Marlboro, Saugerties play to wild 5-5 girls' soccer tie

MARLBORO – Who said draws in soccer had to be boring?

GIRLS' SOCCER

Emily McDonough had the hat trick for Marlboro, while Alexis Wadsworth and Sarah Nowak added a goal each.

Taylor Lynch and Christina Averill had two goals apiece for the Sawyers, and Shannon Averill added a goal.

Grogan, DeRario lead RCK field hockey

WAPPINGERS FALLS – Erin Grogan and Jenna DeRario each scored in the first half, and the Roy C

FIELD HOCKEY

“It was a wet finish to the week. We didn't play our game yesterday because of the rain and then ended up playing in the rain today,” Ketcham coach Erin Mulligan said. “The girls seemed to struggle to get focused. Jenna DeRario scored on a very well placed penalty stroke and as always her stick work and ball handling skills were key to our success. Kara McConologue has been doing a great job in goal. It is her first year on varsity and she has really stepped up to the challenge.”

Ketcham is now 4-1 on the season heading into Monday’s league game against Arlington.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Palmer's hat trick lifts Admirals

CARMEL – The night time seems to be the right time for Shannon Palmer.

GIRLS' SOCCER

Arlington is now 4-1 overall coming off the tough loss to state-ranked John Jay.

“It was fun to play under the lights and the girls were up for it after we lost the tight match to John Jay,” Arlington coach Kieran McIlvenny said. “We worked on some stuff (Wednesday) and the girls came out excited to play. I thought we controlled a good portion of the game, and we got everybody some playing time, which was nice.”

Miranda Tarpey had the fourth goal for Arlington, which travels to Yorktown on Saturday morning for a league game.

Hey! Who is Arlington's Parker Howard and where did his 511 yards rushing in two games come from?

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

Who, exactly, is Parker Howard and where did he come from?

Arlington High School football coach Dominick DeMatteo laughed when asked the question about his junior running back, who has amassed an area-best 511 yards rushing in just two games.

“He’s a great kid, just a great kid,” DeMatteo said. “He was on the jayvee last year and we had him practice with the varsity from time to time because he showed signs of potential.”

Potential realized.

Heading into tonight’s big game against Mahopac in a matchup of two undefeated teams, Howard and the Admirals are feeling pretty good about themselves. Howard rushed for 184 yards in Arlington’s season-opening win against Suffern, and then exploded for 327 yards in a victory over Yorktown last week.

DeMatteo said that while Howard has great talent, an equal share of the credit should go to the offensive line.

“I think our line does a great job of delivering him through the first level, meaning he’s not taking a lot of hits from the defensive line,” the coach said. “He’s a slasher. He has a receiver’s body. He gets through relatively unscathed. On the second level, he can make people miss tackles.”

Arlington rotates several players on its starting offensive line, including centers Dan Pelish and Michael Rabadi, guards Robert Barbieri, Logan Murphy and Reid Ferris, and tackles Devin Tasciotti, Eric Kuklinsky and Anthony Dabney. And then there’s Jimmy McCabe, one of the best blocking tight ends in the area.

The Admirals will need all of them clicking tonight when the host defending league champion Mahopac.

“We know all about them; this is our fifth year in a row playing them,” DeMatteo said. “They’re very well-coached on both sides of the ball and on special teams. They’re very aggressive on defense. Offensively, they run their schemes very well.”

DeMatteo actually still lives in Mahopac so he knows what the team means to the community.

“They have great support,” he said. “It’s always been a big sports community and I’m sure they’ll have a lot of people up (tonight). It’s going to be a great game.”

Walsh, OLL to wear patches to support MD awareness

Westchester who? Dutchess-Ulster teams holding their own this season

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

So, let’s get this straight. They say the high school football up here in our neck of the woods isn’t as good as it is down in Westchester or Rockland counties.

That’s been a label since I started covering sports in this area in 1986. And probably before that.

But, lo and behold, take a look at some of the records going into this week’s games. Arlington is 2-0. John Jay is 2-0. Beacon is 2-0. Dover is 2-0. Haldane is 2-0. Poughkeepsie is 2-0. And Red Hook is 3-0!

And we have five more teams sporting 2-1 records (Roosevelt, Wallkill, Spackenkill, Marlboro and New Paltz), and Ketcham and Lourdes are both 1-1.

I’d say Dutchess and Ulster county football is doing just fine.

ON DECK – Some great, great games this weekend. On Friday night, Arlington hosts Mahopac in a matchup of undefeated teams, Highland goes to New Paltz, Roosevelt is at Newburgh, Wallkill is at Cornwall in a humongous Section Nine, Class A game, Red Hook hosts Hudson, Ellenville goes to Liberty and Pine Plains is at Fallsburg.

On Saturday, unbeatens Poughkeepsie and Eastchester square off, Valhalla is at Pawling, Haldane goes to Woodlands, Dover hosts Lincoln Hall, Beacon is at Yonkers, Lourdes visits Croton-Harmon, Saugerties visits Monticello, Millbrook is at Burke, Rondout Valley hosts Marlboro, Spackenkill travels to Onteora, and Ketcham goes down the road to take on archrival John Jay.

On the collegiate level, Marist is home to Georgetown and goes on the road to David Letterman’s alma mater to play Ball State.

GAME(S) OF THE WEEK – Mahopac at Arlington. Last year, the Indians stunned Arlington in the midst of their magical season, using a late touchdown and then a fake extra point for a two-point conversion and the win.

This year, the two teams aren’t in the same league any more so this is considered a crossover game, but it’s still a big matchup for both teams.

“So far, with a fairly young team, this season has been all about making adjustments and corrections,” Arlington coach Dominick DeMatteo said. “The good news is, when we make the corrections, the kids really seem to get it and grasp it right away.”

Ketcham at John Jay. Terrific matchup between two terrific quarterbacks – RCK’s Kevin Duke and Jay’s Danny Bogucki – in the annual war between the two Wappingers Central School District rivals.

“Kevin Duke has been tremendous for us,” Ketcham coach Pat Keevins said. “He’s a special player.”

The Indians opened the season with a 22-point loss to Mahopac but staged a fourth quarter comeback last week to beat Mamaroneck, 21-20.

“We were very pleased with the kids last week for bouncing back, showing they could come back, and come from a two-score deficit. It bodes well for the future,” Keevins said. “Jay is one of the biggest teams in the section and has one of the best backs in the section (Bobby Hendeerson). We felt like Week One was not a good showing for us. Week Two was better, and we want to get better this week.”

Jay is 2-0 with two blowout wins.

MOST INTRIGUING MATCHUP – Roosevelt at Newburgh. The Presidents are playing a team ranked in the state’s Top 25 for the second time in three weeks. FDR is 2-1 while NFA is off to a 3-0 start.

“We saw them at the Mid-Hudson Camp over the summer and I’ve seen two of their games. They’re tough to prepare for,” Roosevelt coach Brian Bellino said. “They run the Delaware Wing-T and you don’t see that a lot in Section Nine. That poses problems. For one, it’s tough to get a good scout look at practice because kids don’t know how to run it. The second thing is, you have to teach different reads, different ways to look at it, on defense. It’s more of a discipline. There’s a lot of misdirection involved. But this is a great test for our kids.”

KEEP AN EYE ON …. Dover. The Dragons are home to Lincoln Hall on Saturday with a chance to go 3-0 before the annual showdown with archrival Pawling next week.

