Good news to share with everyone regarding our broadcast schedule this season. First of all, to answer the question posed by many, we will continue to webcast multiple football games every weekend. We hope to pick some of the top games on Friday nights and Saturdays (and, hopefully, Sundays when… Read More →
So with the confusion recently about when North Rockland would play New Rochelle Week 1, I called Joe Casarella tonight in search of some clarity. The Section 1 website had scheduled the game for Sept. 11 but many of you and a couple other schedules I had seen listed the… Read More →
All the chatter about Westlake — and you can blame me, too — has been about its roster. The varsity has only 25 players, which, from a coach’s point of view, is barely enough to run an offense against a defense during practice. My tour of camps over the last… Read More →
Usually, I write these blogs in somewhat of a chronological order, but today let’s start at the end. I sat for a few minutes with new Valhalla’s Kevin Martins, a first-year coach who graduated from Sacred Heart in 2000 and went on to play for Division III Averett University in Danville,... Read More →
First off, our Facebook page has moved. You can now find the Varsity Insider at http://www.facebook.com/pages/LoHud-Varsity-Insider/153525871324757. Please log on the page and become a fan. It will feed all of our blog updates right to your Facebook page. Secondly, for updates on the go and (very soon) LIVE score updates,... Read More →
This is the week when local teams will gather for scrimmages, the dress rehearsal for the new season. If your team will contribute in a scrimmage this week, shoot me an e-mail at jthomson@lohud.com with all the details: date, time, site and opponents. The Section 1 website has very spotty… Read More →
I spoke to Rob Schwartz at this time last year to write a story about him being named the new coach at Kennedy, long a Section 1 football doormat. He had coached the JV team for nine years and understood progress would require a major change in culture. In this… Read More →
Since the Lakeland and Panas football programs split 11 years ago, last year was arguably the best season for Lakeland football. The Hornets finished strong and advanced to the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years. They went on to win their first playoff game in that stretch, a… Read More →
When I showed up at Fox Lane High School late this morning, the coaches were working on the offense, rotation the first and second string every 10 plays or so. My first impression was that the quarterback for both units was athletic, accurate, strong-armed and could really throw on the… Read More →
Before we get to the new poll, here’s the result of the most recent poll, which asked you to name the favorite in League A-South: 1. Rye — 34% 2. Roosevelt — 18% 3. Nyack — 15% 4. Harrison — 12% 5. Sleepy Hollow — 7% (earned two more votees… Read More →
I have at least three camp stops planned for tomorrow but I hope to squeeze in a fourth. I’m going to start at Fox Lane, one of the many schools up north that was bumped up to Class AA. Next it’s on to Lakeland, which is looking to return to… Read More →
The similarities between Pleasantville and its rival Briarcliff are stunningly apparent on first glance. When I walked onto Parkway Field about an hour ago, I realized the only familiar name/face was the coach. I soon found out why. The Panthers reached the Class B final in 2008 and seemed to… Read More →
John Catano stood in the parking lot just off the edge of the baseball field when I pulled into Croton this afternoon. His team trickled out to the field behind him for the Tigers afternoon session of practice and Catano barked: “Why are you late?” The truth is, in some… Read More →
I’m sitting in the Moonbeam Cafe in Briarcliff right now as I write this after having stopped by quickly to visit the Bears. They were starting their afternoon session of practice so I didn’t get to see them on the field, but I can tell you the obvious: they lost… Read More →
I’m halfway through today’s tour of area camps. My first stop was late this morning at Spring Valley, where the upbeat Tigers were working on their offense and gearing up for that Week 1 clash with rival Nyack. Before I get into Spring Valley position by position, I’ll share a… Read More →
