Leading off today: Charlie Comerford is returning to the football sidelines as the coach of a start-up program that will begin play next fall.
The former Bishop Timon-St. Jude AD and football coach has been serving as the athletic director at Western New York Maritime Charter School this school year. That school and Health Sciences will form a combined football program that will start out with just a varsity team, The Buffalo News reported.
"I don't know what to expect," Comerford said. "With the merger and being brand new, I'm sure we'll take some lumps. There'll be some growing pains and logistical issues most schools don't have to worry about. But I think once we get past the first year, get past the funding and operational aspects, it'll all get in line."
The program does not have a home field at the moment. A field house is slated for construction at Maritime Middle School this summer, and Comerford says the hope is to add a football field with bleachers and lights at that site down the road.
Comerford, a star athlete as a Timon students, took over the football program at his alma mater in 2011 and was named AD the following year. He resigned from both posts last summer after Principal Michele Battin's contract was not renewed.
Not exactly a surprise: North Rockland sophomore Katelyn Tuohy has been named Gatorade's New York girls cross country runner of the year.
Tuohy completed a perfect season by placing first at the Nike Cross Nationals last month in Portland, Ore. Tuohy also won the NYSPHSAA Class A championship and the title at the Federation meet.
Section 1 says uh-uh again: Section 1 reaffirmed its decision to pull its basketball tournaments out of the Westchester County Center, with the Executive Committee rejecting a recommendation by the Athletic Council to restore a slate of semifinal games there.
A statement e-mailed from Executive Director Jennifer Simmons to school administrators Monday afternoon said Section 1 would host its boys and girls semifinals at the higher-seeded schools, The Journal News reported.
• Earlier Monday, Section 1 went to state Supreme Court in White Plains to seek dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the local boys and girls coaches' associations. The motion stated that because coaches are not "members of Section I, they do not have a specific right to challenge the alleged violation of the Section's Constitution."
Milestone: Spackenkill girls basketball coach Don Neise won his 300th game with a 59-45 victory over Ellenville. Issy Herrera scored 22 points.
Boys basketball: Larry Moreno scored a school-record 51 points for Brooklyn Law & Technology in a 104-44 victory against Automotive.
• C.G. Finney senior guard Max Harris made six 3-pointers Monday to climb to 304 for his career. Harris finished with 18 points as the Falcons defeated East Rochester 61-46.
Girls volleyball: Winless Belleville Henderson won the first set, but Blessed Virgin Mary rallied to a 19-25, 26-24, 25-14, 25-19 victory.
