Have at it and good luck to all the teams that are still alive.

Today is my final day at The Journal News after two-plus years. I would like to thank each and everyone from the bottom of my heart for the heartfelt e-mails and phone calls regarding my writing and coverage during my time here. I’ll never forget it.

I’m leaving to take a great opportunity at my hometown paper, Newsday. It’s something I never dreamed I’d be doing, but here I am and the only reason it’s happening is because of the way you guys responded to my work. Whether it’s the ridiculous blog traffic I’ve helped generate on the soccer and lacrosse blogs, or the great positive feedback on my stories, you the reader/fan/athlete have been very gracious. And for that I am thoroughly thankful.

For my lacrosse heads out there, I won’t be too far away come spring. There’s a good chance I’ll be covering Hofstra men’s lax and I know how many of you follow the Pride very closely. There are plenty of players from the Lower Hudson Valley on the Hofstra lax team, so I look forward to writing about them as well.

Once again, thank you for all the love you showed me here at The Journal News/LoHud.com. It will always be appreciated.

In Class B, Briarcliff led Lansing 2-1 at the half. Liana Cornacchio has both goals for the Bears, who increased their lead with another goal in the second half and are up 3-1.

In Class AA, Greeley led Corning 1-0 midway through the first half on a Becca Kaplan goal. Goals by Taylor Jackson and Sydney Rutman have extended Greeley’s lead to 3-0 at the half.

Both teams are dominating play and it should be only a matter of time before they punctuate these wins and move onto the state regional finals, AKA the state quarterfinals.

Check back here later for more updates.

Anyway, I have a bit of news to share with you, so here goes:

Ladies and gentlemen, below is the entire list of this year’s Section 1 honorees. Congrats to all of those who made it. You guys, as always, can feel free to leave your thoughts and tell me what you think.

Brad Jacobsen (Mamaroneck); Rob Mancino (Mamaroneck); Akeeba Marshal (Mount Vernon); Brian Cabrera (New Rochelle); Jonathan DosReis (New Rochelle); Daniel Espinoza (New Rochelle), Caleb Duncansen (Scarsdale); Eric Frieman (Scarsdale); Robbie Oliverio (Scarsdale); Henry Acosta (White Plains); J.P. Arenas (White Plains); Jhojan Restrepo (White Plains); Mike Barbetto (Clarkstown North); Eric Gioseffi (Clarkstown North); Matt Mahoney (Clarkstown North); Ryan Moroni (Clarkstown North); Stephen Maliszewski (North Rockland); Loucas Nesteros (North Rockland); Eric Garcia (Suffern); Evan Kwilecki (Suffern); Charlie Pirc (Suffern); Evan Shreck (Suffern); Matt Trauner (Suffern); Edgar Barragan (Yonkers); Evan Callahal (Brewster); Eli Duarte (Fox Lane); Harrison Lewin (Greeley); David Reison (Greeley); Scott Scheine (Greeley); Dan Thau (Greeley); Bucky Illingworth (John Jay); Andrew Snell (John Jay); Lukas Wear (John Jay); Lou DeMello (Lakeland); Mike Malan (Lakeland): Adam Purdy (Lakeland); Chris Coppolechia (Somers); Allen Mata (Yorktown); Joe Maloney (Beacon); Dan Vegrincic(Beacon); Martin Rodriguez (Hen Hud); Dan Wexler (Hen Hud)l Michael DaFont (Ossining); Sebastian Forero (Ossining); Zack Gabor (Ossining); Jorge Herrera (Ossining); Joey Dalleo (Our Lady of Lourdes); Rich Edwards (Lourdes); Tomo Oldiges (Lourdes); Anthony Rozmus (Lourdes); Kabiru Dere (Peekskill); Dan Edwards (Poughkeepsie); Gianpiero Torres (Harrison); Gian Luca Territo (Harrison); Nozomu Miyazaki (Keio); Shun Okamoto (Keio); Yuma Soga (Keio); Rui Tsutsumi (Keio); Kevin McCabe (Nyack); Luis Barajas (Port Chester); Mauricio Paiva (Port Chester); Chris Holihan (Tappan Zee); Spencer Martin (Tappan Zee); Joe Missale (Tappan Zee); Max Effron (Briarcliff); Michael Robinson (Briarcliff); Brian Myers (Byram Hills); Will Ogden (Byram Hills); Stephen Paresi (Byram Hills); Michael Szczesniak (Byram Hills); Eric Shum (Kennedy); William Brown (Pleasantville); David Hyman (Pleasantville); Billy Elliott (Pleasantville), John Bello (Westlake); Stefano Silvestri (Westlake); Colin Powers (Westlake); Anthony Capparelli (Eastchester); Aaron Sokol (Eastchester); Kenta Yamazoe (Eastchester); Kaito Komatsu (Edgemont); Justin Orden (Edgemont); Andrew Mandelbaum (Edgemont); Andrew Walmsley (Pelham); Badir Sherman (Pelham); Luke Byrnes (Rye); Andrew Klokiw (Rye); Matt O’Neill (Rye); Brian Whiston (Rye); Andrew Tartara (Albertus Magnus); Donny Mimnaugh (Albertus Magnus); Aaron Markowitz (Hastings); Cameron McNeil (Hastings); Savi Tober (Hastings); Matt Forster (Irvington); Daniel Davrew (Nanuet); Nick Capogrosso (Pearl River); Rob Ferreira (Pearl River); Carlos Gomez (Sleepy Hollow); Eric Waldman (Sleepy Hollow); Jason Ruivo (Sleepy Hollow); Harris Brett (Blind Brook); Brett Novick (Blind Brook); Rodrigo Amboss (Bronxville); Chris Dennen (Bronxville); Leighton Welch (Bronxville); Andre Ingenito (Valhalla); Paolo Luciano (Valhalla); John Michala (Hamilton); Jorge Vera (Hamilton); Gerson Felipe (Dobbs Ferry); Adam Fleishman (Solomon Schechter); Max Wein (Solomon Schechter); John Mulhearn (Tuckahoe); Alessandro Persampieri (Tuckahoe); Domenick Villano (Tuckahoe); Jorge Aldano (Dover); Nick Esposito (Dover); Eric Kelly (Dover); Adam Rohan (Haldane); Tom Kruze (North Salem); Dan Loftus (North Salem); Brian Span (North Salem); Greg Shea (North Salem)

