Leading off today: Newburgh Free Academy is the latest school to shut down its 2024 football season prematurely, with the district superintendent citing a violation of the student code of conduct by team members.
Sources told Mid-Hudson News that the decision was the result of a hazing-related incident.
NFA (6-3), which forfeited its regular-season finale to Our Lady of Lourdes, was scheduled to play Middletown in the Section 9 Class AA semifinals on Friday. Middletown will not advance to play Pine Bush or Monroe-Woodbury for the title.
The website reported that the Goldbacks also held some players out of an Oct. 25 game against Kingston.
"Based upon our findings to date, we have formally engaged law enforcement and will support their investigation as necessary," Superintendent Jackielyn Manning Campbell wrote in a letter to parents. "Unfortunately, due to the circumstances, the remainder of the football season has been canceled. While I regret this outcome, it is a necessary step as we continue to gather information, support those who have been impacted, and ensure accountability for those involved."
Goldbacks coach Bill Bianco did not immediately return a phone call on Tuesday night, the website reported.
"I recognize that some of our students and families may feel frustrated and believe they are being unfairly penalized for the actions of a few," Manning Campbell said. "I want to reaffirm that the safety and well-being of all of our scholars remain my top priority."
Over the weekend, superintendents of the respective school districts announced Warrensburg/Lake George/Bolton, ranked No. 1 in the state in Class D, was terminated following allegations of inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature toward a student.
Baldwinsville's Section 3 soccer revival continues
A month into the boys soccer season, Baldwinsville was 1-5-1, with four of the losses by a single goal.
Fast-forward to Monday night, when the Bees prevailed for the eighth time in their last nine contests by defeating Liverpool on penalty kicks to earn the Section 3 Class AAA championship.
The final ended with a 1-1 tie in regulation, then the teams went scoreless in overtime to officially create co-champions before Baldwinsville (11-6-2) advanced to the state playoffs by 4-3 in overtime penalty kicks.
A year ago, B'ville beat Liverpool in the title game as William Stevens scored the games only goal in the final five minutes of regulation. This time, the teams were tied at 3-3 through five rounds of penalty kicks before Stevens opened sudden death by converting his kick. Moments later, goalkeeper Sawyer Barr dove to his left to stop the final Liverpool attempt.
"It's a great feeling, knowing I helped my team," Barr told Syracuse.com. "I didn't want to let them down, so I had to make the save."
Monster numbers for Carthage running back
Heading into his team's Section 3 semifinal against Indian River, Carthage star Geremiah Ademola-Sadipe is 168 yards away from becoming the sixth New York running back to rush for 3,000 yards in a season.
Onondaga legend Mike Hart accomplished the feat in 2001 and '03, and Batavia's Ray Leach was the most recent to it in 2018.
Ademola-Sadipe is averaging 314.7 yards a game this fall, with highs of 458 vs. Chittenango and 390 vs. Camden. In all, he has 2,832 yards and 37 touchdowns on 281 rushing attempts according to Syracuse.com.
Record book: N.Y. single-season rushing
Milestones
I wish I had more details on this because it represents both an impressive and an unusual achievement.
According to The Batavian, the cross country title earned by the Batavia Notre Dame boys team on Saturday at Letchworth State Park represented the 100th sectional championship in school history.
The Fighting Irish have certainly collected a number of titles in my 40-plus years covering high schools, but I'd love to see the sport-by-sport breakdown on this if anyone has it.
