By Rich Arnott
Fearless Phil is enjoying his very rare fall vacation down south and plans to return by the time this coming weekend's games conclude. As for Rick Stone, he cruised up north to Canada for a reunion with his old CFL buddies. Who knows when he'll get back to us (especially if we keep seeing these Section Nine upsets). So I'll throw in a few observations regarding our teams.
I have to agree with Section Nine statistician Rich Michaelis in doling out kudos to Coach Chris Kasprzyk and the Onteora program. Despite low numbers the team still shows up and takes on the likes of Section One powerhouse Dobbs Ferry ... Coach Frank Kean's Yellowjackets have made Eldred proud with a 4-0 start as they put up a 40-spot against Class C Spackenkill ... Goshen takes the first cross-town rivalry game against John S. Burke. My WTBQ broadcast partner Rob McClean noted the great fan turnout at Oscar W. Gustafson Field on Saturday (and not because of the new bleachers, either). I wonder if the two schools will ever find a symbolic community trophy to honor the winner of their clash if it becomes a yearly thing? ... Ron Stover's Chester team has also played up in class with tough opponents like Highland. I guess sacrificing the overall record can sometimes help prepare for the all important league games.
Correspondent Brian Moore intimated that Red Hook's Homecoming and Hardscrabble Weekend was a huge success when he said, "41-0." Sounds very celebratory ... It looks like Dan Scalo is ok and so is Section Nine's best hope for a third state title ... Coach Lock keeps reporting on Friday nights about some NFA player named Barry Surrett. You'd think he scored six touchdowns or something ... The Panthers nearby the Shawangunk Mountains of Wallkill deserve a feather in their claw after knocking off a good AA-I Pine Bush team ... Solid Saugerties gave Class A another win over AA in shutting down Wizardville ... Ooops! They just threw another flag in the first half of Warwick-Valley Central. Oh wait, they picked the flag up. Nevermind. ;) ... Minisink struck what probably seemed to them like a point bonanza in scoring 28 against Port Jervis but it seems like the Warriors are getting better and better as the weeks go by. And Andrew Haelen is a tough customer.
Games are played on the field and not on paper. New Paltz regrouped after a tough week three loss and beat favorite O'Neill despite super QB Aaron Kilner ...Sullivan West at Ellenville must have been a great Friday night football atmosphere with two excellent programs going at it for first place ... Too bad the Marlboro-Millbrook overtime thriller wasn't broadcast somewhere ... The same can be said about the Middie Bears' claw-biting 14-13 win over FDR. You hate to see either of those two programs lose one like that ... The other Bears, Coach John Rusin's of Tri-Valley, had the misfortune of running into Liberty's Trevor Tompkins. Still, I bet you could see them practicing the fine art of tackling during several afternoons this week.
Try to get to at least one high school football game this weekend since we're already going into the fifth week of games and the days seem to move by considerably faster. Current Monroe-Woodbury athletic director George St. Lawrence, former Warwick coach, used to call a high school football Friday or Saturday one of the "precious days" for those who love the experience. Very aptly put ...
