Eastchester football update
-
- April
- 11
I had a story in today’s Journal News on the predicament Eastchester football is in, trying to find a sixth regular season football game. You can read it here.
As I wrote earlier this week, Section 1 did not give Eastchester an extra non-league game because of an odd number of teams in the conference. The Eagles, according to coach Fred DiCarlo, were essentially told by Section 1 that if it wants to play the week of Oct. 10 — and only that weekend — it would have to find an opponent on its own.
Eastchester has searched throughout the tri-state area, including an obscure trade school in Hartford that I actually found looking for a game that way. But it hasn’t secured anything as of it.
The article in today’s paper included a little bit more of the backstory, including Port Chester’s role in this. I’ve already received an email from PC athletic director Joe Durney blasting me for the story, and coach Greg Domestico posted a comment on this blog echoing those thoughts.
Let me explain quickly:
- First, all information in my article was credited to Eastchester coach Fred DiCarlo, was supported by AD Chris Fiore and two other coaches in the conference, as well as another source at PC.
- I was not assigning blame to Port Chester for Eastchester not having a game, although Durney and Domestico seem to think I am. What league and schedule they play is their business. But answer this question: Why would Port Chester participate in a league of teams almost all located on the opposite side of the Hudson when it could be in one that included neighboring rivals Rye and Harrison? Seems fishy.
- The story here is that Eastchester feels it is being hung out to dry here by its conference and Section 1. And it feels very strongly that nobody is listening or even attempting to help resolve the matter.
I’ve returned an email to Durney, the former chairman for Class A football, and will definitely allow him to state his school’s case in this matter. Perhaps I did miss an element that needs clarification.
This entry was posted
on Saturday, April 11th, 2009 at 12:53 pm by Kevin Devaney Jr..
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Josh Thomson has done some of everything since joining The Journal News in March 2003. He began working for the Gannett weeklies during the winter of 2002 as a freelance writer. He joined the daily staff soon after and has since covered various high school and pro sports. Away from sportswriting, Josh lives in Westchester and spends his free time either with his wife, Sarah, or expertly managing his various championship-winning fantasy sports teams. He's visited 21 major-league baseball stadiums and insists that Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are the best by far. Josh graduated from Carmel High School in 1998, then went to Boston University, where, in 2002, he received a degree in communications with a minor in history.
don’t worry Kev, all us Section 1 football fans got your back. It’s obvious what happened here. The PC AD cried and got his way to play in a league they think it’s easier to win in. Eastchester was the “0dd man out” and they suffer. this story is very old in section 1. the “powers that be” do what they want without thought for whats best for everyone, not just for the “kings of the old boy network”. there’s a new era in high school football, and this blog is a part of that. gone are the days when ADs of the “in” schools can control all aspects of the game, and keep an unlevel playing field in dark back room deals. There’s now some transparency to the game because of the way we share information and follow high school sports on a daily basis now. That pisses off those people who have controlled the game far too long and they like things “just the way they are”, and dont want to give up power. The whole thing about section 1 playing one less football game than the rest of the state is a joke as well, and needs some “light” shed on that situation. Whoever was responsible for that should be fired, or at least have to answer for their idiotic actions. Why do our kids have to suffer when compared to the rest of the state. The later starting date the last four or five years, the complete and utter joke of playing 3 football games in 11 days (thank goodness no one got seriously hurt in those games, the lawsuits alone would have been staggering!) And, what’s the deal with where the Sectional championships are going to played? There should be a public forum for discussing what situation is better, Mahopac, White Plains, or the new field being built at old Memorial Field in Mt. Vernon. There is money being made at those games, and whatever situation fits best for the PLAYERS, COACHES AND FANS of section 1 is the situation that is best for everyone. Public bids should be placed for hosting those games, and let the best venue win, no more back room deals on who gets to host these events!!! And the bottom line is this. If PC knew they did nothing wrong, then why cry and complain? Sounds like a little guilty conscience talking to me.
Kevin,
Thank god you are the voice of reason when it comes to section 1 sports. Continue to fight for what’s best for the student athletes in this area. Remember when section 1 tried to BS everyone about how the section was losing money at the county center and would not be able to support the games (basketball)this year, it was u who foiled a request and found out that something smelled fishy. How quickly when challenged the section granted you the correct information and reinstated the games this past year. All do to your efforts and fighting for our kids. We thank you.