“It’s exciting,” Dover coach Chris Lounsbury said. “It’s exciting for the players and exciting for the school. Lincoln Hall will be tough. They have some good skill position players and great speed on the perimeter. We have to do a good job of setting the edge on defense and pushing the runners back into the middle.”

ON THE SPOT – Onteora, Pine Plains and Ellenville. These are the only three winless teams left in Dutchess and Ulster. Clearly the problems are on offense – between the three of them, they’ve only scored a combined 64 points in eight games.

BY THE NUMBERS – Red Hook and Beacon have the top defenses in the area right now. The Raiders are giving up an average of four points per game over their first three games, while the Bulldogs have given up six total points – all in the first game win over Lourdes – in two weeks of play … Dover is scoring an average of 43 points per game after two games, the high mark in the Hudson Valley … And, of course, just to show you not to read too much into stats, Wallkill is allowing 27.6 points per game – but the Panthers still have a winning record at 2-1 thanks to a prolific offense scoring 32 points per game.

LAST WEEK – An awful 14-7 mark. I should make myself run the stadium steps.

Hart's hat trick leads Spartans past Webutuck

POUGHKEEPSIE – Justin Hart had the hat trick – and Sean Lanza had the hat trick in assists – as the Spackenkill High School boys’ soccer team knocked off Webutuck, 6-0, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League match on Thursday.

The Spartans remained unbeaten at 5-0 while the Warriors dropped to 2-3.

“We moved the ball well today,” Spackenkill coach Manny Blanco said. “We played a full 80 minutes of soccer today. It was very nice to see.”

Hart scored once in the first half and twice in the second half for his hat trick. Lanza had three assists and also scored a goal himself. Jeremy LaBoy and Shawn Kollesar rounded out the scoring for the Spartans.

Golf team still unbeaten at 8-0

POUGHKEEPSIE – Make it eight.

In a row, too.

The Spackenkill High School golf team won for the eighth time in as many matches this season, as Marc Horvath led the team to a 164-187 win over Ellenville in Mid-Hudson Athletic League play on Thursday.

Horvath (pictured) shot a 39 at the par-36 McCann Golf Course, including a birdie and five pars.

Jeff Bell posted a 40 with two birds and two pars, co-captain Ian Wilson shot a 41, co-captain Kyle Martin had a 44, as did Stanley Garrant, and Shawn Wile carded a 47.

Caleb Budd led Ellenville with a 43.

MILLBROOK 175, WEBUTUCK 233 – Tyler Prater shot a 3-over-39 for medalist honors, and the Blazers easily topped Webutuck at the Millbrook Golf & Tennis Club.

C.J. Saenz had a 41, Jordan Stein shot 42, and Dan Outwater had a 52 for the winners.

Adam Wheeler and Ahmatic Jones both carded a 55 for the Warriors.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

John Jay girls nip Arlington on McGuire's goal

FREEDOM PLAINS – One goal game? Of course it had to be this way.

GIRLS' SOCCER

John Jay’s Sam McGuire scored the only goal of the game at the 27-minute mark, and the Patriots beat Arlington, 1-0, in a Conference I, League A game.

It was the first defeat of the season for Arlington.

“Great match, both teams played well,” Admirals coach Kieran McIlvenny said. “We had a couple of early opportunities but didn't capitalize. Sam scored on a defensive error for the match winner, and the second half was pretty even with both teams having scoring opportunities. The match showed us we still have some areas we need to improve in, especially in the attacking third with our finishing.”

Look who's in the state rankings!

Red Hook breaks into state football poll at No. 12

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

There’s no right or wrong way to react to being told you just made the state rankings. Some coaches downplay it, for fear that it will go to their kids’ heads. Others don’t put much stock in it, saying the playoffs will be the final arbiter of who’s the best.

And then there’s Bill Stutz, and his decidedly refreshing take on the whole thing.

“My offensive coordinator just texted me and I think it’s pretty darn awesome,” Stutz told Hudson Valley Sports Report on Tuesday night after finding out his 3-0 team was ranked No. 12 in Class B in the latest New York State Sportswriters Association poll.

The Raiders made the leap into the poll after starting 3-0, including a stunning 30-6 victory over the then-No. 11 team in the poll – and previous HVSR No. 1 – defending Section Nine, Class B champion New Paltz.

New Paltz dropped to No. 19 in Class B, while Marlboro dropped out of the poll completely after its own stunning loss, a 21-6 defeat at the hands of Spackenkill. The Iron Dukes were ranked 17th last week.

Poughkeepsie remained the No. 2 team in the state after its 27-14 win over No. 5 Harrison. Haldane moved up one spot, from No. 18 to No. 17, in the Class D rankings.

But, as far as Hudson Valley teams are concerned, this week is all about Red Hook.

Taylor Lee had a spectacular effort in the win over the Huguenots, rushing for 150 yards and four touchdowns. The senior scored on runs of 23, 1, 19 and 6 yards, respectively. It was the first time since 2006 that a Red Hook player scored four times in a game.

Asked what the secret to the success has been so far in the first month of the season, and Stutz said, “commitment.”

“I hate to talk like a coach here,” he said, “but if it’s one word, top to bottom, program-wide, it’s commitment.”

Stutz elaborated, saying that when he took over as head coach last year, he made sweeping changes. Then he had to sell it.

“I’ll be frank – the entire staff, the entire population of the football program – they’ve all bought stock in what we’re doing,” Stutz said. “I came in with 10 years in the program as an assistant. I went from modified to jayvee to varsity, and I saw a lot of things. I came in with a plan, and everybody bought into it. So far, the product has been a beautiful thing.”

Asked when the last time a Red Hook team started 3-0 or was state ranked, Stutz said, “I have no idea. All I know, we’re brand new.”

Pine Plains survives vs. Millbrook, 3-2

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

MILLBROOK – For two teams that came into the game winless, the Millbrook and Pine Plains high school boys’ soccer squads put on an entertaining show on Tuesday afternoon.

BOYS' SOCCER

Pine Plains is now 1-4 overall while Millbrook remains winless at 0-3.

Both teams are fairly young and inexperienced – the Blazers start just one senior, in fact – accounting for the early-season struggles. But both were competitive and, at times, the soccer was crisp – Pine Plains more so in the first half, Millbrook more in the second.

“Our first half was definitely not as good as our second half,” Blazers’ midfielder Tyler DeMan said. “We weren’t winning many balls and our midfield wasn’t doing as good a job.”

Said Millbrook coach Kyle Shoemaker: “Our first half play was just horrible. We were flat. I have a very young team and they showed their youth. But we came back and really improved in the second, and we can build on that.”

Raine Owens scored twice in a 21-minute span in the first half as the Bombers jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Millbrook. The Blazers answered early in the second half on a goal by A.J. Brown, but Pine Plains’ Alejandro Ayala had a terrific solo effort in pushing the ball upfield and scoring, allowing his team to regain a two-goal lead at 3-1.

“I think we’ve really settled in to attacking with three players, and that seems to be working for us,” Pine Plains coach Dave Owens said.

But back came Millbrook again. The Blazers had the better play of it in the second half, keeping the ball in the Bombers’ end for much of the period. On a scramble in front of the net in yet another sequence where Millbrook pressured, the hosts’ Rory Shoemaker banged one home in the midst of chaos to pull the Blazers to within 3-2.

Millbrook kept the heat on, too.

“They sure did,” Dave Owens said. “A lot of that is a credit to them, but we’re also inexperienced. We don’t yet understand that when you’re ahead 3-1 you do whatever you can to shut a team down, rather than go into an attacking game.”