Honorable mention
Mike Corenthal (Mamaroneck), John Henry (Mount Vernon), Santiago Rigby (Scarsdale), Adam Rose (Scarsdale), Andre Young (White Plains); Ari Nutovits (Clarkstown North); Cody Bovino (North Rockland); Jorge Mera (Ramapo); Steben Mathews (Suffern); Forest Valow-Picarello (Suffern); Seby Trotta (Suffern); Carlos Gamboa (Fox Lane); Dan Diorio (Greeley); Billy Epstein (John Jay); Anthony Femia (John Jay); Dan Foci (Lakeland); Bryan pacchiana (Lakeland); Ben Brenner (Somers); Tejorn Davis (Beacon); Jarrelle Joseph (Beacon); Gino Gallo (Hen Hud); Kenvick Gordon (Ossining); Nick Grant (Lourdes); Kevin Hummel (Lourdes); Michael Parish (Panas); Hank Rubenstein (Harrison); Makoto Sano (Harrison); Tomohiro Yatsumonji (Keio); Francis Moran (Nyack); Christian Castillo (Port Chester); Danny Kane (Tappan Zee); Gabe Bender (Briarcliff); Pat Vierengel (Byram Hills); Mike LaGreca (Kennedy); Adrain Vallejo (Pleasantville); Sebastian Munoz (Putnam Valley); Wiliam Reis (Putnam Valley); Darwin Gramajo (Westlake); Kiyota Gomi (Ardsley); Anthony Maiorano (Ardsley); Felipe Diaz (Eastchester); Curtis Trueb (Eastchester); Dan Weinstein (Edgemont); Juan Chang (Rye); Michael Lincoln (Albertus Magnus; Mike Pacheo (Hastings); Jackson Kerr (Irvington); Evan Ostrow (Nanuet); Chris Relihan (Pearl River); Chris Coronel (Sleepy Hollow); David Levinson (Blind Brook); Marcos Coto-Batres (Rye Neck); Peter Reca (Rye Neck); P.J. Flynn (Valhalla); Jairo Larios (Hamilton); Greg Klassen (Dobbs Ferry); Evan Marchand (Dobbe Ferry); Adam Leffell (Solomon Schechter); Scott Garcia (Dover); Matt O’Neill (Dover); Mike Cuzzi (North Salem); Tom Schumann (North Salem)

First up is No. 1 Byram Hills and No. 2 Lakeland meeting in a rematch of last year’s scintillating Class A championship game under the lights up in Cross River at John Jay. This should be one of the best—if not the most physical and exciting—game of the four. And we won’t have to wait long to see who the winner is. This is one of those games where you won’t want to fall behind becaise both teams are stingy defensively and the pressure will begin to mount as each second ticks off the clock.

