Presidents get their propers

NY Jets recognize FDR's Bellino as Coach of the Week

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

   Brian Bellino has done the unexpected at Franklin D. Roosevelt High School, and his efforts aren’t going unnoticed.

   Bellino, the Presidents’ first-year football coach who has the team atop Section Nine, Class AA, Division II with an unbeaten 4-0 mark after a two-win season a year ago, was chosen as the New York Jets High School Coach of the Week.

   “An award like this is more for the kids and how they’ve been playing and working and learning,” Bellino said. “It’s a reward for them.”

   Literally.

   As part of the National Football League’s Youth Football Fund, the Jets are making a $1,000 donation to the FDR football program.

   The Presidents are in first place in the league following last week’s 33-21 win over two-time defending league champion Warwick, a complete reversal from last year’s 2-7 mark.

   Much of that is due to Bellino, who was determined to change the culture within the program and, then, into the Hyde Park community.

   “I understand right now that my name goes on this program, and you have to live up to that,” he said. “It’s great for the school and great for the kids to get this recognition, but our recognition comes on the field every Friday and Saturday.”

   Bellino said he has received great support from FDR’s administration, from the district superintendent to the school principal to athletic director Amy McArdle.

   “I’m getting the sense that the attitude and outlook is definitely changing right now,” he said.

Will Arlington forfeitures affect state ranking?

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

   In the wake of Arlington going from a 5-0 record to 1-4 prior to Wednesday’s game against Beacon after having to forfeit four wins due to using an ineligible player, it will be interesting to see how the state sportswriters deal placing its current second-ranked Class AA team in next week’s poll.

   “Hmmm. This will be a tough call,” said John Moriello, head of the New York State Sportswriters Association, which puts together the state rankings.

   Arlington, with three state championships since 1984, has always been a darling of the polls, and with good reason. The program is arguably one of the two most successful teams, historically, in the Hudson Valley, along with Our Lady of Lourdes girls’ basketball.

   The Admirals learned Tuesday the needed to forfeit the four wins because the ineligible player was enrolled in two academic courses and a phys ed class. State rules mandate an athlete take three academic classes along with phys ed.

   The player has since picked up the extra class and remains with the team, eligible to play.

    “Ordinarily an eligibility question results in the player being removed from the team for the remainder of the season, which leaves the poll editor to determine whether he had a substantial impact on the early success,” Moriello said. “If he was an essential member of the team, the team's ranking typically is adversely affected. In this case, it appears he'll play out the remainder of the season, which means the team's ability is not affected.”

   Moriello said it will be up to the state soccer rankings editor to determine whether a team with so many early-season losses now should remain ranked.

Beacon stuns Arlington

Bulldogs pull off 1-0 upset of Admirals

   FREEDOM PLAINS – When the Arlington High School boys’ soccer team found out on Tuesday that one of its players was ineligible through the first four games of the season for taking one less academic course than New York State requires for student-athletes, the Admirals had to forfeit all four games.

   On Wednesday, perhaps still a bit disheveled from the news, the Admirals lost one on the field.

   Anthony Williamson scored with just six minutes to play, and Beacon pulled off a stunning 1-0 victory in a Conference I, League A game played under the lights.

   The Bulldogs are now 4-1-1 overall and 1-1 in league play with a win that coach Craig Seaman says, “certainly is up there with the big ones in the program.

   “I think it’s the most significant win because of the changing of the leagues last year,” he said, referring to the realignment that put Class A Beacon in with Class AA Arlington, Ketcham and John Jay.

   For the Admirals, it’s been a shocking few days. Arlington entered play this week at 5-0 and ranked No. 2 in the state. They’re still No. 2 until the new poll comes out next week, but the team’s record is now an un-Arlington-like 1-5 after four wins were turned into losses due to the forfeitures.

   “It’s been a struggle,” first-year Admirals coach Craig Sanborn said. “The boys came out and we played with some good energy and good intensity. I felt like we dominated (a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks) but we just couldn’t cash in.”

   The only goal came on a restart. Alain Joseph looped a ball over the top, Williamson ran on it and just beat Arlington’s keeper on a 50-50 ball for the score.

   “Defensively, we made it stand up,” Seaman said. “And we were a little lucky. They hit the post and had some opportunities. On a different day, they might have had us.”

   On this day, though, Beacon goalkeeper T.J. Zehner was also brilliant.

   “Fantastic. I can’t say enough about him,” Seaman said. “He made plays standing on his head.”

   Now the Admirals have to regroup and see where they’re headed in a season turned topsy-turvy.

   As for the Bulldogs, it will be a weekend of introspection before playing Ketcham on Monday.

   “The conversation we had after the game was simple,” Seaman said. “You have to make a decision – are you giddy and happy to pull off an upset and call it an aberration, or are we competitive with the big three?”

   ELLENVILLE – It was a titanic matchup in the Mid-Hudson Athletic League, and it lived up to the hype.

   Ellenville High School, 7-0 in boys’ soccer, vs. Rhinebeck, also 7-0.

BOYS' SOCCER

Schanz to Ossolinski gives OLL dramatic win

   POUGHKEEPSIE – Mike Ossolinski scored off a perfect cross from Cody Schanz with just two seconds remaining in the first overtime, giving Our Lady of Lourdes High School a dramatic 2-1 win over Poughkeepsie Wednesday in a Conference I, League A boys’ soccer game.

BOYS' SOCCER

   “It was a physical game, tight-knit, close,” said OLl coach Matt Schlottman. “We had a lot of shots on goal but again it was one of those game where we couldn’t get it in Two of our shots hit the crossbar and we didn’t get to finish.”

   Poughkeepsie coach Kurt Jesman said he thought the game turned early when the Warriors’ Billy Alford was awarded a penalty kick, which he converted.

   “The call was made from half-field. One ref was five yards away and didn’t call it, but the other ref did,” Jesman said. “Hey, it happens, what are you going to do?”

   ONTEORA 1, MARLBORO 1 – Onteora’s Dan Nead and the Iron Dukes’ Jevi Verjoni each scored to forge this Mid-Hudson Athletic League tie.

   In fact, both players scored less than two minutes apart in the second half.

   “It was a more physical game than skill game,” Indians coach Eric Pezzello said. “Both teams were evenly matched. Both teams worked really hard.”

   SPACKENKILL 8, HIGHLAND 1 – The Spartans are now 6-1-2 overall and 6-0 in the MHAL after this victory.

   Spackenkill’s Jefferson Alfaro scored two more goals, giving him 15 tallies and 10 assists on the season so far.

   Kyle Hoeft had two goals and an assist.

   RONDOUT VALLEY 2, SAUGERTIES 0 – Sawyers coach Mike Riley said this MHAL game was much closer than the score indicates.

   “Their first goal was a miscommunication by our defense and Kyle Rooney was there to clean it up (in the first half),” Riley said.

   It stayed that way until late in the game, when the Ganders took advantage of a Saugerties offense that pushed way up the field desperately seeking the equalizer.

   “This was a particularly difficult loss for us,” Riley said. “The boys felt as though we deserved some points from this one. Our attack could not buy a goal with open net chances missed.”

McGuire's free kick the difference as Jay beats Arlington

   FREEDOM PLAINS – As usual, the game was tightly contested and close.

GIRLS' SOCCER

   McGuire scored off a free kick late in the first half, and John Jay High School made it stand up for a 1-0 victory over Arlington on Wednesday in a Conference I, League A match.

   Jay, ranked ninth in the state in Class AA and the two-time defending state champs, improved to 5-1 overall. Arlington had its four game win streak snapped and is now 4-3 overall.

   “It was very aggressive and physical play by both teams,” Jay assistant coach Dianna Ravinsky said. “That's a good win against a great Arlington team.”

   Admirals coach Kieran McIlvenny agreed.

   “It was a great match, hard fought, very evenly balanced,” he said. “They had control of the first half and we had control of the second half. It was a good, sporting game. Well-played and a testament to great soccer.”

Quiles leads RCK past OLL

   WAPPINGERS FALLS – Kim Quiles scored two first-half goals on Wednesday, and the Roy C. Ketcham High School girls’ soccer team opened Conference I, League A play with a 3-1 victory over Our Lady of Lourdes.

GIRLS' SOCCER

   Both of Quiles’ goals were assisted by Briana Quijano.

   Megan Mahoney used her speed and touch to push past the OLL at the start of the second half to make it a 3-0 game.

   Lourdes’ only goal came midway through the second half, but RCK defenders Christina Ogunti and Kelsey Malles, and goalie Kate Riedy, helped quell any comeback.

   JFK 2, BEACON 1 – The host Bulldogs lost their first match of the year in this Conference I, League B tilt.

   Anni Jacketti had Beacon’s only goal, tying the game at 1-1.

   “Tough loss for us,” Beacon coach Jeff Matus said. “We were down four players today and the girls fought very hard but didn’t have anything left in the tank at the end of the game. They fought hard throughout the whole game.”

   MILLBROOK 4, PINE PLAINS 0 – Mallory Peterson had the hat trick, and the host Blazers captured the Mid-Hudson Athletic League match.

   Peterson scored in the fourth, 45th and 53rd minutes. Courtney Lewis also scored for the Blazers.

Moran bounces back to pace Wallkill win

   ELLENVILLE – Simply put, it wasn’t a good week last week for Maggie Moran.

GIRLS' TENNIS

   But that was last week.

   This is this week.

   Moran shook off the losing streak and beat Ellenville’s Caitlyn Sherry on Wednesday, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, leading the Panthers to a 5-0 sweep of the Blue Devils in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League match.

   Wallkill is now 4-3 overall and 4-1 in the league.

   “I’m really proud of her,” Wallkill coach Mike Latino said. “She went 0-4 last week and went to three sets today and could have easily tossed it in, but she had a dominating third set.”

   SPACKENKILL 5, COLEMAN 0 – The host Spartans cruised to their sixth MHAL win is as many matches.

   “Coleman is a new team with many beginners; they are a delightful group of girls,” Spackenkill coach Jackie Klein said. “My girls played beautiful, steady tennis again.  As usual, they were totally focused and had a good time as well. This has been a delightful season for us.”

Arlington forced to forfeit games

Boys’ soccer team used ineligible player; record goes from 5-0 to 1-4

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

   The defending Section One, Class AA champion Arlington High School boys’ soccer team began the 2010 season with a 5-0 record and the No. 4 ranking in New York State.

   Make that 1-4 and a likely drop out of the Top 20.

   The Admirals have been forced to forfeit their first four games of the season for using an ineligible player, Hudson Valley Sports Report has learned.

   The ruling was confirmed by Arlington head coach Craig Sanborn on Tuesday.

   Hudson Valley Sports Report is not naming the player.

   Sanborn said the forfeitures came about after the school discovered that one of its players was taking only two academic courses and a physical education class this semester. State rules mandate that a student-athlete take a minimum of three academic classes along with phys ed, or four total.

   “It was a matter of one of our student-athletes not being enrolled in enough courses,” Sanborn said. “He is academically eligible; that is not the issue. He is also eligible to play because we have now met the practice minimum for that player.”

   Arlington, like all Section One schools, began practice on August 23. Players must have eight training sessions in before they can play a match. But the school did not catch the course discrepancy until earlier this month, even though returning students at Arlington enroll in fall classes the previous spring.

   “Once we realized what had happened, we had to go back to square one in terms of getting in enough practices for him,” Sanborn said. “So even though he started on August 23, all those days didn’t count for him. Once he became enrolled in that fourth class, that’s when the clock started for him.”

   Ultimately, that meant the player in question was ineligible for Arlington’s victory over Valley Central on Sept. 8 – Sanborn’s first AHS win after taking over as the head coach this year from 31-year coaching legend Gary Montalto – as well victories on Sept. 14 over John F. Kennedy, Sept. 15 against Lakeland and Sept. 20 against Yorktown.

    Only last Friday’s win over Mahopac will stand, making the Admirals 1-4 heading into Conference I, League A play.

   “What a way to start off,” Sanborn said. “I don’t think in my coaching career I ever checked a kid’s schedule. It’s not something I’m in the habit of doing. You rely on the system. But, we rectified the problem.”

   The Admirals were rained out Tuesday and will play Beacon tonight at 7 p.m. in the league opener.

   “That was my speech to the boys,” Sanborn said. “Our season starts (today) anyway because we start league play.”

   Still, a 1-4 record instead of 5-0 will likely prevent the Admirals from earning a high seed in the Section One, Class AA playoffs next month. Instead of being a one, two, or three seed and having home games until the finals, the Admirals might be a seven, eight or nine seed and end up with only one home game.

   “We won’t know that until the end of the (regular) season, but tacking on four losses certainly doesn’t help,” Sanborn said. “But, in our minds, we won the games we had to forfeit and we’re going to plug away from here and keep on going.”

Weather wipes out most of Tuesday slate

   Tuesday’s weather again played havoc with the high school schedule, though this time more ominously.

   The rains came again during the day, but the area was under a tornado watch from early afternoon until 6 p.m. If the wet weather didn’t force a postponement, the threat of a tornado certainly did.

   More than 30 high school games were cancelled.

Admirals' volleyball wins again

   FREEDOM PLAINS – The long and winding week for the Arlington High School volleyball team is half over.

   The Admirals, with four matches scheduled for this week alone, picked up their second victory in as many days Tuesday as they opened the Conference I, League A season with a 25-5, 25-13, 25-21 victory over John Jay.

VOLLEYBALL

   Arlington is now 5-1 overall, 1-0 in the league.

