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AUGUST 2010 TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2010 Spackenkill looking for improvement Spartans have new coach, hope to compete in tough league  By Rich Thomaselli
HVSR POUGHKEEPSIE – The ring tone on Clinton DeSouza’s cell phone started going off, indicating he had a text. First one, then another, then another, all with the same message. “I just saw your whole team at the Fair.” “I’m at the Fair and your whole team is here.” “Hey Clinton, I’m at the DC Fair and I just saw like 20 of your guys.” That was music to DeSouza’s ears. The first-year head football coach at Spackenkill High School, promoted from the jayvee to take the place of Don Neise, said he had a lot of work to do when he took over earlier this year. The first thing was to start with team bonding, like trips to the Fair, bowling night and movie night. “It’s a trap at Spackenkill because it’s a soccer school,” DeSouza said. “And when you win five games in the last three years it plays further into that mentality. They’re taking it personally this year. We’ve become the laughingstock of Section Nine and we want to change that. I think (opposing) teams are going to see a tough Spackenkill team this year.” The Spartans were 3-6 last year and they open the 2010 campaign on Friday night at Millbrook. The schedule-makers did Spackenkill no favors – the team has regular Class B division games against the likes of Marlboro, Highland and Ellenville, as well as non-division games that include a strong Class C school in Millbrook and two Class A schools in Onteora and Rondout Valley. But what the Spartans lack in numbers, they make up for in quality. “We’re a little light,” DeSouza said, “but for the first time in a while our one through 25 are all quality.” The Spartans will probably be a little stronger offensively than defensively, at least to start the season. Quarterback K.J. Williams is a dual threat as Spackenkill comes out in a pro set, I backfield. “K.J. is our key,” DeSouza said. “He is the captain of the offense. People respect him. He knows he has free reign with audible control, so he has a lot of options when he comes to the line of scrimmage.” He also has weapons. Damon Jackson, a transfer from Connecticut, will start at tailback and is explosive. Tight end Josh Riley (see sidebar below) won’t be just another glorified lineman – he’ll be counted on as a big-time pass catcher. Defensively, linebacker Nick Loughran calls the defenses and defensive end Jeff Celestino anchors the line. “Nick can fly and can hit people,” DeSouza said. “He’s our best tackler and our surest tackler. Jeff is an aspiring bodybuilder and while that doesn’t necessarily transfer to football, so far it has with him. He really gets down the line and he uses his size and strength.” The Spartans certainly have their work cut out for them this year but, if anything, they’ve not only bonded as a team but have come together through adversity in the preseason – because of construction at the school, they never know what to expect when they arrive each day. “I’ve had to be very flexible,” DeSouza said. “One day we don’t have power. Another day I can’t be in the auditorium. Another day we can’t go in the gym. Another day we can’t get in the lockerroom because they’re buffing the floors … But, you know what? We’ll be fine. Friday night is what we’ve been waiting for.”
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| HS golfers begin today By Rich Thomaselli HVSR And they’ll all be chasing Rondout Valley High School. The 2009-10 high school athletic season officially begins today when the Mid-Hudson Athletic League golf schedule tees off. Even though it’s still a full week before classes actually begin, the golf teams traditionally have begun early in order to get their six-week schedules in before the local courses start to take a turn for the worse due to the weather. Everybody will once again be looking to dethrone Rondout, last year’s champion. Wallkill, Spackenkill and New Paltz look to have the best chance to unseat the Ganders by the time the Larry Johnson Memorial Tournament, which matches up the four division champions, tees off on Oct. 7 at Apple Greens in Highland. Today’s schedule features five matches, and weather will certainly be an issue. The National Weather Service is forecasting high temperatures of 92 today, 93 Wednesday and 90 on Thursday before the area gets a little bit of a break on Friday. That’s when the remnants of Hurricane Earl are supposed to reach the northeast United States seaboard and dump some rain on us, making the opening night of Section Nine football an interesting proposition. | | Riley does what's best for team By Rich Thomaselli HVSR  POUGHKEEPSIE – Josh Riley is exactly the kind of football player that new Spackenkill High School football coach Clinton DeSouza was looking for.
Talented, yes. But, more importantly, unselfish and somebody that buys into the program. | SPACKENKILL |
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Coach: Clinton DeSouza (first season) Last year’s record: 3-6 Starters returning: 5 Starters lost: 10 Key stat: The Spartans have won five games in the last three years. Captains: Kwamel Anderson, TB/LB, Sr.; Shane Mulcahy, OT/DT, Sr.; K.J. Williams, QB, Jr. Schedule Sept. 3, at Millbrook, 7 p.m. Sept. 11, at Red Hook, 1:30 p.m. Sept. 16, vs. Ellenville, 6:30 p.m. Sept. 24, at Marlboro, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1, vs. New Paltz, 7 p.m. Oct. 8, at Highland, 7 p.m. Oct. 16, vs. Onteora, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 23, at Rondout Valley, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 30, vs. Goshen, 1:30 p.m. |
“Here’s a kid who quarterbacked three undefeated teams in a row,” DeSouza said of Riley, now a sophomore who was the signal-caller for Spackenkill’s unbeaten modified teams in 2007 and 2008, and its unbeaten jayvee team last season. “But when he came up on varsity this year he came to me and said, ‘What can I do to play? Where do you need me?’ ” Where? How about starting tight end? “I have a junior quarterback in front of me and we’re going to be really strong with him,” Riley said of teammate K.J. Williams. “I’ve played tight end before and I feel like I’m a better tight end, anyway.” And he won’t be just another lineman, either. “You know how on most high school football teams that the tight end is a glorified extra blocker? Not with Josh,” DeSouza said. “We’ve made him into a weapon. Yes, he’s a great blocker and we’ll utilize that in the running game, but he really knows how to run his routes and catch the ball.” Riley said he already has good chemistry with Williams. “K.J. and I are good friends so there’s a great connection there,” he said. “And my teammates accepted me when I stepped up to varsity. This is my first real experience with blocking, with technique and the line calls, and they’ve really helped me.” | |
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Renegades lose in 14, fail to pick up ground TROY – After nearly 4½ hours of baseball on Monday night, the Hudson Valley Renegades had a chance to pick up a game in the wild card standings in the New York-Penn League. Instead, the team moved closer to elimination. Tri-City’s Adam Bailey singled home Chris Wallace with one out in the bottom of the 14th inning to give the ValleyCats a 5-4 win over the Renegades, keeping Hudson Valley four games out in the wild card race with eight games left to play. The Renegades’ Elias Otero went 4-for-7 with a two-run home run and a double, while teammate chris Winder had three hits.
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MONDAY, AUGUST 30, 2010  New coach, new attitude
Marlboro looking to step it up behind Rich Ward
By Rich Thomaselli HVSR MARLBORO – After a summer filled with 90-degree days, Dennis Burkett Field at Marlboro High School was a welcome refuge last week with cool temperatures and a misting rain for a Monday night football practice. The potentially slick ball and even slicker turf didn’t seem to bother the Iron Dukes, though. An offense led by senior Vinny Porcelli looked crisp, as the quarterback was slinging out patterns into the flat, as well as finding receivers Ben Cary and Alex Baglieri over the middle, as Marlboro repeatedly ran plays from the middle of the field. Over in another area, defensive players practiced their upfield rushes, zig-zagging and pushing past blocking several blocking dummies before finally making a sharp 180-degree turn and roaring back to sack the final dummy. Near the end of the two-hour workout, new coach Rich Ward yelled, “OK, everybody down in the corner of the field! I have a little surprise for you!” The surprise turned out to be a mental toughness drill. It was the so-called Albert Haynesworth drill, in which players line up on the goal line and must run to the 25-yard line and back three times in 73 seconds, take a 75-second break, and then do it again. The task was famous in the media this summer when Haynesworth, the Washington Redskins’ defensive lineman, had difficult running passing the drill. “It may have been brought to light this year,” Ward said later, “but I’ve been using it for years.” After the mental toughness test was over, Ward had the team close practice by lining up on the 20-yard line and running a two-minute drill down the field to score. Welcome to the new Marlboro Football Era. The Iron Dukes, as befits their name, have always been known as a power team. Now Ward is looking to make them mentally tough as well. “Every day,” he said, “our goal is to go out and win each drill, win each play. There’s a progression there.” The progression, he hopes will be to better last year’s record and return the Iron Dukes to prominence. After Marlboro went 2-7 in 2009, the school declined to renew the contract of coach Bob Koonz and instead brought in Ward, a 1985 Marlboro graduate who last coached at the high school level in 2006, when he served as the defensive coordinator on a Cornwall team that made it all the way to the Class A state championship game. Ward was also on the coaching staff at the United States Military Academy’s sprint football team. “When I was hired here in February basically what I had to do was learn the kids, have them learn me and install the systems,” he said. “Our systems are going to be multiple. We’ll have a balanced attack on both sides of the ball. But the game is still about blocking and tackling.” Marlboro’s offense shouldn’t lack for talent. Porcelli got most of the reps last year after replacing Maxx Faircloth, and Cary, Baglieri, running back T.J. Henderson and jack of all trades Mike Schoonmaker are all seniors with solid skills and experience. “We’re not a one-man show. We’re able to throw the ball a little bit, and we’ll be able to pound it,” Ward said. “Vinny’s done a good job. He’s a nice quarterback because he’s able to run and throw, a dual threat, and he’s shown good leadership. We’re looking for big things from him.” Marlboro will need to step it up defensively. This is a team that had trouble keeping opposing offenses out of the end zone last year, most notably in a disheartening 47-8 loss to archrival Highland in the season opener. Much is expected of the defense this year, led by linemen Greg Carnazza, Mike Cavazza and Nick LaMela, and linebackers John LaMela, Teddy Harpolis and Frank Harpolis. Asked what three things his team absolutely, positively had to do to win this season, Ward kept it simple. “Block, tackle and compete,” he said. “It’s an attitude. The kids have a good attitude. They’ve gone out and competed every day. We’re not going to over-complicate things. We’re just going to get out there and get after it.”
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| Marist women fall to 0-2 PITTSBURGH – The Marist College women’s soccer team finished play at the 2010 Duquesne Classic with a 1-0 loss to the Saint Louis Billikens on Sunday afternoon. Senior goalkeeper Jamie Balzarini made six saves in the match for the Red Foxes in their second consecutive loss. Saint Louis (1-1-2) notched the lone goal of the match in the 79th minute as Maggie Baumann scored her first goal of the season. Marist (0-2) had a chance to answer in the 87th minute as junior Mariah Downey beat the Billikens goalkeeper, but the shot went off the post. For Marist, it was the third post hit on the weekend. The Red Foxes closed the opening stanza with the last two chances, a pair of shots that came 3:11 apart. In the 37th minute, freshman Allison Sloper had her shot blocked which led to a Marist corner kick. Sophomore Nicole Kuhar had the second chance on a shot that went wide. Sophomore Caitlin Landsman came in for the final 17:27 at the goalkeeper position for Marist. She suffered her first loss of the season. For the match, Saint Louis outshot Marist 15-9, while the Red Foxes held a 6-2 advantage in saves. Marist took four corners to Saint Louis’ three. Marist will wrap up its three-game road trip to open the 2010 season on Friday. The Red Foxes will travel to Long Island for a meeting with the Stony Brook Seawolves. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. | | For the Iron Dukes, everybody is a captain By Rich Thomaselli HVSR MARLBORO – Eventually, like sometime between now and the season opener on Friday night, Marlboro High School football coach Rich Ward will have to nominate a couple of players to walk out to midfield for the coin toss. | MARLBORO |
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| Coach: Rich Ward (first season) Last year’s record: 2-7 Starters returning: 10 Starters lost: 12 Key stat: The Iron Dukes have lost to archrival Highland four times in the last five years. Captains: No captains. Schedule Sept. 3 at James I. O’Neill, 7 p.m. Sept. 11 at Onteora, 1:30 p.m. Sept. 16 vs. Byram Hills, 7 p.m. Sept. 24 vs. Spackenkill, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1 vs. Highland, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9 at Red Hook, 3:30 p.m. Oct. 15 vs. Ellenville, 7 p.m. |
But they won’t be the captains, per se. This year, the 2010 Iron Dukes will have 40-plus captains. “We haven’t designated anybody as a ‘captain’,” Ward said. “I want everyone to take a leadership role and have some ownership of this team.” Translation? Everybody is responsible for what happens. “We have a lot of good leaders,” Ward said. “We don’t have any two people who standout, which to me is kind of nice. Everybody tries to pick everybody up.” Twins John and Nick LaMela are two of 24 seniors on this year’s team and will try to provide some of the leadership Ward speaks of. “We want to win,” John said. “We’ve seen the dedication among the players and now we just want to win.” Nick echoed the thoughts of his brother. “Our main thing is to win,” he said. “We get a lot of fans here, they get into it, and we just want a successful season.” Both brothers say they feel a responsibility to the community. Marlboro has always been one of the best, if not the best, when it comes to community support of its athletic teams, especially after the new field was installed last year. “They are blue collar kids,” Ward said of the LaMela brothers. “They come to work every day with a hard hat and a shovel. They help set an example for our team.” | |
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Dietrich's single lifts Renegades in 12 TROY – The Hudson Valley Renegades have been officially eliminated from winning the New York-Penn League’s McNamara division, but the team still has something to play for. The Renegades remain four games behind in the wild card race after Sunday night’s 5-4, 12-inning victory over the Tri-City ValleyCats at Joe Bruno Stadium. Hudson Valley is now 34-32 overall, four games back of Jamestown with 10 games to play. Derek Dietrich's RBI single in the 12th drove in the winning run for the Renegades. Steve Tinoco had four hits for Hudson Valley, including an RBI double, and Diogenes Luis had a two-run triple. Steve Hiscock earned the win, while Austin Hubbard pitched a scoreless 12th inning for his 10th save.