Second comes top-seeded Valhalla and No. 2 Blind Brook meeting for the Class C crown. Blind Brook got the best of the Vikings in their Oct. 25 meeting, but don’t read too much into that because the Vikings rested four of their top players so they would be fresh for the postseason. I dont think these two teams like each other too much, so this should be an all out you know what.

Next up will be No. 3 Bronxville meeting top-seeded Hastings. The Yellow Jackets and Broncos haven’t met this season, so there’s nothing to gauge how this one will go. If nothing else, the Broncos do have more postseason experience since they played for the title last year, losing to Albertus Magnus in the championship game. But Hastings has silenced the doubters so far, so anyone who doesn’t think they have a legitimate shot isn’t thinking too claerl.

Lastly, there’s the game everyone predicted: No. 5 Greeley and No. 10 Scarsdale playing for the Class AA title at 6:30 p.m. If you thought this was going to be the matchup, please raise your hand. For those raising your hand, put them down quickly before they are struck by lightening. You have to give it to Greeley coach Bob Oddo and Scarsdale coach Joe Cipriano. Both have done a great job beating the odds to get their respective teams here and they are each one win away from the big dance, AKA the state tournament. Each team is loaded with seniors, so it will come down to the team that takes serious advantage of any good scoring opportunities they can get.

If for some reason you can’t make it to either of the two sites, have no feat. The Just Kickin’ It blog crew is here. I will do my best to provide you with instantaneous updates as the games go along. I will be at Suffern and my man Eric Lebowitz will be at Bronxville. So keep it right here if you have a prior engagement that won’t allow you to be there in person.

Check back early and often. In the meantime, I want you guys to weigh in with your predictions. Who ya got?

I just talked to Rams coach Pete McNamara. He’s preparing for Fordham Prep’s game tomorrow against St. Francis. The teams are playing for the CHSAA A city title at 3 p.m. at St. John’s University and this is the fourth straight year the Rams are in position to win the city championship.

“It’s been a good run,” McNamara said.

The Rams are led by senior goalie Ryan Meara and senior Mike Mazzullo, a natural midfielder who made the switch to sweeper to help the team shore up its defense. Win or lose tomorrow, they have their eyes set on the CHSAA A state championship. They will play the Long Island champ, whih hasn’t been determined yet, at either 5 or 7 p.m. next Friday at Fordham University.

Should they win their semifinal game, they’d play for the state title on Sunday.

First, let me say that it seems like every time I go to Armonk to watch Byram Hills (even in the spring when I watched a boys lax game there) there’s a relentless wind. What, is there some kind of wind tunnel up there? Sheesh?

Anyway, I’ve been fortunate enough to watch some good soccer in my three seasons on the beat here at The Journal News and today was one of the most exciting games I’ve witnessed. The cold temperatures gave it that definite postseason feel and Matt Allen expressed to me how he thought it was one of the most even-played games he’s ever been a part of.

It took a header from Will Shaheen with a little over four minutes remaining to send the Bobcats to the thrilling 1-0 win, putting Byram Hills back in the Section 1 Class A title game and giving Hills a chance to defend its title.

Here’s something Allen read to his players before the game, talking about their 19th game of the season: “There are times in our lives that the world lets us show/the things of ourselves that now only we know/of course people say, ‘They’re so fast!’ They’re so strong!/But in thinking that’s us, they’re totally wrong/Sure the skill and the strength are keys to our fate/But they’re not the main things that make this team great/No, those on the outside can’t see why we win/Because they cannot see what we all have within.”

Not bad, huh? Can’t tell you what’s he’s scheduled to read before game 20 Saturday. This is a family blog after all. But it is pretty funny, I must admit.

Also, I’ll tell you what: Jared Small has the Garnets going in the right direction. Besides looking snazzy in his European-style suits in the sidelines, he’s brought a certain element to Rye that can’t be measured. You can tell the players feel they are going to win each game, no matter who they are playing. Rye losses just five seniors and one of them isn’t Juan Chang. He’s only a sophomore and is going to get better. Watch out him for over the next two years.

Ok, so who you guys going with in the Byram Hills-Lakeland game. Tell me who’s going to win and why?