   For the Admirals, Molly Law had 10 service points, an assist and a dig; Lauren Faugerstrom had seven blocks, six kills and 10 digs; Rachel Thoma had a block, four kills and two digs; Keely Fink added three aces, 11 service points, three kills and eight digs; Shannon Hughes had four aces, seven service points, five kills and five digs; Angela Silveri had an ace, seven service points, a kill and six digs;  and Ariana Wilson had an ace, 11 service points, 16 assists, one kill and a dig.

   “I actually thought we started out slow,” Arlington coach Maria Greenwood said. “But the girls picked up the pace. Our serving was outstanding. They had a problem returning our serves.”

   Also for the Admirals, Lydia Palmiotti had a dig, McKenzie Bayer had two digs and

Lauren Moran had two kills, while Nicole Mack had a block, a kill and three digs; Alyssa Carbone had two service points, one block, three kills and seven digs; and Rosie Rickard had an ace, two service points, an assist and two digs.

Marist comeback falls short at Yale

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Marist College women’s soccer team (4-6) had its comeback fall short in its non-conference finale on Tuesday evening, losing to Yale 3-2.

   After trailing 3-1 at halftime, senior Lauren Tillotson (pictured) scored her second career goal off a corner kick in the 81st minute, but the Marist rally fell short in the final minutes of the match.

   Yale (3-5-1) got out to a 2-0 lead in the first 24:45 of the match behind a pair of goals from Becky Brown. Her first goal came in the 13th off a pass from Kristen Forster. Her first shot was saved by Marist goalkeeper Jamie Balzarini. The second goal was a put back as well. The initial shot went off the post and Brown found the rebound to tap in.

   The Red Foxes got on the board in the 27th minute when Samantha Panzner received a cross in the box from sophomore Jaclynn Sabia in the box. Panzner was all alone to finish in the box.

   After a tally by the Bulldogs in the 43rd minute gave Yale a 3-1 lead to take into the locker room, the teams played without a goal for approximately 38 minutes.

   Tillotson cut the lead to one goal in the 81st minute after she headed in a corner kick off the foot of Rycke Guiney. The Red Foxes had two opportunities to tie in the final two minutes of the match, but neither shot found its way to the frame, thus ending in a 3-2 loss for the Red Foxes.

   Marist will begin Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play on Friday at 4 p.m. The Red Foxes will continue a three-game road swing at Saint Peter’s in the conference opener.

Arlington impressive in rematch

Volleyball team sweeps its way to victory over Suffern

   FREEDOM PLAINS – The rematch was no match at all.

   The Arlington High School volleyball team went up against Suffern on Monday in a rematch of their Section One, Class AA championship l

VOLLEYBALL

   And if the Admirals were looking at it as a measuring stick for this year’s team, at the very least they’re right on track.

   Ariana Wilson was one of several players with big games Monday, tallying 16 assists, nine kills, six digs, seven service points including an ace, and three blocks to lead Arlington to a 26-24, 25-19, 25-17 sweep of Suffern.

   The Admirals are now 4-1 overall heading into league play today.

   “We worked on going over our defense and the girls just kept pressure on suffern and made them make the mistakes,” Arlington coach Maria Greenwood said. “Our blockers were in position to slow down the ball or take away part of the court from them.”

   Lauren Faugerstrom had four aces, eight service points, nine blocks, five kills and seven digs for the Admirals, while Rachel Thoma had six kills and a dig. Keely Fink had a pair of aces, five service points, three kills and 11 digs, Shannon Hughes had three service points, two blocks, 12 kills and 12 digs, and Angela Silveri had five service points, seven kills and five digs.

   Senior Molly Law had another outstanding game as well, with a pair of aces, 12 service points, 10 assists and five digs.

   “Our passing was on, and our serving was again accurate – good and hard, and it made it difficult for them to get anything going,” Greenwood said. “We’re happy it was our win; if we had let up at all it could have been a different story.”

Red Hook hands FDR first loss

   RED HOOK – Red Hook High School played its best soccer of the year, and the Raider boys handed Franklin D. Roosevelt its first loss with a solid 3-0 Mid-Hudson Athletic League victory on Monday.

BOYS' SOCCER

   “I told (Roosevelt coach Dan Cowan) afterward that we did to them what they did to us last year,” Red Hook coach Steve Sutton said. “They said they probably played their best match of the year last year when they beat us, and we just did the same thing. We just played really, really well.”

   Clemson University-bound Kyle Murphy had two goals and assisted on the third, a Maclyn Willigan scored.

   Caleb Mansfield got the shutout.

   “A lot of the things we’ve been trying to get the guys to do, we pulled off today,” Sutton said. “Kyle had great effort in not only creating his own two goals, but in getting everybody else involved.”

Onteora fights its way past Margaretville

   MARGARETVILLE – It was rainy. It was also chippy.

   In a wet and physical game on Monday, the Onteora High School boys’ soccer team survived both Mother Nature and Margaretville, posting a 4-2 non-league victory over the hosts.

BOYS' SOCCER

   Onteora has won two in a row and is now 2-6 with Mid-Hudson Athletic League divisional play beginning Wednesday against Marlboro.

   The Indians pulled away from a 1-1 halftime tie with three second-half goals as the game turned rough.

   The game got out of hand towards the end with many fouls due to poor officiating,” Onteora coach Eric Pezzello said “The refs were letting both teams get away with some very physical play.”

   At one point, a Margaretville player grabbed an Onteora player around the neck. Benches cleared, but order was restored due to both coaches keeping their teams in check.

   “Neither team was issued a red card,” Pezzello said. “However, when a player grabs another player around the neck, they should be removed. This was one of the worst officiated games I have ever witnessed. My guys were able to keep their composure and play smart soccer until the end in a game that could have gotten out of hand.”

   Tyler Fischer, Dan Mead, Kris Hallinan and C.J. Goldizen all scored for Onteora.

Strong first half pushes Arlington past OLL

   LAGRANGE – Miranda Tarpey, Danielle Axelrod and Caroline Ryan all scored first-half goals on Monday, and the Arlington High School

GIRLS' SOCCER

   It was the league opener for both teams.

   Kristen Skonieczny and Caroline Quentin shared the shutout in goal, Arlington’s fourth straight game without giving up a goal. In fact, at 4-2 overall, the Admirals have given up just two goals all season – both in 1-0 losses to start the season.

   “Defensively, we played just as well as we have been all season,” Arlington coach Kieran McIlvenny said.

   Tarpey’s goal came on a penalty kick and started the scoring for the Admirals.

   The Warriors’ Allie Carter played a strong game at midfield.

   “The conditions were pretty tough for both teams,” McIlvenny said. “It was rainy and blustery, but I thought Lourdes played a much better match in the second half

Is this the year for Army football?

Black Knights looking for first winning season since '96

  WEST POINT – Is this the season?

   Is this the year?

   Is this when the Army football team breaks a 13-year streak of losing records by recording its first winning season since 1996 and its first bowl appearance as well?

   It sure seems like it.

   Despite a 5-7 mark last year and another loss to Navy, there was a good feeling about the direction the program was headed in under new head coach Rich Ellerson.

   Now, after Saturday’s big win, the Black Knights are halfway home with a 3-1 mark, hoping to reach the magic six victories for an automatic bowl berth.

   Army forced five turnovers that led to 28 points and rolled to a 35-21 victory at Wallace Wade Stadium against Duke.

   Army snapped a seven-game losing streak to ACC foes and a 17-game road losing streak against the ACC. The win also put the Black Knights two games over the .500 mark since ending the 1996 season with a 10-2 mark.
   The Black Knights intercepted Duke quarterback Sean Renfree three times, one each by Stephen Anderson, Donnie Dixon and Richard King. Donovan Travis and Josh McNary also recovered fumbles for the Black Knights. Army is now 7-0 under Rich Ellerson when winning the turnover battle.
   The Blue Devils outgained the Black Knights 372-333, but Army held the ball for 39 minutes and 57 seconds. Army had a 248-111 advantage on the ground.
   Quarterback Trent Steelman led the Black Knights with 62 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Steelman completed four of his six throws for 85 yards and the first two passing touchdowns of Army’s season.
   Brian Cobbs had 28 yards and the first two touchdowns of his career on just seven attempts.
   Rookie Raymond Maples scored his first career touchdown on his first career reception, a 34-yard catch and run in the third quarter. Austin Barr was on the receiving end of the Steelman’s other three completions, totaling 51 yards, including a 31-yard scoring catch. It was Barr’s first career score.
   Six different Army players ran for at least 20 yards in the game. Malcolm Brown finished second behind Steelman with 46 yards on nine attempts.
   Anderson paced the defense with eight tackles, the interception and a pass breakup. Marcus Hilton finished the day with six stops, including a sack. McNary also had six tackles. His half tackle for loss moved him into first place on the Army career list with 42.5.
   Renfree finished the game 17 of 30 for 261 yards, two touchdowns and the three interceptions. Conner Vernon caught eight passes for 129 yards and a score, while Brandon Braxton accounted for the other Duke receiving touchdown.
   Army has now scored at least 24 points in four straight games for the first time since the 2002 season.

Marist's Greene claims Flight D singles title at USTA Invitational

   NEW YORK – Senior Landon Greene of the Marist College men’s tennis team claimed the Flight D singles title on Sunday at the USTA Men’s Collegiate Invitational at the National Tennis Center.

   On the day, three Red Foxes played in the finals of their respective flights.

   Greene has won each of his last three matches, the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, each in three sets on Saturday and Sunday. He bested Troy List of Lehigh to win the title. After he dropped the first set 4-6, Greene rebounded to win the second set 7-6 (4-0, and claimed the super tie breaker third set 10-5.

   Freshmen Will Reznek and Dalen Klassen lost in the finals of Flights G and H, respectively. Reznek fell to Mark Goldberg of Lehigh 6-2, 6-1, while Klassen was defeated by Justin Goldenberg of St. John’s 6-4, 6-3.

   To earn his place in the finals Greene defeated Harry Saborn of Pennsylvania in the same come-from-behind fashion as his quarterfinal match. In the semis, Greene beat Saborn 6-7, (4), 6-2, 10-5.

Red Foxes win 3rd straight in soccer

   POUGHKEEPSIE – The Marist College men’s soccer team won its third straight match on Sunday by defeating La Salle 4-2 in a non-conference contest at Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field.

   The Red Foxes rebounded from a two-goal first-half deficit with four unanswered goals, including two from junior midfielder Krystian Witkowski.

    La Salle got on the scoreboard first when Ryan Richter dribbled into the box and scored from approximately six yards out on the right side at the 20:43 mark. Less than three minutes later, Richter gave the Explorers a 2-0 lead when his shot from just beyond the 18 banged off the left post and into the goal.

   The Red Foxes cut their deficit to 2-1 at the 33:50 mark when Witkowski’s shot from around 25 yards away tucked inside the left side of the crossbar. La Salle would take that 2-1 lead into halftime.

   At the 66:32 mark, freshman forward James Curley tied the match by scoring on a header, which came off a cross from junior midfielder Lucas Szabo. It was Curley’s second goal of the season.

   Witkowski scored what proved to be the game-winner at 77:27, when he scored on a penalty kick to put the Red Foxes up 3-2. The goal was Witkowski’s fourth of the season.

   The Red Foxes put the match away in the closing seconds, when junior Alex George scored off his own rebound to make the score 4-2. George’s initial shot hit the crossbar, and he scored on his second chance at the 86:54 mark. The goal was George’s first in his collegiate career.

   Marist outshot La Salle 29-16, including a 17-5 margin in the second half. Curley led the Red Foxes with six shots, as he and Witkowski put three on goal apiece. The Red Foxes also held a 5-1 edge in corner kicks.

Rain could play havoc with sked

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

   Rain, rain, go away !

   The National Weather Service is calling for rain today, tomorrow and Thursday, which could play havoc with this week’s high school schedule.

   Stay tuned.

   In the meantime, here’s a quick look at the week ahead in Hudson Valley high school athletics.

TODAY

   Conference I, League A play begins in girls’ soccer, with two-time defending Class AA state champion John Jay traveling to Beacon and Arlington going to Lourdes.

   In volleyball, Arlington has a rematch of its Section One, Class AA championship win over Suffern.

   John Jay goes to Mahopac in what is always a competitive field hockey game.

   And all five Dutchess County swim teams – Arlington, Jay, Ketcham, Lourdes and Poughkeepsie – are in action today as well.

TUESDAY

   And just like with the girls, Conference I, League A boys’ soccer play begins in earnest today, headlined by a great matchup between archrivals John Jay and Ketcham.

   Arlington hosts John Jay in what should be a competitive girls’ tennis match.

   And, of course, if it’s Tuesday it must be Cross Country Day. Thirteen local teams are in action in dual meets.

WEDNESDAY

   Dover will try to get back at Pawling for that 50-0 shellacking in football by beating the Tigers in boys’ soccer this afternoon, highlighting 14 boys’ and girls’ games on the soccer slate.

THURSDAY

   In volleyball, Arlington plays the third of its four matches this week when it travels to Poughkeepsie – and, well, this is one sport that certainly won’t be postponed by rain.

   New Paltz golf goes to Marlboro as it gets ready for the league tournament coming up.

FRIDAY

   Football, of course, is on the docket, with three monster games tonight. First, Poughkeepsie travels to Somers in a critical league matchup. The Pioneers lost 62-12 at Somers two years ago before upsetting the Tuskers in the playoffs last year.

   Also on this night, it’s the annual backyard brawl – and maybe the best football rivalry in the area – when Highland goes to Marlboro.

