Leading off today: Eight Dutchess County schools may seek to change affiliations, shaking up the landscape in Sections 1 and 9 according to several reports this morning.

   Arlington, Roy C. Ketcham, John Jay-East Fishkill, Poughkeepsie, Our Lady of Lourdes, Beacon, Dover and Pawling face a Nov. 30 deadline to apply for membership in Section 9 in time for the 2011-12 school year, with approval then possible by January.

   It would be the third major reconfiguration of Section 9, following the defection of Rockland County schools to Section 1 in the 1980s and the addition of six Dutchess schools in the late 1990s, The Times Herald-Record reported.

   Section 9 Executive Director Bob Thabet told the paper he has met with Dutchess representatives, who in large part are concerned about travel and competitive disparities, on at least two occasions. He has been collecting data from the eight schools so that the section's membership can analyze the potential repercussions.

   "It's the result of a lot of things that have occurred with budgets," Arlington AD Dave Goddard told The Poughkeepsie Journal. "We're trying to figure out what's best for the kids. Thinking outside the box, we're saying, 'Is there a welcoming place for Dutchess schools to go?'"

   As the paper noted, Section 1 alignments are based primarily on geography, while the Section 9 leagues — the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association and Mid-Hudson Athletic League — are based on enrollment.

   The shift of a handful of Class AA and A schools to the smaller Section 9 would smooth out some of the imbalance between the regions.

   Dutchess County school superintendents are expected to take up the topic at a meeting today.

   Back on the mats: Anyone who knows Bill Jacoutot will tell you there was no way he was going to jump directly into full-fledged retirement. So when the Spencerport wrestling coach stepped down at Spencerport last summer it was only a matter of time before he resurfaced.

   Besides several fill-in roles with Spencerport's schools, he'll now be joining the wrestling staff at Brockport next month as an assistant to college legend Don Murray. the Democrat and Chronicle reported.

   "It was traumatic for me to leave Spencerport," Jacoutot, 58, told the paper. "Brockport has been a breath of fresh air."

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   Jacoutot coached 11 wrestlers to NYSPHSAA championships in 28 seasons, and his teams rolled up 353 wins, 21 Section 5 championships and seven New York State Sportswriters Association crowns.

   New kid on the bench: Whereas Jacoutot is a veteran of the

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coaching profession, St. Catharine Academy may well have the youngest varsity coach in the state with the news that Manhattan College freshman Alessandra Rosso has taken charge of the girls volleyball team.

   Rosso, 18, who led the Crusaders to the last two CHSAA Bronx/ Westchester and Archdiocesan titles, has taken over from her sister Melissa Rosso, who stepped down after graduating from Manhattan College and getting a full-time job. Melissa Rosso will stay on as an assistant.

   “She’s always had that motherly coach inside of her for the years we’ve been playing together,” senior Amarilda Shkoza told The New York Post. "So it’s not that big of a transition.”

   Extra points: The Canandaigua National Bank High School Sports Show begins its eighth year on Rochester-area radio tomorrow at noon on WHTK-AM (1280) and WHTK-FM (107.3). Democrat and Chronicle reporter Jeff DiVeronica hosts the only radio show in Rochester that covers Section 5 athletics.