Anyone who watched last year’s game between these two know how physical it was until Hayden Morris helped send the Bobcats into the state tournament, a run that ended with a loss to Section 5’s Aquinas in the state title game. I expect another close game Saturday.

Here is his take:

“Justin Karr threw it in and Dave Reison headed it and flicked onto the center. And one opposing defender couldn’t clear it. It bounced off him and it was loose in 18-yard box. I just took a step in and blasted into the upper left corner. ”

It took a minute for it to sink in.

“I was so happy. It was the greatest feeling in the world.” Reisert said. “I was so happy it was the greatest feeling in the whole world. It was so amazing. I couldn’t even think about what was going on. I thought it was a dream. I didn’t think it was real. But it was great.”

Greeley hasn’t been getting much respect by some on this blog (that doesn’t include me) and the Quakers feel they gained mucho respecto with this win today. Arlington is no slouch and features behemoths at nearly every position, but Greeley took advantage of a big scoring opportunity and made the Admirals pay. Now the Quakers will play Scarsdale, which beat Jay 1-0, for the title at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Suffern Middle School. Amazing, isn’t it?

Here’s the rest of the scores we have so far. We are just missing the Blind Brook-Haldane scores as of now. Crazy tournament so far, huh?

Boys soccer
Section 1 tournament
Semifinals
Class AA
Greeley 1, Arlington 0
Scarsdale 1, John Jay 0

Class A
Byram Hills 1, Rye 0
Lakeland 2, Tappan Zee 1
Class B
Hastings 3, North Salem 1
Bronxville 4 Edgemont 0
Class C
Valhalla 1, Solomon Schechter 0, OT
No. 3 Haldane at No. 2 Blind Brook, 3 p.m.

Anyway, you can check out the report below.

In other news, here’s the scores we have reported as of 8 p.m.  I do know North Salem won on penalty kicks, just don’t have the score at this point. How about No. 10 Scarsdale blanking No. 2 John Jay-East Fishkill. Talk about upsets. What do you guys think of the tournament so far and today’s results?

Download:

I covered the New Rochelle-North Rockland game and New Rochelle played a good one. The ‘good’ New Rochelle team showed up and not its alter ego. The Huguenots had plenty of quality chances and hit the crossbar twice, so the score could’ve been even more in their favor. Now, the real question is can they keep this thing rolling because, gulp, guess who’s next up: Top-seeded and defending champion Arlington! Yikes.

Here’s the rest of the scores from Sunday. What do you guys think so far? How about Suffern getting upset by Clarkstown North. I talked with North coach Byran Bentley earlier tonight and he wasn’t even at the game because he received his third yellow card of the season in the game I covered against North Rockland on Tuesday. What a surprise phone call he got from his assistant coach after the game, huh? What do you think that conversation was like?

Anyway, here you go. Thoughts?

Boys soccer
Section 1 tournament
First round
Class AA
New Rochelle 2, North Rockland 0
Horace Greeley 3, R.C. Ketcham 1
Clarkstown North 3, Suffern 2
Scarsdale 2, Ossining 1
Class A
Sleepy Hollow 2, Eastchester 1
Beacon 3, Hen Hud 2, OT
Class B
First round
Briarcliff 3, Rye Neck 1
Pleasantville 3, Nanuet 0

You wanted it so I am going to oblige. I wanted to wait to post this until we got as close to sectionals as possible and now we are here. So here goes.

Now as my homey Jake pointed out in one of his girls’ posts, we don’t cover Dutchess County schools. I used to cover boys soccer a bit when I worked for The Poughkeepsie Journal, a sister publication of The Journal News. But for this comprehensive report, I’m going to include the two best teams up there in Class AA this year only because we are talking about the entire section and not just schools in our coverage area when it comes to out TJN power rankings. To leave them out would be silly for a report like this.

Class AA
Contenders

Suffern: Wins over Arlington and Roy C. Ketcham early in the season had the Mounties looking strong. A three-game losing skid followed soon after, however, and there were questions about whether the Mounties, “Were who were thought they were!!!!” as Dennis Green on that famed Monday night last year when the Arizona Cardinals choked away a late-game lead and lost to the Chicago Bears. Since, Eric Garcia, Evan Shreck and company had won nine straight before losing the season finale to Newburgh. They have been shutting out opponents at a ridiculous rate. However, they might have to go without two of their top players, so we’ll see what happens if that’s the case.

