seven teams could emerge and I wouldn’t be shocked. There was a good crowd on hand to see Byram-Briarcliff despite some nasty wind whipping across Byram’s spacious turf field. People knew it was a big game for all concerned. News 12 interviewed some embarrassed players afterward while their friends stared at them. I always feel bad for kids in that instance. As someone who’s recently been forced onto NewsCenter Now and our VCReports, I can tell you how nervewracking it is to stare into a camera for the first time and say three sentences without stammering, stalling, or curling into a fetal position and sobbing violently. Add 18 staring people ready to crack up if you mess up and I’m surprised these high schoolers do as well as they do.

Now, onto a few notable scores from Friday and Saturday. Start with Ursuline 8, Nyack 2. Eight goals? I thought Nyack was coming around after that shutout of Tappan Zee. Then they give up eight (five to Kerry Ann O’Connor). I feel like there has to be some other explanation here.

And how about TZ? Coming off that shutout they tie Byram 3-3. The Bobcats actually took a lead in overtime, then gave it right back. That’s a possible sectional preview.

While Briarcliff kept its record unblemished, Nanuet fell at the hands of Clarkstown South 1-0. Gotta say, I was shocked. For South, who’s not having a great year, to go into Nanuet and hold them scoreless is huge. The Golden Knights managed 25 shots and nary a goal; this after putting up five on Albertus on Friday. Taylor Quilty had the winner on a direct kick with 10 seconds left. Rod Boone bumped into Nanuet coach Mike Henderson afterward; Hendo told him the team’s mind was elsewhere (I think he said homecoming). I haven’t looked at possible seedings yet, but that loss might cost his team a No. 1 seed.

How about Hen Hud knocking off Lourdes to grab a piece of the League 2-North lead. I think Lourdes only had one loss to that point. The Sailors have won eight in a row. Throw them into the mix in Class A.

As Jake told you guys two posts down, we were having some issues with our blogs server and we apologize for this. But we’re back now and that is all that matters. So without further ado, I’m sure many of you were wondering the latest state rankings looked like.

Well, here you go. Remember, these rankings were released on Thursday so there’s going to be some games and teams missing you think should otherwise be on here. But anyway, what do you guys think?

PS: Jake, there’s no Massapequa on this list!

You know, for as long as they’ve been making these I can’t avoid Massapequa’s name. They’re always good! It’s not just soccer either; I feel like Massapequa dominates every sport. And every Long Islander I’ve ever met is from there. One day it’s going to be revealed that Long Island has only one town.

These records are through Oct. 7.  

Rank	Class AA	Record	Prev
=====	====================	=====	=====
1.	Bethlehem-2	11-0-0	1.
2.	Massapequa-8	10-0-0	4.
3.	Union-Endicott-4	10-1-0	3.
4.	Rochester Aquinas-5	11-1-0	5.
5.	Smithtown West-11	8-0-0	6.
6.	Cicero-North Syracuse-3	9-0-1	7.
7.	Penfield-5	8-1-0	8.
8.	Arlington-1	10-0-0	9.
9.	St. Anthony’s-CHSAA	10-0-0	12.
10.	Shenendehowa-2	10-2-0	13.
11.	Warwick-9	9-1-0	14.
12.	Syracuse CBA-3	10-1-2	16.
13.	Yorktown-1	8-0-1	NR
14.	North Rockland-1	8-2-0	NR
15.	Ward Melville-11	7-1-1	11.
16.	Sachem East-11	6-0-3	2.
17.	North Babylon-11	9-0-1	18.
18.	Rochester Mercy-5	9-3-0	19.
19.	North Tonawanda-6	10-2-0	T-20
20.	Shaker-2	9-1-0	NR
	Class A
=====	====================	=====	=====
1.	Rockville Center South Side-8	7-0-0	1.
2.	Sayville-11	5-0-1	2.
3.	Williamsville East-6	11-0-1	3.
4.	Victor-5	9-1-0	4.
5.	Oneonta-4	11-0-1	5.
6.	Pittsford Mendon-5	6-1-1	7.
7.	Island Trees-8	9-1-0	9.
8.	Shoreham-Wading River-11	7-2-1	12.
9.	Byram Hills-1	9-0-1	13.
10.	Maine-Endwell-4	8-2-0	8.
11.	East Aurora-6	8-2-0	14.
12.	Poughkeepsie Lourdes-1	6-1-1	NR
13.	Homer-3	9-3-0	19.
14.	Garden City-8	5-3-1	18.
15.	Wayne-5	7-2-0	20.
16.	Burnt Hills-2	6-4-2	6.
17.	Holy Names-2	7-2-3	16.
18.	Cortland-3	9-3-0	15.
19.	Massena-10	10-1-0	NR
20.	Islip-11	4-5-0	NR
	Class B
=====	====================	=====	=====
1.	Marcellus-3	12-0-0	1.
2.	Lansing-4	11-0-0	2.
3.	Le Roy-5	11-0-0	3.
4.	Chenango Forks-4	10-0-1	4.
5.	Nanuet-1	10-0-0	5.
6.	Mattituck-11	8-0-0	9.
7.	Red Hook-9	9-1-0	7.
8.	Bayport-Blue Point-11	6-1-0	6.
9.	Potsdam-10	11-2-0	8.
10.	Watertown Immaculate Heart-3	9-0-0	15.
11.	Goshen Burke Catholic-9	10-1-0	10.
12.	Briarcliff-1	8-0-0	14.
13.	Falconer-6	9-0-3	12.
14.	Schalmont-2	8-3-0	13.
15.	Ausable Valley-7	10-2-0	NR
16.	Ichabod Crane-2	9-1-1	11.
17.	Highland-9	9-0-1	16.
18.	Bronxville-1	9-0-0	NR
19.	Northeastern Clinton-7	8-3-1	18.
20.	Byron-Bergen-5	10-1-1	19.
	Class C
=====	====================	=====	=====
1.	Hoosick Falls-2	10-0-0	1.
2.	Mechanicville-2	9-0-1	3.
3.	Florida-9	10-0-0	4.
4.	Buffalo Nichols-CHS	9-1-1	5.
5.	Tully-3	11-1-0	7.
6.	Maple Hill-2	11-1-0	10.
7.	Alexander-5	10-1-1	11.
8.	Manlius Pebble Hill-3	10-1-0	14.
9.	Galway-2	9-1-0	15.
10.	Utica Notre Dame-3	9-1-1	16.
11.	St. Lawrence-10	6-1-2	8.
12.	Marion-5	11-1-0	2.
13.	Beaver River-3	9-2-1	12.
14.	Harley-Allendale-Columbia-5	9-1-1	9.
15.	Madrid-Waddington-10	7-3-2	18.
16.	Cooperstown-3	9-3-0	19.
17.	Unadilla Valley-4	10-3-1	13.
18.	Schoharie-2	8-1-0	NR
19.	Plattsburgh Seton-7	9-1-0	NR
20.	Sidney-4	8-3-3	NR
	Class D
=====	====================	=====	=====
1.	Ellicottville-6	8-1-1	1.
2.	Downsville-4	12-0-1	3.
3.	Lyme-3	11-1-0	4.
4.	Edmeston-4	10-2-1	5.
5.	Jasper-Troupsburg-5	8-1-0	17.
6.	Harrisville-10	8-1-2	9.
7.	Fillmore-5	7-1-1	6.
8.	McGraw-3	11-1-1	10.
9.	Arkport-5	11-2-0	7.
10.	Edwards-Knox-10	10-1-1	8.
11.	Milford-4	13-1-0	11.
12.	New Lebanon-2	7-3-0	12.
13.	Elizabethtown-Lewis-7	11-1-0	14.
14.	Chazy-7	13-1-0	2.
15.	Hamilton-3	10-2-1	13.
16.	Old Forge-3	8-0-0	16.
17.	Chateaugay-10	10-3-0	15.
18.	Davenport-4	9-2-1	18.
19.	Cherry Valley-Springfield-4	8-3-0	19.
20.	DeRuyter-3	6-0-1	20.

