Leading off today: I cam across an eye-popping football observation on the Democrat and Chronicle website this morning.
With LeRoy having partnered with Caledonia-Mumford a couple of years ago and Letchworth, Warsaw, and Perry far into their own combined program, Livingston County schools like Avon have lost three long-standing opponents now that Section 5 has reverted to league-based scheduling.
Those are hardly the only examples of the radically changing landscape in the Rochester and Finger Lakes region, and it's part of a concerning scenario playing out across the state because the small schools trying to go it alone are having issues staying on the field for a full season.
In the upcoming Week 3 alone, Onondaga (BEDS number: 156) and OnTech Charter (161) as well as mid-sized schools James I. O'Neill (303) and Croton-Harmon (366) have had to call off games due to the lack of available players. Croton-Harmon will not return to the field this fall.
In New York City's PSAL, Flushing and Lafayette are taking forfeits.
The issue isn't going to go away.
The paper cited a 2024 study by Cornell University's Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy projecting a potential 13% drop in New York's population by 2050.
The relatively recent return of eight-man football was once seen as a stop-gap measure that could buy time for struggling schools to rebuild at the youth and modified levels and then return to 11-man football. In Section 5, Red Jacket won two Section 5 championships in eight-man and returned to the 11-man game last fall. However, there are no eight-man teams in Section 5 this fall, and even Red Jacket is now in the first phase of combining its football program with Midlakes; the teams will combine at the varsity level next fall.
We are honestly just looking ahead at projected numbers," Red Jacket coach Josh Henninger said. "We want to be forward-thinking so that we're not stuck and don't have to scrap (football)."
NFHS reiterates its frustration with colleges
Money talks, and reasonable people can agree it's obnoxiously loud in the college football industry. The National Federation of State High School Associations remains acutely aware of that and has once again
expressed its displeasure with the NCAA's continued encroachment on Friday nights, which used to be the near-exclusive domain of high school football.
"In 2017, the NFHS and its member state associations adopted a resolution regarding Friday night high school football. A portion of that resolution stated that 'college and professional football teams should refrain from scheduling contests on Friday nights. Such restraint would be an investment in their own future success. It would also demonstrate that high school football has value well beyond the field of play. Schools, communities and scholastic teams for girls and boys all benefit when football is strong.'
"Simply put, Friday nights should be reserved for communities to congregate at the local high school team's football game and support the school's student-athletes -- PERIOD. The NFHS and its member state associations urge all major college conferences and the national television networks to refrain from moving college football games to Friday nights in the future."
This week's Friday schedule features Texas Tech vs. Houston in Lubbock, Texas, and Wake Forest vs. Miami in Winston-Salem, N.C., with the contests being shown on Fox and ESPN, respectively.
Both are sure to cut into attendance and media coverage at nearby high school games. Next week, defending FBS champion Indiana hosts Northwestern in another national TV game at the same time that two-time defending Indiana Class 6A champion Brownsburg will be hosting Westfield in a rematch of last year's championship game.
To its credit, the Southeastern Conference hasn't scheduled any Friday games this fall, but the rest of the Power Four conferences continue to cash in at the expense of high school football.
Former East Islip soccer star mourned
Former East Islip and Binghamton University soccer star
Kayla Saager-Beckley died unexpectedly last week in Tulsa, Okla., at the age of 30.
Head football coach Tre Lamb of the University of Tulsa, where Saager-Beckley's husband is an assistant coach, said she was found unresponsive following a workout. The cause of death has not been disclosed.
Saager-Beckley was pregnant with the couple's first child.
She was a two-time all-state player for East Islip, making the first team as a junior. Athletic Director Stephen Restivo remembered Saager-Beckley as "a great athlete, even better kid" who excelled academically as well as athletically.
After multiple knee injuries while attending North Carolina State and West Virginia, Saager-Beckley enrolled at Binghamton, where she was named the America East Striker of the Year as a senior in 2018. She scored 22 goals over two seasons.
"Beyond the field, she was known for her big heart and her deep love of family," Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee said in a statement.
Tulsa's players will wear helmet stickers honoring Saager-Beckley during Saturday's game against East Texas A&M, and the East Islip girls soccer team is also planning to honor her during its home game Tuesday against Deer Park.