John Jay-East Fishkill: I’m not going to act like I am an expert on the Patriots ‘cause I’m definitely not. But I know that when I talked to AA coaches in our area who’ve played the Patriots, they all raved about how good they were. Most seem to believe they ARE the team to beat. We’ll see if that’s the case in due time.

Arlington: Same as above, but I can tell you this: I penned an award-winning piece on Arlington’s program a few years back, so I know more about the program overall than this year’s crop. The Admirals are deep year in and year out and play a suffocating style of defense that swarms around the ball and doesn’t give opponents many (quality) shots on goal. So any team that knocks off the defending Class AA champs, who went undefeated a year ago, will have to find a way to score in key situations. They better take advantage of any chances they get.
John Jay: When most people refer to John Jay in soccer, it’s sometimes assumed they are talking about the aforementioned Patriots of Wiccopee (that’s the small hamlet JJ-EF is actually located in). But I’m here to tell you the guys who call Cross River home are right there with anyone in the class this season. Peter Neidell knew the Indians would have a solid team this year and he was right. Last year, they came up with a stunning first-round win over White Plains. This year, winning a first-round game won’t be enough. Depending on the draw and the seedings, don’t be surprised if the Indians are in the championship game.

Greeley: Experience is always a good thing in the postseason and the Quakers have good senior leadership in Dan Thau and Harrison Lewin. Playing in arguably one of the section’s toughest leagues surely doesn’t hurt, so they are sure to be battle tested thanks to facing Lakeland, John Jay and Fox Lane among others twice a season.

Don’t be surprised if: New Rochelle makes a deep run in the tournament. The Huguenots are about as talented as any team, but their hangup is consistency. They are about as up and down as you can get. Here’s an example: They totally dominate rival White Plains then proceed to lose to Mount Vernon two days later. Nothing against the Knights, who’ve had their share of good wins this season, most recently knocking off a good Scarsdale B team. But Mount Vernon is a team New Rochelle is ‘supposed’ to beat. If they play up to their potential, it could be interesting.

The pick: Arlington

Class A

Contenders

Byram Hills: We all knew the Bobcats were going to be one of the best teams in their class this year, but did anyone really think they would be as good as they’ve been without Hayden Morris and his rocket left foot? C’mon? But here the Bobcats are, preparing for what should be another deep postseason run. They made a few lineup changes, notably putting natural midfielder Stephen Paresi up front with Will Ogden to give them a solid one-two combo. They are going to be hard to stop.

Lakeland: Mike Malan missed a portion of the season with a bulging disk in his back, but there’s no question the Hornets are a different team when their emotional leader is there to lift the spirits of his teammates. The biggest thing will be Malan getting some scoring help up front because you know most teams are going to focus the bulk of their attention on him. That’s where Lou DeMello comes in. He leads the team in goals with 11.

Rye: The Garnets were another one of those teams that probably played a bit above their heads last season, making it all the way to the Class B semifinals before losing to eventual champ Albertus Magnus. Coach Jared Small has the Garnets right back in the mix this year, although they are playing in a higher class. They weren’t intimidated when they played Byram Hills earlier this and they know they can hang with any team. Now they have to prove it.

Dont’ be surprised if: Harrison turns more than a few heads. I really think the Huskies can be this year’s version of Tappan Zee. TZ caught a few people off-guard, me included, with its nice run all the way to the semifinals a season ago, where the Dutchmen lost to eventual champ Byram Hills. I’m telling you, man, look for the Huskies to be playing for a shot at Saturday’s championship game come Thursday.

The pick: Byram Hills

Class B

Contenders

Bronxville: I’ve talked all year about how the Broncos feature one of the purest goal scorers in Brian Rogers. He blew away everyone else in the area goal standings and it’s no secret he’s as good as advertised. He can still find a way to score even if defenders are draped all over him. Chris Dennen and Trent Emanuel make it hard to lock on just Rogers because if you do, they can hurt you as well.

North Salem: Brian Span caught my eye last year in the Class C finals against Blind Brook. I had to keep looking at my roster during the game with the Trojans just to make sure I was reading it right that he was actually a freshman. He’s back this year and is more seasoned, and coach Ron Hendrie has the Tigers primed for another great run. I like the way he coaches and his knowledge of the game is a great assest. These guys are good.
Hastings: Winners of eight of their last nine games, the Yellow Jackets might have shocked a few by garnering the No. 1 seed. But if you don’t know anything about them, you better know this: Aaron Markowitz is the truth and Cameron McNeil is his sidekick. This dynamic duo has done it all season and one shouldn’t expect that to change too much now, though they will have the bull’s-eye emblazoned firmly on their chest.