   Finally, undefeated Wallkill can all but win Section Nine, Class A if it can knock off defending champion and perennial power Cornwall.

   In boys’ soccer, great matchup as Ketcham travels to John Jay.

SATURDAY

   Millbrook finally opens division play when it hosts Tri-Valley at 1:30 p.m. in a key football game. Also on this day, Arlington goes to Ketcham in what should be a great Section One, Class A, League North battle.

   In boys’ soccer, terrific matchup as John Jay heads to Newburgh to play the defending state Class AA champions.

Millbrook awaits result of Keenan's MRI exam

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

   All of Millbrook High School is anxiously awaiting the results of an MRI exam on the knee of star tailback Peter Keenan.

   Keenan, one of the top two or three running backs in the Hudson Valley, was injured in the second quarter of the Blazers’ 23-14 victory over Chester on Friday night.

   The senior will try to have the exam done as soon as possible today; his team is preparing for the worst, hoping for the best.

   “It doesn’t look good, but we’re hopeful,” said Sean Keenan, Peter’s father and the Millbrook football coach. “He’s in some pain. Obviously we’re hoping it’s more along the lines of torn cartilage than a torn ACL.”

   Anterior cruciate ligament tears often take up to nine months to rehabilitate. Still, the elder Keenan – holding the emotions of both concerned parent and concerned coach – said the Blazers rallied around his injured son, both in spirit and in play.

   Millbrook is 4-0 heading into Section Nine, Class C, Division I play over its final three games, and is ranked 14th in the state.

   “Hey, look, we’ve always preached team first, no superstars,” the coach said. “We went through this a couple of years ago when (star running back) Nick Finger went down for a couple of games. We’re a team and we’ll win as a team.”

   STREAKING – The Our Lady of Lourdes girls’ basketball team’s streak of winning at least a share of 27 consecutive league titles is pretty impressive, but so too is Pawling’s 13-year mastery of Dover in football.

   All sports – high school, college, pros – are cyclical in nature. But after the Tigers’ 50-0 win over the Dragons on Saturday, it’s now been since 1997 that Dover has won the Harlem Valley Cup.

   Bill Clinton was still president, we were still three years away from the Y2K panic – and distant does that seem now? – and the No.1 song in ’97 was ‘Candle in the Wind’ by Elton John, the singer’s tribute to the death of Princess Diana.

   To put it in more perspective – there are freshmen at both schools who have never seen Dover win.

   DOT, DOT, DOT – Hats off to the Beacon football team for winning its first game since October, 2008, a span that covered 12 games … Hats also off to Ketcham football coach Pat Keevins for his gutsy call in overtime against Carmel on Friday night. Keevins insists that he had no choice in not going for a game-tying extra point – new holder, new snapper, new kicker – but it was still a gutsy move to go for two. Ketcham lost, 27-26, when it failed on the two-point conversion … Big bounce-back game for two-time defending Class AA state champion John Jay girls’ soccer, which suffered its first loss of the season, 4-3, in overtime to defending Class B state champ Briarcliff. The Patriots beat John Jay Cross River, 2-1, on Saturday … The Millbrook boys’ soccer team has played six night games in the last six years at Homecoming – and won all six.

   TEAM OF THE WEEK – Franklin D. Roosevelt football. We’ll admit it – we never saw this coming. Not because we didn’t believe in new first-year coach Brian Bellino, but we thought at least a year, maybe two, before he turned it around. Well, the Presidents are 4-0 with two big road wins, including Saturday’s victory at defending division champion Warwick.

   QUOTE OF THE WEEK – “Our tongues were dry from licking our wounds all season.” – Onteora boys’ soccer coach Eric Pezzello, whose team hung on to beat Wallkill for its first win of the year.

VICTORY !

Mahon guides Beacon to first win since '08

   BEACON – It was a long time coming.

   A balanced rushing attack and a solid defense helped the Beacon High School football team its first game in almost two years, as the Bulldogs beat Peekskill, 34-6, in a Section One, Class A, Alternative Schedule League game on Saturday.

   The victory snapped an 11-game losing streak for Beacon that dated back to Oct. 30, 2008.

   “It’s real nice to get the win for the kids on this team who played during those years,” said first-year Beacon coach Brian Mahon, who also picks up his first career varsity win. “I thought we played pretty well.”

   Kevin Dandrade led Beacon with 69 yards rushing and a TD. Jerel Galloway added a 25-yard scoring run, Skyler Maldonado had 49 yards rushing, Jerel Brown had a 3-yard TD run and Elijah Wilds scored from eight yards out.

   Defensively, Beacon held the Red Evils to just 136 yards of total offense. Mark Bracey also scored a defensive touchdown, picking up a fumble and returning it four yards for a score.

   “We played mistake-free, and that’s what we’ve been preaching all week,” Mahon said. “If we could fix those mental mistakes, we felt like we’d be OK.”

Red-hot FDR wins again, 33-21

   WARWICK – The Franklin D. Roosevelt High School football team was the opponent on Saturday for Warwick’s Homecoming, and the connotation is crystal clear – at the high school level and at the college level, schools usually try to plan their Homecoming games against teams they feel like they can beat, thus sending everybody home happy.

   “We’re everybody’s Homecoming; that was my thing to the team at the beginning of the year,” new FDR coach Brian Bellino said, referring to last year’s two-win season. “But I also told them we were going to run a lot of team’s Homecomings.”

   The Presidents did exactly that on Saturday.

   Quarterback Joe Soltysiak threw for two touchdowns and FDR beat Warwick, 33-21, in a Section Nine, Class AA, Division II game.

   FDR is now 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the division.

   Soltysiak was 7-for-9 for 117 yards, including a 56-yard scoring strike to Mike O’Connor and 14 yards to John Touhey.

   The Presidents’ star running back, Errol Evans, played with a deep bone bruise and saw limited action in the backfield. But he made his presence known elsewhere as he intercepted a pass and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown.

   Nick Sorel did a terrific job as FDR’s primary ball carrier through the first three quarters, rushing nine times for 68 yards and a touchdown.

   “I thought we played good,” Bellino said, “and I thought we had a little bit of luck, too.”

   He was referring to a key play in the fourth quarter when FDR was forced to punt. Punter Eric Holden dropped a clean snap, but the ball bounced right back up to him, and Holden took off on a 46-yard run for a first down that kept a drive alive – and prevented Warwick from getting the ball back.

   Bellino said the Presidents probably killed 15 of the final 20 minutes of the game by rushing the ball.

   “Our offensive line was tremendous,” he said. “More than anything, it kept our defense off the field on a hot day. I know it was hot for the offense too, but I’d rather have the ball in this kind of weather because if you’re moving it, and you’re keeping their defense back on their heels, it doesn’t feel that hot.”

Red Foxes lose to Morehead in wild one

   POUGHKEEPSIE – After nearly 1,000 combined yards of total offense, the Marist College football team came up one score shy.

   Marist suffered a 45-39 loss to Morehead State in its Pioneer Football League opener on Saturday at Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field.

   As a team, the Red Foxes threw for 402 yards. Junior quarterback Tommy Reilly threw for a career-high 348 yards – the second-highest single-game passing total in program history – and three touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Michael Rios had a career-high 168 receiving yards, which included 61- and 69-yard fourth-quarter touchdown receptions. Senior wide receiver James LaMacchia led the Red Foxes with seven receptions, which went for 122 yards and a touchdown.

   After Morehead State scored a touchdown on its opening drive, the Red Foxes tied the game two plays later at seven apiece on a 76-yard touchdown run by junior running back Calvin McCoy. McCoy’s second touchdown of the day, which came on a six-yard run in the second quarter, gave Marist a 13-10 lead. Morehead State re-claimed the lead at 17-13 with eight seconds left in the half.

   With one second remaining in the half, Marist had the ball on its own 46. Freshman quarterback Chuckie Looney came in to throw a Hail Mary pass – which was caught by senior wide receiver Joseph DeSimone on a deflection at the three-yard line, and DeSimone got into the end zone to give Marist a 19-17 halftime lead.

   However, Morehead State roared back with three touchdowns – on one run and two throws by quarterback Zach Lewis – in 2:59 , which were aided by a pair of Marist turnovers, to take a 38-19 lead. Reilly found LaMacchia for a 35-yard touchdown pass to cut Marist’s deficit to 38-26 entering the fourth quarter.

   Blake Stanley’s five-yard touchdown run put Morehead State up 45-26 with 8:11 to play. On the first play of the ensuing a drive, a 61-yard Reilly-Rios touchdown connection made the score 45-32. With 2:47 to go, Reilly and Rios connected for a 69-yard touchdown to bring the Red Foxes within six, but they would come no closer.

   The 84 points scored in the game is tied for the second-highest total in Marist history. The highest is 86, which came in Marist's 52-34 triumph at Saint Peter's on Oct. 27, 2005.

   Morehead State rolled up 460 yards of total offense. Lewis accounted for five scores with four touchdown passes and one touchdown run. He was 33-for-46 through the air for 311 yards, and completed passes to 10 different receivers. Desmond Cox paced the Eagles’ ground efforts with 71 yards on 21 carries.

   Marist is now 1-2 overall and 0-1 in Pioneer Football League play; Morehead State improved to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the PFL.

Wellmon's 4 TDs lead Wallkill

   GOSHEN – Eric Wellmon is establishing himself as one of the top quarterbacks on the Hudson Valley in only his first year as a starter.

   The Wallkill High School signal-caller completed eight passes in 12 attempts for a modest 92 yards – but half of them went for touchdowns as the Panthers remained undefeated with a 59-7 victory over Goshen in a Section Nine, Class A game on Saturday afternoon.

   Wallkill is now 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the league.

   Wellmon’s scoring pases were for 13 yards to Steve Moyer, 12 to Kevin Montgomery, 25 to Ryan Atkins and then a short 1-yarder to Atkins.

   The Panthers added four rushing touchdowns as well, and a 32-yard field goal by Pat Toole, who nailed all eight of his team’s extra points.

Pawling beats Dover for Cup, continuing remarkable streak

PAWLING – One of the most remarkable streaks in the area lives on.

   Jim Magee had 133 yards rushing and two touchdowns on Saturday, and the Pawling High School football team beat archrival Dover, 50-0, for the 13th consecutive year to claim the Harlem Valley Cup.

   Pawling is now 2-1 overall while the Dragons dropped to 1-2.

   The Tigers’ Oliver Mold rushed for 106 yards and quarterback Brian Reibling threw for 115 yards and two scores.

   BURKE 48, PINE PLAINS 0 – The visiting Bombers dropped to 1-3 on the year as the Eagles cruised in this Section Nine game.

Red Hook's D stops O'Neill

   RED HOOK – Slowly but surely, the Red Hook High School football team is blossoming under new coach Bill Stutz.

   The Raiders won for the second time this year on Saturday night, doing on it Homecoming as well, as they beat James I. O’Neill, 27-6, in a non-league game.

   Red Hook is now 2-2 on the year heading into the Ellenville game this week.

   The Raiders’ rushing attack and a killer defensive effort paved the way. Lucas Brocchetti broke off a 48-yard run on the third play from scrimmage to put Red Hook on top, and the defense – which forced four turnovers – held the shutout until three minutes remained in the game.

   Red Hook broke it open in the second half after holding the 7-0 lead on Brocchetti TD. Shawn Horning had a 29-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, Taylor Lee had a 1-yard plunge and Brocchetti found Tom Manetta for a 29-yard touchdown strike to account for the scoring.

Millbrook places second in volleyball tourney

   CARMEL – The Millbrook High School volleyball team appears to have a yearly date with Cornwall – whether it schedules the game or

VOLLEYBALL

   For the fourth season in a row the Blazers and Cornwall happened to meet up at the Carmel Volleyball Invitational, and for the fourth season in a row the Green Dragons won the title, besting Millbrook 2-0 in the championship game.

   The games played throughout the course of the day, including in early-round pool play in the eight-team tournament, do not count against a team’s overall final record.

   Millbrook advanced by turning in a 4-3 mark in pool play. In the quarterfinals, the Blazers beat Beacon, 27-25, as Rita Ouimet had four kills and three ace and Amanda Riebe added three kills and an ace.

   In the semifinals, Millbook bested Kennedy, 25-15. Riebe had four kills and Christina Deschaine had a pair of kills.

   In the final, the Blazers suffered a 25-22, 25-20 loss to Cornwall. Ouimet had six kills and three digs, Deschaine had five kills and Riebe had four kills.

Porcelli's legs, arm lead Marlboro

   MARLBORO – Like any football team, Marlboro High School strives for balance on offense between the run and the pass.

   Unlike most other football teams, that begins and ends for the Iron Dukes with quarterback Vinny Porcelli.

   The senior signal-caller accounted for all five of his team’s touchdowns, and Marlboro played perhaps its most complete game of the season with a 38-0 win over Spackenkill in a Section Nine, Class B league game Friday night.

   Marlboro is now 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the league.

   “I thought we played pretty well,” Iron Dukes coach Rich Ward said. “We had one turnover that I was disappointed in, but other than that I thought we coached better and the kids played better.”

   Porcelli had a big game, rushing 10 times for 160 yards and four touchdowns, and completing four passes in seven attempts for 67 yards and a score. Senior wideout
Alex Baglieri caught all four balls.

   “I thought we were balanced tonight,” Ward said. “We did a good job up front and we opened some holes for Vinny. We tweaked our system a little bit and the kids responded well with some good production.”

Bittersweet victory for Millbrook

Keenan suffers potentially season-ending knee injury in 23-14 Homecoming win over Chester

  MILLBROOK – Homecoming 2010 might end up being a bittersweet night for the Millbrook High School football team.