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SUNDAY, AUGUST 29, 2010
Big changes coming to HVSR
Change, as they say, is good. Change is inevitable. I’m not quite sure that’s always the case, but in this instance it is – big changes are coming to Hudson Valley Sports Report for the upcoming high school and college season. Simply put, I have been amazed, overwhelmed and gratified by the community response to starting HVSR around this time last year. As with any new venture, there’s always hesitation and trepidation. As much as my wife and I dove headfirst into what we thought was an important niche in our area – starting an online daily sports newspaper that would pick up the slack left by shrinking coverage at the local  print newspapers – we didn’t exactly dive into the deep end. We hardly did any advertising of our own, save for a few appearances on radio and a couple of appearances on Cablevision’s now-defunct SportsScene show, and depended largely on word-of-mouth. We committed ourselves to doing it for a full year, but we were careful about what to spend, not knowing whether HVSR would be back for a second year. Frankly, there was a fundamental, important question that needed to be answered as the year played out – was there a market for this? You answered that with traffic numbers that far exceeded our expectations. So, now, welcome to Year II of HVSR ! Allow me to briefly talk about the changes and additions, particularly to our high school coverage, which we hope you will find exciting. A new and improved Monday high school page. Remember, unless it’s during state championship time, there are few, if any, high school events on Sundays. That gives us a chance to blow out the “Athlete of the Week” feature into a whole package. Every Monday, HVSR will feature the AOTW; a column by yours truly; a notebook of interesting items you might have missed during the week; a look ahead to the big games of the upcoming week; and a feature we’re going to call “30-Second Timeout With ….” in which we get to know our area athletes a little better. The Daily Honor Roll. This feature will highlight the top performances of our local players, with a few interesting tidbits and quotes thrown in. More video. Our goal all along was to make HVSR a multi-media site, and this year we’ll be including more video highlights of games and video previews certain games or seasons. To that end, we’ll be introducing … The Morning Sportscast. Don’t have time first thing in the a.m. to read everything on the site? Well, then you get to look at the ugly mug of yours truly for 60 seconds. When warranted, I’ll be doing a quick video sportscast that briefly runs down the highlights and scores from the previous night. Trust me, it’ll be quick – I have a face for radio J The student’s voice. Who knows better about the high school athlete than the high school athlete? We’ll have some players from the Arlington High School football team rotating a weekly column in the fall, and Spackenkill girls’ basketball star Cat Thompson will be back writing in the winter. If any coaches out there have a player they think would be perfect for writing the high school column, please reach out to rich@hudsonvalleysportsreport.com More Breaking News. One of the things that absolutely thrilled me, personally, was re-ingratiating myself back into the community some 13 years after I left the Poughkeepsie Journal. Some of the same coaches from years ago are still at the helm, and some of the athletes I covered back in the day are now coaching in the area. They not only accepted the introduction of Hudson Valley Sports Report, but were instrumental with their help and tips on big breaking news stories throughout the year. We’re proud to say we had at least 15 of those types of stories – coaching changes, league alignment issues, etc. – before any other area media outlet did. And that will continue this year. More interactive features. Our polls will be back, and we’re incorporating them into something new and fun called The Bracket Game. Nothing is more popular than filling out your bracket for the NCAA Basketball Tournament, right? Well, we’re going to have our own brackets during the season. Could be best high school program. Could be best high school colors. Could be best snack foods. Who knows? Bottom line is, you’ll get to vote on it and watch as the bracket progresses to a champion. New and improved coverage of Marist College. The only Division I school in Dutchess and Ulster counties deserves your attention, so HVSR is proud to announce that Marist students Philip Terrigno and Joseph Brosnan will be working with us to provide you more game coverage and features on the Red Foxes. Surprise, surprise. Now and then, we’ll throw you a curveball and have a few surprises for you. Like, um, check out next Monday’s edition of HVSR and see an old friend of ours taking care of a football video preview.
As always, if you have any thoughts, suggestions or criticisms, drop us an email or just pick up a phone. Everything is on the Contact page. Thank you, again, for all that you’ve done in embracing Hudson Valley Sports Report.
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| 'Gades win streak snapped TROY – Four Tri-City pitchers limited Hudson Valley to five hits, and the ValleyCats beat the Renegades, 2-1, before 5,488 fans at Joe Bruno Stadium in Troy, the largest crowd of the season for the ValleyCats.  Tri-City only scored two runs, both aided by errors, but made sure they were enough. Carlos Quevedo allowed just one score in 5.2 innings of work and the bullpen held the visitors without a run the rest of the way.
Quevedo uncharacteristically went to four 3-0 counts and walked two batters – the first time he has issued more than one free pass in a start this season. The second one hurt, as Diogenes Luis led off the sixth with a five-pitch walk, stole second and advanced to third on a lineout to right. Brandt Walker was called upon with two outs to retire Nick Schwaner, but the left fielder drilled a single up the middle to plate Luis with the Renegades' first and only run.
The ValleyCats struck first, managing one run off Zachary Rosscup in a long second inning. Marcus Nidiffer lined a single to left with one out. Mike Kvasnicka hit a hard grounder right at the third baseman Otero, which looked like a double-play ball, but he raised his glove too quickly and the ball bounced into left field. Two batters later, Adam Bailey drove a grounder through the middle, bringing home Nidiffer to break the scoreless tie.
Kvasnicka again was the beneficiary of an error in the fourth. With two outs, he hit another grounder to Otero. This time, the third baseman fielded the ball cleanly, but his throw was high and pulled first baseman Steve Tinoco off the bag. Chris Wallace followed with a double to left and Kvasnicka, who was running on the pitch, scored easily.
Hudson Valley reliever Omar Bencomo threw four innings and held the 'Cats scoreless.
| | Marist volleyball wins first of the year HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS – Freshman Grace Hill recorded 13 kills and 11 digs while sophomore Katie Estes tallied nine kills and nine digs as the Marist College volleyball team defeated Prairie View A&M 3-1 (20-25, 25-21, 27-25, 25-17) on Saturday in the team’s third match of the Comfort Suites Sam Houston State University Invitational. The victory was Marist’s first of the season after dropping two matches on Friday. The Red Foxes later lost to Eastern Michigan to close out the tournament. Marist maintained a 5-4 lead in the first set against the Aggies after two kills by Estes and one by senior Allie Burke. After Prairie View regained the lead 6-5, the Red Foxes responded with five unanswered points to take a 10-6 lead on kills from Stoiberg and Hill. With the set tied 16-16, Prairie View regained the lead on a kill by Cheri Lindsay and a service ace by Erin Fondel. Marist then crept to within one point late in the set, 21-20, but Prairie View held on for the 25-20 win on a service ace from Breanna McNeil. Hill tallied four kills and three digs in the opening set which featured 11 ties. Prairie View (0-3) took an early 4-0 lead over the Red Foxes in the second set on kills by Lindsay and McNeil in addition to two service aces from Jasmine Hales. Trailing 9-4, Marist evened up the set at 10-10 on kills from Hill and Stoiberg. The Red Foxes took their first lead of the set, 11-10, after capitalizing on an attack error by Prairie View’s Maegan Coleman. Despite holding an 18-14 lead, Marist could not keep Prairie View at bay, as the Panthers tied up the set 20-20 behind two more service aces from Hales. Hales, however, faltered on her next serve, and Stoiberg followed with three service aces of her own to give the Red Foxes a 24-20 lead. A service error by Prairie View’s Cheri Lindsay gave Marist a 25-21 second set victory. In a repeat of the previous set, Prairie View jumped out to another 4-0 lead to start the third set before a Leeann Harridsleff kill got the Red Foxes on the board. Trailing 8-4, the Red Foxes faught back to tie up the score at 9-9. From there, Prairie View built a commanding 21-12 lead, but Marist rallied in impressive fashion to capture 13 of the next 16 points to take a 25-24 lead. Stoiberg led the Red Foxes’ charge with three kills while Hill and Harridsleff closed out the set with kills of their own to give Marist the improbable 27-25 third set victory. Building off the momentum from their third set comeback, the Red Foxes took a 4-0 lead on a kill from Kayla Burton and a service ace from Stoiberg. Marist held on to the lead for the rest of the set, including opening up a six-point advantage at one point, 15-9, on kills from Estes and Harridsleff in addition to a service ace from Hill. Leading 20-15, Marist scored five of the next seven points to close out the set and preserve their first victory of the season. For the match, Marist outhit Prairie View .240 to .171 in addition to holding a 13-8 advantage in team blocks. Both teams recorded 47 kills while Prairie View held a 55-49 edge in digs. |
SATURDAY, AUGUST 28, 2010 Saturday? THUD Day! Section Nine teams get to hit somebody other than themselves today with scrimmages
By Rich Thomaselli HVSR It’s not the season opener. That honor is still six days away on Friday, Sept. 3. But for Section Nine’s high school football teams, 12 days of practice – and 12 days of looking at nothing but each other – culminate in Scrimmage Day this morning. Or, Thud Day, as some players like to call it – the chance to hit somebody other than themselves for the first time all summer. Virtually every local team is in action this morning somewhere in the Hudson Valley area, as this is the first chance they get to strut their stuff and see what works and what doesn’t. “We’re fortunate in that the teams we’re scrimmaging we don’t play in the regular season,” said first-year Marlboro coach Rich Ward. “So we’ll show some things, work on some things, maybe ask the other coaches to run a certain defense against us, and we’ll give them the same courtesy. It’s a learning opportunity.” Marlboro hosts Monticello – which is resurrecting football for the first time since the 1930s – Valley Central and Cornwall, which is where Ward formerly coached. The three-way scrimmage begins at 10 a.m. Also scrimmaging today: Red Hook at Ellenville tonight, under the lights, along with Fallsburg and John S. Burke. Millbrook at Roosevelt at 10 a.m. Wallkill hosting Pine Bush at 10 a.m. Pine Plains at Housatonic, also at 10 a.m. Spackenkill and New Paltz at Highland, at 10 a.m. And Rondout and Onteora joining Chester at James I. O’Neill, at 10 a.m. For Rondout Valley, it’s the first time back on the field in earnest since the final regular season game of 2008. The school had to disband the program for a year in 2009 due to a lack of turnout.
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| Marist women fall in opener PITTSBURGH – The Marist College women’s soccer team opened the 2010 season with a 2-0 loss to Duquesne on Friday night at Rooney Field. The contest was the second played on the day during the 2010 Duquesne Classic. Duquesne (1-1-1) scored its pair of goals on corner kicks. In the 16th minute, Lauren Tlumack headed a cross into the back of the net off a ball played into the box by Bridget Lynch. The second goal came at the 72:04 mark in the match, when Morgan Herbert finished with a header off a corner as well. The Red Foxes came out of the gate strong, as sophomore Jessica Arabia put the first Marist shot of the season off the crossbar just 34 seconds into the match. Freshman Allison Sloper hit Marist’s second pipe of the stanza, as she also banked a shot off the crossbar. Sloper’s shot came at the 24:45 into the match. Senior goalkeeper Jamie Balzarini suffered the loss in goal. She made three saves in the match. Gabby Morrin countered with four saves for Duquesne in the team’s first clean sheet of the season. The loss is just Marist’s second in a season-opener in the last six seasons. The Red Foxes had won their last two matches to begin the 2008 and 2009 campaigns. Marist will conclude the 2010 Duquesne Classic on Sunday when it takes on the St. Louis Billikens. Kickoff is slated for Noon. | | Army's McNary on watch list for Lombardi Award HOUSTON – Army senior defensive end Josh McNary was named a candidate for a third major award on Friday when the Rotary Lombardi Award Committee released its preseason watch list. The Rotary Lombardi Award is presented annually to the top down lineman, end-to-end, either on offense or defense, who sets up no farther than 10 yards to the left or right of the ball, or linebackers who set up no farther than five yards deep from the line of scrimmage. McNary is also on the watch list for the 2010 Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the 2010 Lott Trophy. Both awards honor the top defensive player in the nation. In addition to his watch list mentions, McNary has earned preseason honorable mention All-America accolades by Consensus Draft Services and second-team preseason All-America honors from NationalChamps.net Already Army’s all-time leader in sacks entering his final season, McNary earned three All-America citations in 2009. He was a third-team selection by CollegeFootballNews.com, a fourth-team pick by Phil Steele’s College Football Preview and an honorable mention choice by Sports Illustrated. McNary totaled an Academy-record 12.5 sacks in 2009 and ranked fourth in the nation with 1.04 sacks per contest. His 18 career sacks are the most ever by an Army player. In addition, McNary set the school record for single-game sacks with four quarterback takedowns at Temple on Oct. 17. McNary made 22.5 tackles for loss in 2009, the third-best season total in Academy history. His 1.88 per game average tied for second in the nation. The 41st Rotary Lombardi Award will be held December 7- 8, 2010, at the George R. Brown Convention Center in McNary’s hometown of Houston, Texas. | |
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Renegades earn third straight win, pick up wild card ground FISHKILL – Three in a row for the Hudson Valley Renegades.  Three Hudson Valley pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout Friday night, and the Renegades inched a little closer in the wild card playoff race with a 3-0 victory over the Tri-City Valley Cats before 4,929 fans at Dutchess Stadium. The Renegades are now 33-31, and picked up a half-game in the standings. They are now four games behind Jamestown with nine games to play. James Patterson started for HV and earned the win with six innings of two-hit ball. He struck out six and walked only one in lowering his ERA to 2.76. Devin Fuller pitched two innings of one-hit ball, and Wade Broyles pitched a hitless ninth for the save. Steve Tinoco, Nick Schwaner and Elias Otero all had RBIs for the Renegades.
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FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 2010
Quarterback Eric Wellmon is expected to lead Wallkill's offense this season Photo by Ed Diller, Hudson Valley Sports Photo Network Panthers on the prowl Consistent Wallkill looks to take next step to title Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of daily previews highlighting our local high school football teams. By Rich Thomaselli HVSR Wallkill High School has been one of the most consistent, if not the most consistent, football programs in the Hudson Valley. Over the last 10 years, the Panthers are 62-36, have made the Section Nine playoffs in five of the last six years, and have advanced to the Class A title game in three consecutive seasons.  Now all the program needs is a championship.