Alas, the Blazers couldn’t get the equalizer and Pine Plains escaped with the slim victory.

“There was more of an effort there in that second half after we got caught playing a lot of kickball,” Kyle Shoemaker said. “This whole season is going to be a teaching moment.”

RCK girls slip past Yorktown

WAPPINGERS FALLS – After several shots hit the crossbar and the goal posts, the Roy C. Ketcham High School girls’ soccer team was left wondering if it was just bad timing or what.

GIRLS' SOCCER

The freshman scored the only goal of the game on Tuesday in the 38th minute of the first half, and RCK edged Yorktown, 1-0, in a non-league match.

Ketcham is now 2-1-1 overall..

The only score originated from the left side of the field. Alexis DiMarzo looked for the shot, but could not find an opening. She then played wide right to LaPerche. With two touches, the freshman found the back of the net for the only score.

Emily Joerg did a terrific job of shutting down talented Yorktown striker Tori Patterson, and Ali Bhadai and Alexis DeMarzo controlled the middle of the field, according to RCK coach Chris Calimano.

Mary McElduff turned back five shots to record the shutout.

OLL volleyball stops Dover; Ketcham tennis wins again

POUGHKEEPSIE – Carolyn Lois had fours across the board on Tuesday – four kills, four aces and four digs – leading the Our Lady of Lourdes High School volleyball team to a 3-1 non-league victory over Dover.

The scores were 25-21, 16-25, 25-15 and 25-14.

Nora McElduff had 13 digs and solid defensive play, and Samantha Blanchard added 15 assists, seven points and four aces for OLL.

Rachael Lloyd had eight kills for Dover, while Cassandra Drogan had 12 assists.

GIRLS’ TENNIS

CARMEL – Roy C. Ketcham won three of the four doubles matches, and the Indians knocked off host Carmel, 5-2, in a Conference I, League A match.

Ruchi Patel and Lindsey Chew, Tina Jing and Runa Kirihata, and Nia Chin and Sarah Piccorelli all won at first, second and fourth doubles, respectively.

“These girls are playing with such confidence and are having so much fun with each other,” RCK coach Brian LaSusa said. “They are believing in their abilities, and I am so proud.”

BREWSTER 5, ARLINGTON 2 – Brewster swept all three singles matches en route to the victory.

Lydia Fox and Maghan Ballantynne at second doubles and Caitlyn Dempsey and Katie Smalley at No. 4 doubles were both victorious for Arlington.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Corbi's goal gives Jay win over RCK

WICCOPEE – As expected, the twice-yearly tussle between the John Jay and Roy C. Ketcham high school boys’ soccer teams falls under the clichéd – but true – category of ‘throw the records out the window.’

BOYS' SOCCER

John Jay is now 4-0 overall while RCK falls to 1-3.

John Jay took a 1-0 lead into halftime on a goal by Eddie Humphreys, but Ketcham quickly got the equalizer five minutes into the second half.

Mike Corbi then scored the game-winner in the 53rd minute on a free kick from about 25 yards out.

Are the Spartans having the best fall season so far?

POUGHKEEPSIE – Who’s having the best high school fall sports season so far? Spackenkill High School can certainly make a claim.

Kyle Martin and Marc Horvath both shot a 42 on Monday to lead the Spartans to a 169-178 win over Wallkill at the McCann Memorial Golf Course in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League match.

That’s five consecutive wins to start the season for the unbeaten Spartans. In fact, Spackenkill’s boys’ soccer team is unbeaten, the girls’ soccer team is undefeated, the girls’ tennis team hasn’t lost a match, and the football team is now 2-1 after Saturday’s stunning upset of Marlboro.

C0-captain Ian Wilson shot a 43 in the Wallkill match, Greg Allen had a 44 and Tim Gugumuck shot a 49. It was that depth that helped Spackenkill remain unbeaten as Wallkill’s Conner Stenglein earned medalist honors with a 40, and teammate Ryan Reid fired a 41.

In a boys’ soccer match, Spackenkill improved to 3-0 with a 2-0 MHAL win over Rhinebeck. Niky Reynolds scored in the first half and Justin Hart tallied in the second half for the Spartans, who handed Rhinebeck its first loss.

“It was nice to beat a quality team like Rhinebeck,” Spackenkill coach Manny Blanco said. “The game was intense and we kept pace with the intensity. This was a good win for us.”

Beacon jumps all over Poughkeepsie

BOYS' SOCCER

Ivan Tapia and Taj Humbert also scored for the Bulldogs, who improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the league.

“Beacon was a solid team. It is always tough coming back against a well coached and playing team,” Poughkeepsie coach Kurt Jesman said. “We had a mental break down before the half.”

Juan Carlos Gutierrez scored Poughkeepsie’s only goal late in the second half.

“In the second half guys played better but once again it is tough to come back 3-0 against Beacon,” Jesman said. “Hopefully my guys learn from this, that soccer is to be play a full 80 minutes.”

Quick goals give Onteora victory

AMENIA – Two quick goals made all the difference on Monday for the Onteora High School girls’ soccer team, as the Indians beat Webutuck, 2-0, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game.

GIRLS' SOCCER

Dover rallies for win

DOVER PLAINS – Jen Fisher will take the team she saw on Monday every day of the week.

VOLLEYBALL

Dover High School put together some strong volleyball, and the Dragons beat Roy C. Ketcham, 3-2, in a non-league match.

The scores were 25-23, 25-10, 11-25, 20-25 and 25-17.

“It was nice to come back after a poor performance on Friday evening,” Fisher said of her Dover team. “The girls came out fired up today, and played inspired volleyball. I hope the team I saw today shows up more often this season.”

For Dover, Rachael Lloyd had 10 kills and a block. Cassandra Drogan had 13 assists and Lauren Infantino had six kills.

For Ketcham, Alex Barone had 13 assists, seven aces and nine digs. Ashley Goreman had four aces and nine digs, and Breanna LeChase had three aces and 18 digs.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Spackenkill, Red Hook and Haldane notch big wins

Deguisto racks up 320 yards rushing in OLL's first victory

WESTLAKE – The Our Lady of Lourdes High School football team didn’t attempt a single pass on Saturday in its Section One, Class B game against Westlake.

Why bother?

The Warriors just kept going to the well, and the well – running back Sebastian Deguisto – never dried up.

Deguisto ran for an amazing 320 yards and scored four touchdowns, and OLL knocked off Westlake, 35-19, for its first victory of the year.

“We needed this,” Lourdes coach Brian Walsh said after the win, a week after the Warriors opened the season with an offensively challenged 7-6 loss to Beacon. “I thought we had a solid game all around.”

Much credit goes to OLL’s revamped offensive line, which featured two new starters today.

“Last week we didn’t get the blocking on the perimeter. Today we ran inside and outside,” Walsh said. “Westlake made some adjustments but we just did a great job of blocking.”

The rest was up to DeGuisto, who carried the ball 30 times.

“He did a great job today and our offensive line did a great job,” Walsh said. “I knew he had it in him. He has great speed. He’s a 4.47 (in the 40-yard dash) kid. If he gets out in the open he’s gone.”

OLL safety Ben Manco had two interceptions, the second one a huge one coming in the fourth quarter and ending a Westlake drive at the 10 yard line with the score still 28-19.

Spartans stun Marlboro, 21-6

POUGHKEEPSIE – Clinton DeSouza gathered his jubilant Spackenkill High School football team in the south end zone of Rudy Albanese field and looked them square in the eye.

