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Questions, Answers About Upcoming Gridiron Season
Section 1 football programs take the field this week
by Ray Gallagher
 | | Putnam Valley RB Hugh O'Gorman should find enough holes on Class B grids to make a name for himself this fall |
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As is always the case, optimism runs rampant on Section 1 football gridirons this time of year as double and triple sessions reveal whether or not teams will have what it takes to compete with the dominant programs in Section 1. The same old questions arise each and every season, and the 2007 campaign will be no different as teams officially headed back to work this past Monday with high hopes and tons of uncertainty.
Question: Will all five Section 1 champions - New Rochelle, Harrison, Rye, Dobbs Ferry and Tuckahoe - repeat? Answer: That's a distinct possibility. All are favored by the so-called experts to do so, but Haldane High is rumored to have closed the gap on reining four-time Class D champion Tuckahoe, the defending state champs. The Blue Devils (3-5 last year) are still young and could be a year away from doing so, but the nucleus of the club returns with bold aspirations of representing Section 1 in the NYSPHSAA tournament for the second time (2000). Stranger things have happened to those who have worked hard, you know.
Question: Can anyone in Class AA beat defending champion New Rochelle this year? Answer: Not bloody likely! The Huguenots, 9-1 last year, may not be better than they were a year ago, but they return more than runner-up John Jay (8-2), and that should be enough to send them packing for Dietz Stadium this fall for the first round of the state tourney. New Ro' has won the title four times since 2000, and Jay has been to the finals three times in the last five years, so I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see the two of them in the trenches again later this fall, hooked up in a semifinal encounter. Jay had its best chance last year, and I suspect that Indian boss Jimmy Clark and company will find a way back with fistfuls of unfinished business in each hand, but the two cannot be paired in the finals due to Class AA's quirky playoff system.
Question: Can anyone beat Harrison in Class A? Answer: Doubtful.
Question: Can Rye be had in Class B? Answer: They're a lot younger this year, but I doubt it.
Question: Is Class C Dobbs Ferry (12-0) the best football program in the state and can anyone take down the defending NYS champions? Answer: Yes, they're the best in the state right now, and nobody in Section 1 Class C will hang with the Eagles again this year. The Eagles punctuated their six-year run with a third NYS championship, five Carrier Dome appearances, six Section 1 titles and an astounding 70-3 record over the past six years.
In Class A, defending Section 1 champion Harrison (9-2) may never come back down to earth. If the moon is what you shoot for, then the Huskies are the Apollo, poised for another landing. Class A "experts" are saying Coach Tony DeMatteo and Somers in particular, plus Eastchester, Ossining, Nyack, Fox Lane, Lakeland and Beacon are the likely candidates to give Harrison a run for its money. They better bring Trump change, not chump change.
In Class B, Rye (10-1) has won three of the last four crowns, and the Garnets were good enough last year to hand Harrison its lone Section 1 defeat. You can't say enough about Coach Dino Garr's program… remarkable comes to mind, though. I suspect they'll be the last one standing again, but little ol' Putnam Valley won't be backing down from a potential playoff challenge should the Tigers have enough in the tank to make a run.
The Tigers aren't exactly loaded size, with a just a handful of what I like to call the Bicentennial Club members (200-pounders only, please), including seniors Matt Bauer, Pat Considine, John Landi, DJ Sanner, Larry Cobb and big Shane Yorgensen. So, yeah, Putnam Valley's got some size issues when it comes to measuring up in Class B, but the will to win is there. However, Rye is lethal as always and looking for a fifth-straight sectional title. Hanging with the Garnets has been just a pipe dream for Putnam Valley in recent seasons. That said; the Tigers will have a new look at QB this season in junior Walter Sherwood, who has enough size and strength to shed initial tacklers to buy time in the pocket. His primary weapons will be senior RB's Considine and Hugh O'Gorman, who form a solid combination of size and speed, and WR Ryan Foshay. None are true burners but all can bust off long gains and sniff out the end zone in Coach Frank Heitman's varied schemes.
Pelham (6-3), which gave Rye fits last year, could do so again behind RB Luke Johnson, and Sleepy Hollow is quite dangerous. Edgemont, the favorite in Putnam Valley's league, has three state titles to its credit and five Section 1 titles from 1995-2001, but 2001 was a long time ago, so it's Rye's title to lose in Class B.
In Class C, it's Dobbs Ferry on one upper tier - The House That Skip Built - and everybody else looking up at the soaring Eagles, who play for keeps now under Coach Chris Wagner.
In Class D, Tuckahoe is most assuredly the team to beat. Admittedly, I know very little about the Class D football scene, having spent the past 18 years bouncing from grid to grid but never having the fortune of seeing a Class D football game. What I do know is that rebuilding Tuckahoe has been to three state title games to Haldane's none. With just two Class D teams in Section 1, both the Tigers and Haldane Blue Devils are locked into a play-date at Mahopac High for all the marbles later this fall. Blue Devils QB Nick Torchia is said to be poised for a breakout campaign. The 31 points by which Haldane lost to Tuckahoe in last year's Class D finale will be tough to make up, but the Blue Devils have a budding leader in 5'11" sophomore Torchia. Senior RB Michael Thorpe will be a workhorse out of the backfield, but he'll need to sniff out more goal-line carries in an effort to reach paydirt with more frequency in 2007. Sophomore Derek O'Dell provided good cause for optimism last year, developing into a primary fixture during a wonderful rookie campaign last fall. O'Dell possesses about 5'9" and 170 pounds of fury on both sides of the ball. Look for a huge season at RB/LB from him, but he won't sneak up on anyone this season as the word is officially out on this kid.
And neither will Coach Tony Percacciolo's Blue Devils, who won't look past anyone this season but will target Tuckahoe for a November meeting in Mahopac. The Class C/D League A schedule, which includes Dobbs and Class C runnerup Croton-Harmon, should prep the Blue Devils well, including Rob Percacciolo, who is expected to have a major impact as well, according to my sources. Senior Nick Nastasi is a big target at 6'2" and big Tom Giachinta anchors both lines at 6'2" 255 with young John McGuire, a sophomore with promise. Raphael Famighetti was a defensive ball hawk last year, recording four picks at DB. If Haldane is going to get a sniff beyond Mahopac, Coach Percacciolo is going to need conditioned athletes, as depth could be a major concern.
Please visit the Section 1 sports photo galleries at www.yourdirectrays.com during the season for upcoming Haldane and Putnam Valley events.
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