“We have a focus,” said junior Eric Wellmon, who is taking over for the graduated Andrew Harcher at quarterback. “Our goal is to win every one of our division games. The rest should take care of itself.” That’s a worthy, if not ambitious, goal for the Panthers considering they’re in a league dominated by a strong Cornwall program. “Oh, Class A is a tough, tough conference,” Wallkill coach Brian Vegliando said. “You have Cornwall, Saugerties is a tough physical team and Port Jervis is always tough.” This year, though, the Panthers have a new wrinkle, a wild card, a trick up their sleeves, if you will – Bob Koonz. Koonz was the coach at Marlboro High School before being forced out after the 2009 season. Now he’s Wallkill’s offensive coordinator and Vegliando, in his second year as the head coach, couldn’t be happier. “It’s huge,” Vegliando said. “Not just in terms of letting him take the reins of the offense and call plays and take a load off my shoulders, but just his experience, planning practice, knowing the game, and game situations. He’s already been invaluable to us.” Said Wellmon: “He’s a great coach. He keeps everything running smoothly. His methods are definitely what our team needs. The offense is going to be a little bit of ‘you don’t know what’s coming.’ We have great balance.” Much is expected of Wellmon this year. Not only has Harcher graduated, but so has running back James Sc 
The Panthers mix it up at a recent practice. Photo by Ed Diller Hudson Valley Sports Photo Network |
hoonmaker and wide receiver Chad Hecht.
But the Panthers return several key players. With Hecht gone, expect Stephen Moyer and Ryan Atkins (12 receptions, 274 yards, two touchdowns in two years on the varsity) to start seeing more balls thrown their way. Senior running back Dominick Calvanico should easily be able to step into Schoonmaker’s role as the primary ball carrier. Calvanico has been terrific the last two years on varsity with 212 carries, 1,148 yards and 11 TDs. He also caught 10 balls for 131 yards and a score last year. “Dominick will be a big weapon this year,” Vegliando said. Defensively, the Panthers appear to be pretty set. Junior defensive back Kevin Crespi leads the way, coming off a season in which he had 28 solo tackles, 23 assisted tackles, an interception, three pass break-ups and two fumble recoveries. The Panthers open the season on Friday, Sept. 3, and while it’s a non-league game against a bigger school in Washingtonville, Vegliando says it’s the most important game on the schedule right now. “We didn’t get off to a fast start last year and we need to get off to a good start,” he said. “We need to play our best football right away. If we prepare very well during the week, Friday night we will play well.” Wellmon says he sees it coming. “There’s a lot of talent on this team,” the quarterback said. “We just have to string it all together.”
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| 'Gades take 2nd straight FISHKILL – The Hudson Valley Renegades are making a late push for the New York-Penn League playoffs. Robby Price's seventh-inning RBI single snapped a 3-all tie and boosted the Renegades to a 6-3 win over the Tri-City ValleyCats on Thursday night before 3,860 fans at Dutchess Stadium.  Hudson Valley is now 32-31 overall and picked up a game on Batavia in the wild card standings. The Renegades are now 4½ games out with 13 games to play.
The Renegades were cruising along with a 3-0 when the ValleyCats rallied for three runs in the sixth inning to tie the game against starter Wilmer Almonte. In the bottom of the seventh, Brian Briles and Chris Winder led off with walks. Price then delivered his RBI single to untie the game. After a sacrifice bunt, Phil Wunderlich plated another run with a sacrifice fly, and Steve Tinoco singled in another run. | | Special teams are a priority for the Panthers By Rich Thomaselli HVSR Football coaches are meticulous creatures of habit. Practices are timed down to the minute, if not the second on some drills, and ample time is given to all phases of the game. But at Wallkill High School, the coaching staff dedicates a little more time to one aspect than other programs might. Special teams. The Panthers are extraordinarily good at it, having returned four kicks for touchdowns last year, including two in one game. “We have weapons in the kicking game, no doubt about it,” head coach Brian Vegliando said. “I think more and more when you go to clinics these days, you see more emphasis on it.” It’s unusual for a high school team to have such a strong special teams unit. Most coaches are happy if they can get away with not having a punt blocked in the kicking game or a fumble on returns. It’s not that schools don’t work on special teams. It’s just that at Wallkill, the attention to detail is amazing. The Panthers do individual drills during special teams practice, where most programs simply work as a unit. “We break down our guys up front, our hit men in the kicking game and our returners. We break them down and spend time working with them every day in the beginning of practice,” Vegliando said. The coach said there’s a method to the madness. “We feel like if you can win this phase of the game, you win the whole game,” he said. “A lot of it is scheme, but a lot of is attention to detail, too.” | |
| Two Marist coaches step down POUGHKEEPSIE – Marist College lost two head coaches of women’s sports this week when Elizabeth Roper and Laura Campbell both stepped down to take new positions. Roper announced her resignation as the women’s soccer coach after five seasons. Steve Davis, who is in his first season on the team’s staff, will serve as interim head coach. Roper has accepted a position as a guidance counselor at Paramus Catholic High School in New Jersey. Prior to her arrival at Marist, she worked as a guidance counselor at Immaculate Heart Academy in New Jersey from 1998-2005. In 2007, Roper led the Red Foxes to their most successful season in program history as she was named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Coach of the Year. Marist compiled an 11-5-3 overall record, won the MAAC regular-season championship and reached the MAAC Tournament championship match. That season, the Red Foxes set team records for most wins, highest winning percentage, fewest goals allowed, most shutouts, most goals scored, most assists and most total points. In 2005 and 2009, Marist reached the MAAC Tournament semifinals, and upset a higher seed in the quarterfinal round to advance both times. In her tenure at Marist, Roper had 47 selections to the MAAC All-Academic Team, seven MAAC All-Rookie Team choices and two All-MAAC honorees. Campbell has announced her resignation after two seasons as the women’s lacrosse coach to become head coach at American University. In 2010, Campbell led the Red Foxes to their first NCAA Tournament berth in program history. In Campbell’s two seasons, the Red Foxes posted a record of 22-13 (.629). With 12 wins in the 2009 season, Marist set a program record for victories in a season. Over the last two seasons, the Red Foxes had 11 All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) honorees, including three First Team choices, and 23 selections to the MAAC All-Academic Team. This past season, Kelly Condon was named MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, and Erin Wilson was named MAAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player. |
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2010 Every week is a huge week In local high school football, each game on the schedule is pivotal for one reason or another By Rich Thomaselli HVSR Every week is a playoff game. In high school football, the shortened schedules and the format for making the playoffs on the road to Syracuse for the state championships make every week an important game. As part of our continuing package that previews high school football in the area, today we take a look at the weekly schedule and narrow down a few games each week that are the most interesting, most intriguing and most important matchups of the week. Sept. 3-4 Monticello at Highland. First game of the year for the Huskies. First game in 73 years for Monticello, which is re-starting its football program for the first time since the 1930s. Goshen at Roosevelt. The debut for new FDR coach Brian Bellino. Marlboro at O’Neill. Hey nice scheduling job by somebody – new Marlboro coach Rich Ward gets to make his debut on the road against the defending Section Nine, Class B champions. Spackenkill at Millbrook. Great opening night game for both local programs. There’s a familiarity there – both schools scrimmaged against each other this summer at the Mid-Hudson Football Camp. It’s also the debut game for new Spackenkill coach Clinton DeSouza. Rondout Valley at Liberty. It’s the first game for the Ganders since the 2008 season, after the school disbanded the program last year due to a lack of turnout. It’s also the first game for new RV coach George Iacobaccio, who takes over for Jim Malak.
Sept. 10-11 Our Lady of Lourdes at Putnam Valley. Brian Walsh’s debut as the Warriors’ new coach comes on a Saturday night on the road. Arlington at Mamaroneck. The Admirals open the season on the road in what should be a tuneup before coming home to face Mahopac in an early league showdown. 
Poughkeepsie quarterback Jarrid Williams. |
New Paltz at Highland. This will give the Huguenots an idea of where they stand right away. Spackenkill at Red Hook. The good news? It’s the first of three consecutive home games for the Red Raiders. The bad news? The opponents are Spackenkill, Highland and O’Neill. Wallkill at Kingston. Note to the Tigers: Just because you have double the students doesn’t mean you can run all over the smaller school. Lakeland at Poughkeepsie. Strange schedule for the Pioneers – first three games on the road, last three games at home. This one serves as the season opener.
Sept. 16-17-18 (NOTE: Most games played on Thursday, Sept. 16 because of the Jewish holiday). Mahopac at Arlington. First league game of the year for both schools. One of them will lay down the law for the rest of the division. Bronxville at Haldane. First home game for the Blue Devils and a chance to make some noise against an always-strong program. New Paltz at Onteora. Second of two straight home games for the Indians, the first one being against Marlboro, and it will certainly give OCS a clue as to where it stands in a tough league. Carmel at John Jay. The Patriots need this one in a big way. Not only is it their league opener, but they must play their other three league opponents – Arlington, Ketcham and Mahopac – on the road.
Sept. 24-25 Dover at Pawling. Can the Dragons come through and win for the first time in 10 years? Ketcham at Carmel. League opener and third of three consecutive road games to open the season for the Indians. John Jay at Arlington. Rematch of last year’s last-second, heart-breaking loss for Jay (video here).
Oct. 1-2 Highland at Marlboro. Really, do we need to say anything else?!? Poughkeepsie at Somers. Rematch of a Section One, Class A playoff game in which the Pioneers stunned the Tuskers. Now it’s a critical league matchup. Arlington at Ketcham. Arlington is now at where Ketcham hopes to be. An terrific matchup that will most certainly have league title implications.  Arlington coach Dominick DeMatteo |
Cornwall at Wallkill. Hands down the most important game of the year in Section Nine, Class A. The winner likely takes the division.
Oct. 8-9 Millbrook at Fallsburg. We’re not sure how difficult a matchup this will be for the Blazers, but we do know that the 172-mile, three-county, roundtrip bus ride is certainly a b----. Rondout Valley at New Paltz. Good opponent for the Ganders to gauge how far they’ve come along this season. Saugerties at Wallkill. If the Sawyers have any chance at all of competing in Section Nine, Class A, they’ll have to knock off the defending champs on the road.
Oct. 15-16 Arlington at North Rockland. Early Section One, Class AA playoff preview? John Jay at Ketcham. For a playoff spot? Kingston at Roosevelt. The Presidents actually played the Tigers pretty tough last year, and it will be interesting to see where FDR is at this point under Bellino. Millbrook at Pine Plains. Chance to clinch the league for the Blazers? John F. Kennedy Catholic at Our Lady of Lourdes. Go ahead, we know you want to come up with some cool pun, some witty theme with a religious backdrop for this game. In reality, it’s OLL’s Homecoming and final regular-season game of the year.
Oct. 22-23 Highland at Ellenville. If everything plays out the way it should, this will be for the Section Nine, Class B league title.
Tappan Zee at Beacon. Will the final game of the year, at home, for the Bulldogs be to clinch a winning record?
Marlboro at New Paltz. Fourth game of a brutal four-game stretch in which the Iron Dukes play Highland and Ellenville at home, and take on Red Hook and the Huguenots on the road.
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| Renegades knock off Tri-City to start the homestretch FISHKILL -- The Hudson Valley Renegades spotted Tri-City a 2-0 advantage on Wednesday night, and then banged out 17 hits en route to a 10-3 victory over the Valley Cats in a New York-Penn League game before 4,002 fans at Dutchess Stadium. The victory, HV's second in a row, pushed the Renegades back to the .500 mark at 31-31 as they start the two-week homestretch to the end of the season. But, mathematically anyway, it's not looking good for the home team. Hudson Valley is 10 games out in the McNamara Division with a tragic number of four -- any combination of four Brooklyn wins and Hudson Valley losses eliminates the Renegades. In the wild card race, the 'Gades are five games behind Batavia with a tragic number of nine. Nick Schwaner had a big night for Hudson Valley, going 4-for-5 with five RBI. | | $60 million for a HS stadium?!? By Rich Thomaselli HVSR Football in the state of Texas has been described in many ways, including as a religion. Now it can say that it’s also big business. Get this – the cost to build the new stadium at Allen High School in the state of Texa is $59.6 million. That’s million, with an M. According to the Dallas Morning News, the price tag for the new 18,000-seat stadium appears set at $59.6 million, which is just under what Allen Independent School District voters approved in a bond election in May 2009. Allen ISD trustees gave their OK Monday night to a maximum construction cost of $53.5 million. When furniture, architectural fees and other costs are added in, the cost increases by about $6 million. Apparently, according to the article, there’s been quite the national buzz about high school stadium that’s so pricey. The buzz being that it’s way too costly and way out of line in these economic times. But apparently school trustees don’t care. The trustees decided Monday night that the project will also include a weight room costing about $1 million. We’re not even going to get into the debate of whether the money could have been used better. Like paying teachers more. |
TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010 22 schools, 1 goal - win When last we saw the Arlington High School football team, the Admirals were losing a tough game to North Rockland in the Section One, Class AA semifinals after winning their first league championship in 12 years. When last we saw the Poughkeepsie football team, the Pioneers were losing a tough game to Roosevelt-Yonkers in the Section One, Class A title game after stunning Somers and Rye in the first two rounds of the playoffs. When last we saw the Highland football team, the Huskies were losing a stunning upset to James I. O’Neill in the Section Nine, Class B championship game after tearing through the season undefeated – including a win over O’Neill earlier in the year. For those three programs, this is a season to build on, to advance the great success from a year ago, perhaps to take the next step on the road to Syracuse. When last we saw the Franklin D. Roosevelt football team, the Presidents were finishing up a 2-7 season in a difficult Section Nine league. When last we saw the Beacon football team, the Bulldogs were struggling through what turned out to be a winless 2009. When last we saw Marlboro, Our Lady of Lourdes and Red Hook, those programs were going through up-and-down seasons that saw highs (big victories, last-minute wins, impressive showings) and lows (blowout losses, lack of consistency). For those five programs, this is also a season to build on – perhaps not on the road to Syracuse but on the road back to respectability. And all five have new coaches. There are myriad storylines for high school football in the Hudson Valley this season, but the bottom line for every school is the same – winning and building a program, no matter how basic, no matter how small those first steps are. “We haven’t talked about goals,” Marlboro coach Rich Ward said. “Our goal every day is to go out and win each drill, win each play. We didn’t promise anybody a championship. We promised everyone a blue collar work ethic. Our goal every day is to go out and provide the Marlboro community with a work ethic they can be proud of.” It’s like that in every one of the towns and communities in our area that fields a high school football team. Yeah, maybe there’s only a couple of thousand fans at some games instead of the 5,000 or 10,000 or more that they get on Friday nights in football hotbeds like Texas and Florida and Ohio. That’s OK; the same passion and enthusiasm and support is there in the stands in Hyde Park or Freedom Plains or Dover Plains. And Kyserike. You know Kyserike, right? It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it community in the Accord/Stone Ridge area of Ulster County where Rondout Valley High School is located. Tell me the entire community won’t be there on Saturday, Sept. 4, when the Ganders play their first game in two years after the program was disbanded last year due to lack of turnout. Tell me that’s not a huge deal for these players, coaches, parents and fans. Tell me it’s not a huge deal at every school in the area when these seniors slip on that jersey for the first time this season, knowing that in a matter of weeks they’ll be taking it off for the last time. Tell me it’s not a big deal for them to look up in the stands to spot their folks, siblings, classmates, a girlfriend. Tell me it’s not important for them to realize that sense of accomplishment, that feeling that all the long hours in the weight room and outside in the scorching sun were all worth it. It’s all a big deal. It’s all important. The countdown is on. The clock is ticking. The start of the season for Section Nine comes on Labor Day weekend; a week later for Section One. The storylines are in place, the coaches are making their final preparations, the players are chomping at the bit. Let the season begin.