“You guys,” he said, “just sent shock waves through Section Nine.”

That they did.

If Spack wasn’t back after the season-opening 50-20 win over Millbrook two weeks ago, the Spartans sure are now. Spackenkill spotted Marlboro an early 6-0 lead, stunned the Iron Dukes with two touchdowns in 46 seconds late in the first half, and upset the No. 11 team in the state with a dominating defensive performance, 21-6, in a Section Nine, Class B game.

Marlboro was the defending regular-season league champion, losing only to New Paltz in the sectional title game, and that included a 38-0 win over Spackenkill last season.

“Like I said earlier in the week, Marlboro is a top echelon team and we had the utmost respect for them,” DeSouza said. “This is a big step for our program. We knew we had the team to do it.”

Marlboro broke out to a 6-0 lead when quarterback Mike Schoonmaker faked the inside handoff on the option, kept the ball, turned the corner and raced 55 yards for a touchdown. The point after was no good, but it didn’t matter whether that one point would make a difference – the Iron Dukes didn’t sniff the end zone again.

“We had to get used to their offense and once we did I knew we were going to come up with big hits,” DeSouza said.

As the defense settled in, the offense got uncorked. The Spartans went ahead for good on a seven-play, 61-yard drive fueled by a big third-down conversion. Quarterback K.J. Williams found Tommy Fink behind the secondary – not the first time the Spartans would get behind Marlboro’s defense – for a 44-yard bomb to the Dukes’ 15 yard line.

Four plays later, Williams found Fink for a nine-yard score and a 7-6 lead with 66 seconds left in the first half.

“Marlboro is a great team, but we’ve been working so hard,” Williams said. “Last week we had a letdown (in a two-point loss to Goshen). This week, we had an intense week of practice because we knew we needed to execute.”

Then came the pivotal moment in the game. The Iron Dukes got the ball back on the kickoff at their own 23 yard line with just under a minute to play and had designs on trying to get a quick score. Marlboro came out throwing and completed one pass for nine yards and then had an incompletion. The Iron Dukes decided to throw again on 3rd-and-1, and it proved fatal.

Nick Celestino intercepted the ball, and on the next play Williams scrambled left, came back right and threw to Jimmy Kruk in the end zone. The ball was tipped, juggled and otherwise batted around by both Kruk and Marlboro’s Ryan Cary, before Kruk fell on his back and made a one-handed catch – pinning the ball against his helmet – for the TD and a 14-6 lead with 20 seconds to go.

“The ball was coming at me, it was high, the defender was right there and I had to reach up. I thought he picked it but it was tipped, tipped again, and I just pinned it against my helmet like David Tyree in the Super Bowl,” Kruk said.

Spackenkill put it away with another long drive. Starting at their own 22 on the first play of the fourth quarter, the Spartans drove 78 yards in nine plays, with Celestino going up the gut for seven yards and the score. Again, the key play was a long pass on third down as Williams found Cory Usavich down the sideline for 37 yards.

Poughkeepsie manhandles Harrison in rematch

POUGHKEEPSIE – The beauty of the situation, Ken Barger says, is that many of his Poughkeepsie High School football players are blissfully unaware that their team is ranked second in the state in Class A.

“A lot of our kids don’t have access to that information. A lot of our kids don’t have home computers, and when we’re all together we’re either practicing or watching film, so not a lot was said about the ranking,” Barger said.

Maybe not a lot is being said in the Poughkeepsie lockerrom, but a lot is being said in Section One and beyond after Saturday.

Led by a big game by quarterback Josh Oliver, the Pioneers dominated defending Section One, Class A champion Harrison – the team that knocked Poughkeepsie out of the playoffs last year – by the score of 27-14 at Sam Kalloch Field.

Poughkeepsie is now 2-0 in Section One, Class A, League I.

Oliver rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown and passed for 68 yards and a score as the Pioneers got off to a quick 13-0 lead. It was similar to the playoff game last year when Harrison jumped out to a 14-0 lead on Poughkeepsie just five minutes into the contest.

“It was as explosive as they did,” Barger said. “We had some methodical drives. We were very good inside the tackles today. Josh had a monster day running between the tackles. They were so concerned with our perimeter that we were able to run inside pretty well.”

Greg Charter had 90 yards rushing and two TDs for the Pioneers, and Davez Williams hauled in a touchdown pass as well.

“I thought our kids did a real nice job of executing,” Barger said. “First and foremost, on defense we were able to play assignment football. Last year we had trouble giving up a big pass play or a counter play on third down to them and gave up a lot of yardage. This year the kids did a great job with it.”

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Break up the Bulldogs! Beacon blasts Peekskill

BEACON – Beacon High School football is back.

Second-year coach Brian Mahon has officially revived the program, as the Bulldogs ran roughshod over Peekskill on Saturday afternoon, 41-0, in a Section One, Class A, League II matchup.

Beacon is now 2-0 as it followed up last week’s narrow 7-6 win over Lourdes with this easy victory.

“I’ll be honest – I was real worried because of last week’s game,” Mahon said. “I just wasn’t sure where our kids’ heads were at.”

Apparently, those heads were glued on correctly. Marquis Brown rushed for 99 yards and a score, Alijah Wilds had 70 yards on the ground and two TDs, Raekwon Melvin added 66 yards, and quarterback Chas DelBene threw a touchdown pass for the Bulldogs.

“Peekskill made a lot of mistakes and we were able to capitalize on that,” Mahon said. “It was just a real team effort.”

Brown led the defensive charge with four tackles, a sack, three hurries and a fumble recovery. Mark Bracey had five tackles as well for Beacon.

“The kids are enjoying this,” Mahon said. “We’re hoping to get better, and there’s room for improvement of course. But they are, and they should be, enjoying this.”

RCK rallies for victory

WAPPINGERS FALLS – Well, this didn’t look good.

The Roy C. Ketcham High School football team was on the wrong side of a 20-7 score with just eight minutes left on Saturday when the Indians suddenly found their footing on their home field.

RCK put together two solid scoring drives, getting a pair of touchdowns in a two-minute, 19-second span, and the Indians stunned Mamaroneck, 21-20, in a Section One, Class AA, League I game.

Ketcham is now 1-1 overall.

“I’m very proud of our team today coming back from a two-score deficit,” RCK coach Patrick Keevins said. “We have been stressing mental toughness and discipline the entire preseason, and they demonstrated both of those today during the comeback.”

Ketcham got one back when Kevin Duke rifled a 24-yard touchdown pass to matt Droese with 4:30 remaining. The Indians got the ball back and quickly score again, this time on a 1-yard run by Duke with 2:11 to play.

Duke finished 7-for-19 for 112 yards, one touchdown through the air and one on the ground. Marquis Smith also scored for Ketcham on a 12-yard run in the first quarter.

Blazers top Fallsburg

MILLBROOK – All is right in the world of Millbrook High School football.

After two consecutive defeats to start the season in which they suffered some mental breakdowns late that turned one-possession games into routs, the Blazers avoided that whole scenario Saturday by jumping off to a great start en route to a 38-12 win over Fallsburg in a Section Nine, Class D, Division II game.

Millbrook scored all 38 points in the first half.

“We were very prepared. The kids had a good week of practice,” Millbrook coach Sean Keenan said. “After the first two weeks of being pushed around in the fourth quarter, the kids responded and started fast and played very well.”

A large part of that was getting several key players back from injury, including running back Henry Cardinal, who rushed for 106 yards and a TD on just eight carries.

