Leading off today: Long Island and New York City will resume their football all-star series this year after a five year hiatus,
Newsday reported.
The National Football Foundation All-Star Classic and be held at Hofstra University on June 21, replacing the Empire Challenge, which was canceled in 2020 because of COVID and never resumed.
Rosters will be picked early next week.
Milestones
Batavia boys basketball coach Buddy Brasky became the sport's latest 500-game winner on Friday as the Blue Devils dispatched Eastridge 83-79. Brasky began his tenure with the Section 5 program in 1990.
• Last week, Ursuline girls basketball coach Beth Wooters, who is in her 40th season, notched win No. 700 with a victory vs. Tappan Zee in the Autism Classic.
• Colonie girls coach Heather Dibiase booked her 300th win in a non-leaguer vs. St. John Prep in the Rose Classic.
Section 2 programs staying together
The football program merger between Warrensburg, Lake George, and Bolton is expected to remain intact next fall continue this fall in the aftermath of an undefeated season that ended prematurely for what was the state's top-ranked Class D program at the time.
The Sun Community News reported the respective school boards have voted to continue fielding a combined team. The arrangement still needs approval from Section 2 as part of the annual process.
The Wolverines 2024 season ended on Nov. 2 as the school boards responded to an alleged sexually-related incident involving athletes on a school bus during a team trip to Syracuse. Two Lake George players were subsequently arrested.
Quirky ending to Section 5 wrestling final
I didn't see any reporting on this last week in the immediate aftermath, but the Section 5 Division II dual-meet championship in wrestling reportedly ended in a most unusual fashion.
Writing this week about the difficult the section has had in getting teams to participate in the NYSPHSAA dual-meet championships, the Democrat and Chronicle reported there were only four entries apiece in the Division I and II tournaments.
If nothing else, that made for an easy process. The section could conduct the semifinals and the championship match in one night for each division. And that's how the process played out in Division II until final was halted in somewhat dramatic
fashion.
According to the paper, Honeoye Falls-Lima defeated Geneva and Wayne topped Attica/Batavia in the semifinals. HF-L and Wayne then started their matchup for the right to advance to next Saturday's state meet when a sectional official determined that an ineligible HF-L wrestler had competed in both matches that night.
By rule, the Cougars forfeited both match, advancing Wayne to the state tournament.
Season over
Rondout Valley has ended its boys varsity basketball season after an 0-9 start, citing a depleted roster, district Superintendent Paul Spadaro told
The Daily Freeman.