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| Big 1st inning boosts 'Gades FISHKILL – Zachary Rosscup pitched a 1-2-3 top of the first inning for the Hudson Valley Renegades on Monday night. Then he settled in for his version of a long winter’s nap in the bottom of the inning. The Renegades batted around and scored six times in the first inning en route to an 8-2 win over the Brooklyn Cyclones at Dutchess Stadium. Hudson Valley is now 30-31 with 15 games remaining. The Renegades’ tragic number to be eliminated from McNamara Division play is six, but they remain a hopeful 4½ games behind Batavia for the wild card playoff berth. Rosscup (2-0) went 5.2 innings, giving up three hits, and got all the runs he needed in one frame. Robby Price led off Hudson Valley’s first with a walk. Diogenes Luis singled, followed by an RBI single from Nick Schwaner. Steve Tinoco followed with a single to make it 2-0. Elias Otero slowed the momentum when he struck out, but Alejandro Torres then doubled in a run, followed by a run-scoring single from Junior Rodriguez and an RBI groundout from Bryan Bryles. Hudson Valley scored its sixth run of the inning on an error by Brooklyn catcher Blake Forsythe. | | Three from Marist earn recognition POUGHKEEPSIE – Three players from the Marist College men’s soccer team were named to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s (MAAC) College Players To Watch Men’s Top 20 on TopDrawerSoccer.com. Junior Krystian Witkowski, senior Joe Touloumis and sophomore Stephan Brossard came in at third, 17th and 19th, respectively.
Witkowski was named to the 2010 MAAC Men’s Soccer Preseason All-MAAC Team on Aug. 18, the same day the Red Foxes were selected to finish fifth overall in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll. After the 2009 season, he was named First Team All-MAAC and Third Team All-North Atlantic Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). After two seasons, Witkowski has totaled eight goals and four assists. Three of his helpers came during his sophomore season. Touloumis had a break-out junior campaign where he totaled career-highs in goals (six), points (14), and game-winning goals (three). He was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 14, after her tallied game-winners in each of the Red Foxes one-goal wins over Army and Drexel. In the classroom, Touloumis is a two-time ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District selection. He was named a Third Team Academic All-American in 2009. The conference’s second-leading returning scorer, Brossard, was an All-Rookie Team selection a season ago. He totaled a team-leading seven goals and 18 points in his freshman season and was twice honored by the MAAC. Brossard was named Co-Rookie of the Week on Oct. 19 and Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 9. Marist opens the regular season on Wednesday, Sept. 1 when it hosts Army at Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. The match will be video streamed on TopDrawerSoccer.com, FREE of charge to viewers. Rob Ziegler and Phil Terrigno will have the call, with coverage set to begin at 6:45 p.m. |
MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2010 Arlington starts out on top Admirals debut at No. 1 on HVSR football Power Rankings Editor’s Note: This is our continuing package of previewing the local high school football season. Today, we look at the first HVSR Power Rankings as well as the new coaches in place at several schools. Later this week, HVSR will begin in-depth, daily team previews of our 20-plus local schools. By Rich Thomaselli HVSR Polls. Rankings. Stats. Lists. Everybody loves them and, well, they make for some good debate along the way. Heck, just look at the back-and-forth that the preseason college football polls create. Well, starting today, and continuing every week through the fall, Hudson Valley Sports Report is starting its own set of rankings. The HVSR Power Rankings will appear each Monday on the front of the site (and then inside on the high school page for the rest of the week until the new rankings are out again each subsequent Monday). It’s purely subjective and unscientific. There are 22 football-playing schools in the HVSR coverage area of Dutchess and Ulster counties (and Haldane in Putnam), and the Power Rankings will list the top five every week, plus a school that’s knocking on the door. We’ll take into account a little bit of everything – the class size of the school, records, previous week’s game, whether or not injuries are hurting a team, and more. We hope you enjoy it, and you can certainly weigh in with comments by sending an e-mail to rich@hudsonvalleysportsreport.com. If you’d like your comments published, just let us know.  HVSR POWER RANKINGS
Preseason Edition 1: Arlington – The Admirals are back under head coach Dominick DeMatteo. The question is, does the team have enough in it to survive the loss of its miracle-maker quarterback from last year, Sam Loussedes?
2: Poughkeepsie – The Pioneers will have some question marks on defense with the loss of defensive end Reuben Frank, but once again they will probably have the most talent-laden offensive skill players in the area.
3: Highland – He lost his starting quarterback to graduation (who also happened to be his son), but coach Carl Relyea consistently turns out winners. And we’re willing to bet the Huskies are burning from the upset loss to O’Neill in the Section Nine title game last year.
4: Ellenville – Speaking of consistent winners, the Blue Devils are expected to contend for another league title again this year.
5: Ketcham – The wild card team for this year. The Indians finished up strong at the end of 2009 and return running back Aaron Morganstern, who rushed for 13 touchdowns last year. Can they carry the momentum into 2010?
Almost There: Millbrook – The Blazers were 6-4 last year but they just might be the best running team in the area. They don’t fool anybody, they just run over people.
Every Monday during the fall, Hudson Valley Sports Report will power rank the top five high school football teams in Dutchess and Ulster counties, regardless of class size. It will take into account record, opponent strength and intangibles such as injuries. |
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| Spinners topple Renegades again LOWELL, Mass. – Nick Robinson knocked in two runs while Charle Rosario was able to keep Hudson Valley at bay with four innings of solid relief work, as the Lowell Spinners defeated the visiting Renegades 5-3 on Sunday. Lowell (19-42) got on the board first as with one out in the third, Robinson doubled down the right field line, moved to third on a Felix Sanchez single and scored on a groundball to short by Jose Garcia. Hudson Valley (29-31) never led in the game, although the ‘Gades did pull to within 4-3 in the fifth inning. Lowell had 10 hits in the game, five of which were doubles – including one by Boston Red Sox catcher Kevin Cash, in town for a rehab assignment. The Renegades have just 14 games remaining on the season, nine of which are at home. Hudson Valley returns home this evening to take on Brooklyn, then is back on Wednesday to start a three-game set with Tri-Valley. | | New faces, new places for coaches By Rich Thomaselli HVSR Right now, it’s all good. Right now, every football team across the country – from high school to college to the NFL – is in the optimistic, euphoric stage. And that’s a good thing, of course, especially for the handful of new coaches who will be walking the sidelines for high school teams this year in the Hudson Valley. “That’s sort of what we’ve been telling the guys,” said new Marlboro coach Rich Ward, who takes over for Bob Koonz. “It’s like ‘Guys, we’re looking great right now. We’re 0-0. But we have a long way to go.’ ” Ward is one of seven new area coaches. Brian Mahon takes over at Beacon, Bill Stutz is in at Red Hook, Brian Bellino is now in charge at Roosevelt, Clinton DeSouza was named the new Spackenkill coach, Brian Walsh jumped from John Jay to Our Lady of Lourdes, and Tom O’Hare was promoted at Jay to take Walsh’s place. For some, the transition is easy. Mahon, Stutz, Bellino, DeSouza and O’Hare were already either coaching within their respective programs or teaching and coaching other sports at the respective schools. Familiarity with the players is already there. For Ward and Walsh, there’s been an introductory phase. “We went right to work,” said Ward, who was named the new coach of the Iron Dukes in late February. “I had a parent meeting. I had a player meeting. I told them what my standards and expectations were and the ingredients to winning, but first and foremost that I wanted to form a program that is one that others can emulate.” For Mahon, the change at Beacon isn’t so much the new coach but the new system. The Bulldogs are scrapping the spread and installing the I formation. “The first few days (of practice) have been better than I could have expected. The kids have been working real hard and they’re real focused,” Mahon said. “I coached jayvee last year and made the change to the I because we had a hard a time getting quarterbacks year after year (who could run the spread), so we’ll try to focus on our running game.” Mahon said he was pleased by the turnout, too, as was Roosevelt’s Bellino, who welcomed more than 80 players to the first day of practice last week. “The first four days I would say were more than I can ask for. We have a great attitude, great senior leadership and things are working well,” Bellino said. “The second practice of day five (on Friday) and then Saturday, they were a little mentally beat up and physically drained so the concentration wasn’t there. But the effort was there, which is important.” Bellino (pictured) was FDR’s defensive coordinator last year and has a strong familiarity with all his players. “I know what I’m working with,” he said. “I’ve taken the style of coaching and intensity I had (as the defensive coordinator) and transferred it to both sides of the ball. I’ve tried to bring in some intense coaches who pay attention to detail and really push the kids in terms of knowing what they have to do in any given situation.” For Stutz, the first week as the head coach at Red Hook “was awesome,” he said. “We have a restructured staff working together really well right now. We have a good amount of our offense in and it’s a new offense, so that’s good. Our numbers were low, but our biggest asset is our speed. We’re a real fast team, but we just don’t have a lot of backups.” |
SUNDAY, AUGUST 22, 2010 Late practice start irks coaches Section One football already days behind most of NYS Editor’s Note: Today begins the first day of daily preview stories on local high school football, with a look at the frustrations of Section One coaches over the late start date. Later this week, HVSR will begin in-depth, daily team previews of our 20-plus local schools.
By Rich Thomaselli HVSR At Arlington High School, the Admirals have worked in six workouts in the first two days of official football practice. At Roy C. Ketcham, it was two practices on Friday’s opening day, two more on Saturday. The same goes for Poughkeepsie, Beacon and most of the other local Section One schools. Of course, ‘two-a-days’ is about as common a phrase in football as ‘hut’ and ‘touchdown’, so it should come as no surprise that high schools – like colleges and the pros – open up with multiple practices in the beginning of camp. But for area Section One schools, there’s more to it than that. After all, they’re already four days behind Section nine and a great majority of the rest of New York State. “Right now, the big thing for us in Section One is we feel we’re at a disadvantage to starting later,” said Ketcham coach Pat Keevins. “It’s bad enough we’ve lost games; now our preseason is cramped.” Two years ago, at the onset of the country’s economic woes, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association began initiating cutbacks that included trimming games off respective sports schedules. Section One also did its part, realigning its schools into more geography-centric leagues. But Section One superintendents also mandated later start times for football. Section Nine and a good portion of the state began official practices on Monday, Aug. 16; Section One started on Friday the 20th. “That to me is so frustrating,” Arlington coach Dominick DeMatteo said. “I’m at the point where I’ve just accepted the fact that it’s never going to change. I don’t know who made the decision, the reasoning, but for some reason the entire state of New York started on Monday but Section One refuses to do so. … Anyone who doesn’t understand the idea that the more (repetitions) you get the better chance you have of being successful in any endeavor, especially in football, well, they don’t understand athletics.” Poughkeepsie coach Ken Barger agreed, and said there’s even more to it than just the extra practices. With a reduced schedule and, now, reduced practices due to the later start times, it inhibits college coaches at any level from recruiting players. Barger should know – he coached Reuben Frank, who earned a scholarship to the University of Connecticut in the Big East. “I use football as a vehicle to get kids out of Poughkeepsie,” Barger said. “So I would love to see New York State move to a model like the state of Connecticut and expand in more of a national reputation.” Barger used Connecticut as an example of a state that allows 10 spring practices, in pads, for its high school football teams. If a school decides not to have those practices in the spring, it can put the 10 toward fall practices. But don’t expect change to come too quickly. The coaches say they’ve been fighting the food fight for a while now. “Frankly,” DeMatteo said, “nobody seems to be interested in the coaches’ opinion.”