Lots of technical difficulties here at Varsity Central. We get daily emails from our blog tech guys, who were apparently having difficulty with this problem. Some of the blogs are back on a different website. Ours is one of the few back to normal.

Plenty to catch up on, including Briarcliff’s sweep of Byram Hills and some bizarre scores from today. Right now Rod and I are swamped on a football Saturday, but we’ll be posting as soon as things cool off.

Amazing what an hour can do. I turned it my Top 10 rankings yesterday as the live scores were being called into our hotline. There were only a few scores missing, one of which was Arlington-Mahopac. I really wanted that score because Mahopac was right on the cusp of the Top 10. The Indians were basically tied with Pelham for the last spot. A good showing against undefeated Arlington could put them over the top.

Unfortunately the score didn’t come in until late. I’d already turned in my rankings, giving the nod to Pelham. Later I found out that Mahopac had upset Arlington. That’s enough to crack the rankings. The 2-1 win at Arlington gives them three quality road victories, over Ketcham and Carmel too. Mahopac has two bad performances — a loss to White Plains and tie with New Rochelle. If I had to rank everyone again, I’d make Mahopac ninth or 10th.

There was a lot of banter on the thread talking about the results in our Class AA poll. People were discussing North Rockland, Clarkstown South, and Clarkstown North among others.

Well, I had a chance to see North in action for the second time this season. The Rams knocked off the Vikings 5-0 in the latest edition of their crosstown rivalry. It was probably the best game they’ve played in what’s been an up and down year and it’s the type of victory coach Bryan Bentley has been waiting for.

I liked what I saw from the entire team, especially senior forward Rob Vucinic. The guy knows how to score. The biggest thing team-wise, however, is to keep the momentum going now as the Rams, who’re 2-1 in League I-B, head into the stretch run of their regular season.

South, meanwhile, needs to get a win in the worst way. The Vikings had a nice run early in the season, going 5-1. They’ve lost six straight since. People were bashing their record and whom they played, but they played the schedule that was given to them and came out on top. They could’ve easily lost some of those games, too, but didn’t. So people shouldn’t discount that and they shouldn’t write them off yet either. They might not have the depth or standout players some other teams do, such as Suffern. But all it takes in sectionals is one win to make this a successful season.

Had a chance to discuss the area boys soccer scene with RNN anchor Ben Sosenko in my bi-weekly spot today. I chatted with him a bit about Bronxville, Byram Hills, North Rockland and Suffern. I wish I could have talked about more, but we only get a few seconds to get everything in.

You can check it out below.

UPDATE: My man Yo (nice nickname there) requested I discuss the biggest surprises, top teams and contenders in each class. I will try to do that on my next report, although we only have about 1 minute, 30 seconds at the most to chat. Gotta love TV, right? It might be best to do that here so I can expand on it more. What do you guys want me to do? Tell me and that’s the direction we’ll go.

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