   The Blazers beat Chester, 23-14, in a Section Nine non-division game Friday night, and Millbrook – ranked 14th in the state in the latest New York State Sportswriters Association Class C poll – improved to 4-0.

   But the team might have lost its best player.

   Running back Peter Keenan, son of Millbrook coach Sean Keenan, suffered a knee injury in the second half of the game and did not return.

   “We’re not sure; he may have blown it out,” the elder Keenan said. “The trainers thought that, structurally, it wasn’t bad. Maybe some torn cartilage. We won’t know anything more until he gets an MRI (today).”

   But the Blazers rallied around their injured teammate.  Senior Jimmy Ross, who has been having a quietly spectacular season, took over at tailback and rushed 14 times for 158 yards and two touchdowns. Taylor Galano rushed five times for 68 yards and a score, and Nicky D’Onofrio added 55 yards on seven carries.

   Aidan Littles 25-yard field goal gave Millbrook a 3-0 lead that was stretched to 10-0 on Ross’ first TD. The Blazers led 10-8 at the half and opened it up in the second half.

   Other than giving up a score on a long pass play, Keenan said the Blazer defense was solid all night.

   Stephen Vitale, Josh Rose and Kyle Cuomo all had eight tackles each, while Ross had 10 stops from his defensive back position.

   “I think it just shows the kind of team we’re building. We preach there are no superstars, team first, and all those clichés, and the kids have bought into it. This was a great team victory.”

   Millbrook begins league play next week when it faces Tri-Valley in the first of three consecutive Section Nine, Class C, Division I games on Saturday afternoon.

Forte accounts for six TDs in Highland romp

   HIGHLAND – Mike Forte was a one-man wrecking crew on Friday night.

   The senior for the Highland High School football team left his mark on all three phases of the game, scoring six touchdowns – four offensively, one on special teams and one on defense – leading the Huskies to a 59-14 romp over Onteora in a Section Nine, Class B league game.

   Resurgent Highland is now 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the league heading into next week’s huge showdown with unbeaten Marlboro.

   “Mike just had one of those incredible nights you remember all your life,” Highland coach Carl Relyea said.

   Forte finished with 385 all-purpose yards that featured four rushing touchdowns, including one for 60 yards, an 89-yard interception return for a score and a 63-yard punt return for a TD. Forte finished with 180 yards on the ground.

   Steven Rosado had two touchdowns, including a 60-yard punt return, and Travis Dutka also scored.

   Dylan Ose and Anthony Pavese had six tackles each.

   Bouncing back from the 0-2 start, Highland is very much in the thick of the Class B race.

   “On any given night anybody can beat anybody,” Relyea said. “If we continue to improve and get some more experience so we execute a little better, we can do some damage.” 

Saugerties, Rondout go down to defeat

   CORNWALL – Tyler Lawlor threw three touchdown pass on Friday night, and Cornwall High School shutout Saugerties, 50-0, in a Section Nine, Class A game.

   The Sawyers are now 0-4 overall on the season.

   SULLIVAN WEST 43, RONDOUT VALLEY 6 – The visiting Ganders could not win their second consecutive game, falling to the defending Section Nine, Class runner-up.

   Ryan Alsdorf had two rushing TDs and a touchdown pass for Sully West.

Laboy, Clark, Ferrante power Huguenots past Ellenville

   NEW PALTZ – This was the game that New Paltz High School was waiting for – the test, if you will, of whether its 3-0 mark to start the season was built on subpar competition or whether the Huguenots were really that good.

   Guess what?

   The Huguenots are really that good.

   New Paltz staked its claim as the team to beat in Section Nine, Class B, moving to 4-0 with a 34-15 victory over two-time defending Section Nine, Class C champion Ellenville on Friday night.

   The previously unbeaten Blue Devils had moved up to Class B this season and were also 3-0 coming into the game.

   The victory avenged a 16-0 Ellenville win over New Paltz last year.

   This time, the Huguenots simply dominated the game. Freshman Khariff Laboy returned a punt 86 yards for a score just 110 seconds into the game for the first score, and New Paltz was off to the races.

   New Paltz’s ground game was just too much for the Blue Devils to handle. Laboy rushed for 93 yards; his cousin, Darryl Clark, rushed for two touchdoewns; and Pete Ferrante rushed for 102 yards and two TDs.

   The Huguenots led 21-0 before a late Ellenville score in the first half made it 21-8 at the break.

RCK heartbreak: Failed two-point conversion gives Carmel win 

  CARMEL – There was no question that Pat Keevins was going for two.

   “Never any doubt. We’ve lost our snapper and our holder in the first two weeks of the season, and we have a new kicker,” the Roy C. Ketcham High School coach said of his decision to go for a two-point conversion, and the overtime win, against Carmel in an eventual 27-26 Section One, Class AA, League North loss Friday night. “I wasn’t about to put that kind of pressure on somebody to tie the game. So, now, there was never any doubt we were going for two in that situation.”

   But the Rams stopped RCK running back Aaron Morganstern to preserve the 27-26 victory in a game that the Indians actually led, 20-7, before Carmel rallied to tie it at 20-all and send it into overtime.

   Morganstern rushed 17 times for 183 yards and two touchdowns in the game, while RCK receiver Roland  Archie caught three balls for 136 yards and a score.

   On the attempted two-point conversion for the win, RCK attempted a toss sweep to Morganstern.

   “It was an unbalanced toss, and they defended it. End of story,” Keevins said. “We put the ball in our best player’s hands and it was a different look we hadn’t given them. It just didn’t work out.”

Goldizen gives Onteora first win

   BOICEVILLE – C.J. Goldizen was golden on Friday afternoon.

   Goldizen scored with less than 14 minutes remaining, and the Onteora High School boys’ soccer team hung on for its first victory over the year by stunning Wallkill, 2-1, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League match.

SOCCER

   “The game could have gone either way but my guys finally played 80 minutes focused and composed,” Onteora coach Eric Pezzello said. “It was very nice to finally get a win especially against a solid team like Wallkill.”

   Hudson Bielecki gave Onteora a 1-0 halftime lead with a penalty kick.

   “This was the first time we’ve led at halftime so I had to rally the troops and remind them we still had 40 minutes left with a dangerous team,” Pezzello said.

   Wallkill came back to tie the game at the 60-minute mark on a goal from Tyler Lundgren, but the Indians hung tough and scored six minutes later on Goldizen’s tally.

   “This win was the moral booster that we needed to start division play next week,” Pezzello said. “Our tongues were dry from licking our wounds all season. The kids needed this win. I am very proud of the way they played and the way they kept their cool in a physical game.”

   SPACKENKILL 5, WEBUTUCK 0 – Jefferson Alfaro had two more goals, and the Spartans won yet again in the MHAL.

   “Our ball possession was at its best today,” Spackenkill coach Manny Blanco said. “We are starting to click in many areas.”  

   BEACON 5, PEEKSKILL 0 – Five different players scored as the Bulldogs rolled to this non-league win at home.

   Mario Riccardi, Kyle LeClerc, Greg Cory, Anthony Williamson and Oscar Aguilar all scored for Beacon, which is now 3-1-1.

   ARLINGTON 2, MAHOPAC 0 – In its final tuneup before starting league play next week, the Admirals captured this non-league game at home in Freedom Plains.

   The state’s sixth-ranked Class AA team is now 5-0 under new coach Craig Sanborn.  

GIRLS’ SOCCER

   RED HOOK – The Raiders got to go under the lights on Friday night, and they didn’t disappoint.

   Elena Howard scored two goals and the Red Hook girls’ soccer team beat New Paltz, 3-0, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game.

   Jordyn Dezago tallied in between Howard’s pair to complete the scoring. Ashley Pica had three saves for the shutout.

Balanced effort paces Admirals' win over Pawling

   FREEDOM PLAINS – In a balanced effort, the Arlington High School volleyball closed this week in preparation for a huge next week with a 3-0 sweep over Pawling in a non-league match on Friday.

VOLLEYBALL

   The Admirals are now 3-1 overall after the 25-15, 25-8, 25-16 victory.

   “It was a very good night,” Arlington coach Maria Greenwood said. “The girls played with intensity. Their serves were on, the passing enabled us to move the ball around, and our offense was relentlessly attacking.”

   Shannon Hughes and Molly Law each had 11 service points, with Hughes getting nine kills and Law handing out 11 assists; Lauren Faugerstrom had nine service points, five kills and four digs; Angela Silveri had six service points and seven kills; Ariana Wilson and Keely Fink each had five service points; and Rachel Thoma had five kills.

   “Overall, it was a great way to end the week with an extremely positive attitude before facing Suffern on Monday,” Greenwood said.

   Arlington has quite the schedule next week, starting with the team it beat for the Section One, Class AA title last year in Suffern, and continuing with John Jay on Tuesday, Poughkeepsie on Thursday and Dover on Friday.

   HALDANE 3, DOVER 1 – Lauren Etta had 11 kills, 12 assists and eight aces, Katie Cunningham had seven kills and three aces, and Dana Solit had 11 assists, a pair of kills and a pair of aces to lead the visiting Blue Devils to the non-league win.

   The scores were 18-25, 25-21, 25-19 and 25-17.

   “We came out strong this afternoon against a very strong Haldane team, and let our momentum slip away,” Dover coach Jen Fisher said. “I think we caught Haldane a little off today, and unfortunately could not take advantage with the exception of game one.  In spite of that, I think that my girls played very well against a very good opponent, and continue to improve every day.”

   For Dover, Katelyn Mayr had 10 kills and four blocks, Victoria Maduemezia had six kills and six aces, and Shauna Sitter had three kills, three aces and a block.

TOP PERFORMERS

• Mike Forte, Highland. What a night for the senior – 180 yards rushing, four rushing TDs, an 89-yard interception return for a touchdown and a 63-yard punt return for a TD in Highland’s 59-14 win over Onteora. That’s six touchdowns for those of you scoring at home.

• C.J. Goldizen, Onteora. The Indians were as bright at C.J.’s last name, winning their first game of the season when he scored with 14 minutes left for a 2-1 win over Wallkill in boys’ soccer.

• Vinny Porcelli, Marlboro. A terrific effort from the Iron Dukes’ senior quarterback, who rushed for 160 yards and four TDs, and threw for 67 yards and another score in Marlboro’s 38-0 win over Spackenkill.

• Aaron Morganstern, Ketcham. The senior rushed 17 times for 183 yards and two scores in RCK’s heart-breaking 27-26 overtime loss to Carmel.

• Jimmy Ross, Millbrook. With his best bud Peter Keenan on the sidelines with a potentially serious knee injury, Ross more than picked up the slack with 14 carries for 158 yards and two touchdowns in Millbrook’s 23-14 win over Chester.

THIS AND THAT

   Saugerties is having a rough start to the football season. The Sawyers are 0-4 and have given up 175 points in four games, including 42 points to Valley Central, 55 to Monticello and 50 on Friday night to Cornwall … Poughkeepsie has now gone more than nine quarters without giving up a touchdown … New Paltz has given up 28 points in four games, or basically a TD a game … Marlboro has given up only three points in its last three contests.

THEY SAID IT

   “Our tongues were dry from licking our wounds all season.” – Onteora boys’ soccer coach Eric Pezzello, whose team hung on to beat Wallkill for its first win of the year.

Blazer boys, girls win Homecoming matches

   MILLBROOK – Homecoming is a big deal out at Millbrook High School, and it’s more than just a football event.

SOCCER

   In fact, the Millbrook boys have never lost a night Homecoming Game since the tradition was instituted six years ago. No team wants to be the first.

   And the 2010 team made sure it wasn’t.

   The Blazers scored twice in the first half and knocked off Highland, 2-1 on Thursday in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League match.

   Not only was it Homecoming, it was the Blazers’ first home game of the season and their first victory of the season.

   “It was a good match,” Millbrook coach Kyle Shoemaker said. “We went to five midfielders and that seemed to work for us. It was a new formation and I thought the boys did a nice job.”

   Devon Jackson scored the game’s first goal for Millbrook but Highland’s Andrew Ward quickly tied it. Later in the first half, Aidan Little took a nice through-ball from Rory Schumacher and banged one home from about 18 yards out for what proved to be the game-winner.

   The Millbrook girls won by the score of 3-0 over Highland as Allie Kohut, Mallory Peterson and Amanda Stewart all scored.

   “They just outplayed us for a 15 minute period in the first half, and that was the difference,” Highland coach Pete Watkins said.

Coughlin is the 'Kees' to Marist's defense

By Philip Terrigno

HVSR

   POUGHKEEPSIE – As Kees Coughlin watched the first Monday Night Football game of the 2010 NFL season, he couldn’t help but feel special.

   Millions tuned in to ESPN to see the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets battle, but Coughlin knew that he possessed a stronger connection to arguably the biggest playmaker on the field than anyone else.

   More intimate than being a fan, far more important than owning him on a fantasy football roster and much more special than wearing his jersey, Coughlin can call Baltimore’s Ray Rice his teammate and friend.

   “I’m one of the very few who [people] who can say that they have a friend [playing] on Monday Night Football,” Coughlin explained. “Words can’t really describe it.”

   Coughlin’s connection with the standout halfback began during their playing days as children in the same youth tackle football league but was cemented during one special football season at New Rochelle High School.

   The year was 2004 and domination was the theme.  Coughlin, then a sophomore in high school, transferred to New Rochelle after playing his freshmen season at Mamaroneck.  He joined a New Rochelle Huguenots football squad that had won the New York State title the season before and appeared primed to do the same.

