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Blue Devils Begin Stretch of Grueling Competition on Right Foot
Haldane bombs reigning champs Blind Brook, beat Brewster
by Ray Gallagher
 | | Haldane's Avery Zuvich and the Blue Devils won a war at Brewster Monday night, taking down Maggie Fallon's host Class A Bears in a 78-71 Haldane victory |
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You would have thought the deed to all of Putnam County was on the line the way the visiting Class C Haldane Lady Blue Devils and the Class A Brewster Bears got after one another in the unbeaten Blue Devils' 78-71 victory over the Bears Monday night. Bodies crashed, elbows smashed and the Blue Devils dashed back to Cold Spring with a hard-fought hoops win over a much larger school that has at least eight gutty kids, but the Blue Devils had, as it turns out, a few more than that.
With additional wins earlier this season over the likes of Class AA Yorktown, Class C heavyweight Hamilton, defending Class C champion Blind Brook, the state-ranked (No.5) Blue Devils (12-0) have played some heavy-duty competition. And with the likes of Class AA Horace Greeley and Ossining, as well as Class A Peekskill and Section 9 heavyweight Burke, in the coming weeks former 14-time defending sectional champion Haldane will enter the Section 1 Class C tournament battle tested and ready to retain the rights to the sectional championship it duly believes is theirs.
The Blue Devils haven't ducked anyone under first-year Coach Kenny Haskins, and the tough schedule should pay dividends down the road. If nothing else, playing Class AA teams like Ossining (8-5) and Greeley (10-3) in the final week of the season, the Blue Devils will be prepared in terms of toughness when tournament play begins.
That was the knock on last year's schedule: The lack of tough competition down the stretch. No doubt, Shieldsy and Co. will get a taste of first-rate competition down the stretch this year.
Well, I'm here to tell you that the stretch has started, and the Lady Blue Devils are passing the early tests, but they've still got their work cut out for them, according to Haskins.
"I don't know how many more of these types of game I can take," the coach joked after watching All-State swing-girl Brittany Shields inch within 109 points of the school's all-time scoring record with 30 against the Bears. "I thought Brewster outhustled us and outrebounded us in my mind. Our press-breaker was horrible, and thank God we don't have to play them again. They're tough But again, as has been our tradition this year, we find ways to win late. I should be happy about it, but I just think that there are a lot of things we have to work on.
"We can't play like this the rest of the way," Haskins added. "By design, we've scheduled some tough schools because last year we went out in the finals (for the first time in 14 years), and I just think the school, our athletic director and the community expect more than that. And we want to give it, so we've taken on these tougher teams in the hopes of learning something from these games."
The Blue learned a lot, and if it weren't for a solid performance from Shields, as well as junior Avery Zuvich (15 points) and freshman Liz Milner (18 points), the Blue Devils likely head back to Cold Spring with their tails between their legs. Scotti King added nine points off three key treys.
"This was our first big test," said Shields, who collared at least 15 boards and shot better than 75% from the field. "Last year, we were really only tested by Ossining (during the course of the regular season). Games like this show us what we need to work on and what we did well. We're taking it one game at a time right now. The real tests are soon to come, and we'll find out where we stand against some tough teams from here on out. We showed today that we need a lot of work against teams that press us, but pulling out the win today was all that matters."
In truth, dear Brittany; the only thing that matters is that the atoning Blue Devils are the last one's standing at the County Center this March…
Now that NFLfootball is just a few weeks from its dreaded conclusion, the holidays are over and my newborn boy, Tyler Ray, has checked in on New Years Eve, it's time to get down and dirty with the local sports scene again, but this past weekend was all about my true passion, NFLfootball.
The magnificent 5th-seeded New York Giants have come from the brink of utter collapse with losses in the last two of three before entering the playoffs, only to stun the football gods with a wild 21-17 victory over the loathsome, top-seeded Cowboys Sunday. I don't think too many of us saw this coming after the loss to the Redskins and the spotty play of QB Eli Manning, the last Manning standing. The Jints were on the edge of elimination just a few weeks back, but I can't remember a time when I was ever prouder to call myself a Giants fan: Perhaps it has something to do with the Giants beating America's Team (as if!) in Big D' in their only postseason match-up. I've been telling my dad for three years now that I see something in Eli Manning, flashes of brilliance that will pan out with patience. You can't disagree any more, pop!
Nonetheless, we turn our attention to historic Lambeau Field where Lombardi's 2nd-seeded Green Bay Packers play host next Sunday, the two meeting in the playoffs for the first time since the 1962 NFLchampionship. Fitting: The NY Giants, the best road team in NFLhistory at 9-0 this season, headed to Green Bay, perhaps the toughest home-field advantage in all of sports.
Wouldn't ya just love a NY Giants - San Diego Chargers Super Bowl? Either way, it's been a period where the NFLhas once again provided tremendous theatre, the Milquetoast breakdown of namby-pamby T.O. and petulant owner Jerry Jones excluded. Sorry, I didn't buy T.O. About the only thing missing from the Cowboys sideline was a Jessica Simpson sighting at the center of the star
God bless the NFL, but may he skip over 'dem Cowboys! How 'bout 'dem Giants! Please visit www.yourdirectrays.com to view Section 1 sports photo galleries.
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