Edgemont: Well lookee here. The Panthers are back with a vengeance as the second seed, winning six of their final eight games going into sectionals. They have a good tandem in Justin Orden (18 goals, four assists) and Kaito Komatsu (16 goals, 6 assists). They’ve outscored their opponents 56-23 and have big wins over two aforementioned teams in Bronxville and Rye. They are probably happy they don’t have to face Eastchester anymore. The Eagles beat them twice during the regular season.

Don’t be surprised if: It’s Bronxville and North Salem in the final. The bracket is set up nicely for those two teams to meet since they are on opposite ends. It would make for a nice rematch and you don’t think the Broncos would want to avenge that early-season loss to the Tigers. I’d pay to see that one and I don’t even have to. Note: Those at the gates, please don’t remind me of this and make me fork over the dough.

The pick: Bronxville

Class C

Contenders

Blind Brook: Fresh off their 2-1 win over Valhalla to clinch the League IV-B title, it’s the Trojans who are riding high and should have plenty of confidence heading into sectionals. They await the winner of Tuesday’s matchup between No. 3 Haldane and No. 6 Hamilton and shouldn’t have much of a problem against either of those teams.

Valhalla: The Vikings are still one of the best teams I’ve had the chance to see in person this season and they will likely go as far as Paolo Luciano takes them. They’ve played up in

Don’t be surprised if: Well, you should be surprised if these two teams aren’t warming up around 1 p.m. for Saturday’s 2 p.m. championship finale at Bronxville.

The pick: Valhalla

So what do you guys think about this latest batch? Offer your thoughts. FYI: I’ll be posting a look at the teams to keep an eye on in sectionals followed by my predictions for who will win it all in each class. You can check back in an hour or so. Hey, what else do you have to do on a rainy, cold Friday night?

Think the people who follow Our Lady of Lourdes won’t be mad when they wake up and see the Warriors missing from the bracket? They were going to garner the No. 2 seed in Class A, but the were disqualified because they played 19 games, one above the maximum allowed. Ouch. Instead, Lakeland (12-5-1) moved into the second spot.

I’ll chime in with a comprehensive look as well as my predictions for the tournament on Friday. So look for it then. In the meantime, feel free to break this bracket down. Give me your picks. Who you guys going with?

Before the playoffs begin, however, the all-section picks will be selected. The meeting, originally scheduled for next Tuesday, will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Byram Hills.

Below are the matchups

Class AA
Saturday
First round
Times TBD
No. 9 New Rochelle (9-5-1) at No. 8 North Rockland (12-6)
No. 12 R.C. Ketcham (8-9) at No. 5 Greeley (12-3-1)
No. 13 Clarkstown North (8-7-2) at No. 4 Suffern (12-3)
No. 14 Mamaroneck (8-10) at No. 3 White Plains (11-3-2)
No. 11 Roosevelt (8-7-2) at No. 6 John Jay (10-2-4)
No. 10 Scarsdale (10-6) at No. 7 Ossining (11-3-2)
No. 1 Arlington, bye
No. 2 John Jay-East Fishkill, bye

Tuesday, Oct. 30
Quarterfinals
All games at 3 p.m.
No. 9 New Rochelle (9-5-1)/No. 8 North Rockland (12-6) at No. 1 Arlington
No. 12 R.C. Ketcham (8-9)/No. 5 Greeley (12-3-1) vs.
No. 13 Clarkstown North (8-7-2)/No. 4 Suffern (12-3)
No. 14 Mamaroneck (8-10)/No. 3 White Plains (11-3-2) vs. No. 11 Roosevelt (8-7-2)/No. 6 John Jay (10-2-4)
No. 10 Scarsdale (10-6)/No. 7 Ossining (11-3-2) at No. 1 John Jay-East Fishkill (13-2-1)

Thursday, Nov. 1
Semifinals
All games at 3 p.m.
At higher seed

Saturday, Nov. 3
Finals
At Suffern Middle School, 6:30 p.m.