Now we have the AD from Portchester and their head coach crying foul about your comments in today’s paper. Coach Domestico should just come out and tell the truth about jumping ship by going into the rockland league because he wants to protect his team which is no sin, BUT don’t try to make Kevin the bad guy for only reporting the facts. Deal with it and move on. Remember there is a new sheriff in town and his name is Kevin Devaney Jr.
Section 1 telling Eastchester H.S. to find an opponent on their own, if they want a game on October 10, is outrageous. A 5 or 6 game season on top of that! They (Sect. 1) should be ashamed of themselves for what they are doing to football in the area. They are not servicing these student-athletes…
Frankly, why am I surprised or even provoked to comment. Whether it be Section 1 or NYS in general, it is a known fact that New York State has never really supported the sport of football. Programs and state support in NJ, PA, OH and even CT are light years ahead of NY when it comes to H.S. football.
As for the demise of what use to be the Governor’s Bowl, don’t be fooled by what our NYSHSFCA has to say. NJ simply got tired of the NYS BS and has chosen to move on!
NYS Should really adopt a scheduling system of like Florida South Carolina where they play 8-10 reg season games…quite frankly isnt Northern NYC Suburbs one of the wealthiest places in the country?
With all the talk of this stimulus stuff…why are we cutting? No School systems in the south are cutting games mainly due in part because there would be a severe outlash from the community. That’s what we need right now…a severe outlash
Kevin,
It seems there are two issues. One is the terrible decision to cut one game from the regular season and the second is that one team (Eastchester this year; Harrison last year)has an open date and the section is not doing their job.
Port Chester switching leagues may be a strange decision based on the geographic proximity to the south league but if Yonkers had not moved to a developmental league some one would have needed to move to the west league.
Sleepy Hollow moving to B created an open slot in the west league.
It seems to me there is still time for the 7 game schedule to be reinstated. I am not sure if there is a way to fix the open date issue, but if they move back to the 7 games maybe there is a way.
We should start a letter and email campaign to the Section 1 committees. How can we get all the addresses and emails?
How about it section 1 football fans? Let’s get this information to each other and let them know how we feel.
Coach Domestico and Durney,
Why would you want to do this to Port Chester. It’s bad enough Cicoria dragged our program to the ground and is a laughing stock of section 1. There was a time, and not too long ago where being Port Chester football meant somethng. Now you want to make us look even more embarrasing by moving out of a league that has Rye and Harrison!!! If you were your players what would you want?! How are you gonna tell your kids that you didnt think they could compete with their RIVALS!! By moving to Rockland all your doing is making your team look soft and scared! Where did the Ram Pride GO??? I guess it left when we decided to change our team colors from silver helmets, blue and white to some cheap knockoff of Penn State. Coach and AD, get a clue! If you cant then find another coach who knows what pride is all about!
There is no excuse to cut any games in the football season They play the least amount of games in any High School sport. Section 1 should go back to the drawing board and get it right its only April. We pay the highest taxes in the country. All people in all our communities should get together and fight for our kids, its not about any one team its about our kids and how hard they prepare each year for the season. Not to forget the coaches either, we don’t deserve this. Everybody get out there and speak to your Athletic Director and let Section 1 know this has to be fixed once again its about our kids!
all the coaches fought this for months and it didnt work out the section 1 committee sucks and there trying to save money…My question is are the art programs being cut from the school, i dont think 1 football game will make a difference…more money is probly made at a football game then spent
No harrison vs port chester game, thats a shame, pc vs harrison has been one of the longest rivalrys in the area.
I would usually rag on Eastchester for complaining, but they have a legit problem. Why should they be the only team with 5 games? This is not right.
The bigger issue is Yonkers moving out and Po Chester going West. Does Po Chester think things will be any better for them in the West? Let’s see what they think after Ossining and Nyack kick them around.
I think a developemental league is a great idea and said so last year. It should have Yonkers, Po Chester, Pearl River and at least Tappan Zee in it for starters. Then maybe none of the playoff division teams would be short games.
LASTLY, the biggest sin here is the cut to 5 games. This would be a great joke if not at the expense of the kids.
