Leading off today: OK, one last look at the issue before I stop beating the dead horse of New York high school football forfeits:
Who's the rocket scientist that placed Newtown into Division AAA of New York City's PSAL? The Newtown varsity was one of 11 across the state to forfeit its game this weekend (nine other programs have called off the entire season). While the forfeit may not have been predictable when schedules were set, that doesn't get the PSAL off the hook for a decision.
It was big news last December when the announcement came down that the Queens high school would field the first football team in its 128-year history this fall. The Pioneers actually held practices last fall in preparation, but the school did not field a team at any level.
The obvious call by the PSAL would have been to place Newtown in Division A or perhaps AA. Instead, the governing body for New York City scholastic sports placed the team in its second-largest of four divisions. It's the same division that includes state-ranked Sheepshead Bay and A. Philip Randolph. (Mercifully, neither of those teams are on Newtown's 2026 schedule).
So, what happened this weekend? With just 17 players (mostly underclassmen) listed on its roster and no JV squad from which it could promote players, Newtown had to forfeit its divisional debut to Eagle Academy III.
Putting Newtown in 'AAA' may have been penny-wise since it gave the division an even number of teams, but it's going to prove to be pound-foolish by the end of the year. The PSAL leaders should be embarrassed over rushing Newtown into a demanding division without so much as a JV program to support it, but we know they won't be.
• Onondaga, unable to take the field so far this fall, has been shopping around in Section 3 to find a team that can take on its players, Syracuse.com reported.
The Tigers, scrambling since a preseason car accident hospitalized several players and left the roster short-handed, have approached Bishop Ludden-Grimes/Syracuse Academy of Science and OnTech, the website reported.
OnTech plays eight-man football and had to forfeit its Week 3 game after injuries piled up.
Lancaster girls win huge Victor volleyball tournament
The logistics of operating eight courts at once must be mind-boggling, but Victor pulled off a
32-team girls volleyball tournament featuring four defending state champions over the weekend.
"Everyone wants to play these teams," Victor coach Matt Glover told the Democrat and Chronicle. "All of us coaches want these matchups. This is what makes our kids better and our teams stronger."
Action began with eight pools of four teams apiece. Glover's squad defeated five-time defending NYSPHSAA Class C state titlist Portville in the championship quarterfinals, before bowing out to Orchard Park. Lancaster, the defending state Class AAA champion then captured an all-Section 6 final over the Quakers.
Weekend football notes
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Terrell Cunningham Jr. threw for both Rochester Monroe TDs in a 12-7 win over East in a battle of state-ranked teams. The first scoring strike was the 77th of Cunningham's career, breaking the Section 5 record previously held by Aquinas standout Jake Zembiec.
• Joseph Cangelosi hit Kenneth Shaw on a 20-yard TD pass in double overtime to lift New Utrecht past defending PSAL 'AAA' champion Sheepshead Bay 35-28. Cangelosi scored on a 1-yard run in the first OT.
• Columbia QB Tyler Connolly missed on his first pass attempt and then completed all 16 after that to finish with 301 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-8 win over Amsterdam. He also scored on a 2-yard run.
Also, I somehow missed this standout effort from the previous weekend:
Amsterdam's Rocco Natale Jr. had the game of a lifetime against South Glens Falls during a 52-36 victory in Week 2. The senior wideout caught 11 balls for 253 yards and five touchdowns, booked a 95-yard pick-six, and added a 75-yard kickoff return for his seventh trip to the end zone.
The five receiving touchdowns left hi one short of matching the state record.
Natale's 108 receptions as a junior landed him No. 2 on the state's all-time single-season list.
"I am not the tallest or strongest, but you also have mental strength and that fight in you," Natale told The Times Union. "I am not a guy of words. Sometimes, you just have to have that chip on your shoulder."
Alumni news
Messiah Hampton, the NYSSWA Player of the Year in Class B for NYSPHSAA champion Monroe a season ago, has already made it onto the field as an Oregon true freshman, and he scored his first two touchdowns Friday during an 84-0 rout of Portland State.
He finished with six receptions for 71 yards and scores covering 7 and 16 yards. Through three games, Hampton has nine catches for 102 yards heading into the Ducks' big clash vs. Southern Cal.
Progress update
We started state rankings in football and boys soccer last week. We'll be launching the weekly rankings in girls soccer and volleyball on Tuesday.
Also, I'm pretty far into compiling and posting a state record book for flag football performances. I know I'm going to be missing some significant game, season, and career marks in version 1.0, but I'll hopefully add it to our reference section within the week.