   The roster brimmed with Division I talent, including players that would head to Rutgers and Stanford. Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) from Syracuse, N.Y., a school then ranked 13th nationally USA Today, was the only team that tainted the Huguenots record as New Rochelle finished with an 11-1 mark on the year.

   Equally as talented as New Rochelle, CBA’s roster included Greg Paulus, who would go on to play point guard at Duke and one year of quarterback at Syracuse University.     Their only loss came in the state title game, a 41-35 shootout in which Paulus threw for 376 yards and Rice broke his collarbone late in the second half.

   Coughlin started at linebacker in the contest, an honor for any sophomore.

   “Being able to play in the Carrier Dome was amazing but [Rice] getting hurt was the deciding factor,” Coughlin said. “If [Rice] was in the second half, we probably would have won and I would have a state championship ring, but it didn’t work out that way. It’s a memory that I’m never going to forget.”

   Coughlin played two more seasons at New Rochelle after Rice graduated in 2005, but his career path went in a slightly different direction than some of his teammates, who went to compete at larger schools.

   After being lightly recruited by Syracuse, Maryland and Rutgers, Marist contacted Coughlin late in the signing period.

   “The three big schools kind of dragged me along. I realized that I wasn’t going to be getting any big school scholarships,” Coughlin said. “Marist came to me late in the process, and I liked it. It was a perfect fit.”

   Coughlin’s on-field production has steadily risen during his first three seasons as his role in the defense has increased. He finished with 66 tackles, two sacks and one fumble recovery last season. He started off this campaign with a crucial interception in Marist’s recent victory over Bucknell.

   “The first two years, we didn’t get a lot out of him, then last year, he has a really solid year,” defensive coordinator Scott Rumsey said. “He wasn’t in the preseason a lot because of an injury, so he had a little catching up to do. In the second game, it was tailored to what he does best.”

   Sophomores Tyler Ramsey and Isaac Sine have composed the Marist starting linebacker core along with Coughlin, the lone senior.

   “Kees, as the only senior, leads by example, not really with words,” Sine said. “What he does on the field, we take it to heart. “A nagging pectoral injury was the ailment that affected Coughlin in the preseason and caused him to miss early practices.

   “He was out and he was hurt, but he still came to practice,” Ramsey said. “He watched everything and made us better when he was hurt.”

   Marist sorely needs a defensive leader to emerge after the departure of Nick Andre and Kevin Foley; 2010 graduates that combined for 179 tackles during the 2009 season.

   “Being the only senior, the [underclassmen] definitely look up to me to try and guide them along,” Coughlin said. “With the young guys, I’m trying to do the best that I can to help them.”

   A strong football pedigree after a career at New Rochelle High School and three seasons under Jim Parady’s system certainly nominate Coughlin to be one of the team’s defensive leaders, something the Red Foxes value in this season’s attempt to improve on 2009’s 7-4 overall record.

   “I don’t know which [defense] is going to show up on a given night. Maybe the Sacred Heart [loss] was just first week jitters,” Coughlin said. “I feel like we are a great defense and we can be just as good as we were last year. I’m looking forward to what this year holds. There’s a good chance we can go out there and beat everyone.”

   Coughlin grew up football-wise amongst stars, as a sophomore starting on a high school defense that featured an NFL star. Now, Marist sophomores and underclassmen are growing up football-wise next to a senior who is ready to lead them into a PFL season to remember.

Arlington defense shines again in shutout

   CARMEL – Defensively, the Arlington High School girls’ soccer team is a force to be reckoned with.

   The Admirals have allowed just two goals this year – and both of those came in consecutive 1-0 losses to open the season – and the team recorded is third consecutive win, third consecutive shutout and third consecutive 4-0 decision with a victory over Carmel on Thursday.

GIRLS' SOCCER

   Shannon Palmer had a pair of goals, Miranda Tarpey had one and Danielle Axelrod also scored to lead the Admirals on offense.

   RED HOOK 2, ROOSEVELT 0 – Brita Brudvig scored in the first half, Ye-shin Tsumagari scored in the second half, and that was all the host Raiders needed to win this Mid-Hudson Athletic League match.

   Elena Howard assisted on both goals.

   Red Hook is now 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the league; FDR is 4-2 both overall and in the MHAL.

   “Things are starting to come together and as a team we took the next step forward,” Red Hook coach Jason Pavlich said, “FDR is a good team and I am very happy with our performance today.”

   RHINEBECK 3, PINE PLAINS 0 – Bridget Cunningham scored the first goal 10 minutes into the game for Rhinebeck, which also got goals from Meredith Mimoso and Sarah Turpin.

   Pine Plains played a hard-fought game with good performances from Alexa Betts, Cristina Cummings and Sara Patricola.

   MARLBORO 1, SAUGERTIES 0 – Andrea Schoonmaker scored her third goal of the season to break a scoreless tie 17 minutes into the second half, giving the Dukes the MHAL victory.

   Danielle Martuscello posted her first career shutout as Marlboro evened its record at 3-3.

   BEACON 3, DOVER 2 – The visiting Bulldogs jumped to leads of 2-0 and 3-1, and hung on to beat Dover in a non-league game.

   Jessica Sheehan, Anni Jacketti and Kathleen Davis all scored for Beacon.

  “It was a very physical game,” Beacon coach Jeff Matus said. “But that was good for us going into the league schedule, because the league is going to be physical.”

Jaouen's goal nets Dover tie with RCK

   WAPPINGERS FALLS – Kayla Jaouen’s goal with 10:52 remaining gave the Dover High School field hockey team a 2-2 tie with Roy C. Ketcham on Thursday in a non-league game.

FIELD HOCKEY

   “It was a well-played game by both teams,” Ketcham coach Erin Mulligan said. “We were able to execute a strong passing game. Callie Valentino and Casey Herzog were major contributors on our offensive drive. The girls played well together as a team. Dover's Erin Wood had a strong showing with great stops and solid drives.”

   PINE PLAINS 0, RONDOUT VALLEY 0 – In a matchup of two perennially strong Section Nine teams, the host Bombers and the visiting Ganders played to a Mid-Hudson Athletic League tie.

   “We each had our opportunities even though we only had three shots on goal,” Pine Plains coach Dick Meilinger said. “It was a battle up and down. It was pretty evenly matched.”

   Pine Plains’ Sarah Beam and the Ganders’ Emma Wasser each made three saves.

One is all it takes as Laubach's goal gives Marlboro win over Saugerties

   MARLBORO – All it takes is one, right?

   The Marlboro High School boys’ soccer team peppered Saugerties goalie Elan Trishetta with 16 shots and 15 corner kicks, but Trishetta kept pushing them away.

   But Adam Laubach’s shot found the back of the net, and that was all the Iron Dukes needed for a 1-0 victory over the Sawyers on Thursday in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League match.

   Marlboro is now 2-4 overall.

   “We put a lot of pressure on them and their keeper made some great saves,” Marlboro coach Gene Ventriglia said. “But Adam’s goal was a very nice goal. Haxji (Verjoni) sent a ball into the box and came down and bounced. Adam timed it and flicked it with his head over the goalie. It was a timing play and it was a great play.”

BOYS’ GOLF

   HIGHLAND – The Spackenkill High School golf team is seven-for-seven.

   The Spartans’ perfect record this season stayed intact on Thursday as they beat highland, 166-187, at the back nine of Apple Greens Golf Course in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League match.

   Senior captain Marc Greenbaun earned medalist honors with a 39, which included five pars, while seventh-grader Stanley Garrant came in with a solid 40. Ian Wilson shot a 42, Marc Horvath a 45, Kyle Martin a 46 and Stephen Gugumuck a 49.

GIRLS’ TENNIS

   BEACON – Hena Kalola won her No. 3 singles match and Beacon High School swept all four doubles matches, as the Bulldogs beat Wallkill, 5-2, on Thursday in a non-league affair.

   It was the first win of the season for Beacon in three tries.

   For Wallkill, first and second singles players Olga Ostrovetsky and Ariel Haber both won, but the Panthers depth the rest of the way wasn’t there.

TOP PERFORMANCES

• Jared Panek, Onteora. OK, gotta start with this guy. Panek steps up at the seventh hole at Turtle Creek Golf Course and hits a shot exactly 160 yards. How do we know? Because that’s how long it was from tee-to-cup as he nailed a hole-in-one.

• Shannon Palmer, Arlington. The Admirals are starting to hit a hot streak, and while the defense continues to shine, Palmer is providing some offense. Her two goals helped the Admirals to a 4-0 girls’ soccer win over Carmel.

• Adam Laubach, Marlboro. The senior had his team’s only goal and, well, that’s all you need sometimes. Laubach’s tally was the difference in a 1-0 boys’ soccer win over Saugerties.

• Aidan Little, Millbrook. It was Little’s goal that broke a 1-1 tie late in the first half, giving the Blazers their first win of the year, 2-1, over highland in boys’ soccer.

THIS AND THAT

   Obviously, all the Millbrook boys’ soccer team needed was a little home cookin’. The Blazers played their first match of the year at home and won their first game, beating Highland 2-1 … Three field hockey games, three ties – Pine Plains and Rondout go scoreless, Arlington and Pawling finish 1-1 and Ketcham and Dover lock up at 2-2.

THEY SAID IT

   “I told him that in the future these things can get very expensive.” – Onteora golf coach Scott Via after his player, Jared Panek, fired a hole-in-one at the seventh hole at Turtle Creek Golf Course. Via was referring to the golf tradition of someone who scores an ace buying the clubhouse a round of drinks.

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Ellenville presents tough challenge for New Paltz

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

   Get ready for the topsiest, turviest, craziest high school football ride of the season, and it starts tonight.

   The race in Section Nine, Class B is expected to be Must-See viewing for the next month as no less than five teams in the seven-team league battle it out for the division championship and playoff berths.

   State-ranked New Paltz is 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the league, and hosts perennial power Ellenville, which is also 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the league. Ellenville has moved up from Class C. Tonight’s game begins at 7 p.m.

   Huguenots coach Tom Tegeler said last week after his team beat Onteora that he was looking forward to the matchup with the Blue Devils.

   “It will be a good challenge to see how tough we are,” Tegeler said.

   Marlboro, the league’s other unbeaten team at 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the league, hosts 1-1 Spackenkill. That’s a key game as well because this is a new Spackenkill program that, frankly, should be sitting at 2-0 in the league. The Spartans’ league loss came at home to Ellenville on a fourth-down touchdown pass with no time left on the clock.

   Highland is in the thick of things at 1-1, and still should be in the race after playing a game, but young, Onteora team.

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Pelham, Lourdes could be for league title already

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

   Two games into the season and already a football game that could decide the league championship.

   Our Lady of Lourdes and Pelham high schools are both unbeaten at 2-0, the only undefeated teams in Section One, Class B, League A. The Warriors and the Pelicans meet tonight at Overlook Park in the Town of Poughkeepsie in a game that, if it doesn’t ultimately decide the league title, certainly will have implications.

   “It might be. It just might be,” Lourdes coach Brian Walsh said. “There’s still a ways to go, though. We still have Nanuet and they played Pelham tough (in a 16-13 game). But that’s a pretty good football team Pelham has.”

   The Pelicans beat Nanuet, the defending league champs, with a combination of a powerful running game, a great breakaway threat and a solid defense. Pelham’s two-headed fullback combination of Matt Landis and Jon Miller allows the Pelicans to control tempo and the clock, Ke’Shaun Stallworth – nephew of Pittsburgh Steelers great John Stallworth – is a running and receiving dynamo, and their defense allowed just 16 yards rushing by Nanuet in the game.

   That could be an issue for an OLL team that has relied heavily on the ground game, specifically on Jimmy Ryan, who has rushed for 451 yards in two games.

   “We have to get a little more balance between the run and the pass,” Walsh said. “We haven’t had that balance there. We’ve had a couple of big pass plays but, in terms of consistency, we need to create better balance or teams are going to start putting more people in the box to stop the run.”

Four 'Rs' keep pace in MHAL

   RHINEBECK – The four R’s are keeping pace with each other in the Mid-Hudson Athletic League boys’ soccer race.

BOYS' SOCCER

   In Rhinebeck, the defending co-champs used a pair of goals from Matt Fesser and two from Reed Fox to down Millbrook, 5-1. Alex Dietrich had the other goal for Rhinebeck, while Brian Carey scored for the Blazers.

   The Hawks remain undefeated at 5-0 overall.

   In Hyde Park, Roosevelt moved to 4-0 on the season with a 4-0 victory over Onteora. Yury Wajda scored a pair of goals for the Presidents, while Mike Pagano and Patrick Noonan each had one. Goalie Mike Bojko needed to make only two saves to keep the shutout.

   Finally, in Kyserike, it was visiting Red Hook that handed the Ganders their first loss of the year, as Tyler Sivulich scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win. The defending co-champion Raiders are now 4-1-1 overall while Rondout Valle dropped to 4-1.

Haldane rallies to beat Millbrook

   MILLBROOK – What a match!

   Lauren Etta had 16 assists, 15 kills and three aces, as the Haldane High School volleyball team jumped out to a 2-0 lead, was tied at 2-all by Millbrook, but rallied to win the fifth and deciding game for a dramatic 3-2 win over the Blazers on Wednesday.

VOLLEYBALL

   The scores were 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 22-25 and 25-15.

   “It was a great match,” Millbrook coach Shawn Stoliker said. “Both teams just really going at it back and forth, back and forth. Every game could have gone either way.”