Section one is run by a bunch of tools.
GOD FORBID we cut some superintendents or ADs compensation package to save a buck. How about trimming the school district pension plans? Better yet, let the teachers contribute to their benefit plans like the rest of the real world.
I think all these things would save a lot more cash than cutting out 1 little old high school football game.
PS if the afore mentioned tax money blood suckers do not like the proposed pay cuts etc, let them find real 50 to 60 hour a week jobs where you have to work considerably more than 180 days a year.
I wish them luck.
Kevin- you should look into the class A schedule meeting where only one schedule was was considered despite several proposals being brought to the table. How can a final schedule be voted on b4 any of the new schools in the league had a chance to discuss it in an open forum? Also, what happened to geography being a driving force that sup’t intend’s wanted when grouping schools together in leagues as well as x-overs? Take the politicos and good old boys out of the equation, and go str8 enrollment, who cares about the travel, sect 1 is still one of the smaller regions in the state.
I read the article from Saturday’s Journal News written by Mr. Devaney. Having worked under Athletic Director Joe Durney for many years, I found what I was reading hard to believe. In the 17 plus years that I coached football at PC High as an assistant or head coach, I never heard any discussions about trying to alter our schedule or league. We always played the schedule that was given to us, while many others complained about their schedule almost yearly.
If Mr. Devaney had checked his info by making a simple phone call (as I did after reading the article), to either Mr. Durney or Head Coach Greg Domestico, he would have had the facts. As I found out from talking to both of these individuals, PC was never in the League south of the TZ bridge, but was placed in the league with the Rockland schools and Ossining. At that time there were six schools in each league. After schedules were set and indeed crossovers were set, Yonkers decided not to play in class A football for reasons of their own. That left five teams in the league with Eastchester and the situation that they are currently in. PC was never asked, before or after this arose to move into that league. If indeed any school moved from the six team league to the five, the same situation would arise and schedules in class A & B would have to be redone. Mr. Devaney could have had this info with one phone call to someone in authority at the school instead of a “source”.
Not only did Mr. Devaney fail to check his facts prior to printing this article, he seems to have opinions over the years about the PC program and other programs that are “not successful” in his estimation by saying that they are poorly coached, organized and run. I don’t know what he feels gives him this insight or knowledge about these programs. Again does he have all the facts, such as demographics, talent and other factors that go into a successful or unsuccessful program? Mr Devaney seems to equate success with winning or losing, when other factors may be at play.
Coach Domestico, and for that matter, Joe Durney as AD, will now have their hands full dealing with the athletes and parents because this article paints them as not having confidence in their children. Coach Domestico has enough problems to face without having more heaped on because Mr. Devaney did not do his homework before going to print.
Drew Cicoria
So, if Port Chester didn’t ask to move out of A-South, can they ask to be in it since now the league needs a team? Plus Drew, if the reason you don’t believe the story was because “I never heard any discussions about trying to alter our schedule or league”. The last time I checked your not a coach or assistant at Port Chester anymore. Your at Blind Brook, so you wouldn’t and shouldn’t be involved in ANY Port Chester coaching decisions.
I have alot to say about this but I’ll start with.
DEVANEY IS FROM EASTCHESTER!!!!!!!! and his crying is solely based on his affiliation with that program.
He should come clean right now and admit his mistakes. What he did goes against every rule of journalism. He used his position to support his agenda instead of remianing unbiased. If he put the real facts out there and let the bloggers reply it would have been fine. Instead he put BS out there and many of the idiots on this blog took it hook line and sinker.
Devaney you should be ashamed of yourself. It’s absolutely disgracful!!! And stop trying to push the blame!!!!
Cheif,
Moving PC back to the south league would leave the west league short one team and someone else would have the open date.
We need to move back to the 7 game schedule and see if there is a way to deal with this open date issue.
No team should have to deal with this. It is a section issue and they need to find a game for Eastchester or whoever ends up short next year.
whatacrock,
Maybe u should ask yourself who the idiot on the blogs are look no further then yourself! Tough guy maybe u should ask your AD and Head Coach what happened at the reorganization meeting of the leagues this past winter.