Class A
Saturday
First round
Times TBD
No. 9 Beacon (10-7-1) at No. 8 Hen Hud (9-6-3)
No. 12 Pelham (6-8-2) at No. 5 Keio (11-4-2)
No. 13 Somers (6-9-2) at No. 4 Rye (12-4-2)
No. 11 Tappan Zee (9-7-1) at No. 6 Port Chester (9-4-2)
No. 10 Sleepy Hollow (9-7) at No. 7 Eastchester (10-4-2)
No. 1 Byram Hills, bye
No. 2 Lakeland, bye
No. 3 Harrison, bye

Tuesday, Oct, 30
Quarterfinals
All games at 3 p.m.
No. 12 Pelham (6-8-2)/No. 5 Keio (11-4-2) vs. No. 13 Somers (6-9-2)/No. 4 Rye (12-4-2)
No. 11 Tappan Zee (9-7-1)/No. 6 Port Chester (9-4-2) at No. 3 Harrison (12-3-2)
No. 10 Sleepy Hollow (9-7)/No. 7 Eastchester (10-4-2) at No. 2 Lakeland (12-5-1)
No. 9 Beacon (10-7-1)/No. 8 Hen Hud (9-6-3) at No. 1 Byram Hills (16-1-1)

Thursday, Nov. 1
Semifinals
All games at 3 p.m.
At higher seed

Saturday, Nov. 3
Finals
At Suffern Middle School, 1:30 p.m.

Class B
First round
No. 9 Irvington (7-8) at No. 8 Albertus Magnus (6-7-4)
No. 12 Nanuet (7-9-1) at No. 5 Pleasantville (13-5)
No. 11 Dover (6-9) at No. 6 Westlake (8-6-2)
No. 10 Rye Neck (5-8-4) at No. 7 Briarcliff (8-7-3)
No. 1 Hastings, bye
No. 2 Edgemont, bye
No. 3 Bronxville, bye
No. 4 North Salem, bye

Tuesday, Oct. 30
Quarterfinals
All games at 3 p.m.

No. 9 Irvington (7-8)/No. 8 Albertus Magnus (6-7-4) at No. 1 Hastings (12-2-1)
No. 12 Nanuet (7-9-1)/No. 5 Pleasantville (13-5) at No. 4 North Salem (12-4-1)
No. 11 Dover (6-9)/No. 6 Westlake (8-6-2) at No. 3 Bronxville (14-4)
No. 10 Rye Neck (5-8-4)/No. 7 Briarcliff (8-7-3) at No. 2 Edgemont (12-3-2)

Thursday, Nov. 1
Semifinals
All games at 3 p.m.
At higher seed

Saturday, Nov. 3
Finals
At Suffern Middle School, 4 p.m.

Class C
Tuesday, Oct. 30
Quarterfinals
All games at 3 p.m.
No. 5 Solomon Schechter at No. 4 Tuckahoe
No. 6 Hamilton at No. 3 Haldane
No. 1 Valhalla, bye
No. 2 Blind Brook, bye

Semifinals
All games at 3 p.m.
No. 5 Solomon Schechter/No. 4 Tuckahoe at
No. 1 Valhalla
No. 6 Hamilton/No. 3 Haldane at No. 2 Blind Brook

Saturday, Nov. 3
Finals
At Bronxville High School, 2 p.m.

Man, talk about a long day. I was up at 6 a.m. this morning for my trip back home from the deep south and it feels like I haven’t stopped since. Actually, I haven’t. As soon as this blog post is done, I’m outta here for the night so here goes.

Bryan Bentley and the Clarkstown North players seem to like when I come around. When my ugly mug happens to be in the house, the Rams just happen to be a perfect 3-0. They beat Scarsdale and rival Clarkstown South on the road while I was there to witness each game, and they won again today on the road by edging North Rockland 2-1.

Man, I was thoroughly entertained by the atmosphere.

I tell you what, it reminded me of sectional game and the players and coaches seemed inclined to agree. Although it was just a regular season game, this is why I enjoy the postseason so much. As I can attest to after watching many playoff games in my years doing this sportswriting thing, there’s a different mentality and fervor surrounding sectional games. The Rams’ win was only a prelude and got my chops wet for what’s to come over the next week and a half.

Sectionals are almost here! Are you guys ready?

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.

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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.”

Remember, these are for games through Sunday.

Have at it ladies and gents. Thoughts?

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

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.

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!

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.

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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Do you guys disagree with this or what? By the way, I’ve started a new poll so check it out.