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|  Body (and mind) by Jake
Former Marist football star Dembow thriving as player/coach in Denmark By Philip Terrigno HVSR Headlining an article in the sports section of a Danish newspaper, the title read: Amerikaneren og brødristeren. Translation: The American and the Toaster. As Jake Dembow and a Danish sports reporter sat inside the 2009 Marist College graduate’s apartment in Aarhus (pronounced OR-HOOS), Denmark, and discussed his decision to play and coach football in the Scandinavian country, the conversation turned from sports to practical living. Dembow had been getting along just fine in his new surroundings but noticed that a glaring hole existed in the design of the Danish toaster, a simple open-face, flat grill. “I don’t know who designed the Danish toaster – but I’m not impressed,” Dembow joked. “There’s no top. You turn it on, but all of the heat escapes. It’s not very efficient.” After a moment of amazement in silence at the revelation that Dembow had proposed, the writer responded profoundly. “You know, you’re right. That really isn’t very efficient.” A simple remark about this household appliance became the headline of a feature story written about Dembow, but also mirrors the manner in which he has made it a priority to poke, prod and enhance everything around him. His biggest improvement project to date? The players of the Aarhus Tigers American Football Club. A member of the Danish American Football Federation (DAFF), the Tigers function like a low-level American semi-pro football team. Players pay membership dues, rent their equipment and hold full-time jobs. Members are guaranteed practice time twice per week and one game on the weekends.  Simply put, the Danes are long on enthusiasm but short on experience and football IQ. Luckily for Dembow, who was contracted through October to play on and coach the team’s offensive line, English is commonly spoken in Denmark and interest in football is one lesson he can skip. Viewership of NFL and college football games is unusually high for a region in which rugby and hockey are the premier contact sports. Games are rebroadcasted on the Internet and television from packages that the NFL and ESPN offer strictly for international audiences. “They really have an affinity for (football),” Dembow said. “Its just that when you go out on the field, it doesn’t necessarily translate.” His teammates inept playing techniques makes reinforcing the fundamentals a priority. Fellow American and teammate Brian Woodward believes that Dembow’s stern, but respectful method of teaching is effective. “Jake has taught them not only technique and X’s and O’s,” Woodward said, “but also a lot about work ethic and the kind of attitude it takes to be a solid football player.” Slowly, concepts gel and the players are able to apply what they have learned. “Jake is able to help the (offensive) line adjust to the defensive front so we can better (our) blocking and pass protection,” teammate Thorbjoern Nielsen wrote in an email. Whether or not the team’s success this season can be attributed to Dembow, the Tigers have been dominating their college-rules officiated, 48-minute contests. Aarhus has won the first six of its 10 scheduled games this season, including a 51-0 thrashing of the Horsens Stallions and a 45-0 romp over the Odense Swans. A perfect season would likely result in the jump from the premier division to the national league, an upgrade to DAFF’s top conference. Unlike the Tiger’s anticipated move up the ranks, Dembow’s path to the second-largest city in Denmark wasn’t paved immediately after receiving his diploma. After spending time with two different indoor football teams, Dembow coached high school football in his hometown of Merrimack, New Hampshire, while also keeping track of his profile on Europlayers.com. The site is a social networking tool for athletes looking to ply their trade internationally and was invaluable in Dembow’s talks with clubs from France, Spain and Germany in addition to the Tigers. Dembow settled on the Tigers, who cover his living and travel expenses, in part because they allowed him to heal from a December 2009 back surgery before joining them in March 2010. The procedure was a microdisectomy necessary to correct a nagging back injury that was preventing Dembow from intense weight training. Even at a reduced size of 6’3” and 260 pounds, twenty pounds lighter than his normal playing weight, Dembow has remained a force on the field. “Jake is dominant at his position,” Woodward said. “Not just marginally better, but dominant.” Fitness and strength training are not ingrained heavily in Danish football culture, creating a nightmare for any player forced to play opposite the blocker who started 44 consecutive games at Marist. “(I) played a game against a couple of defensive linemen who were probably around 300 pounds,” Dembow said. “These are also the same guys that are smoking on their sideline. They’re hard to move for one play and it gets easier.” Although Americans are not featured on every DAFF team’s roster – there are restrictions on how many foreigners a squad can have - they are sparsely present from college programs both large and small. During his career at Marist from 2005-2008, Dembow witnessed the dissolution of the MAAC football league and spent his senior season on a Red Foxes team that competed as an FCS independent. In 2010, Marist will enter its second season as a member of the Pioneer Football League, a national conference. “I feel fortunate to be part of the group that kind of got the wheels rolling,” Dembow said. “To get from where we were, to now be able to recruit at the national level.” For years, the only success Danish football fans have known was through Morten Andersen, the NFL’s all-time leading scorer and fellow Dane. For aspiring Danish football players looking to create a legacy of their own, the perfect place to start is under the tutelage of Dembow. “We’ll get maybe 75 to 100 people to our games, we don’t have any bleachers,” Dembow said. “It’s totally stripped down, totally pure. Just guys going out because they love to play and want to get better. It’s really special.” | |
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Renegades rally for win vs. Spinners LOWELL, Mass. – The Hudson Valley Renegades rallied from a 3-0 deficit with seven unanswered runs Saturday night, beating the Lowell Spinners 7-3 and snapping a three-game losing streak. Eighteen Renegade batters came to the plate in the eighth and ninth innings during the rally. Hudson Valley (29-30) broke through against in the eighth inning. After the first two batters singled to lead off the inning, Spinners manager Bruce Crabbe called on Stephen Hacker, his closer, to get six outs. After a fantastic diving stop by first time first baseman Josue Peley recorded the inning’s first out while cutting the Spinners lead to 3-1, Mayo Acosta followed with a double to put runners at second and third. After Nick Schwaner singled to cut the Spinners lead to 3-2, Hacker had a chance to get out of the inning but Burt Reynolds narrowly beat out a potential double play and a pair of consecutive singles gave the Renegades a 4-3 lead. Hudson Valley would score three additional runs in the ninth and the Spinners went quietly in the bottom half of the inning as they continued to be unable to build any momentum. |
FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 2010 Marist's Fitz taking next career step School's all-time leading scorer to play professional basketball in Ukraine POUGHKEEPSIE – The greatest player in Marist College women’s basketball history is ready to move on to the next level. Rachele Fitz recently signed a professional contract to play for Kozachka-Zalk Zaporozhye, a professional basketball organization in Ukraine. A one-year deal, she will suit up for the team during the upcoming season.  “I appreciate this opportunity to play with the Kozachka team in the Ukraine, and I'm looking forward to playing in the Euroleague,” Fitz said in a statement. “In addition, during my stay I will be looking for unique European fashion ideas that I can use in my portfolio.” Fitz is an outstanding fashion designer in addition to her basketball talents. Fitz joins a number of recent Marist women's basketball recent alumnae who competed professionally – Deise Seidel (class of 2002), Elisha DeJesus (class of 2003), Stephanie Del Priore (class of 2004), Fifi Camara (class of 2006) and Julianne Viani (class of 2009). Kozachka-Zalk Zaporozhye competes in UPBL which is a league in EuroBasket. The team finished the regular season in fourth place and advanced to the semifinals. Kozachka-Zalk Zaprozhye's season came to a close when it fell to eventual champion Dnipro on April 24, suffering a 79-66 defeat. Fitz was a three-time MAAC Player of the Year from 2007-10, the Rookie of the Year in 2006-07 and a 14-time MAAC Player of the Week selection. She finished her Marist career second in the conference in scoring with 2,447 career points complemented by 1,066 rebounds. She is the first player in Marist women's basketball history with over 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Athletically, Fitz was a two-time Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American in 2008-09 and 2009-10, a preseason and midseason Wooden Award candidate in 2008-09, the 2008-09 Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year, was twice selected to the Met Basketball Writers Association First Team and was named to the Naismith Preseason Watch List as a senior. Fitz was named the MAAC Tournament MVP in 2007, her freshman season, and 2010, her senior year. As a sophomore and junior, Fitz was a member of the All-Tournament Team.
She finished her career as the all-time record holder in seven statistical categories: points (2,447), rebounds (1,066), field goals made (905), free throws made (663), field goal percentage (.582), free throw percentage (.847) and games played (137). During her time with the Red Foxes, Marist achieved a record of 116-21, a winning percentage of .847. Marist won three NCAA Tournament games during Fitz's four seasons in the Hudson River Valley. The team reached the Sweet 16 in 2007, where it met Tennessee in Dayton, Ohio. The Red Foxes also won their first round game in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, a 76-57 first round victory over Big East opponent DePaul. The Red Foxes open the 2010-11 non-conference season on Friday, Nov. 12. Marist will play the St. John's Red Storm at Kansas State University as part of the 2010 Commerce Bank Wildcat Classic.
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| Army women first to open season WEST POINT – And the honors for the first Hudson Valley high school or college team to officially open the 2010-11 sports season is …. (drum roll, please) …. the Army women’s soccer team! Army opens its 25th year as a varsity sport tonight when the Black Knights, under second-year coach Stefanie Golan, visit Sacred Heart University for the season debut. The game is also the earliest season opener in school history, with the previous opener last year on August 21 against nationally-ranked Maryland at Clinton Field. The Black Knights are 12-6-2 in season opening games at the Division I level, to include six shutouts, and on the winning ledger 14 times over the past 24 years. Army tuned up with a scoreless draw against Stony Brook in an exhibition game at Clinton Field, followed by the Black-Gold game Saturday, with the Gold team scoring a goal in each half to win 2-0. “It is a new year and a new team and our expectations are high,” Golan said. “We have a young team that will have its ups and downs early in the season. Our goal is to finish in the top half of the conference standings and earn a berth to the Patriot League Tournament where any one of the four teams can win the title. The league is strong from top to bottom and we are excited to concentrate on that first step.” | |
Section One football hits the field for first practices today By Rich Thomaselli HVSR And now, round two. Four days after Section Nine high school football teams were able to open practice, Section One squads will join them today with the first official practice of the season. FIRST AND '10 HS FOOTBALL |
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Hudson Valley schools Arlington, John Jay, Ketcham, Lourdes, Poughkeepsie, Beacon, Dover, Pawling and Haldane will hit the field this morning with the first of their respective double sessions – and, in some cases these first few days, triple sessions. There were three important coaching changes among that group during the off-season. Beacon replaced Bill Castaldi with Brian Mahon, who will be directing his first training camp, while Brian Walsh jumped from John Jay to Our Lady of Lourdes. John Jay then hired its own baseball coach, Tom O’Hare, as its new varsity football coach. O’Hare said he’s looking forward to the official start of practice. “Even though we had (put) a lot of offense in over the summer with workouts and the Mid-Hudson Football Camp, we are going back to the basics (today),” he said. “We’re giving greater attention to detail because we need to be sure that our base offensive plays and our base defense are completely sound. We need to quickly evaluate our talent to ensure that we have everyone in the correct positions before we get too in depth.” | |
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Marist men's soccer picked fifth in conference poll POUGHKEEPSIE – The Marist College men’s soccer team was picked to finish fifth in the 2010 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Preseason Coaches’ Poll on Wednesday. The Red Foxes garnered 55 points in the poll, and were picked ahead of Siena, Saint Peter’s, Canisius, Rider and Manhattan. Junior midfielder Krystian Witkowski was named to the MAAC Men’s Soccer Preseason All-MAAC Team. Loyola, the defending MAAC champions, was selected to win the conference with 96 points, while Fairfield and Iona tied for second with 81 a piece. The Niagara Purple Eagles rounded out the top-four with 64 points. Witkowski is Marist’s first selection to the preseason all-conference team since the 2006 season when Keith Detelj was named the conference’s Preseason Player of the Year. Following his sophomore season, Witkowski was named First Team All-MAAC and Third Team All-North Atlantic Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). For his career he has tallied eight goals, four assists and 20 points. He tallied all three of his assists over a span of three consecutive games against Saint Peter’s, Loyola and Rider. Marist opens the 2010 regular season when it hosts Army on Wednesday, Sept. 1 at Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field. The match will be video streamed on TopDrawerSoccer.com/live, FREE of charge to all viewers. Coverage of the match will begin at 6:45 p.m., on TopDrawerSoccer.com, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. Admission to all Marist soccer matches is FREE and open to the public. |
Ellerson still has decisions at slotback WEST POINT – Halfway home. After two-plus weeks of practice, the Army football team is two-plus weeks away from opening the season on Sept. 4 at Eastern Michigan. And one of the key decisions that head coach Rich Ellerson and the offensive staff must make is who will take the snaps with the first-team offense at slotback opposite senior Pat Mealy. While Mealy started all 12 games in the backfield last season and rushed for 673 yards and three touchdowns, the Black Knights return a total of 112 rushing yards from the other slotback spot. All of those yards belong to sophomore Malcolm Brown (pictured), who played in six games and rushed 26 times as a plebe in2009. Brown and classmate Brian Cobbs, a cornerback in 2009, are battling to be in the huddle for the first play on Sept. 4 at Eastern Michigan. While Brown has seen the majority of repetitions with the first team during preseason camp, Ellerson indicated after last Saturday's scrimmage that a decision on a starter might not be made until the week of the opener, but that both players would be in the rotation during the season. “It's a lot of work for just one guy so Malcolm and I will probably be getting equal reps,” Cobbs said. Both players are making adjustments to the position. While Cobbs moved from the defensive side of the ball in February, Brown was switched from slot to wide receiver during spring drills. With the coaching staff confident in the Black Knights' corps of receivers, he was moved back to the position he played as a rookie at the end of spring ball. “I feel like we've done well. (Brian) Cobbs and I are getting the offense down,” Brown said. “We're doing what we're told to do. We feel pretty comfortable in this system right now.” Regardless of who takes the first snap in Ypsilanti, Mich., both players will be counted on to give the Black Knights a "home run" threat out of the backfield and help keep the defense guessing in the triple option system. Their role has been explained in very simple terms. Army opens its 121st season of intercollegiate competition on Saturday, Sept. 4 when the Black Knights visit Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. Army begins its home slate the following week, hosting Hawai'i on Sept. 11. Full season, mini-plan and single-game tickets for all Army home contests are currently on sale at the Army Ticket Office, by phone at 1-877-TIX-ARMY or online at goarmysports.com. Full season ticket packages in a special section dubbed "Coach E's Army," begin at just $99 for lower-deck seating locations in Michie Stadium. Fans who purchase tickets in that section will receive a special "Coach E's Army" T-shirt. A limited number of tickets remain available to Army's game against Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium. In order to purchase Army-Notre Dame tickets, fans must hold membership in the Army "A" Club and purchase 2010 Army football season tickets. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2010 OLL football says goodbye to Stitzel Walsh quickly puts stamp on program, moves home games to Overlook Park By Rich Thomaselli HVSR Brian Walsh is quickly putting his own stamp on the Our Lady of Lourdes High School football program in his first season as coach. FIRST AND '10 HS FOOTBALL |
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First up? Change of venue.