1. Ask Doemestico if he is on the class A committee?
2. Ask Doemestico who else is on the board?
3. ASk Doemestico what the vote was to adopt new leagues?
4. Ask Doemestico based on geographics why he didn’t fight harder to avoid the switch?
5. Ask Doemestico if he took the oath and swore that he would not become a rat?
and Port Chester refused to rejoin a league with its neighboring schools – the teams in League A-South had to find another alternate game. Section 1 proposed crossover contests with League B-1, which had only four teams needing a game.
and Port Chester refused to rejoin a league with its neighboring schools – the teams in League A-South had to find another alternate game. Section 1 proposed crossover contests with League B-1, which had only four teams needing a game.
All true account of the meeting. Of course they won’t come out and tell you it’s true. But i was there. It is 100 percent true. Portchester flat out said no when asked to move back to south. Keep denying it Portchester. We have the minutes, and the vote. Maybe we should just send that to Kevin???
Whatacrock…
Very fitting handle! I really wish that when guys run their mouth about how much they have to say, that some of what comes out makes a little bit of sense.
Your claim of bias towards Eastchester, as Mr. Devaney has an affiliation with them, is way off base. I can assure you that he gives no special attention whatsoever towards Eastchester H.S. sports programs.
...Come clean, admit mistakes?
...Support his agenda?
...Ashamed of himself?
If you follow this blog, have read Kevin Devaney’s articles in the JN and/or ever spoken with him, over time you would see as most of us do, that he not only provides a great service to sports in Section 1, but also a very credible journalist who has no hidden agendas as you suggest. He is objective and always says what is on his mind, whether it is the popular answer or otherwise.
My guess is that you are on a crusade for someone and if this is the agenda being followed, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Coach,
No one is denying it from Port Chester but it’s coaches and Ex-coaches (Cicoria). Being a resident and past player I am not at all suprised that it happened like Kevin said. Backdoor deals have been going on at Port Chester for years. Begining with recruting basketball players when Larizza (the father) was bankrolling the team and coaches. Our system in PC is so backwards its not even funny. Durney fires the baseball coach (Charney) 3 years ago, and just this year re-hires him! We are the only football team that, over the past 10 years, has had 4 head coaches ( Wagner, Cicoria, Bisignano, and Domestico ) but kept the same exact assistants!! They play merry-go-round with the coaches because Durney is buddy-buddy with all of them. We had a chance to get a great coach in Rich Albonizio from Greenwich (and yes as unbelieveable as it sounds he would have left to come back to PC) but Durney didn’t give him the time of day! I know im going on tangents but it’s just so frustrating hearing and watch what goes on in PC as compared to other schools/programs.
As a lifelong resident, and a parent of three children that have gone through or are going through the Port Chester schools and athletics programs I feel compelled to respond to some of the ridiculous posts on this blog.
First though I need to comment on Kevin Devaneys lack of professionalism. It is a travesty that someone in his position would take the opportunity to question the integrity and smear the name of two men without researching the facts or speaking to them prior. Over the years both Greg Domestico and Joe Durney have proven themselves to be not only outstanding coaches and educators, but exceptional role models for the children in Port Chester. Both men go way beyond the call when it comes to the children in our village and you should have contacted them, like any good journalist would, and questioned them prior to your haphazard article. The truth here is that none of us, including you Kevin, really know what happened. But I guarantee you this, if you bothered to ask either of them you would have heard the truth. I hope that the truth and your subsequent retraction garner as much interest as the lies that you have perpetrated.
As for the bloggers- after this posting, I will not get into back and forth commentaries with anyone that won’t put their name on their posts so if you expect a dialogue, just put your name on it and don’t hide behind an alias.
Chief- why you would use this forum to air your gripes about the system in PC and not be man enough to put your name speaks volumes about the type of person you are. If you are really from Port Chester and not from Harrison, Mamaroneck or Eastchester then there is a good chance you know me. I would love to hear specifics on your accusations, some of which I know for sure are false. Step up – you know where I am! Also, Coach Ciccoria always was, is now and always will be involved with Port Chester, anyone that really knows him, knows that.