Lucas Lemkuhl rushed for 94 yards and two scores, and Kyle Cuomo ran for 90 yards and two scores. Jon Crane caught a touchdown pass from Kyle Rudy to complete the scoring.

Jesse Mercurio had a terrific day for the Blazers in his varsity debut, kicking a pair of extra points in the victory.

Devils rip Rye Neck

RYE – Surprise team of the Hudson Valley?

Has to be Haldane High School football right now.

The Blue Devils came into the season having lost 17 of their last 18 games over a three-year span. Now they’ve won more games in two weeks than they have in the last 36 months.

Haldane controlled the ground game on Saturday and the Blue Devils rolled over Rye Neck, 28-8, in a Section One, Class C-D contest.

Haldane is now 2-0 overall. Rye Neck drops to 1-1.

First-year coach Jeff Sniffen has the program moving in the right direction, clearly, and they’re moving on the ground – Haldane had 398 yards rushing in the victory.

“It was a real physical game,” Sniffen said. “But we had a great overall effort on both sides of the ball.”

Of those nearly 400 yards on the ground, nearly half – 201 – came from Bryant Dain, who also scored a touchdown. Elias Lopez rushed for 130 yards on 14 carries and had two TDs.

James Moss and Bayley Semple combined for 16 tackles, and the Blue Devils sacked Rye Neck quarterbacks four times by four different people.”

Lee scores four TDs,Red Hook upsets New Paltz

RED HOOK – Red Hook is for real.

The Red Hook High School football team opened the season with consecutive victories, and that was somewhat of a surprise. But the Raiders became legit on Saturday with a game that was somewhat of a stunner.

Taylor Lee had a spectacular effort, rushing for 150 yards and four touchdowns, and Red Hook stunned New Paltz, 30-6, in a Section Nine, Class B game on Saturday.

The Raiders are now 3-0 while the Huguenots, the defending sectional champion and the 11th-ranked team in the state – and No. 1 in the HVSR Power Rankings – is now 2-1.

Coupled with Spackenkill’s upset of Marlboro, it’s official – Section Nine, Class B is truly up for grabs this season.

Lee scored on runs of 23, 1, 19 and 6 yards, respectively. It was the first time since 2006 that a Red Hook player scored four times in a game.

HIGHLAND 27, ONTEORA 19 – The Huskies put their first ‘W’ on the board in pretty spectacular fashion.

Trailing 19-7 in the third quarter, Highland made a flip-flop, putting Jonathan LaForge at quarterback in place of Charlie Merget, and putting Merget back at wide receiver. The two clicked instantly, as LaForge completed his first five passes – four to Merget – and a touchdown to lead the comeback.

“We broke down,” Onteora coach Justin Kight said. “We had big special teams breakdowns and that let them back in the game. Our guys just had one of those games.”

Highland is now 1-2; Onteora is 0-3.

Turi wins Somers XC Invitational

SOMERS – Mike Turi finished first on Saturday to help the John Jay High School boys’ cross country team to a third-place finish at the Somers Invitational.

CROSS COUNTRY

Saturday, September 17, 2011

John Jay looks explosive in 41-7 win over Scarsdale

WICCOPEE – It’s still probably a little too early to say whether the John Jay High School football team is building something special this year – it’s only Week 2, after all – but the Patriots certainly are playing like a team on a mission.

A week after a solid three-touchdown road win over Carmel, Jay opened its home season with a convincing 41-7 victory over Scarsdale in a Section One, Class AA, League I matchup on Friday night.

John Jay is now 2-0 heading into next Saturday’s showdown with archrival Roy C. Ketcham.

“We’re just keeping everything short-term right now,” John Jay coach Tom O’Hare said. “We come out every day and our objective is to just keep getting better every day. We play a tough schedule and we are coming out every day just trying to be a better team. That’s our only goal right now.”

Jay took a 28-0 lead at the half thanks to a back-breaking play. Leading 14-0 but stymied on a third-and-long, quarterback Danny Bogucki threw a tailback screen pass to Ron Haughton, and Haughton went the rest of the way for a 65-yard touchdown that put the Patriots up 21-0.

“Scarsdale started to cramp down on the box and it was a great call from up top in the booth,” O’Hare said.

Haughton had 153 yards of total offense and scored twice. Bobby Henderson rushed for 100 yards and three touchdowns, and Bogucki was 4-for-7 for 109 yards and two touchdowns.

More importantly, Jay’s defense has given up just one score in each game.

“The defense played tremendous,” O’Hare said. “Our coaches did a great job of preparing these kids.”

Highland boys win first game

ELLENVILLE – And the Highland High School boys’ soccer team is on the board.

BOYS' SOCCER

Highland is now 1-2 overall.

“The bottom line is that Highland just wanted it more,” Ellenville coach Maxwell Mead said. “Both teams were even in terms of play but Highland was just a little better in the final third and that was the game. We were lacking a lot of creativity tonight – very little attempts to try anything different and it was very easy for Highland to defend.”

Chris Spaulding give the Huskies a 1-0 lead five minutes into the game, but the real key came early in the second half when Edward Otieno and Jarred Babineau scored at the 53- and 55-minute marks, respectively, to make it 3-0.

Ellenville’s Harold Nunuvero scored with six minutes left for the Blue Devils’ only goal.

“This has been a tough week for our guys, but they have to realize that the MHAL league only gets tougher as the season progresses,” Mead said. “We play Rhinebeck on Tuesday then host the new-look Coleman team on Thursday, so things aren’t getting any easier anytime soon. We need to make some adjustments and I hope our players can respond to it.”

Soltysiak's big night fuels FDR comeback vs. Washingtonville

WASHINGTONVILLE – Joe Soltysiak had the game of a lifetime right when the Franklin D. Roosevelt High School football team needed it most.

Down 15-6 going into the fourth quarter, Soltysiak engineered two scoring drives – calling his own number once and giving the ball to Mike Alicea for a 1-yard run with 28 seconds left – as the Presidents rallied for a 19-15 victory over Washingtonville Friday night in a Section Nine, Class AA, Division II game.

FDR is now 2-1 overall.

“It was one of the most exciting high school football games, if not the most exciting, I have ever been involved in,” Roosevelt coach Brian Bellino said. “I have to give a lot of the credit to my assistant coaches. We’ve had a rough go already this year with injuries and before the game we lost our starting center and our starting guard. But our coaches really had our team ready.”

The senior quarterback threw for 208 yards – including a 90-yard strike to Chris Osterman in the third quarter for FDR’s first score – and ran for 70 more.

“He’s just a football player,” Bellino said of Soltysiak. “He never wavered.”

After Soltysiak scored in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard run to bring FDR to within 15-13, the Presidents got the ball back with four and a half minutes left and 70 yards to go. Mixing it up on offense, Soltysiak calmy drove FDR down the field and put the Presidents in position to win when he found Benny Taylor for a 25-yard pass to the Wizards’ 1 yard line. Alicea took it in from there to give FDR the victory.

“I thought in the first half we moved the ball well but we made a lot of mental mistakes,” Bellino said. “In that fourth quarter we just made the right plays – the right blocks, the right audible check, the right everything.”

Two words: We're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

And, we’re back.

Please pardon the interruption.

When last we left you, Hudson Valley Sports Report took the spring 2011 season off to enter into a venture with MSG Varsity.com. It was fun, it was enjoyable and it’s something I will continue to do this high school season in order to keep giving local schools recognition and exposure on what is the largest media platform in the area in MSGV.