   Even the last one. Despite what appears to be a blowout in the finale, it was a game that Millbrook actually led, 7-2, before the Blue Devils rallied.

   “It was a shame to let it go,” Stoliker said, “but give credit to Haldane. They did a great job.”

   Haldane’s Kelsey Flaherty had 12 kills, three aces and three digs, while teammate Dana Solit added eight kills, 16 assists and a pair of aces.

   For Millbrook, Rita Ouimet had 15 kills and four aces; Amanda Riebe had nine kills, four aces, three blocks and nine digs; Megan Dignan had an ace and 21 digs; and Meredith Dignan had an ace and 28 assists.

New Paltz outlasts Wallkill in key tennis matchup

   WALLKILL – Wallkill High School might have the two best girls’ tennis players in the Mid-Hudson Athletic League playing at first and second singles,

GIRLS' TENNIS

   And New Paltz exploited it on Wednesday.

   Wallkill’s Olga Ostrovetsky and Ariel Haber won their respective singles matches, but the Huguenots came back and won the next three to take the match, 3-2, handing the Panthers their first league loss.

   “I give New Paltz a lot of credit for pulling out the win after a really tough loss to Spackenkill (on Tuesday),” Wallkill coach Mike Latino said. “It was either going to be one of two things. Either they were going to come here so bummed about that loss that they weren’t going to play well, or they would be hyped up. They came in and played super. Their doubles teams were almost flawless.”

   After Johanna Cohen won her No. 3 singles match, the first doubles team of Gina Abrams and Julie Cohen beat Sara Riggins and Jessica Baldwin 6-0, 6-3, and the No. 2 doubles tandem of Nicole Kurek and Aliyah Cohn beat Sam Guercio and Olivia Lee, 6-0, 6-4.

   Undefeated Spackenkill plays Wallkill on Monday.

   “At this point, we have to beat Spackenkill to have any chance of winning the league,” Latino said.

Dover steps up in class to beat Jay;

Highland notches first win of the year 

   WICCOPEE – When the Dover High School volleyball team started the season, the Dragons couldn’t get away from five-set matches.

   Now Dover tells the bus driver to keep the engine running.

VOLLEYBALL

   The Dragons, a Class C school, are now 4-1 overall after topping the Class AA Patriots.

   “It was nice to see our level of play elevate,” Dover coach Jen Fisher said. “We are still working out some kinks, but overall it was a nice performance by the girls. We were more consistent today than in our past performances.”

   Katelyn Mayr led the way with 11 kills and six blocks. Kristin Vinci had 11 assists and Becky Harrington had five kills.

   HIGHLAND 3, ELLENVILLE 0 – And the Huskies are on the ‘W’ side of the ledger.

   Gina Rolleri had 10 aces and Highland beat Ellenville, 25-17, 25-15, 25-18, for its first win of the season in six matches.

   Jayna Parker had eight aces, two kills and four assists, and Samantha Panek had four digs.

   PINE PLAINS 3, MONUMENT MOUNTAIN 1 – Mikala Mccauley had 10 aces, six assists, nine kills and a block, leading the host Bombers to the non-league victory over the team from Massachusetts.

  The scores were 25-13, 25-17, 14-25 and 25-14.

   Crystal Day had 10 digs and three kills, and Kate Henderson added eight kills, three digs and an ace as Pine Plains improved to 5-2 overall.

   “The best part of the match was it was a good opportunity to give everybody some playing time,” Bombers coach Bob Stevenson said. “We played pretty well and had a chance to see some kids in action. I mean, Kate is not a starter bt she opened up some eyes out there.”

Poughkeepsie bounces back

   POUGHKEEPSIE – After a tough 1-0 loss to Brewster, Poughkeepsie High School boys’ soccer coach Kurt Jesman wasn’t sure how his kids would bounce back.

   Turns out the kids are all right.

BOYS' SOCCER

   Juan Carlos Gutierrez had tw0 goals and the Pioneers beat Dover, 4-1, in a non-league match.

   Poughkeepsie is now 3-1 overall.

   “We just couldn’t put it in the back of the net against Brewster,” Jesman said. “But today we moved the ball well and kept putting pressure on them.”

   The game was actually tied at 1-1 in the half before Poughkeepsie mad a tactical adjustment to get the ball wider to open up the field. Gutierrez, Ezequial Castellanos and Kevin Wright all scored in the second half for the Pioneers.

   Jorge Aldana had the lone tally for Dover.

   LOURDES 3, ARLINGTON B 0 – Mike Ossolinksi, Pat Kurth and William Alford all scored in a nine-minute span in the second half, giving the Warriors the victory.

   “We were possessing well and were finally able to finish things off,” OLL coach Matt Schlottman said. “The ability to finish plays was the key.”

   SPACKENKILL 11, COLEMAN 0 – Matt Ciago had four goals and an assist, and the Spartans topped winless Coleman in this Mid-Hudson Athletic League match.

   Jefferson Alfaro followed Tuesday’s hat trick with two goals and five assists, and goalie Blake Kawalski came out from the net and played the field, and scored a goal.

   WALLKILL 3, MARLBORO 2 – Patrick Toole and Tyler Lundgren scored three minutes apart midway through the second half, rallying the Panthers to the MHAL victory.

   Lundgren had two goals.

   Haxhi Verjoni and Adam Laubach scored for the Iron Dukes.

TOP PERFORMANCES

Mikala Mccauley, Pine Plains. The sophomore had 10 aces, six assists, nine kills and a block, leading the host Bombers to 3-1 non-league win over Monument Mountain.

Lauren Etta, Haldane. Lauren was all over the place on Wednesday with 16 assists, 15 kills and three aces, leading the Blue Devils to a 3-2 non-league win over Millbrook.

Johanna Cohen; Gina Abrams and Julie Cohen; and Nicole Kurek and Aliyah Cohn, New Paltz. The No. 3 singles player and the two doubles teams for New Paltz all posted critical victories to lead the Huguenots to a 3-2 tennis win over previously unbeaten Wallkill.

Juan Carlos Gutierrez, Poughkeepsie. The senior had tw0 goals for the Pioneers in their 4-1 win over Dover.

Matt Ciago, Spackenkill. Chalk up four goals and an assist for Ciago as the Spartans pounded winless Coleman, 11-0, in a boys’ soccer match.

THIS AND THAT

   Pine Plains field hockey coach Dick Meilinger got win No. 300 on Wednesday as the Bombers beat Spackenkill, 2-0. Meilinger has guided Pine Plains to eight Section Nine championships. But only two local schools have ever won state championship in field hockey – Red Hook in 1993 and John Jay in 1998 and 2002 … The Highland volleyball team won its first match of the year with a 3-0 sweep of Ellenville … Spackenkill has scored 20 goals in its last two boys’ soccer matches.

THEY SAID IT

   “I double-checked on it (Tuesday) night just to make sure.” – Pine Plains coach Dick Meilinger, laughing, as he recounted how he added up the wins to make sure he was on the verge of milestone victory No. 300 – and not some other odd number.

Shot of the year !

New Paltz's Smith cards eagle, nearly misses ace

   MARLBORO – Wow.

   Just … wow.

BOYS' GOLF

   So we can only imagine what it was like to be there to watch him eagle – and almost double-eagle – the ninth and final hole.

   That’s right.

   Smith nearly had a 285-yard hole-in-one on the par-4 hole but ‘settled’ for a tap-in eagle.

   “He hit driver, and the ball made a big pitch mark and hit the stick,” New Paltz coach Kieran Bell said. “They thought it went in at first.”

   Instead, it settled inches from the cup where Smith tapped it in for the eagle and a 36.

   “It was a good day for him and a good day for us,” Bell said. “It was pretty exciting.”

   Smith earned medalist honors. Teammate Ryan Higgins shot a 37 and Mike Beck had a 39. For Marlboro, Dom Porpiglia and Rob Morris had a 39 and a 40, respectively.

Spackenkill holds serve in tennis showdown

   NEW PALTZ – Showdown Week in the Mid-Hudson Athletic League girls’ tennis race began not with a bang, but with a quiet, steady resolve on the part of Spackenkill High School.

GIRLS' TENNIS

   The unbeaten Spartans traveled to unbeaten New Paltz and came away with a 4-1 victory on Tuesday in a matchup of two of the best teams in the league.

   Spackenkill won the first and third singles matches, and both doubles matches.

   “Spackenkill was strong from first singles all the way through its doubles,” New Paltz coach Scott Taylor said.

   At No. 1, Sophia He defeated Jessica Staub by the score of 6-1, 6-4. The two players are familiar with each other – both train at SportsPlex and have played before.

   “This was a real good win for Sophia,” Spackenkill coach Jackie Klein said. “She was real steady.”

   At No. 3 singles, Vanessa Lam-Tran beat Johanna Cohen, 6-2, 6-2.

   “Vanessa is what we call a ‘pusher.’ It’s painful for me to even watch because the points go on so long,” Klein said with a laugh. “But she’s also very steady. Like Sophia, she’s an eighth-grader and she doesn’t get upset very often.”

   At first doubles, Alysson Finck and Martha Engle defeated Gina Abrams and Julia Cohen, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-2), while at No. 2 doubles Sarah Bruley and Jamie Lhungay beat Nicole Kurek and Aliyah Cohn, 6-3, 6-2.

   New Paltz’s Emma Snook had her team’s only win, beating Erin Biskup in three sets, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

   “I was proud of Emma’s mental tenacity to come back when she was down 4-3 in the third set and won it,” Taylor said.

Eufemia, Ryan score first varsity goals to lead Arlington girls 

   FREEDOM PLAINS – How young is the Arlington High School girls’ soccer team? For the third time this season, players scored their first varsity goals.

   Lisa Eufemia and Caroline Ryan both tallied for the first time on Tuesday, and the Admirals squared their record at 2-2 with a 4-0 victory over Yorktown in a non-league game.

GIRLS' SOCCER

   Meghan Moran and Miranda Tarpey also scored for the Admirals.

   Despite the 2-2 mark, Arlington has given up just two goals this season, both in 1-0 losses to start the season. Emily Smith, Sarah Verdis, Kaci Cobb, Megan Burke and Dani Rieland have anchored the Admirals’ defensive effort.

   “They’ve been playing very well and today was just again, not a lot of shots on goal, real tight play by our defense, real solid play,” McIlvenny said.

   HIGHLAND 3, WEBUTUCK 0 – Jennifer Porter scored twice, her sister Stephanie made four saves for her third shutout, and Highland won this Mid-Hudson Athletic League game.

   The Huskies are unbeaten at 3-0 overall.

   “Jennifer did a great job of controlling the midfield, and our defense limited their scoring opportunities,” Highland coach Pete Watkins said.

   Kristy Benicase had a goal and an assist for the Huskies.

   MILLBROOK 6, RHINEBECK 0 – In her first varsity start in goal, Millbrook keeper Megan Revay posted a shutout in this MHAL win.

   The Blazers’ Mallory Peterson had four goals, and Amanda Stewart added the other two. Both players converted on penalty kicks after being taken down in the box during the game.

   Strong defensive play later in the game by eighth-grader Gianna Muscari help seal the shut out for Millbrook.

   ELLENVILLE 2, PINE PLAINS 1 – Regina Steele and Jillian Shamro both scored for the Blue Devils in this MHAL win.

   Cristina Cummings had the lone goal for the Bombers.
   SOMERS 3, KETCHAM 0 – The visiting Indians did a good job of playing the Tuskers to a scoreless draw in the first half.

   “The second half, Somers took advantage of some miscues and poor communication through the midfield,” RCK coach Chris Calimano said.

   Ketcham goalie Kate Riedy had 12 saves in a solid performance, and Christina Oguntu anchored the defensive line.

Spackenkill golf stays unbeaten

   POUGHKEEPSIE – The Spackenkill High School golf team posted another division win Tuesday, improving its record to 6-0 in the Mid-Hudson Athletic League with a 168-186 win over Ellenville.

   The match was played at McCann Memorial Golf Course.

   Medalist was Kyle Martin, who shot a 41 that included a birdie and three pars. Ian Wilson and  Stanley Garrant both shot 42 for the Spartans, while team captain Andrew Devenny contributed a solid 43.

   Kyle Reilly led Ellenville with a 45.

FIELD HOCKEY

   YORKTOWN – Jenna DeRario scored off an assist by Carly Kyte, but the Roy C. Ketcham High School field hockey team allowed two second-half goals and fell to Yorktown on Tuesday, 3-1.

   “It was a very evenly matched game,” Ketcham coach Erin Mulligan said. “Jenna DeRario had a strong game in the midfield with excellent ball-handling skills. Casey Herzog played aggressively on the wing helping the team maintain possession of the ball. We struggled to transition our game to turf. It is a much faster game than on grass.”

BOYS’ SOCCER

   POUGHKEEPSIE – Justin Hart and Jefferson Alfaro each had a pair of goals to lead Spackenkill to a 9-0 win over a young Pine Plains team in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League match.

   “I thought we did an outstanding job of possessing the ball,” Spartans coach Manny Blanco said. “Our defensive play started with the forwards today and we didn't give up a shot until 35 minutes into the game, and only one shot in the second half.”

GIRLS’ TENNIS

   FREEDOM PLAINS – Beth Comatos and Chynna Faucek both battled to three set victories at first and second singles, including tiebreakers in their respective third sets, leading the Arlington High School girls’ tennis team to a 4-3 victory over Our Lady of Lourdes.