WFCunc- the only thing I really disagree with what you said is your claim that Kevin does not have bias with regards to Eastchester. It seems to me that he himself clearly shows his connection with them as he is actually attempting to schedule a game for them! I highly doubt the Journal News has that in his job description or that he would do that for Port Chester or any other program if needed. To what extent his affiliation and bias goes over the line, I can’t make an educated assesment based on the information I have. That is something his editor needs to worry about but I think its clear he has love for Eastchester and why not, it is his alma matter.
Wow- Your are just a fool!
Coach- (I highly doubt you were there or that your in fact a coach and why don’t you put your name?)
Here is what I got. There were 7 teams in one league and five in the other. Port Chester was asked to move to the league across the bridge to make it 6 and 6 and agreed. The schedules came out and THEN Yonkers backed out making it 6 in one and 5 in the other. At that point, does anyone expect for Port Chester or Section 1 to cancel the scheduled games, switch PC back over to the south league, schedule new games for the entire south league and then cause the entire other league to reschedule its games, sticking one of them with an open date just so Eastchester can have a sixth game. As unrealistic as that is, it is apparently what you, Devaney and Eastchester want.
I can’t go on anymore right now but want to end by saying Eastchester is definitely getting screwed and has every right to be upset.
There is still time to change and rectify this. A real simple fix would be to give one team in the section a 7th game to play Eastchester. I bet Domestico and PC would love the extra game.
I’m sure that a solution can be easily reached if Section 1 thought it was necessary. Let them do their job. If Devaney and the others keep crying enough they’ll listen, but stop blaming the people in Port Chester.
By the way, Port Chester and Domestico will be wrestling in the North division next year with Fox Lane and John Jay, the best programs in the section instead of the geographically convenient south with Eastchester, Byram Hills and Rye. I doubt Devaney and the Eastchester faithful will be squawking and asking for Port Chester to be switched back for that. I also know Domestico welcomes the competition from the best!
John,
It appears you weren’t there and don’t know the truth either.
Kevin is calling it like he sees it after hearing it from people who were there. It sounds very professional to me.
Mr. Sorebeela,
Wrestling season just ended and you know already what the section has done to change leagues. I find it very interesting that you would but this information out without the section even voting on this. Guys like you should get the facts and do some homework before you start blogging.
You seem to have inside information maybe you can let us know what the vote was to have portchester switch leagues.
go eagle,
Kevin is right on with his information, the truth was that the portchester coach didn’t want to play rye,eastchester and harrison can u blame him. He is only protecting his team! Why would they blame kevin for trying to help eastchester find a game if anyone asked for help he’d be the first to step up.
Kevin is trying to schedule a game because he is all about Section 1 Football. He’d be doing it for any team out there. It’s ridiculous for anyone to think that because he went to Eastchester High that he’d be biased towards them. It’s crazy.
Everyone should be looking for games for Eastchester. Eastchester, however, should not be complaining about the Section 1 not helping them out.
THIS is the blessing in disguise. Every team should be able to schedule their non-league games with whoever they want. Get out of section games against quality opponents. Get out of state games with a mid-sized CT school or even see if a team from somewhere else in the Northeast is willing to travel… Football is a national game at the high school level. Playing the toughest schedule you can is the only way to improve the sport.
Kevin, I would like you to clear up a few questions if you could.
1. Can you give us the names of the coaches are on the A comittee?
2.Secondly why was Port Chester the team that was being moved to the Rockland leauge, when Roosevelt is closer by about 5 miles.
3. It was pretty well known from the beginning, before schedules came out that Yonkers was going to ask for relief and plead hardship. Why wasn’t the schedule made after Yonkers figured out what was best for them?
These three questions, are prudent in revealing the truth. If the answers are what i think they are, then it seems way too fishy. Please respond.
John, i have a great respect for your writing, and you have always given eastchester it’s fair share of press. The problem is that section one wasn’t willing to change the schedule to accommodate games eastchester could have played against other teams. For example the could have played LI Lutheran the week after the open date, but section one said they would not change the schedule. It’s this kind of BS that has eastchester people up in arms. Section one is supposed to help the student athlete. Obviously they don’t care.
Also when you look at the fact that eastchester is playing Saunders the first game of the season, it could lead to a real disaster. If you remember Saunders had to forefit their first game to eastchester last year. Can you imagine only four regular season games??? As a senior??? Way to go section one. You really screwed up this time.