But I still felt the pangs of separation anxiety J

I missed being more involved in Hudson Valley sports, missed chronicling the achievements of our area high school athletes and, yeah, I missed my little baby here. HVSR is my pride and joy.

More importantly, I heard you. And it was tremendously appreciated. I got your phone calls, your emails, your voice messages, all asking to bring the site back. I listened when you grabbed me at games, saw me at church, talked to me at the Fair, all asking to bring HVSR back.

In large part, I was being selfish. I have a fulltime job and, through the tail end of the fall season of 2010, all of the winter season, and into the spring season, I was completing a book on the Michigan-Ohio State football rivalry.

(Shameless self-promotion: Buy This Book! Yeah, that one, right over there to the right!)

Wouldn’t it be nice, I thought, just to write for MSGV and not have to take 30-40 events per day, by myself? And, yeah, I’ll be blunt. It was nice. Until I realized that, A) I missed it and B) am I really going to leave the coverage of high school sports in our area to the local papers who give nothing but more of the same old same old? Or worse, copy what HVSR did last year by doing individual football previews with a video component? That’s so 2010 J

OK, kidding. I love to tweak the competitors. Bottom line is, Hudson Valley Sports Report is the little engine that could. We don’t have the reach that the local papers do, we don’t have the staff – um, that ugly mug up there? That is the staff. And he doesn’t get paid J – and we don’t have the resources. They can rightly claim they kick our butt in those areas.

But what this site does have, and always will have, is a dogged determination to deliver the best editorial product there is, to bring you more breaking news on high school sports than any other local media outlet, and do it with a sense of passion and not as though it were a chore.

I’ll put that up against anybody.

Thanks for having us back. Happy to be here. Oh, and, uh, always tip your bartender and waitresses.

Schanz, Costigan and Metz tally as OLL shuts out Kingston, 3-0

HYDE PARK – The Our Lady of Lourdes High School boys’ soccer team received three goals from three different players on Friday, and the Warriors shut out Kingston, 3-0, in the first round of the 6th annual Joel Tomson Memorial Soccer tournament, hosted by Roosevelt.

BOYS' SOCCER

The Warriors got on the board in the 15th minute when Tim Costigan scored after receiving a pass from Mike Ossolinski. The Warriors were pressuring and controlling the game when, in the 38th minute, John Enkler won a ball in the midfield and passed it to senior Cody Schanz, who fired a quick shot and scored.

With the pressure still on, the Warriors scored 30 seconds later when Mike Hasenbein crossed the ball into the Kingston box, and Ryan Metz was able to one-touch the ball into the net for the final tally.

BEACON 5, DOVER 1 – The host Bulldogs scored all five goals in the first 25 minutes of this non-league game.

Kevin Davis scored twice and added two assists for Beacon.

Grogan leads RCK field hockey to win

WAPPINGERS FALLS – Once the Roy C. Ketcham High School field hockey team figured out which surface it was playing on, the Indians were in business.

Erin Grogan had two goals and an assist on Friday, and RCK dumped Clarkstown South, 4-1, in a non-league game.

FIELD HOCKEY

“We had a slow start,” Ketcham coach Erin Mulligan said. “We played on turf (Thursday) and the game moves at a totally different pace on grass.”

Once the Indians made the transition, they dominated the game. Casey Herzog and Meghan Lynch also scored for RCK, which had a 14-1 advantage in shots on goal.

“The girls are doing a great job applying what is taught at practice into the game. There is growth as a team every day,” Mulligan said. “Jenna DeRario and Casey Herzog have done a great job creating play from the center of the field. Sarah Altmann and Amy Flannigan have been big assets on defense. Things are going well, and we plan to work hard to keep it that way.”

ARLINGTON 2, PINE PLAINS 0 – Taylor Windy scored in the first half, Nichole Tolli scored in the second half, and that was all the Admirals needed for this non-league victory over the Bombers.

“We pressured Arlington's defense early in the first half but came up empty handed,” Pine Plains coach Dick Meilinger said. “After the first 10 minutes they started to put pressure on us with excellent stops and passing.”

Pine Plains goalie Sarah Beam had a terrific game in net, stopping 18 shots.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Poughkeepsie football starts out No. 2 in state

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

The Poughkeepsie High School football team went 6-3 last year, with two of the losses coming on consecutive weekends – one to Class A state finalist Harrison in the Section One, Class A semifinal playoffs, and one the following week in a consolation game against Somers.

The year before that it was the same record and a berth in the sectional championship game.

Now the hard work of coach Ken Barger in reviving the program is paying off.

Heading into Saturday’s showdown against Harrison, the Pioneers are ranked No. 2 in the state in Class A in the first New York State Sportswriters Association poll released on Thursday.

The Pioneers are one of four local teams that are ranked – both New Paltz and Marlboro are ranked in Class B, and Haldane is ranked in Class D.

Despite losing 42-27 to Harrison last year, Poughkeepsie is ranked one spot ahead of its rival. In large part, that was due to another solid year by the Pioneers, not to mention a 53-0 rout of Spring Valley to kick off the season last week.

In Class B, New Paltz is ranked 11th and Marlboro is at No. 17. The archrivals split two games last season, with the Iron Dukes knocking off the Huguenots on their home field in New Paltz to win the Section Nine, Class B regular-season title. New Paltz returned the favor two weeks later with a 13-0 win in the Section Nine, Class B championship game.

Haldane drew the No. 18 ranking in the Class D poll. The Blue Devils opened the season with a 21-0 shutout of Albertus Magnus.

Ellenville earns first victory

ELLENVILLE – And the defending Mid-Hudson Athletic League finalists in boys’ soccer are on the board.

BOYS' SOCCER

It was the first victory of the season for Ellenville.

“This was a nice win for our young and inexperienced team,” Ellenville coach Maxwell Mead said “We could have crumbled a couple of times but were able to get a big goal to equalize just before halftime and were really unlucky not to score a few more in the second half.”

Down 3-2 with 19 minutes to play, JanCarlos Vargas knotted the score at the 65-minute mark. Nine minutes into the first overtime, Adrian Lopez scored the game winner off an assist from Harold Nunuvero.

Devon Jackson had two goals for the Blazers.

Faugerstrom sisters lead Arlington volleyball to win

FREEDOM PLAINS – Kaitlyn and Lauren Faugerstrom both had monster games on Thursday, and the Arlington High School volleyball team beat Hendrick Hudson, 3-1, in a matchup of defending sectional champions.

VOLLEYBALL

The final score was 25-19, 19-25, 25-13 and 25-11.

Arlington won the Section One, Class AA title last year; the Sailors won Class B. Both teams are now 2-1 overall.

“I thought it was a competitive match,” Admirals coach Maria Greenwood said. “Hendrick Hudson is rebuilding but is still a very strong team.”

Kaitlyn Faugerstrom had three aces, nine service points, 18 assists, a block, nine kills and 12 digs, while her sister Lauren added five aces, 13 service points, four blocks, eight kills and four digs.

“I think we saw some things we still need to work on,” Greenwood said, “but overall we’re happy.”

Also for Arlington, Angela Silveri had an ace, seven service points, four blocks, 14 kills and nine digs. Molly Law totaled three acees among her 10 service points, had 20 assists and five digs. Lauren Moran chipped in with five blocks, three kills and five digs. Nicole Mack had three aces, 11 service points, four kills and 13 digs, and teammate Mackenzie Bayer had five service points, a block and 11 digs. Lydia Palmiotti added three digs.

The Admirals go to Carmel on Monday.