• John Jay-East Fishkill 32 21% of all votes


• Horace Greeley30 20% of all votes


• Arlington 22 14% of all votes


• New Rochelle 18 12% of all votes



• Suffern 17 11% of all votes


• White Plains 16 10% of all votes


• North Rockland12 8% of all votes



• Mamaroneck4 3% of all votes


• Scarsdale 2 1% of all vote

But New Rochelle wanted to win and I saw it in the players’ eyes early and often. They were quick to the ball and played one of their best games of the year. It wasn’t quite on the level of their win over Suffern last week, but it was close. The biggest thing now will be seeing how they respond on Saturday against Mount Vernon. It’s been an up-and-down season and which team will show up against the Knights is anybody’s guess.

“Don’t be surprised if we walk out on the field against Mount Vernon and be a shadow of ourselves,” New Ro coach Greg Papadopoulos said. “That’s unfortunate for our team, but that’s the reality.”

As for the Tigers, they are still 6-2-1 after suffering their second loss of the season and snapping their four-game win streak since dropping a 4-0 defeat at Arlington. They have a lot of young and inexperienced players and coach Marcel Galligani is trying to mix and match. He obviously wasn’t happy with the team’s performance and is hoping things will shake out in time heading into sectionals later this month.

So, who gets the better end in their Oct. 18 rematch? Who ya got?

Ok, so really it was in Bronxville, which of course, isn’t Da Bronx. But hey, I made you look didn’t I?

Anyway, Bronxville looked solid in its 3-0 win over Valhalla. It was a matchup featuring the No. 3 team in the state in Class (da Broncos) against the state’s top-ranked Class C team (da Vikings). Trent Emanuel scored a pair of goals and Brian Rogers—that’s him pictured in a game last season—also scored.

After a Sept. 17 loss at North Salem, Bronxville has won seven straight. Talk about rolling.

Phew! Now I am not banned from covering the Broncos. Coach Don Lucas joked that I wouldn’t be allowed at any more games if they lost. Lately, seems like when I cover them they lose. That’s what happened in last year’s Class B section finale and again this season up near the beautuful pastures of North Salem.

As for Valhalla, it was my first chance to see Paolo Luciano and company in action. And although they lost, I’m sure they are going to be right there at the end. They’ve stumbled in their last two games and it might be a good thing. Coach Sandro Prosperino said it’s tough to teach after a win, so this should give him something to use to get the Vikings back on track. He thinks the guys are relying too much on Luciano and maybe these two losses following a seven-game win streak will help the players understand they all need to step up.

You can check them out here.

Remember, these are through games as of Sept. 30. So what do you guys think? Any glaring omissions?

It was a typical Scarsdale-White Plains match: Low scoring and hard-fought with more than a few yellow cards doled out.

White Plains didn’t seem to have the same fire Scarsdale had at the outset, which Tigers coach Marcel Galligani (who wasn’t making excuses) said was probably attributed to the Tigers long bus ride home from Newburgh after their 3-2 win Monday night.

Scarsdale seemed to want it more and the Raiders were playing well, leading for first 58 minutes. Two penalties inside the box in the last 22 minutes minutes put White Plains in position to pull it out, making this one a crusher. Converting key scoring chances in the first half, not to mention the second, proved costly for Scarsdale.

In all, it was a tough loss for the Raiders and coach Joe Cipriano. I’ve talked to him (unfortunately) after a few difficult losses, but he was pretty devastated following today’s game. Scarsdale plays solid defense. If they can ever find a way to score more, there’s no reason why the Raiders can’t still be one of the teams in Class AA to watch out for.

Well, tomorrow I’m heading down to the Boogie Down Bronxville to watch Valhalla (7-1) and Paolo Luciano scrap with Bronxville (9-1) and Brian Rogers, who leads the area in scoring. Should be a good game. Anyone have any early predictions?

Remember, these rankings represent games through Monday, so don’t think they will look the same next week.

You can check them out here.

Thoughts anyone?

Got my first opportunity to watch Pelham and Rye in action this season. Maybe it was because I showed up (yeah right) but Rye got its offense rolling in the right direction. The Garnets scored four unanswered goals, including three in the second half, and emerged victorious in the League III-B game.

Overall, Rye has some serious depth. TJN photographer and undercover sports reporter Tom Nycz— who gets the credit for that photo of Matt Savarese (18), left, being congratulated by Andrew Klokiw (11)— was surprised by the sheer number of players the Garnets had on their roster. But one player in particular caught my eye: sophomore forward Juan Chang.

He sprung off the bench and scored what turned out to be the game-winner less than a minute into the second half. He finished with two goals and an assist. I wrote in our preview how I though Rye would be a team to watch in Class A this season and after seeing them today, I feel pretty good about that prediction.

So you can check it out below. Enjoy.

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