VOLLEYBALL

   MARLBORO – Samantha Rapoli had a whopping 21 assists – having a hand in almost a third of her team’s points – and the Red Hook High School volleyball team swept Marlboro, 25-16, 25-20 and 25-16.

   Rapoli also had an ace. Kristina Blackwell had five aces and five kills, and Emily Howard had five kills and six digs for the Raiders.

   For Marlboro, Angelica DeSantis had seven assists, Pheebee Casiano had four kills and five digs, and Rebecca Graziosi had eight digs.

TOP PERFORMERS

• Kyle Smith, New Paltz. Gotta give it up to the Huguenot golfer. His near hole-in-one that became a tap-in eagle on the 285-yard par-4 ninth hole at Turtle Creek just might be the shot of the year so far.

• Samantha Rapoli, Red Hook. Sam had a hand in almost a third of her team’s points with 21 assists and an ace in a Red Hook volleyball sweep of Marlboro.

• Justin Hart and Jefferson Alfaro, Spackenkill. The duo each had a pair of goals in the Spartans 9-0 boys’ soccer win over Pine Plains.

• Jennifer and Stephanie Porter, Highland. One’s offense, one’s defense. Jennifer had two goals and Stephanie had the shutout in goal as the Huskies beat Webutuck, 3-0, in girls’ soccer.

THIS AND THAT

   New Paltz and Poughkeepsie both jumped into the state football rankings this week. It will be interesting to see if fellow unbeatens Marlboro, Roosevelt, John Jay and Lourdes will be recognized by the NYS Sportswriters Association if they win this week and maintain their undefeated status … One match down, another to go. Unbeaten Spackenkill met unbeaten New Paltz in a girls’ tennis match on Tuesday, and the Spartans won 4-1. Now unbeaten Wallkill plays New Paltz today, while Spackenkill and Wallkill meet Monday … Arlington’s Lisa Eufemia and Caroline Ryan scored their first varsity goals, and Millbrook’s Megan Revay pitched a shutout in her first varsity start in goal.

THEY SAID IT

   “There’s a lot of pressure put on these girls. It’s a new team, but everybody looks at you as the third-ranked team in the country and you have a target on your back.” – John Jay girls’ soccer coach Darryl Sullivan after his team’s 4-3 overtime loss to Briarcliff.

Fox's missiles lead Hawks

   BOICEVILLE – The Rhinebeck High School boys’ soccer team shared the Mid-Hudson Athletic League championship last year. New Onteora coach Eric Pezzelo now knows why.

   “I see no reason why Rhinebeck should not take it solely this year,” Pezzelo said after his Indians lost to the Hawks, 4-1, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game. “They’re a solid, legit team from top to bottom. They have many skilled players and many skilled subs. They’re a hard-working, disciplined team.”

   Reed Fox had the hat trick for Rhinebeck, while teammate Max Fesser added the fourth goal for the 4-0 Hawks.

   Hudson Bielicki had Onteora’s lone tally.

   “It was 1-1 at halftime and we’re feeling good,” Pezzelo said. “But Reed Fox just took us with footwork. Twice he beat our defenders off the ball and he just as a missile for a shot. He’s a talented kid.”

Arlington overcomes Monday blues

Monday, Monday …. Can’t trust that day

  YORKTOWN – Could be the long weekend, could be getting back into the routine of the school week, could be a number of things.

  But for some reason, the Arlington High School boys’ soccer team just doesn’t like Mondays.

   “Monday matches just always seem to be a difficult time for us,” Admirals coach Craig Sanborn said after his team awoke in the second half to beat Yorktown, 2-0, in a non-league match on … um … Monday.

   Myles Ashong and Ryan Miller both scored goals in the second half for Arlington, the state’s sixth-ranked team in Class AA and a perfect 4-0 to start the season.

   “In the first half we were a little sluggish,” Sanborn said. “We even trained (Sunday) to loosen them up a little bit and get them into it, but we just struggle on Mondays. There’s not as much movement as we’d like, it seems.”

   The second half was, well, like any other day of the week except Monday. The Admirals were fluid and moved the ball, and their strikers started to free themselves from Yorktown’s defenders.

   Ashong scored the first goal when Mike Kimble delivered a ball to him from the flank, and Miller scored on a header on a nice ball from Jeff Gradlick.

   The Admirals are home to Mahopac …. on Friday.

Victories set up great week of MHAL girls' tennis showdowns

   MARLBORO – It will be an early-season showdown for Mid-Hudson Athletic League girls’ tennis supremacy – or part of it, anyway – today, Wednesday and Friday.

GIRLS' TENNIS

   Spackenkill beat Roosevelt, 5-0, while New Paltz dominated Onteora by the same score. The Huguenots' Jessica Staub, Emma Snook and Johanna Cohen, among the deepest top three in the league, won their respective singles matches.

   Wallkill beat Marlboro, 4-1, as Olga Ostrovetsky won her No. 1 singles match over Christina Nigro, 6-1, 6-1, and defending MHAL champion Ariel Haber – now Wallkill’s No. 2 singles player after falling to Ostrovetsky in the preseason challenge – beat Eliza Shillieto, 6-0, 6-0.

   Marlboro’s Angela Corrado won her team’s lone match with a victory at third singles.

      Spackenkill and New Paltz square off today. Wallkill and New Paltz will face off in Wallkill on Wednesday, and then the Panthers play Spackenkill on Friday.

Smith's two long goals lift Wallkill

   WALLKILL – Christine Smith had two long goals off direct kicks, and Annie Valiando scored back-to-back goals in the second half, as the Wallkill High School girls’ soccer team outlasted Marlboro, 5-4, in a wild Mid-Hudson Athletic League game on Monday afternoon.

GIRLS' SOCCER

   The Panthers remain unbeaten at 2-0-2 overall.

   “It was a very good game,” Wallkill coach Jenn Gravelle said. “I think we still have some work to do, but it was a very good game.”

   Wallkill led 3-1 at the half but Marlboro hung around on the strength of two Andrea Schoonmaker penalty kicks following two fouls in the box.

   Melanie Siano added a goal for the Panthers.

   HIGHLAND 2, BURKE 0 – In Highland, the Huskies used goals from Jenna Moretti and Kristy Benicase to take this non-league game.

   “It was not a pretty first half,” Huskies coach Pete Watkins said, “but we played much better in the second half.”

   Moretti’s goal came nine minutes into the game, but Highland didn’t score again until Benicase tallied at the 64:01 mark.

   Stephanie Porter had six saves for the shutout.

   “Carly Bilchak, Samantha Valentino and Jennifer Porter did a good job on defense and controlled the second half,” Watkins added.

TOP PERFORMERS

• Reed Fox, Rhinebeck. We’re tempted to say he’s crazy like a …, well, you know, but that would be too cliché. This Fox is just flat-out good, and he had the hat trick on Monday in Rhinebeck’s 4-1 win over Onteora.

• Felipe Cortes, Adam Laubach and Jevi Verjoni, Marlboro. The trio each had two goals to lead the Iron Dukes to their first win over the year, 10-1 over Pine Plains.

• Jeff Bennett, John Jay. Call him Mr. Clutch for coming up with the overtime goal that kept the Patriots unbeaten in boys’ soccer after a 2-1 win over John Jay Cross River.

• Christine Smith, Wallkill. Two long goals – real long – off of direct kicks helped the Panthers beat Marlboro, 5-4, in a girls’ soccer match.

THIS AND THAT

   With Monday’s victory, Marlboro boys’ soccer coach Gene Ventriglia won his first high school game in 23 years. Ventriglia previously coached at New Paltz and Highland, amassing a 233-33-15 mark in 16 years before moving on to start the women’s soccer program at Army. Now make it 234 career high school wins after the Iron Dukes won their first of the year, a 10-1 decision over Pine Plains … The MHAL girls’ tennis races will go a long way toward sorting themselves out when unbeaten Spackenkill plays unbeaten New Paltz today; unbeaten Wallkill meets New Paltz on Wednesday and hosts Spackenkill on Friday … What on earth did the Dover volleyball team do with all that time on its hands last night? After going the max and playing 15 games in its first three matches, the Dragons swept Beacon in three on Monday in a non-league match.

THEY SAID IT

“Monday matches just always seem to be a difficult time for us,” Arlington boys’ soccer coach Craig Sanborn said after his team shook off a sluggish first half to beat Yorktown, 2-0. 

Pawling drops suspended game to Pearl River

   PEARL RIVER – In a game that took three days to complete, the Pearl River High School football team beat Pawling, 29-0, on Sunday afternoon.

   The Tigers are now 1-1 on the season.

   The game actually began on Thursday afternoon, but heavy rains and lightning forced the suspension of several games that were being played that day in the Westchester County area, including Pawling’s.

   Because of the observance of Yom Kippur, Sunday was the first chance the two teams could resume the contest.  

Marist serves up goodwill

   POUGHKEEPSIE – One of his goals on becoming coach of the Marist College men’s basketball team two years ago was to ingratiate himself, and his team, into the community.

   On Saturday, Chuck Martin and the Red Foxes did just that.

   The team volunteered its time at the Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority, Inc. Soup Kitchen at Beulah Baptist Church (Reverend Jesse V. Bottoms, Jr., Pastor). Members of the team helped to serve more than 100 people.

   “There’s no better way to serve the people of our community than through a soup kitchen,” Marist head coach Chuck Martin said. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for our young guys to learn about what’s taking place in different cities, and how fortunate we are to be in the position we’re in.”

   Alpha Kappa Alpha Soroity, Inc., was founded in 1908 on the campus of Howard University.  Iota Alpha Omega Chapter, the local chapter, which has more than 50 members, has been serving the Mid-Hudson Valley since 1969. The community-service based sorority has a motto of “Service to All Mankind.”

   The AKA Soup Kitchen at Beulah Baptist Church has been held the third Saturday of September for over 15 years.

Ryan's big night a standout

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

   When Brian Walsh took over the Our Lady of Lourdes High School football program in the offseason, changes were expected.

   In addition to the new coach, there was a new coaching staff, a new offense, new defense and a new attitude.

   But some things stay the same and, at heart, Walsh is the kind of coach who likes to run the ball. And Jimmy Ryan is the kind of back who likes to take the ball and run with it.

   Ryan had his second consecutive big game for the Warriors, rushing for 250 yards and five touchdowns on Thursday night to lead OLL to a 47-24 victory over Irvington.

   For that performance, Ryan is this week’s Hudson Valley Sports Report Athlete of the Week.

   Other candidates in contention this week included:

• Poughkeepsie quarterback Fabian Stone had a nice day for somebody who only worked the first half. Stone competed 8-of-9 passes for 283 yards and four touchdowns in the Pioneers’ 63-0 romp over Brewster.

• Aaron Morganstern rushed for 201 yards and a pair of scores, and Ketcham won its first football game of the year with a 26-12 decision over Ramapo.

• Talk about clutch. Facing a 24-16 deficit in the pivotal third game, Millbrook’s Rita Ouimet reeled off eight consecutive service points to tie the game. The Blazers eventually won the game, and the match, against Pine Plains.

• Another great game for Millbrook’s Peter Keenan, who ran for 220 yards and four scores, as the Blazers moved to 3-0 with a 35-6 win over O’Neill.

• Peter Ljucovic scored four goals, all in a row, and the Arlington boys’ soccer team opened the season at 2-0 with a 10-0 non-conference win over John F. Kennedy.

   Ryan has a whopping 451 yards rushing through two games, both Warrior victories. Against Irvington, he only touched the ball 13 times to achieve his 250 yards – an amazing 19.2 yards per carry.

     “He’s something, that’s for sure,” Walsh said. “He’s running out of the I, and boy he had some real nice runs.”

   Ryan scored the first time he touched the ball and had touchdowns of 77 yards, 15, 17, 6 and 47 yards.

   The Warriors host Pelham on Friday night.

Key matchups highlight week

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

   It’s another big week of competition for our local high school teams, with more terrific matchups across every sport.

   Here’s a quick primer on what to expect starting today.

MONDAY

   The two-time defending state girls’ soccer champions will be in action today when John Jay visits Scarsdale. The Patriots are expected to start out as the No.1 Class AA team in the state when the New York State Sportswriters Association releases its rankings later this week.

   The rankings are already out for boys’ soccer, and No. 6 Arlington travels to Yorktown today.

TUESDAY

   A full slate of Mid-Hudson Athletic League girls’ soccer games on this day, including Roosevelt hosting Onteora. The Presidents will look to get back to their winning ways after suffering a surprising 2-0 loss to Marlboro after opening the year with three straight wins.

   Most of the Section One field hockey teams are in action, with Arlington, Jay, Ketcham and Lourdes going on the road, while Dover hosts Putnam Valley.

   Rondout hosts Roosevelt in golf, looking to keep its unbeaten mark intact.

   Finally, as Tuesdays usually are, big day for cross country meets as well.

WEDNESDAY

   The Rhinebeck boys’ soccer team, defending MHAL co-champions, host Millbrook on Wednesday while last year’s other co-champ, Red Hook, is on the road at unbeaten Rondout in a key game.

   Huge matchup out in Freedom Plains as the defending Section One, Class AA volleyball champions host perennial power Suffern. Also in volleyball, Dover goes to John Jay for an interesting non-league matchup.

THURSDAY

   A couple of MHAL night games on tap in boys’ soccer. Marlboro hosts Saugerties on the new turf, while Millbrook will turn on the lights on its field for a game against Highland.

   Plenty of big games in girls’ soccer, particularly in the MHAL where Roosevelt goes to Red Hook and Wallkill visits Onteora.