Portchester coach and Ad on the comittee,
no one from roosevelt, eastchester, Harrison, Rye. Easthcester, Harrison, Roosevelt all technically closer to Rockland. Who gets moved over??? Portchester??? What inference would you make?
The question isn’t that a team had to move, the question is why Port chester?? Makes no sense whatsoever.
What difference does it make what team moves? The problem is that there is not enough teams to have equal leagues. If Roosevelt moved over instead of PC would they be taking the blame for Eastchester not having a game?
The Section has had a rough time getting out of its own way. Just because they don’t do things the way I or Kevin ever suggested in terms of….anything really, doesn’t make them wrong (because who says we’re experts at all) , but it’s pretty ridiculous that almost everything is done about half as well as it should be when there’s a handful of people who can figure it out without much problem.
I’ll put Kevin’s opinion, my opinion, and Keith Fagan’s opinion ahead of anyone that makes Section 1 decisions. We’re the ones not looking out individual or school interests. We’re looking out for the entire section and sport as a whole.
“Ram” – Cicoria did not run the program into the ground. I can only assume you rode the bench under him and, somehow, didn’t realize that in the meantime the program was winning games. I don’t know who you are, but I can assume you were one of the people who refused to lift over the summer, failed the lifting test, and was subsequently rode for being out of shape throughout early summer practice. Those were the type of people who didn’t like Cicoria. In 02 we were literally ONE PLAY away from the section finals. In 01 we lost to a Greely team that was the best in the state. All Cicoria did incorrectly was continue to coach after the talent level fell off a cliff… and fall in love with the Cross-Kick. Think about the time when, against Mamaroneck, we clearly made an extra point that was ruled to have missed, and Cicoria proceeded to storm the field and literally launch the flags across the field. After that incident he ran trees with the team. He cared about his players, Port Chester, and winning. People who blame Cicoria for their inability to get scholarships ignore the obvious fact that they were not talented enough to deserve one. Players that colleges recruited under Cicoria were able to get into much better schools as a result of his actions. Was the Wing-T the best option for us, given our personnel? Probably not always, but when you consider every Varsity player was expected to have been running it since 8th grade, it makes a lot more sense for us to have ran it than try to switch each year to fit our personnel. We are fielding teams of players who have not been playing competitive football (and in some cases I assume, probably haven’t even SEEN football) since they were 8 years old as our opponents have. If you look at teams that were stacked with players who grew up playing Pee-Wee, Midget, Modified, and JV together, we fielded extremely competitive teams. Our pool of potential players is essentially cut in half by a language barrier alone.
The fact of the matter is that Port Chester will have difficulty fielding competitive teams for some time simply because the demographic makeup of Port Chester dictates our pool of potential players have less knowledge of the game and less experience playing it. That being said, Port Chester switching to a league that has Nyack in it (when was the last time Port Chester beat Nyack? I can’t think of any time in the past 10 years), as well as Ossining, and then claiming we are ducking competition is ridiculous. And even if this Rockland league is somewhat less competitive, why wouldn’t Port Chester deserve a chance to win a few games against competition closer to their level of competitiveness?
Kevin –
Here is what you said on this blog:
“To be honest, I could care less which league Port Chester or any team is in.”
Here is what you said in the article:
”...Port Chester refused to rejoin a league with its neighboring schools…”
I’m not a journalist. I don’t know anything about the field. But I do know how to read. If you “could care less” THEN WHY MENTION IT AT ALL? The fact of the matter is YOU DO care. You have always written about Port Chester with negativity. Earlier you wrote an article about the CYP tournament with indifference, although your tone did not exactly agree. ESPN.com, and NBA.com, have written about the CYP tournament with praise. That’s fine, this blog exists so you can express your opinion even if they differ from vastly more qualified people. But the article you wrote was not a blog, and people who don’t have the time, desire, or know how, will now think Port Chester is dodging competition. Every person who has stepped onto the field in the past 100 years at Port Chester High School knows that would never be the case.
PC 04-Thank you for the support. Stop by sometime, I would like to thank you in person.
Oh, Ram Fan… first of all calling out mr sorbs is completly unecessary (and try checking your spelling too) because you sir are the one who needs to get his facts straight, it is almost common knowledge about the leagues being changed up in wrestling for geographic convienence … and PC 04 thanks