Long saddled with having to play home games at Fred Stitzel Field in the city of Poughkeepsie – a bone of contention among players, coaches, students, fans, parents and alums of the school for decades – the Warriors are on the move. OLL will play its 2010 home games at Overlook Park in the town of Poughkeepsie, near the Overlook Drive-In. The site is easily accessible from Routes 44 and 55, offers far more parking, and the team (and its opponents) won’t have to negotiate the muddy quagmire that the infield can become at Stitzel, which is primarily a baseball field. Walsh confirmed the move in an e-mail to Hudson Valley Sports Report. “We are all very excited about the start of the season,” he said. “The players have been working very hard adapting to a new system with a new coaching staff. I give them a lot of credit.” When OLL convinced Walsh to leave John Jay after four years and become the new coach of the Warriors, the school promised him it would make changes and upgrade its facilities – and the administration is coming through. Lourdes will soon begin a capital fundraising campaign to, in part, build a home football field on the site of the campus on Boardman Rd. in the town of Poughkeepsie. The school currently has only a practice field that is 20 yards short of being a regulation football field, and it does not have goalposts. At least the school has the land to build on. For the first 35 years or so of its existence, Lourdes was located at 29 North Hamilton St. in the city of Poughkeepsie at the site of the old Poughkeepsie High School. There was nothing more than a dirt track and little land in the back of the school, with nothing to expand on. Practices were held at Spratt Park in Poughkeepsie; Friday night and Saturday afternoon home football games were played at Stitzel Field.
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| Marist soccer picked seventh EDISON, N.J. – The Marist College women’s soccer team was picked to finish seventh in the 2010 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) preseason poll as selected by the conference’s 10 head coaches on Wednesday. In the poll, the Red Foxes garnered 45 points and were picked ahead of Manhattan (37 points), Rider (27) and Saint Peter’s (11). Loyola, the 2009 conference champions, was picked to win the MAAC in 2010. The Greyhounds were awarded 96 points, while Fairfield was picked second with 89. Siena and Niagara rounded out the top four places with 78 and 61 points respectively. Marist reached the semifinals in the 2009 MAAC Championship, which was held at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. During the run, the Red Foxes posted shutouts over Saint Peter’s (5-0) and Siena (1-0). The Red Foxes return eight starters to the field this season, including three-time captain Lauren Tillotson, goalkeeper Jamie Balzarini and Merrilynn Esteve. Esteve ranks seventh all-time in goals (12) and points (32) at Marist. Marist will open the regular season at the Duquesne Classic with a pair of games on Friday, Aug. 27 and Sunday, Aug. 29. The 2010 campaign opens with Duquesne on Friday at 7 p.m., and concludes on Sunday against St. Louis at noon.
2010 MAAC Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll 1. Loyola – 96 points 2. Fairfield – 89 3. Siena – 78 4. Niagara – 61 5. Iona – 56 6. Canisius – 50 7. Marist – 45 8. Manhattan – 37 9. Rider – 27 10. Saint Peter’s – 11
| | Army's road opener to be telecast live at Michie WEST POINT – Army football fans will have the opportunity to watch all the live action from Ypsilanti, Mich., when the Black Knights open their 2010 football season at Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 4. The Army Athletic Association has arranged for the Eagles’ live webstream to be shown on the ITT Knight Vision video board at Michie Stadium. The event is free and open to the public. The gates open at 6 p.m. with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. Fans are welcome to watch the game from the field or the east stands. However, chairs will not be allowed on the Michie Stadium turf. Concession will be available, but no food or drink will be permitted on the field. All fans 16 and older must have photo identification to enter West Point. For those Army supporters who cannot make it to Michie Stadium but still want to watch the game live, the webstream is available for purchase on the Eastern Michigan web site. Fans can log on to www.emueagles.com/showcase and buy a single-game pass for $5.95. In addition to being able to watch live, the game will be archived for fans to view at their convenience on Sept. 4-5. In order to purchase the game, fans must register for an “All-Access” account on the Eastern Michigan web site. Registration is free and fans will not be charged until they select the “Single Game Pass: Army at EMU (Football)” option. |
TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2010 First and ‘10
High school football practice begins in Section Nine 
Members of the Franklin D. Roosevelt High School football team square off against each other in Monday's first official practice of the season. Photos by Zach Johnson. By Rich Thomaselli HVSR It was hazy, hot and humid, and the sweat was pouring – and poring – and there was much work to be crammed in over the next three weeks all across the mid-Hudson Valley. In other words, it was a good day. High school football practice in Section Nine began on Monday, with 13 area schools beginning two-a-days in anticipation of the first game of the season. “Today was a good practice,” Millbrook coach Sean Keenan said. “All of the players’ hard work lifting and in OTA's seem to be beneficial.” The Blazers worked on defense in the morning session and offense in the afternoon. “The seniors are doing a nice job working with the younger guys and showing them how we do things the ‘Millbrook Way,’ ” Keenan said. “If we stay healthy, we have a chance to be competitive.” As usual, storylines abound across the area for the local teams. In Rondout Valley, football is back after a year’s hiatus. Last year, the district was forced to suspend the program for a year due to lack of turnout. The school simply didn’t have enough players to field a team and put the varsity on the sidelines for the year while it rebuilt the program with the promise of bringing it back for the 2010 season. In the spring, however, the school decided to make another change – it did not renew the contract of longtime head coach Jim Malak, who won 99 games and a state championship during his tenure. Instead, 1983 Rondout graduate George Iacobaccio comes home to take over the Ganders. The school will play what is known as a ‘relief schedule’. It will not compete in a league this season and the majority of games will be against equal-sized or smaller schools. Iacobaccio isn’t the only new coach on the scene in Section Nine. Rich Ward takes over at Marlboro, bringing with him an interesting background of having coached high school ball at state power Cornwall, and having served as an assistant at the U.S. Military Academy’s sprint football program. Former Marlboro coach Bob Koonz is now the offensive coordinator at Wallkill under head coach Brian Vegliando, which should make the Panthers even more dangerous this season. Clinton DeSouza takes over as the head man at Spackenkill, replacing Don Niese. The Spartans looked good earlier this summer in a three-way scrimmage with Millbrook and Highland at the Mid-Hudson Football Camp. Former wrestling coach Bill Stutz is the new head football coach at Red Hook, where he will try to improve the fortunes of the Raiders. And Brian Bellino (pictured) was tabbed as the new coach at Roosevelt after Harry Harrington resigned following last year’s 2-7 campaign. Bellino will have his work cut out for him, but he does have one of the area’s premier running backs returning in Errol Evans. No changes at any of the other Mid-Hudson Athletic League schools. More importantly, no changes – of any kind – at Saugerties. “The first practice was a little crazy,” Saugerties coach Mike Melville. “I think the thought of not having sports had an effect on the players.” Indeed, it was only two weeks ago that the school earned enough money to keep all sports, at all levels, going. The district decided in May not to put its defeated school budget vote up for a re-vote, and instead to go to an austerity budget. That meant no sports. Saugerties needed $300,000 to keep sports going at all levels. An anonymous donor put up $150,000; the community rallied to raise the other $150,000 in 66 days. Melville said being in limbo for most of the summer was evident on day one of practice. “The varsity numbers are down. We will have a lot of players going both ways,” he said. “But our jayvee numbers are very good and we are looking for good things coming up the next few years.” | |
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Marist to open season vs. Villanova POUGHKEEPSIE – As first reported last month by Hudson Valley Sports Report, the Marist College men’s basketball team will participate in the 2010 Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off. The Red Foxes will open the tournament at Big East foe Villanova on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 5:30 p.m., in a game that will be televised by ESPNU as part of ESPN’s third annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. The entire 16-team field for the tournament was announced on Monday by C.M. Newton, chair of the NIT Selection Committee. “We’re really excited,” Marist coach Chuck Martin said in a statement. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for our young program, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.” The Red Foxes will be part of the tournament’s North Regional. Following the contest against Villanova, the tournament’s top overall seed, the Red Foxes will take on either George Washington or Boston University on Wednesday, Nov. 17, which will also take place at Villanova. The winner of the North Regional Championship will move on to Madison Square Garden for games on Nov. 24 and 26. Those who do not win regional championships will play third-and fourth-round games on the campus sites of the three highest remaining seeds. Each participating team is guaranteed four games. The seeded teams in the 16-team field include No. 1 Villanova, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Wake Forest, No. 4 UCLA, No. 5 VCU, No. 6 Missouri State, No.7 George Washington and No.8 Nevada. Marist last participated in the NIT Season Tip-Off in the 2003-04 season, when the Red Foxes began the tournament by hosting Hofstra. Marist’s entire non-conference schedule will be released at a later date. |
SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 2010 Army set for first scrimmage today WEST POINT – The Army football team prepared for its first scrimmage of the 2010 preseason with a light 75-minute workout on Friday on Howze Field and inside the Foley Athletic Center.  The Black Knights will hold a full intrasquad workout today at 2:30 p.m. inside Michie Stadium.
Friday’s practice was held in shorts and helmets and consisted of offensive, defensive and special team walk-thrus. The goal of the workout was to prepare the players for what they will see this afternoon.
“The goal is not to trick anybody, but compete,” said head coach Rich Ellerson.
The beginning of today’s workout will look a lot like a normal practice. Before scrimmaging, Ellerson and the coaching staff will put in some fundamental work. Following that portion of the day, the Black Knights will “thud up” some kicking situations. There will be contact, but the drills will not be completely live.
The full-contact scrimmage will start with the first and second teams squaring off against each other in situational drills. The top offensive and defensive units will face the “B” squad, which will be playing offenses and defenses that simulate parts of Army’s first few opponents’ systems. The day will finish with the “B” squad playing against each other.
“First and foremost, it’s going to be a practice,” Ellerson said after Friday’s workout. “We spent some time today getting organized so we can get after one another, but we need to go out there and get some fundamental practice and error correction in. We’re going to ‘thud’ some kicking situations with officials, and then we’re going to have some situations where the ones and twos will go against one another. There will be down-and-distance situations, but they’ll be single-play series.” “Finally, we’ll be able to put the whole package together,” senior defensive back Richard King (pictured) said. “It’s going to be good. We’ll see everything we’ve been working for.”
Senior slotback Patrick Mealy echoed those sentiments for the offense.
“We haven’t really got to tackle each other or run over each other yet,” Mealy said. “There has been a lot of ‘thud’ action going on. We’re definitely excited to show our defense what we’ve been working on and for them to show us what they can do too. It’s going to be good bringing both sides together.” | |
| Marist athletes trickle back to campus POUGHKEEPSIE – Slowly but surely, the student-athletes at Marist College are starting to trickle in. The Marist women's soccer team and women’s volleyball team both reported for preseason camp on Friday, just days after the football team arrived. Under the direction of seventh-year head coach Elizabeth Roper, the women’s soccer team will hold a 13-day camp to get the squad ready for the 2010 season. The Red Foxes return eight starters to the pitch this season including three-time team captain Lauren Tillotson, senior goalkeeper Jamie Balzarini and classmate Merrilynn Esteve. Balzarini enters her final season with eight shutouts, seven in a Red Foxes' uniform, while Esteve ranks seventh on Marist's all-time goals (12) and points (32) lists. Tillotson has been the center back for each of her first three seasons in Poughkeepsie. In 2009, Marist reached the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) semifinals before dropping a 2-1 overtime decision to Niagara. On the way to the round of four, the Red Foxes defeated Saint Peter's and Siena, 5-0 and 1-0, respectively. Roper and the Red Foxes begin the 2010 season on Friday, Aug. 27 when they will play two games at the Duquesne Classic. Marist will take on the host Dukes at 7 p.m. on Aug. 27 and conclude play at the classic on Sunday, Aug. 29 against St. Louis. Kickoff with the Billikens is slated for noon. The Marist women's volleyball team is coming off an 18-win season in which it advanced to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship against Niagara. The match was televised nationally on ESPNU. The team began the morning with physical exams and an NCAA compliance meeting, and continued with strength and conditioning tests and its first practice this evening. Among the key returners for fifth-year head coach Tom Hanna's squad include senior middle blocker Lindsey Schmid, who led the team last year in service aces with 69 and ranked fifth in the country in aces per set with 0.59. She was a Second-Team All-MAAC selection. Senior libero Emily Brosky, who recorded a team-leading 480 digs last season, will also be one of the key members of this year's squad. The Red Foxes will open up the 2010 season when they travel to Huntsville, Texas on Aug. 27-28 to take part in the Comfort Suites/Sam Houston State University Invitational. Marist will play four matches in the tournament, with their first coming against Louisiana-Lafayette on Aug. 27 at 11:30 a.m. ET. Later that day, Marist will square off against Sam Houston State at 7 p.m. ET, followed by matches against Prairie View A&M and Eastern Michigan on Aug. 28.
| | Renegades fall to Batavia Thompson named All-Star, joining five teammates BATAVIA – On the day he was added to the New York-Penn League All-Star Game roster, Hudson Valley Renegades pitcher Jake Thompson had his worst outing of the season. Thompson suffered his first pro loss, giving up six runs as the Batavia Muckdogs beat the Renegades, 9-3, on Friday night. Hudson Valley is now 27-26 and remains 4½ games behind Jamestown for the lone wild-card playoff spot with 23 games remaining. Eli Otero and Alejandro Torres had two hits apiece for the Hudson, and Burt Reynolds hit his second home run of the season. The league announced Thompson was added to the New York-Penn League All-Star Game roster, where he will join teammates Austin Hubbard, Derek Dietrich, Wilmer Almonte, Robby Price and Phil Wunderlich.
