Leading off today: New York's football schedules used to be so tight that it was challenging to line up intriguing non-league games, let alone set up intersectional contests. But as the NYSSWA's Steve Grandin points out after compiling the state's
2024 composite schedule, the inception of "Week 0" in 2021 has spiced up the start to the season.
Week 0 (see the schedule here) is what used to be a universal schedule block for teams to attend a scrimmage a week ahead of their opening game. But once the NYSPHSAA gave teams the option to use that weekend for actual games, the seismic shift was on. Now, a huge majority of coaches have moved away from that scrimmage opportunity to schedule non-league games. And because they are non-leaguers, even the sections that engage in federation-style scheduling are generally leaving the decision on who to play up to the schools.
With little or no impact on playoff implications, quite a few coaches have been going outside their section -- or even outside the NYSPHSAA -- to line up Week 0 opponents. By Grandin's count, nearly 140 teams across all four of the state's scholstic organizations are playing outside their section or association this weekend. A chunk of them are taking it a step further and playing teams from outside New York.
I'm sure fans everywhere have their eyes on specific games. In my home territory (Section 5), marquee games include McQuaid vs. Section 6 heavyweight Lancaster, Monroe vs. Clarence, East/World of Inquiry taking on Syracuse CBA, Victor vs. Cicero-North Syracuse, and University Prep hosting St. Anthony's. The latter shapes up as potentially the best regular-season game on a Section 5 field since the Aquinas-Canisius clashes in the early 2000s.
Week 0 is a win for fans (not to mention the players) across New York.
Football teams to watch
Steve Grandin will once again edit the New York State Sportswriters Association's weekly football rankings, which will make their season debut on Sept. 18. He reached out to NYSSWA helpers across the state last week and compiled this list of teams to watch:
CLASS AA
Section 1 -- Carmel, Arlington, North Rockland
2 -- Christian Brothers Academy, Shenendehowa, Niskayuna, Shaker
3 -- Christian Brothers Academy, Cicero-North Syracuse
4 -- Elmira, Corning
5 -- McQuaid Jesuit, University Prep, Aquinas Institute, Hilton
6 -- Bennett, Lancaster, Orchard Park, Jamestown
8 -- Farmingdale, Oceanside, Massapequa, Syosset
9 -- Middletown, Newburgh Free Academy
11 -- William Floyd, Sachem North, Longwood, Half Hollow Hills East, North Babylon, Ward Melville, Sachem East, Northport, Walt Whitman
PSAL -- Erasmus Hall, Tottenville, Abraham Lincoln, Curtis
CHS -- Cardinal Hayes, Iona Prep, Archbishop Stepinac, Monsignor Farrell, Chaminade, St. Anthony's, Kellenberg
MMA -- Canisius, St. Francis, Bishop Timon-St. Jude
CLASS A
1 -- Somers, Rye, Harrison, Yorktown, Eastchester
2 -- Averill Park, LaSalle Institute, Ballston Spa, Queensbury, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake
3 -- Whitesboro
4 -- Vestal, Horseheads
5 -- East/World of Inquiry, Monroe, Canandaigua, Victor, Brighton
6 -- Clarence, West Seneca West, Sweet Home, Starpoint
8 -- Garden City, Carey, MacArthur, Long Beach, South Side, Elmont, Mepham
9 -- Cornwall, Minisink Valley, Our Lady of Lourdes
11 -- East Islip, Half Hollow Hills West, West Islip, West Babylon, Westhampton Beach, Harborfields, Comsewogue, Hauppauge
PSAL -- Boys & Girls, A. Philip Randolph, Brooklyn Tech, Eagle Academy III, Frank Macchiarola, Springfield Gardens, Petrides
CHS -- Moore Catholic, St. Peter's, Xavier, St. Francis Prep, St. John the Baptist
CLASS B
1 -- Pleasantville, Ardsley, Pelham, Bronxville, Nanuet, Westlake
2 -- Glens Falls, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, Mechanicville/Hoosic Valley, Schalmont
3 -- Indian River, New Hartford, Central Valley
4 -- Maine-Endwell, Owego, Norwich
5 -- Batavia, Honeoye Falls-Lima
6 -- Health Sciences/Global Concepts, Pioneer, Maryvale, South Park, Williamsville South, West Seneca East, Lackawanna, Grand Island
7 -- Peru, Beekmantown
8 -- Seaford, Wantagh, Plainedge, Floral Park, Lynbrook, Locust Valley, North Shore
9 -- Port Jervis, Marlboro, Saugerties
10 -- Ogdensburg Free Academy
11 -- Sayville, Bayport-Blue Point, Shoreham-Wading River, Miller Place, Islip, Mount Sinai, John Glenn, Shoreham-Wading River, Kings Park
PSAL -- Transit Tech, Information Technology
CHS -- Mount St. Michael, Xaverian
AIS -- Long Island Lutheran, Rye Country Day, Poly Prep
CLASS C
1 -- Putnam Valley, Dobbs Ferry, Valhalla
2 -- Schuylerville, Fonda-Fultonville, Cobleskill-Richmondville, Johnstown
3 -- Cazenovia, Adirondack, Skaneateles, General Brown
4 -- Waverly, Chenango Forks, Windsor
5 -- LeRoy/Caledonia-Mumford, East Rochester/Gananda, Letchworth/Warsaw Perry
6 -- Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton, Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove, Southwestern, Portville/Cuba-Rushford, Fredonia, Salamanca, Akron
7 -- Saranac, Saranac Lake/Lake Placid
8 -- Cold Spring Harbor, East Rockaway
9 -- James O'Neill, Chester/Seward
10 -- Gouverneur
11 -- Babylon
CLASS D
1 -- Haldane, Tuckahoe
2 -- Warrensburg/Lake George/Bolton, Stillwater, Greenwich, Cambridge/Salem
3 -- Dolgeville, Sandy Creek
4 -- Tioga, Delhi, Walton
5 -- Canisteo-Greenwood, Attica, Avon, York/Pavilion, Alexander, Oakfield-Alabama/Elba
6 -- Clymer/Sherman/Panama, Randolph, Gowanda/Pine Valley, Franklinville/Ellicottville
7 -- Moriah
9 -- Burke Catholic
11 -- Port Jefferson
EIGHT-MAN
3 -- Frankfort-Schuyler, Morrisville-Eaton, West Canada Valley
4 -- Moravia, Trumansburg, Groton, Greene
5 -- Pembroke, Bolivar-Richburg, Red Jacket
6 -- Frewsburg
9 -- Sullivan West, Pawling, Ellenville, Pine Plains/Rhinebeck
Progress report
There are still a couple of pages requiring updates, but the overhaul of our
New York football record book is pretty much complete. We -- more specifically, I -- had let those web pages become cobweb pages since Paul Hutzler retired after the 2017 season, but there are now more than 300 new or corrected entries for game, season, and career performances.
That being said, we know we're still missing performances by athletes who deserve to be recognized, so send possible additions to jmoriello@yahoo.com for investigation.
Speaking of which ...
Barring unforeseen circumstances, today's blog is the first of what will be many throughout the school year. The combination of COVID-19 shutting down sports in March 2020, the time commitments required for my "real" job, and some degree of burnout resulted in me blogging infrequently over the past four years.
Now that I'm hovering in that zone between semi-retirement and full-blown retirement, I'll be spending more time updating the NYSSWA website and returning to blogging.
I won't be doing as much chronicling of daily results as in the past, but I do want to acknowledge newsworthy performances as well as track big-picture developments with implications for athletes, schools, and governing bodies.
-- John Moriello