   In girls’ tennis, Marlboro becomes the latest team to try to stop the Spartan juggernaut when the Dukes visit Spackenkill.

   Great non-league matchup in field hockey when Arlington hosts Pawling.

FRIDAY

   Friday Night Lights, as nine games are on tap on this night. Ketcham plays the third of three straight road games with a huge league matchup at Carmel, while Poughkeepsie plays its third consecutive home game by hosting Hendrick Hudson. Also, a critical Section Nine, Class B game in Marlboro, where the Iron Dukes host Spackenkill.

   In boys’ soccer, Roosevelt is hosting a two-day tournament, John Jay has a night game at home against Brewster, and Red Hook hosts Valley Central in an interesting non-league game.

SATURDAY

   Biggest matchup of the week? John Jay at Arlington football, 4 p.m. kickoff in Freedom Plains.

   Roosevelt finishes off its boys’ soccer tournament starting at 10 a.m., while Marlboro hosts Spackenkill in a night game.

Wilson: Moving to Section Nine is the "best recommendation"

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

   City of Poughkeepsie Schools Superintendent Dr. Laval Wilson said that Dutchess County high schools continue to investigate whether to move their athletic teams from Westchester County-based Section One to Ulster- and Orange-based Section Nine.

   “I think we’re going to try to go forth and hit the (application) deadline and see how much progress we make,” Wilson told Hudson Valley Sports Report.

   The application deadline is Nov. 30.

   Hudson Valley Sports Report first reported on Sept. 9 that the Dutchess County schools still participating athletically in Section One – Arlington, John Jay, Roy C. Ketcham, Poughkeepsie, Our Lady of Lourdes, Beacon, Dover and Pawling – have banded together as a group and approached Section Nine about joining the section.

   The effort is being spearheaded at the superintendent level by Wilson and by Millbrook Superintendent Dr. R. Lloyd Jaeger, whose Dutchess County school already competes in Section Nine.

   “We’re going forth to explore the possibility,” Wilson said. “The basic issue is to reduce the amount of travel time for our student-athletes. We had talked about forming a new section (Section Twelve), but when we explored this with the Ulster-BOCES superintendents, the idea came forth about us possibly joining their leagues. That, I think, is my best recommendation at this point.”

   JOY AT RONDOUT VALLEY – After being forced to put its varsity football program on the shelf in 2009 due to low turnout, Rondout Valley High School won its first game since October of 2008 when it beat Pine Plains, 18-12, in four overtimes.

   As best we can tell, it just might be the first four-OT game played by area teams since the OT rules went into effect.

   John Seils did the honors, scoring for the second time on the day with a five-yard run in the fourth OT to give the Ganders the victory.

   DOT, DOT, DOT – Gotta give it up for Pine Plains field hockey player Sarah Beam. She pitched a shutout in goal in the first half of her team’s field hockey game on Friday, but with the two sides scoreless at the break and the Bombers needing and offensive boost, coach Dick Mielinger inserted her at forward and she scored her first three varsity goals … Speaking of which, Arlington sophomore Allie Puschkarsh scored her first two varsity goals in a 4-0 girls’ soccer win over Warwick … Re-do the rankings ! The Rhinebeck boys’ soccer team is ranked eighth in the state, and certainly deserving. One problem – the New York State Sportswriters Association has the Hawks No. 8 in Class C when they moved up to Class B this season.

TEAM OF THE WEEK – The Beacon girls’ soccer team is off to a terrific start. Not only are the Bulldogs 4-0, but they won twice last week and all four wins have been by shutout. Beacon has now scored 14 goals this season without giving up a single tally.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

   “I think our team defense has been good and I think we have an incredible sweeper in Tori Alexander. Nobody can get by her. And if a ball does get by her, she just turns and runs it down. It’s an amazing insurance plan.” – Beacon girls’ soccer coach Jeff Matus on his track star/sweeper, Tori Alexander.

Marlboro posts second straight shutout

   MARLBORO – After a slow start, the Marlboro High School girls’ soccer team is hot.

GIRLS' SOCCER

   Emily McDonough scored two goals (just like against FDR) and the Dukes pitched another shutout (just like against FDR), beating James I. O’Neill 2-0 in a non-league game.

   Marlboro is now 2-2 on the season.

   “I thought our defense played well and we were able to contain their dangerous attack,” Marlboro coach Jimmy Ventriglia said.

   Defender Andrea Woods assisted on McDonough’s second goal.

   Brittany Ortiz earned her second straight shutout for the Dukes.

Early mistakes cost Beacon

   PORT CHESTER – Take away the first quarter and the Beacon High School football team played Port Chester to a draw.

   But you can’t take away what happened in the first 12 minutes, as much as new Bulldogs coach Brian Mahon would like to.

   “The first quarter was a nightmare and it was the difference in the game,” Mahon said after the Bulldogs lost to Port Chester, 20-8, in a non-league game on Saturday to drop to 0-2 on the season.

   Beacon had two major gaffes in the first quarter, fumbling once inside its own 5 yard line and, after Port Chester took advantage with a touchdown, fumbling the ensuing kickoff inside its own 30. Once again PC took advantage and had a quick 14-0 lead.

   “Mental mistakes,” said Mahon, who nonetheless appears to have Beacon pointed in the right direction. Last week the Bulldogs held a fourth-quarter lead against Staten Island’s Moore Catholic – an undefeated team last year that returned 15 starters – before falling.

   “I just felt like we didn’t come out to play football until the second quarter,” he said. “We made a game of it, but it’s hard to come back when you put yourself in a hole like that.”

   Skyler Maldonado scored Beacon’s only touchdown in the fourth quarter on a three-yard run. Quarterback Chas DelBene threw for 139 yards – 108 of them to Alex Bowen – but he also threw two picks.

   “We have to boost up their confidence starting on Monday and not let them get down on themselves,” Mahon said. “I feel we do have a very good team.”

   Mark Bracey led the Beacon defensive effort with eight tackles and a sack. Middle linebacker Chris Fragomeni separated his shoulder in the first quarter and did not return.

Beacon post fourth straight shutout

   BEACON – Four games, four shutouts.

   The Beacon High School girls’ soccer team is off to a terrific start this season, posting its fourth shutout in as many games as the Bulldogs beat Millbrook, 2-0, in a non-league game on Friday.

   Beacon has now scored 14 goals this season without giving up a single tally.

   “I thought it was our most challenging game of the season,” Beacon coach Jeff Matus said. “They have a real nice team so it was a nice win for us.”

   Kayla Zukowski and Anni Jacketti scored for the Bulldogs while Jessie Somko and Carolann DelBene shared the shutout.

Wallkill tops New Paltz

Photo By Ed Diller, Hudson Valley Sports Photo Network

   WALLKILL – It’s still early in the Mid-Hudson Athletic League soccer season, but some things are already clear.

   Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Roosevelt and Rondout Valley high schools are all off to strong starts and are expected to compete for the title shared by Red Hook and Rhinebeck last year.

   But you can think about throwing Wallkill into that mix as well.

   The Panthers won for the second time in three starts on Friday as Tyler Lundgren’s second goal, a penalty shot, proved to be the difference.

   Pat Toole also scored for Wallkill, which is now 2-1 in the MHAL, while Trevor Meyer had a pair of goals for the Huguenots.

   RED HOOK 2, SAUGERTIES 0 – Zach Martin scored on a beautiful free kick from midfield that surprised the Sawyers’ keeper, and Kyle Murphy also scored as the Raiders remained unbeaten in MHAL play at 3-0.

Snook, Cohen win as NP stays unbeaten

NEW PALTZ – Emma Snook and Johanna Cohen each won their No. 2 and No. 3 singles matches, respectively, and the New Paltz High School girls’ tennis team remained unbeaten with a 4-1 victory over Red Hook on Friday in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League match.

GIRLS' TENNIS

   “Emma and Johanna continue to shine at second and third singles,” New Paltz coach Scott Taylor said. “I was also pleased with second doubles of Nicole and Aliyah, who served, returned and volleyed well.”

   Nicole Kurek and Aliyah Cohen beat Chloe Goff and Kerstin Coons, 6-2, 6-1.

   Ella Lindholm-Vizzi picked up Red Hook’s lone win at No. 1 singles, beating Jessica Staub 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Offense? Defense? Beam does it all

   PINE PLAINS – Early candidate for most versatile player of the year? Pine Plains High School’s Sarah Beam.

FIELD HOCKEY

   Beam pitched a shutout in goal in the first half of her team’s field hockey game on Friday, but with the two sides scoreless at the break and the Bombers needing and offensive boost, coach Dick Mielinger inserted her at forward.

   The upshot?

   Beam scored her first three varsity goals of her career, a natural hat trick to lead Pine Plains to a 3-0 non-league win over Coxsackie-Athens.

   It was the first win of the year for the Bombers, who are now 1-1.

   “She really did a great job,” Meilinger said. “She gave us a spark and the whole team played well. We’re still young but we’re improving.”

   Amelia McGee held the shutout for Pine Plains with her work in goal in the second half.

Huskies top Red Hook, win first of the season

   RED HOOK – After an 0-2 start that included losses by a combined 55 points, the Highland High School football team was against a wall.

   It turned out to be the perfect time for the Huskies’ best effort of the season.

   Mike Forte rushed for 142 yards and Highland went on the road and beat Red Hook, 32-7, in a Section Nine, Class B game on Thursday afternoon.

   “We needed that one,” Highland coach Carl Relyea said. “I mean, we needed that one.”

   Ironically, it didn’t start that way.

   “The first half, we were a little sloppy,” Relyea said. “We coughed it up three times to end three long drives.”

   But in the second half, it was a different story. Forte returned a punt for a touchdown to give Highland a little more breathing room, and the Huskies began to flourish in the ground game.

   Defensively, the Huskies made a big change that appeared to help.

   “We went in with a completely different defense,” Relyea said “We changed our defensive scheme because of what they were running and they probably practiced all week against our old defense.”

OLL's Ryan runs wild again ...

   POUGHKEEPSIE – The New York State record for most 200-yard rushing games in a single high school season is 11, shared by Harrison’s Sam Maldonado and Onondaga’s Mike Hart, who went on to have an outstanding career at the University of Michigan.

   At this point, it’s awfully early in the season, and it would take a long run in the state playoffs for his team to even play 11 games, but Our Lady of Lourdes tailback Jimmy Ryan is certainly worth keeping an eye on.

   After a season-opening 201 yards rushing last week, Ryan did himself even better on Thursday night, going for 250 yards on the ground on just 13 carries, scoring five touchdowns along the way as OLL blew away Irvington, 47-24, in its home opener at its new digs at Overlook Park.

   The Warriors are now 2-0 on the season.

   “He’s something, that’s for sure,” Lourdes coach Brian Walsh said. “He’s running out of the I and boy he had some real nice runs.”

   Ryan scored on runs of 77, 15, 17, six and 47 yards in a game that was nowhere near being close, as the Warriors rolled to a 47-7 lead.

   Sebastian DiGuisto had a 65-yard scoring run for OLL. Defensively, Lourdes frustrated Irvington’s spread offense as the visitors completed only 16 of 43 passes. The Warriors had four interceptions from Ryan, Mike Krieger and Chad and Travis Wallace, each one leading to a score.

... and so does Millbrook's Keenan

Mahopac stuns Arlington with late TD

   MAHOPAC – Dominick DeMatteo was succinct and to the point.

   “We blew it,” the Arlington High School football coach said after his team suffered a heart-breaking 15-14 loss to Mahopac Thursday night in a Section One, Class AA, League North game. “We let them hang around, hang around, hang around, and it cost us.”

   Arlington held a 14-7 lead late in the game but lost it when Mahopac quarterback T.J. Foley found Ryan Wagner for an eight-yard touchdown pass with 1:43 remaining. Mahopac lined up for the extra point but it turned out to be a fake and instead went for a two-point pass conversion and a 15-14 lead.

   Arlington, which received a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown from Tyler Murphy and a 70-yard scoring run by Tyler O’Dell, got the ball back and drove into Mahopac territory before fumbling it away with 30 seconds to go.

   “I really thought we were going to pull it out there, but it wasn’t so much that as it was what happened during the course of the night,” DeMatteo said. “We played great defense against them. They couldn’t move the ball at all in the second half. The problem was, we weren’t finishing on offense. We moved the ball well but we couldn’t close the deal.”

   Now Arlington plays a critical game at home Saturday against John Jay, hoping to avoid an 0-2 league start.

   “Our backs are against the wall a little bit,” DeMatteo said. “The short week was tough, but now we have the long week to prepare. I’m confident our kids will respond.”

Morganstern, RCK bounce back for win

   RAMAPO – Character. The Roy C. Ketcham High School football team displayed a lot of it on Thursday night.

   That and some good ol’ fashioned physical football.

   Competing without three suspended players who were involved in an altercation at the conclusion of last week’s loss to Scarsdale, the Indians rode their offensive and defensive lines to victory, beating Ramapo 26-12 in a non-league game.

   RCK is now 1-1 heading into next week’s big league showdown with Carmel.

   “We prepped the kids real well,’’ Ketcham coach Pat Keevins said. “We got some different looks. Our kids just hustled. We played fast. We didn’t play like a bunch of young kids tonight.”

   The Indians simply controlled the line of scrimmage, rushing for 351 yards on the night and barely throwing the ball but a couple of times. Doing most of the damage was senior running back Aaron Morganstern, who ran for 201 yards on 22 carries and scored twice.

   “We just got into a rhythm running the ball,” Keevins said.

   Ketcham so dominated the line that it held the ball for 20 of the 24 minutes in the second half.