Anonymous donor, fundraisers help save sports at Saugerties
By Rich Thomaselli HVSR There will be sports at Saugerties High School this school year. All sports, too, not just a limited, make-shift varsity schedule. Thanks to an anonymous donor who put up the first $150,000, and a dedicated group of parents, fundraisers and generous community who raised the other $150,000, the school has informed the Mid-Hudson Athletic League that it will be able to participate in a full league schedule through all three seasons. All sports – varsity, junior varsity and modified – were cut when the school district decided not to put its budget up for a re-vote after it went down to defeat in May. Instead, school board officials adopted a $52.6 million austerity budget for 2010-11. That left athletic director Lee Molyneaux, the entire coaching staff, several hundred student-athletes and their families scrambling. After the decision to go austerity was made in late May, there were approximately nine weeks left to raise the money needed to save sports by August 1, when Molyneaux needed to inform the MHAL whether the Sawyers were going to have a fall season. The school did not want to leave other teams waiting so they could fill potential openings if Saugerties did not have sports. But an anonymous donor stepped up with an overwhelming offer – a donation of $150,000, but only if the rest of the community collectively matched that figure so all sports could be saved at the school, not just varsity. Through a series of fundraisers, the school’s Booster Club was able to achieve the goal. However, club treasurer Kathy Polizzi told The Daily Freeman that the community should not expect a similar effort of raising $150,000 in 66 days every year, and that the budget needs to be passed for all extracurricular activities, including music and arts programs. “These fundraising efforts are not something that the Booster Club or our community should be responsible for again,” Polizzi told the paper. “We are not going to have someone give large, anonymous donations every year, and the people in this community cannot, and should not, be expected to take on this responsibility again, year after year. We will not do this again.” |
THURSDAY, AUGUST 12 2010 Kick save, and a beauty Anonymous donor, fundraisers save sports at Saugerties
By Rich Thomaselli HVSR There will be sports at Saugerties High School this school year. All sports, too, not just a limited, make-shift varsity schedule. Thanks to an anonymous donor who put up the first $150,000, and a dedicated group of parents, fundraisers and generous community who raised the other $150,000, the school has informed the Mid-Hudson Athletic League that it will be able to participate in a full league schedule through all three seasons. All sports – varsity, junior varsity and modified – were cut when the school district decided not to put its budget up for a re-vote after it went down to defeat in May. Instead, school board officials adopted a $52.6 million austerity budget for 2010-11. That left athletic director Lee Molyneaux, the entire coaching staff, several hundred student-athletes and their families scrambling. After the decision to go austerity was made in late May, there were approximately nine weeks left to raise the money needed to save sports by August 1, when Molyneaux needed to inform the MHAL whether the Sawyers were going to have a fall season. The school did not want to leave other teams waiting so they could fill potential openings if Saugerties did not have sports. But an anonymous donor stepped up with an overwhelming offer – a donation of $150,000, but only if the rest of the community collectively matched that figure so all sports could be saved at the school, not just varsity. Through a series of fundraisers, the school’s Booster Club was able to achieve the goal. However, club treasurer Kathy Polizzi told The Daily Freeman that the community should not expect a similar effort of raising $150,000 in 66 days every year, and that the budget needs to be passed for all extracurricular activities, including music and arts programs. “These fundraising efforts are not something that the Booster Club or our community should be responsible for again,” Polizzi told the paper. “We are not going to have someone give large, anonymous donations every year, and the people in this community cannot, and should not, be expected to take on this responsibility again, year after year. We will not do this again.” | |
| Late-inning explosion dooms Renegades FISHKILL – Well, it was sort of going good for a while there. Six innings into Wednesday night’s New York-Penn League game, the Hudson Valley Renegades and the Vermont Lake Monsters were hooked up a 3-3 duel. Then it all fell apart. Wade Moore went 4-for-5 with two RBI and Kevin Keyes hit a grand slam home as the Lake Monsters exploded for nine runs in the seventh and eighth innings en route to a 12-4 win over Hudson Valley at Dutchess Stadium. Jason Martinson started the seventh inning with a one-out triple and scored two batters later on a David Freitas RBI double to give the Lake Monsters a 4-3 lead. After a strikeout for the second out of the inning, Justin Miller knocked home two more runs with a double to right field and Moore followed with an RBI single. Phil Wunderlich got a run back for Hudson Valley in the bottom of the seventh with his fourth home run, but the Lake Monsters iced the game with five runs in the eighth. Two walks, single and bases loaded walk forced home one run before Keyes launched a grand slam over the fence in leftfield to give Vermont an eight-run lead and nine two-out RBI for the game. Burt Reynolds was 3-for-4 with two RBI and Wunderlich 2-for-4 with two RBI for Hudson Valley (26-25), which lost for just the second time in the last six games. | | Marist football kicks off today POUGHKEEPSIE – The Marist College football team is ready to roll. A total of 105 student-athletes have arrived in Poughkeepsie for the beginning of camp, with official practices kicking off today. The Red Foxes spent two days on physicals, a mandatory NCAA meeting, team meetings, an academic day for freshmen, and testing on the field and in the weight room. The team will hold its first practice today from 3:30-6 p.m. at North Field. Below is the team's practice schedule for camp. All practices and scrimmages are open to the public. The Red Foxes will open the 2010 season at home against Sacred Heart on Friday, Sept. 3. Kickoff at Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field is set for 7 p.m.
North Field
Thursday, Aug. 12 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 13 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 14 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 15 - 8:30-11 a.m., 3:30-6 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 16 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 17 - 8:30-11 a.m., 3:30-6 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 18 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 19 - 8:30-11 a.m., 3:30-6 p.m. Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field
Friday, Aug. 20 - 9:15 a.m.-Noon (scrimmage)
Saturday, Aug. 21 - 8-10:30 a.m., 7-9:30 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 22 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 23 - 8:30-11 a.m., 3:30-6 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 24 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 25 - 7-9:30 p.m. (scrimmage)
Thursday, Aug. 26 - 8-10 a.m. | |
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Foxes set women's non-conference slate POUGHKEEPSIE – Marist College’s non-conference women’s basketball schedule is out and, as usual, it’s packed with quality teams. While there is no nationally ranked Oklahoma coming to the McCann Center this year, the slate is rugged nonetheless. Ten of the 12 non-conference games are away from home, eight played in the postseason a year ago and seven teams finis hed with RPIs in the top-90 at the end of the 2009-10 season. The five-time defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) champions will play home dates with St. Bonaventure and Boston University in December. “Our schedule is one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country, and that will prepare us for our conference season,” head coach Brian Giorgis (pictured) said in a statement. “It's getting more and more difficult to find teams that will come play us at home, and that is a testament to the strength of our program.” Marist, the 12-seed in the Memphis Regional during the 2010 NCAA Tournament, opens the regular season at Kansas State in the first of three tournaments. The Red Foxes will take on St. John's on Friday, Nov. 12 in Manhattan, Kan. Depending on the outcome with the Red Storm, Marist will face either Grambling State or the host Wildcats one day later. St. John's reached the second round of the Dayton Regional a season ago as the sixth seed. On Nov. 19-20, the Red Foxes will travel to Burlington, Vt., for a pair of games with Vermont and Ivy League opponent Dartmouth. Marist will open the weekend with the Catamounts on Friday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Nov. 20, the Red Foxes will take on the Dartmouth Big Green at 1 p.m., at the University of Vermont. Marist will also play from Saturday, Dec. 18 to Monday, Dec. 20 in a three-day tournament at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas’ “Duel in the Desert,” featuring opponents Houston, Louisville and Nebraska. The Red Foxes open the tournament as they face off with the University of Louisville at 4:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 18. Marist will meet with Nebraska for just the second time in program history on Dec. 19 at 9:30 p.m. ET. The Red Foxes won the only previous meeting on Nov. 23, 2007 in Honolulu, Hawaii, by the score of 66-59. A season ago the Cornhuskers won the Big XII and were the top seed in the Kansas City Regional. The Duel in the Desert wraps up for Marist when it takes on the University of Houston, a member of Conference USA, on Monday, Dec. 20.
2010-11 Marist Women's Basketball Non-Conference Schedule 2010 Commerce Bank Wildcat Classic - Hosted by Kansas State
Friday, 11/12 - vs. St. John's - TBA
Saturday, 11/13 - Grambling/Kansas State - TBA Vermont Tournament
Friday, 11/19 - at Vermont - 7 p.m.
Saturday, 11/20 - vs. Dartmouth - 1 p.m. Sunday, 11/28 - at Villanova - TBA
Saturday, 12/4 - ST. BONAVENTURE - TBA
Tuesday, 12/7 - at Hartford - 7 p.m.
Saturday, 12/11 - BOSTON UNIVERSITY - TBA Duel in the Desert - Hosted by UNLV
Saturday, 12/18 - vs. Louisville - 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, 12/19 - vs. Nebraska - 9:30 p.m.
Monday, 12/20 - vs. Houston - 7 p.m. Tuesday, 12/28 - at Arizona State - 2 p.m. All Game Times ET
Home games in CAPS |
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST, 11, 2010 Renegades win again FISHKILL – Two in a row for the Hudson Valley Renegades. Hudson Valley jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning on Tuesday night and hung on for a 4-3 win over the Vermont Lake Monsters in front of 3,444 fans at Dutchess Stadium. HV is now 26-24 overall. The ‘Gades scored all of the runs they needed in the bottom of the first inning on two hits, an error, three walks, and a hit batsman. The inning started with a Robby Price walk, and a Dio Luis bunt for a single. Price later came in on Phil Wunderlich’s single, and Luis scored on a wild pitch. Later, Elias Otero walked with the bases loaded, scoring Wunderlich, and Kyle Lusson walked to bring in Mayo Acosta. Hudson Valley starter Jimmy Patterson continued his outstanding season, allowing four hits in five shutout innings for his second win. Devin Fuller relieved Patterson, allowing two runs in two innings. Omar Bencomo relieved Fuller. After Vermont scored twice in the sixth inning and once in the ninth to trim the lead to 4-3, Adam Liberatore came on in the ninth inning for the Renegades and promptly induced a double play and a flyout to right field. The lefthander from Tennessee Tech earned his second save in three opportunities. Luis collected a pair of hits for the Renegades, and pinch-hitter/designated hitter Junior Rodriguez doubled, his first extra base hit for Hudson Valley. Brian Bryles made a run-saving, diving catch in center field. Burt Reynolds, who tied Schwaner for the team lead with his 11th stolen base of the season, made a shoestring catch in right field to end the game. At two games over .500, the Renegades equaled their high-water mark for the season. They improve to 7-4 (.636) in August, 12-8 (.600) in one run games this season, 19-1 (.950) when leading after 8 innings, and 19-7 (.731) when scoring first. | | Army football has new look New "Dress Gray" uniform honors Corp of Cadets and Long Gray Line WEST POINT – New unis for the Cadets! Army Director of Athletics Kevin Anderson announced the Black Knights' football team will be donning a different uniform style this fall. In addition to new looks for both home and road games, Army will sport a special "Dress Gray" uniform style as a tribute to the U.S. Corps of Cadets and the Long Gray Line when the Black Knights square off against Air Force at Michie Stadium on Nov. 6. Army will continue wearing black jerseys (with gold swatches) and gold pants (with a black stripe) for its home games, while donning white jerseys (with black swatches) and gold pants (with a black stripe) on the road. The Black Knights will also feature a white-pants (with thin gold and black stripes) option, an "India Whites" style, for road games played in warm weather climates. The word "Army" will be printed in small lettering centered on the chest of both jerseys above the uniform number, with the words "West Point" emblazoned along the back name plate atop the jersey number. The United States Military crest will be displayed on the left sleeve of the jerseys, while the Black Knights will continue to wear their timeless gold helmets with their normal home and away sets of uniforms. “I am very excited about the look of our new uniforms,” Anderson said in a statement. “Nike has devised a sleek, performance-based material that will add to the comfort level of our players. We feel the addition of the West Point crest and the words ‘West Point' will resonate well with all members of the Long Gray Line.” Army's special "Dress Gray" uniforms, to be worn in honor of the Corps of Cadets for the Air Force game, should also resonate well with all West Pointers. “It is very important that our football team serves as a small sampling of the Corps of Cadets as a whole,” Anderson said. “The football team is not a separate entity. Coach Ellerson and his staff have worked hard to make certain that his players serve as upstanding representatives of the Corps. We felt it was very appropriate to design a uniform that speaks to that strong tie. Our ‘dress gray' uniform is meant to symbolize the dress gray uniform worn by every West Point cadet during their time at the Academy.” In addition to containing the same elements as the new home and road jerseys, the "Dress Gray" uniforms will feature gray pants, gray jerseys and a black helmet, replete with gray stripe, to symbolize West Point's Long Gray Line. |
TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2010 'Gades go 13 for win FISHKILL – Now that the Hudson Valley Renegades have tasted winning and reached the .500 mark, they were determined not to slip under the break-even line again. Not even if it took all night. And it almost did. Kyle Lusson’s RBI single in the bottom of the 13th inning lifted the Renegades to a 3-2 win Monday night over the Jamestown Jammers in a New York-Penn League game. Hudson Valley is now 25-24 on the season and is 5½ games back of Jamestown for the sole wild card playoff berth. Surprisingly, the 13-inning affair took only three hours and 29 minutes in front of 3,493 fans at Dutchess Stadium. Even more surprising, the Renegades needed only three pitchers in 13 innings, and all three were brilliant. Starter Miguel Sierra went 5.1 innings, giving up just three hits. Kenneth Kelly pitched 4.2 innings of two-hit ball, and winner Robert Dickmann gave up just one hit over three innings. Lusson’s heroics came after Burt Reynolds doubled with one out.