Better late than never for Beacon boys' soccer team

Bulldogs tie game with 30 seconds left, then earn OT win

BOYS' SOCCER

But in a good way.

After opening the season with a compelling, hard-fought 1-0 loss to Arlington, the Bulldogs went down to the wire on Thursday and knocked off Yorktown, 2-1, in overtime.

Taj Humbert tied the game in the final 30 seconds off a corner kick from Kevin Davis, and the same combo struck again three minutes into the first overtime for the victory.

Spackenkill golf wins again

WOODSTOCK – Make it 4-0 for the Spackenkill High School golf team.

GOLF

Ian Wilson and Marc Horvath each shot a 40 on Thursday, and the Spartans bedat Onteora, 167-178, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League match played at Woodstock Golf Club.

Onteora’s Hunter Panek tied the Spackenkill duo for medalist honors by also shooting a 40. Spackenkill’s Stanley Garrant had a 41, Kyle Martin and Greg Allen each carded a 46, and Jeff Bell shot a 53. Seventh-grader Justin Lane was impressive for Onteora, firing a 43.

NEW PALTZ – Danielle Girard had three aces and nine kills, and the Red Hook High School volleyball team swept New Paltz, 3-0, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League match.

The scores were 25-16, 25-23 and 25-12.

The Huguenots are now 0-4 on the young season.

Becky Harvey had four aces, eight kills and a block for Red Hook, and teammate Nicole Novak added four aces, two digs, a kill and 15 assists.

Chelsea Pacella had a pair of aces and a pair of kills for New Paltz. Charlesie Brutus had two blocks and Nyah Bonilla recorded three aces, seven kills and one block.

Football Friday is back to tackle more gridiron action

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

Week Three of the Section Nine high school football season and Week Two in Section bring us some interesting matchups, and the first real point of the year when we get to see who’s for real and who isn’t.

Is Red Hook a 2-0 team? We’ll find out when the Raiders host mighty New Paltz – No. 1 in the HVSR Power Rankings – on Saturday.

Dover? Haldane? Beacon? As good as opening day? Again, all questions that will be answered on Saturday.

ON DECK – Good weekend of games for Hudson Valley teams.

Tonight, big league matchup at Arlington as the Admirals host Yorktown. John Jay hosts Scarsdale, Roosevelt goes to Washingtonville, Ellenville is at Sullivan West, and Pine Plains is home to John S. Burke Catholic.

On Saturday, Fallsburg is at Millbrook at noon in a game re-scheduled from Friday night, Beacon hosts Peekskill, Dover goes to Palisades Prep, Haldane goes to mighty Rye Neck, Ketcham is home to Mamaroneck, Lourdes goes to Westlake, Pawling is at Woodlands, Poughkeepsie seeks revenge at home against Harrison, Highland visits Onteora, Marlboro is at Spackenkill, New Paltz visits Red Hook, Rondout Valley hosts Cohoes in a non-league game, Goshen is at Saugerties and Wallkill travels to Port Jervis.

On the collegiate level, Marist has a road game against Dayton and Army hosts Northwestern.

GAME OF THE WEEK – Poughkeepsie vs. Harrison. The Pioneers are home to play the defending Section One, Class A champions, a team that knocked Poughkeepsie out of the playoffs last year when Harrison scored two quick TDs en route to a 35-7 halftime lead. Poughkeepsie never recovered. This year? Well, the Pioneers are without some key players who have since graduated, but never discount the amazing athleticism and team speed Poughkeepsie has.

MOST INTRIGUING MATCHUP – Marlboro at Spackenkill. This is an interesting game from the standpoint that Spackenkill has high expectations for the first time in a long time, and is a program on the rise This is the game that will really show where the Spartans are as a program.

“Marlboro is a top echelon team. They are very fast and use that speed and depth wisely,” Spackenkill coach Clinton DeSouza said. “We have to be able to limit our mistakes and make every play perfect. We have to come with intensity and play fast.”

Spackenkill got off to a big start with a 30-point win over Millbrook before stumbling in a two-point loss to Goshen. This game might be a defining moment for the program in DeSouza’s second year.

KEEP AN EYE ON …. Beacon, Dover and Haldane. Three programs that have their struggles in recent years, but three programs that came up big in the opening week with victories, including Beacon’s 7-6 upset of Our Lady of Lourdes.

“We’re working hard to avoid a letdown game after such an emotional game last week,” Beacon coach Brian Mahon said. “Peekskill has some very athletic players that must be contained. We need to avoid mental mistakes and do a better job blocking up front. We’re hoping to do a better job in getting the ball to some of our skilled players.”

ON THE SPOT – Highland, Pine Plains and Ellenville. Three teams that have struggled so far this year. All three are 0-2, with the Huskies having scored just once in two games and the Bombers having been shut out twice in their first two contests of the year. All three need a breakout game this weekend.

THE OLD COLLEGE TRY – Marist takes its 1-1 mark to a perennial power when it plays at Dayton on Saturday, while Army hosts Northwestern at Michie Stadium. That actually might be one of the better games in several years at the venerable old West Point stadium, as Northwestern boasts Heisman Trophy candidate Dan Persa at quarterback.

BY THE NUMBERS – Highland is scheduled to play at Onteora on Saturday but the host Indians had to forfeit a game last week against Marlboro due to a lack of eligible players, so it will be interesting to see of Onteora is able to field a full team … New Paltz has scored 75 points in two games … Red Hook is 2-0 for the first time in seven years but plays host to New Paltz on Saturday … All three of Millbrook’s games so far this year have either been moved (season opener vs. Spackenkill was played at Arlington) or re-scheduled, including this week’s contest against Fallsburg, which is being played Saturday but was supposed to be played tonight … Four times in less than three season. That’s how many times Arlington has pulled out a win in the final two minutes of a game. The Admirals did it again in their season opener last week, breaking a 9-9 tie with Suffern on a TD pass with 1:58 to go in a 16-9 victory.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Check out our all-new High School Football section, with a page for EVERY team!

RCK girls outlast heat, humidity and OLL

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

LaGRANGE – The temperature on the old bank signs might have read a comfortable 76 degrees on Wednesday shortly before the Roy C. Ketcham and Our Lady of Lourdes high school girls’ soccer teams kicked off their Conference I, League A opener, but in reality the near-90% humidity made it a soppy, uncomfortable mess for the players.

“It was just brutal,” said Ketcham senior Kelsey Malles, who scored both goals in the first half as her Indians hung on for a 2-1 victory over the Warriors at OLL’s home field at Stringham Park. “It was hot; some of our girls had trouble breathing. The hot air gets to you. My mouth was getting a little dry and it was like ‘Arrggh, I can’t feel anything!’ ”

It was a day when both coaches made liberal substitutions throughout the game, although a nice breeze kicked up just after halftime and provided some second-half relief.

“We have some kids who are asthmatic and I’m not going to risk something where we have an issue,” RCK coach Chris Calimano said. “It’s a league game and we protected our lead, but it’s not worth it. We just moved them around, gave them breaks. Sometimes the weather like this, you have to be careful.”

Malles scored both of her goals in a four-minute span of the first half. On her first tally, she streaked down the sideline, beat a defender, drew the OLL keeper out and then slipped a left-footed shot to the far post for the 1-0 lead at the 9:48 mark.

Shortly after, the senior was again on the left sideline and blasted a long, looping 30-yard shot that kept carrying, carrying and carrying in the thick air, and settled into the back of the goal for a score that had everybody wondering …. Did it go in or did it sail over the crossbar and hit the back of the net.