| | Marist football picked to finish 6th in PFL poll ST. LOUIS – The Marist College football team was picked to finish sixth out of 10 teams in the Pioneer Football League (PFL) Preseason Coaches’ Poll, which was released by the league on Monday. The Red Foxes will head into their second season in the PFL in 2010 after going 7-4 overall and 5-3 in PFL play last season, which was good for a fifth-place finish. The Red Foxes received a total of 45 points in the poll. Dayton was tabbed as the favorite with 76 points and four first-place votes, followed by 2009 PFL champion Butler (69 points, two first-place votes) and Jacksonville (68 points, four first-place votes. Drake and San Diego checked in at fourth with 54 points and fifth with 52 points, respectively. Below Marist in the poll are Davidson (30 points), Campbell (25), Morehead State (22) and Valparaiso (nine). Marist reports for preseason camp today and will hold its first official practice on Thursday, Aug. 12. The Red Foxes will begin the 2010 season at home against Sacred Heart on Friday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. Marist will play the first of its eight PFL contests at home against Morehead State on Saturday, Sept. 25 at noon. 2010 PFL Preseason Coaches’ Poll Results 1-Dayton (4), 76 2-Butler (2), 69 3-Jacksonville (4), 68 4-Drake, 54 5-San Diego, 52 6-Marist, 45 7-Davidson, 30 8-Campbell, 25 9-Morehead State, 22 10-Valparaiso, 9 Notes: First-place votes are in parentheses. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team. Nine points are awarded for a first-place vote, with one less point for each succeeding place. |
MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 2010 Jamestown nips HV FISHKILL – Jamestown pushed across a run in the top of the eighth inning, and the Jammers sent the Hudson Valley Renegades back to the .500 mark with a 3-2 victory Sunday night before 4,610 fans at Dutchess Stadium. Hudson Valley is now 24-24 on the New York-Penn League season. The Renegades held a 2-1 lead heading into the eighth inning thanks to Steve Tinoco’s solo home run in the fourth inning, his first of the year, and a fifth-inning, two-out RBI single by Chris Winder, who drove in Brian Bryles, who doubled. The Jammers tied it in the top of the sixth against reliever and eventual loser Steve Hiscock. Noah Perio doubled with one out, Marcell Ozuna’s single moved him to third, and Perio scored on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Fisher. In the eighth, Hiscock gave up consecutive singles to start the inning and wsa replaced by Austin Hubbard. Hubbard got Ozuna to fly out, but Fisher then laced a double to left field that scored the tie-breaking run. | | Gabel roars back for win While the leaders faltered at the D.C. Amateur, Gabel is the only player under par in Sunday's final round POUGHKEEPSIE – When you’re five shots off the pace with three players in front of you heading into the final round of a golf tournament, a combination of things have to happen. One, you have to play well yourself. Two, the guy in front of you has to have a tough round. Three, the guy in front of him has to have a tough round. And four, the leader has to have a tough round. For Poughkeepsie’s Dan Gabel, it all fell into place on Sunday at the 40th annual Dutchess County Amateur. The Spackenkill High School graduate was the only player to break part at Dutchess Golf & Country Club, firing a 1-under 69 as the leaders in front of him fell apart, and the 26-year old won his third County Amateur title by four shots. Gabel was 3-over-par 147 after the first two rounds of the tournament, trailing leader Todd Jackson by five shots. Also in front of him were Brad Waldorf and Carter Rufe, who joined Jackson as the final trio to tee off on Sunday. But all three had their problems. Waldorf and Rufe shot 7-over for the day, while Jackson carded a nine on the 406-yard par-4 17th hole and finished 11-over for the day. For Gabel, it was Amateur victory No. 3, his first since going back-to-back in 2005 and 2006. |
SUNDAY, AUGUST 8, 2010 Renegades make their move FISHKILL – With 25 games to go in the New York-Penn League season, it’s make or break time for the Hudson Valley Renegades, especially with the wild card-leading Jamestown Jammers in town. With Brooklyn holding a commanding nine-game lead on the Renegades in the McNamara Division, a wild card berth is Hudson Valley’s only hope of making the playoffs. On Saturday, the ‘Gades crept a little bit closer. Nick Schwaner’s single and an error by the right fielder on the same play scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning, and Hudson Valley beat Jamestown, 4-3, before 4,557 fans at Dutchess Stadium. At 24-23, the Renegades are 4½ games behind Jamestown for the wild card. Jamestown took a 3-0 lead into the sixth inning when the Renegades started their comeback. They grabbed a run in the sixth without the benefit of a hit, as shortstop Dio Luis reached on an error and later scored on Schwaner’s sacrifice fly, cutting the deficit to 3-1. In the seventh inning, Hudson Valley catcher Mayo Acosta hit his second home run of the week, a solo shot that made the score 3-2. Later in the seventh, Burt Reynolds walked, stole second, and crossed the plate on Chris Winder’s base hit to right field to make it 3-3. Neither team scored again until the bottom of the tenth, when Luis walked with one out, and Elias Otero struck out. The next hitter, Schwaner, ripped a ground ball down the right field line. Coupled with the error by right fielder Marcell Ozuna, Luis came all the way around to score to give the Renegades their second straight win. | | Jackson holds 1-shot lead heading into final day of Amateur POUGHKEEPSIE – Doesn’t matter if it’s The Masters, Q-school, or a much-loved local tournament. The best thing going on the final day of a golf tournament is a tightly packed leaderboard filled with some great golfers. And that’s what the 40th annual Dutchess County Amateur will have today. Todd Jackson had a stretch of four birdies in six holes Saturday en route to a 1-over-par 73 at Casperkill Golf Club, taking a one shot lead over Brad Waldorf into today’s final round of the three-round tournament at Dutchess Golf and Country Club in Poughkeepsie. Jackson, who led after Friday’s first round at McCann Memorial Golf Course, has a two-day total of 142. "It was one of those roller coaster ride type of rounds," Jackson said. "I just tried to keep positive and hit good shots. You know how it is when one bad hole can end everything." The seventh hole was the turning point for Jackson, who double-bogeyed the fourth hole and then bogeyed the fifth. "I probably shouldn't have had bogey on five," he said. "I think I was still a little rattled from four." On the seventh hole, a not-so-great drive left Jackson 181 yards from the pin, but he dropped a six-iron on the green, birdied that hole and kick-started his round. Waldorf also shot a 73 and is right behind with a 143. Carter Rufe is three shots back at 145. Dutchess Golf and Country Club is Waldorf's home course, though Jackson remains confident. "I played it three times, and this is the most I played it one year. I feel comfortable I have a prior champ on my bag (today, in Ralph DeStefano), so that's nice." | |
| Coleman to host Chinese basketball team TOWN OF ULSTER – The Chinese are coming to Ulster County. While the Chinese National Basketball Team comes to New York City to play Puerto Rico next Sunday, Aug. 15, at Madison Square Garden – the USA takes on France in the doubleheader – another group from mainland China is headed to the Town of Ulster. The Shenyang No. 31 Middle School from Liaonig Province will visit John A. Coleman Catholic High School beginning Monday for a week of Hoops Across the Ocean. Last summer, Coleman and head coach Alex Albany spent a full week of basketball at the University of College Dublin in Ireland. This was their second trip and the fourth year of the Hoops Across the Ocean program with the Dublin-based Irish team. Because of current economic conditions, the Irish could not come for their visit this summer. Les Lombardi, one of the originators of the Hoops program and a former Coleman basketball coach, began a worldwide search for another team. Michael Sy Lee, a former Chinese player, attended the Dublin camp last summer and started to open talks with his alma mater in Shenyang. After several weeks of diplomatic channels, the Chinese coaches and players received their visas to come to Ulster County. Once again Coleman will host a full week of activities scheduled for the Chinese. The program gets into full swing on Tuesday and concentrates on basketball for four days. Former Villanova student and NBA player Ed Pinckney will be one of the guest speakers. There will be a "get acquainted" cruise on the Teal on Tuesday Evening. The Welcome dinner will be at Coleman on Thursday night. Games are scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., and another doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. The games are open to the public free of charge. “We were really disappointed that the Irish could not come, but now we are really excited about hosting the Chinese,” Albany said. “The Hoops Across the Ocean program has really helped make our basketball program more competitive but also has opened up new friendships for our players.” |
TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2010 Renegades down Cyclones NEW YORK – Hey, here’s one way to make a dent in the standings – beat the division leaders yourself instead of relying on somebody else. The Hudson Valley Renegades did just that on Monday night, going down to Brooklyn and beating the team with the New York-Penn League’s best record, scoring a 3-2 decision over the Cyclones. The victory pushed Hudson Valley over the .500 mark at 21-20 and into second place in the McNamara Division. The Renegades are still 7½ games behind Brooklyn, but they’re just four back of Batavia in the wild card chase. Trailing 1-0 in the sixth inning, the Renegades took the lead when Phil Wunderlich singled with two outs and Mayo Acosta hit his first home run of the year to left field for a 2-1 advantage. HV made it 3-1 in the seventh when Elias Otero and Chris Winder singled to open the inning When Robby Price attempted to sacrifice bunt, Brooklyn third baseman Joe Bonfe threw the ball away, allowing Otero to score. The Renegades made a winner out of starter Wilmer Almonte, who pitched five solid innings before giving way to Adam Liberatore, followed by Steve Hiscock and then Austin Hubbard. But it wasn’t without some adventure in the Brooklyn ninth. The Cyclones’ William Cherry reached base on a one-out error and moved to third on a double by Brian Harrison. Cody Holliday’s groundout scored one run, with Harrison moving to third. But that’s where he stayed as Hubbard struck out Rylan Sandoval to end the game. | | Murky chapter closed at OLL as Seipp, Mesuch take new positions School could be looking at former college coach Hill to take over successful girls' basketball program By Rich Thomaselli HVSR David Seipp and Sarah Mesuch, the Our Lady of Lourdes High School athletic director and girls’ basketball coach who were unceremoniously and surprisingly removed from their respective positions this past spring, have left the school. Seipp was named as the Assistant Coordinator for Physical Education and Athletics in the Wappingers Central School District, according to a memo that went out to district employees on Monday. Mesuch has taken a teaching/guidance position in the Arlington Central School District. Neither could be reached for comment Monday night. Our Lady of Lourdes administration has repeatedly declined to comment on the murky situation, which began in May when Hudson Valley Sports Report first reported that the two popular figures at the school were losing their positions. In addition to his athletic director duties, Seipp also coached three varsity sports, including girls’ soccer in the fall, bowling in the winter and boys’ tennis in the spring. It was never made clear why Seipp was removed as AD. Boys’ swimming coach Brad Westrick took over as AD in June. Mesuch was one of several Lourdes teachers to be laid off due to the school’s declining enrollment but, like Seipp, it was unclear as to why she was dismissed from her basketball coaching position by school principal/CEO/COO Father John Lagiovane. OLL does permit coaches who do not teach or work at the school to coach teams, such as longtime boys’ basketball coach Jim Santoro. That Mesuch was dismissed from her coaching position was a stunning development given that she coached the Warriors to the 2004 state championship and has won seven league titles, extending the program’s streak to 27 consecutive league championships that began under the Brian Giorgis era. According to numerous coaches and teachers at Lourdes, who asked for anonymity for fear of repercussion, Father Lagiovane in June offered Mesuch her girls’ basketball coaching position back. But she has apparently declined, opening the way for a coaching search for one of the most high-profile high school sports programs in the Hudson Valley. Coaches and teachers at OLL said that the school is already conducting outreach – if not outright interviews – on coaching candidates. One rumor running through the basketball coaching community in the area is that former St. Francis (Pa.) College and Manhattan College women’s basketball coach Mindi Hill is up for the OLL job. Hill resigned her position with the Jaspers last year and has since relocated to the area. She could not be reached for comment Monday night.
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| Cadets off and running as Army holds first practice WEST POINT – The Cadets are off and running. It was a busy day around Michie Stadium on Monday as the Army football team officially began its second preseason camp under head coach Rich Ellerson.
While the morning was filled with organizational meetings and the club’s annual Media Day gathering, Ellerson put his club through a briskly paced two-hour workout in helmets and shorts during the afternoon hours.  Defensive end Mike Gann speaks to a reporter at Monday's media day. Courtesy Army Athletic Association |
The entire team began the session within the cozy confines of Foley Athletic Center before Army’s defense peeled off to the newly installed field turf playing surface of Howze Field for the workout’s final hour.
“I was happy with the way things went today,” Ellerson said. “This didn’t resemble a football practice because it’s hard to practice football in helmets and shorts. But you can still accomplish an awful lot in this type of environment and I thought we did that today.”
Monday’s workout included positional work before the offensive and defensive units separated for a heavy dose of installation. Just under 150 players dressed out in helmets and shorts for the initial workout, with 18 returning starters (seven on offense, eight on defense and three on special teams) and 65 freshmen included in the group. “Our whole mindset is to be healthy and ready to go when we put the pads on for the first time on Friday,” Ellerson said. “We’ll continue to work on installation of our offense and defense the next couple of days, and then back off things a bit and work on our kicking game a bit on Thursday. By the time we put pads on Friday, we should have the majority of our offense and defense installed.”
While the installation period was very familiar to the veterans, those same seasoned returnees made certain to take the time to properly mentor the newcomers to Army’s program throughout the day.
“We take great pride in teaching the younger players because they are not only the future of this program but they could play a role for us this year,” senior defensive tackle Mike Gann said. “Bringing them into the culture and letting them know they are a part of something is really important. They have to learn a lot of things very quickly. The more time that we take with them on the fundamentals now that we’re in a slow practice environment, the more they’ll use them when we get in a faster tempo environment.”
Senior free safety Donovan Travis echoed the thoughts of his defensive teammate.
“We have a lot of new ‘brothers’ here and we have to get them integrated with this team and our values,” he said. “We’ve got to bring them along and catch them up to speed with where we’re at now.”
The Black Knights will conduct similar workouts in shorts and helmets today, Wednesday and Thursday.
“Like Coach (Ellerson) said, this is going to be the lightest practice all year,” Gann said. “We got to learn a lot of things. I got to teach some of the young guys a few things. They’re excited and they have to pick those things up. But overall the energy was just hyped. Everyone was glad to be back. The defense wanted to fly around but Coach had to hold us back a little bit. We had a high energy level today.”
Monday also saw the first official preseason practice for projected starting fullback Jared Hassin. Hassin sat out last season due to NCAA guidelines after transferring from Air Force. While he spent last fall with the scout team and participated in spring drills, Monday served as a milestone of sorts for the Black Knights’ new backfield weapon.
“It was great to be a part of this today,” Hassin said. “The whole experience was a culmination of a journey that began in high school, continued at the Air Force and then here last fall. This is kind of the first time that I can finally say, ‘Hey, I’m a part of this team and I’m going to be a contributor this year.’ ”
Today’s workout will begin at 2:30 p.m. and is open to the public. The team is expected to work out both in Foley Athletic Center and Howze Field.
Army opens its 121st season of intercollegiate competition on Saturday, Sept. 4 when the Black Knights visit Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. Army begins its home slate the following week, hosting Hawai’i (Sept. 11). |
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