“I was just winging it,” Malles said. “I didn’t think it went in at first. I was actually happy when I found out it was a goal. I’ve been working a lot more on my shot this year.”

But just as it appeared Ketcham was ready to run away with it, OLL stepped up defensively and began marking with more effectiveness late in the first half and all through the second half, prompting even the referees to comment to Warriors first-year head coach Kara Sefcik what a much better second half her team played.

“We’re coming together as a unit and a team,” she said. “I think this is really going to help us going forward in the season.”

OLL nearly pulled off a miraculous tie. With less than 11 minutes remaining, Lourdes’ Katina Koslowski was in the right place at the right time when RCK’s defense misplayed a ball in front of the ball. Koslowski slipped it in to cut the lead in half and give the Warriors some momentum.

But RCK junior goalie Mary McElduff earned her keep in the second half, making several nice saves – including one she tipped over the crossbar – to keep OLL off the board.

OLL inducts first HOF class

By Rich Thomaselli

HVSR

Marist College women’s basketball coach Brian Giorgis leads a list of 21 inaugural inductees into the Our Lady of Lourdes High School Athletic Hall of Fame, the school announced.

The group will be celebrated and feted on Friday night with the first annual induction ceremony and dinner, to be held at the Dutchess Manor in Beacon.

Prior to his amazing success at Marist since taking over the program in 2002, Giorgis put OLL on the map as the school’s girls’ basketball coach. Giorgis went 451-44 in his 19 seasons guiding the Warriors, winning nine state championships. In his last two years, his teams posted a combined mark of 56-2 and earned the top ranking in the Madison Square Garden Tri-State Area Poll each year. Giorgis has earned two WBCA Region One Coach of the Year honors and two coach of the year awards from the New York State Coaches Association. He led Lourdes to the league title all 19 of his seasons there and won 15 Section One crowns, with the last 11 coming consecutively.

In addition, Giorgis is the only coach in state history to take four teams to the state Final Four in his career, as he also guided the baseball, softball and volleyball teams there. His softball squad captured the state crown in 1990.

Joining Giorgis in the first OLL Athletic Hall of Fame will be three of his players: Karen Lounsbury Russell, a 1988 graduate of the school who helped Giorgis win his first state championship in 1987; Kim Dennin Knittel, a 1995 grad who won two state titles; and Alison Dietz Faery, who hit the game-winning shot in the 1993 state title game.

Inductees also include Joe Kesselmark, who starred as a baseball player at OLL and later played professionally in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization; former Marist College quarterback Ron Levine; Richard Beams, Edward F. Donohue, Catherine Kelly, Kevin Connell, Adam Crawford, Michael Eidel, Brady Fister, Jeffrey A. Hirst, Anthony Lambe, Cathleen Corning, John Crawford, Gary Henderson, James Rittinger, and former football star and Marist College lineman Chris Keenan.

Marist to unveil new McCann Center with a 'Sneak Peek'

POUGHKEEPSIE – After six months of construction, the Marist College Athletics Department announced Wednesday it will unveil the renovated McCann Arena with a fan Sneak Peek on Thursday, September 22.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will allow fans to tour the updated facility, sample the new chairback seating and learn more about the extensive renovation project.

The event will start at 5:30 p.m. and run until 7:30 p.m. Members from both the men's and women's basketball programs will be on hand to interact with fans. Refreshments will be served.

The Sneak Peek is the first time McCann Arena will be open to public since the removal of the arena's original bleacher seating in April. Over the past six months the project has seen a full renovation of the facility including the installation of a wall-to-wall wood playing surface, the addition of two practice courts, new chairback seating on the east and west sides of the arena, new endzone seating and the construction of a fan access tunnel on the North end of the facility.

“The Sneak Peek will be a great opportunity for Red Fox Club members, fans and the community to see all the great enhancements we have made to the McCann Center,” Marist athletic director Tim Murray said in a statement. “From the modernize lobby to the expanded restrooms to the completely renovated McCann Arena, I am confident that our fans will be blown away with our upgraded facility.

Although the project is a renovation, the entire interior of McCann Arena, including the seating configuration, has been upgraded to that of a newly constructed facility.

The renovation of McCann Arena has also made way for a restructuring for the Marist Red Fox Club, the official booster club of Marist Athletics. The new Red Fox Club model will allow for fans of Marist Athletics to become official boosters, while also offering many different benefits. The biggest modification to membership options will allow fans to become Red Fox Club members while only making a season ticket commitment to one basketball program.

Fans that would like to renew their Red Fox Club membership, or those who are interested in becoming a member, are encouraged to attend the Sneak Peek to learn more about club membership options.

Two words: We're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

And, we’re back.

Please pardon the interruption.

When last we left you, Hudson Valley Sports Report took the spring 2011 season off to enter into a venture with MSG Varsity.com. It was fun, it was enjoyable and it’s something I will continue to do this high school season in order to keep giving local schools recognition and exposure on what is the largest media platform in the area in MSGV.

But I still felt the pangs of separation anxiety J

I missed being more involved in Hudson Valley sports, missed chronicling the achievements of our area high school athletes and, yeah, I missed my little baby here. HVSR is my pride and joy.

More importantly, I heard you. And it was tremendously appreciated. I got your phone calls, your emails, your voice messages, all asking to bring the site back. I listened when you grabbed me at games, saw me at church, talked to me at the Fair, all asking to bring HVSR back.

In large part, I was being selfish. I have a fulltime job and, through the tail end of the fall season of 2010, all of the winter season, and into the spring season, I was completing a book on the Michigan-Ohio State football rivalry.

(Shameless self-promotion: Buy This Book! Yeah, that one, right over there to the right!)

Wouldn’t it be nice, I thought, just to write for MSGV and not have to take 30-40 events per day, by myself? And, yeah, I’ll be blunt. It was nice. Until I realized that, A) I missed it and B) am I really going to leave the coverage of high school sports in our area to the local papers who give nothing but more of the same old same old? Or worse, copy what HVSR did last year by doing individual football previews with a video component? That’s so 2010 J

OK, kidding. I love to tweak the competitors. Bottom line is, Hudson Valley Sports Report is the little engine that could. We don’t have the reach that the local papers do, we don’t have the staff – um, that ugly mug up there? That is the staff. And he doesn’t get paid J – and we don’t have the resources. They can rightly claim they kick our butt in those areas.

But what this site does have, and always will have, is a dogged determination to deliver the best editorial product there is, to bring you more breaking news on high school sports than any other local media outlet, and do it with a sense of passion and not as though it were a chore.

I’ll put that up against anybody.

Thanks for having us back. Happy to be here. Oh, and, uh, always tip your bartender and waitresses.

Smalley-Dempsey doubles win clinches Arlington tennis victory

FREEDOM PLAINS – The last women standing were Katie Smalley and Caitlin Dempsey, and they came through.

Arlington High School’s fourth doubles team was the final match on the court Wednesday in a 3-3 tie, but Smalley and Dempsey overcame Brewster’s Casey Virgo and Eiman Khan, 6-4, 6-2, to give the Admirals the 4-3 victory over the Bears.

“The girls played a great match today,” Arlington coach Gail Lynch said.”Brewster pushed us to play better.”

The Admirals won three of the four doubles match, including victories by Victoria Nickerson and Lydia Fox at No. 2 doubles, and Pam Foti and Alicia Knight at third doubles.

Hannah Hart was Arlington’s only singles winner, taking a 6-0, 6-0 decision over Olivia Gruwald at No. 2 singles.