Varsity Insider

To look ahead to the 2011 season, I’ve decided we’ll spend each morning (or, in this case, afternoon) this week ranking the best games of the upcoming Section 1 football season. It started Monday morning with a look at Week 1, and followed Tuesday with a look at Week 2 and Wednesday with Week 3.

We’ll focus on one week per day. On tap for today is Week 4. If you need to take a peek at each’s team’s schedule, you can find it here. For your reference, the first game is Week 1, the second is Week 2 and so on.

Here’s a look at my best in Week 1. And, here’s a look at the best in Week 2. And Week 3.

Now, below is a look at the highlights from Week 4.

I hope you’ll evaluate the schedule along with me, so please feel free to add your own opinion about what I’m right, why I’m wrong or why you would have ranked them differently.

The best from Week 4 —

T1. Rye at Horace Greeley and John Jay at Harrison: Two games, four 2010 playoff teams, four teams with 2011 playoff aspirations. At this point, not knowing who will be better than who in Class A, it’s tough to separate these games. No doubt they’ll generate a lot of interest. Harrison and John Jay will reconvene after a classic quarterfinal last year that saw the Huskies surge out to an early lead and saw the Indians throw their way back into contention until an interception in the final moments. Rye does not have a history of allowing itself to be defeated by one player, so the matchup between Justin Ciero and the Garnet defense will be fun to watch.

3. Ossining at Sleepy Hollow: I was there along with a few thousand others the last time these long-time rivals met. Ossining won easily 36-7, calling off the dogs shortly after halftime. The postgame was, to say the least, not cordial. A three-year wait between meetings should only add to the intensity of one of the section’s longer-standing, most intense rivalries.

4. John Jay-East Fishkill at New Rochelle: A second straight old AA-North team for New Ro. The one will be played at home for the Huguenots, who will be well-traveled in 2011. No reason to expect anything more than another New Ro win, but John Jay should at least provide a challenge as it looks to bounce back from a relatively disappointing 2010. What a better time than this.

5. Arlington at North Rockland: Dom DeMatteo is busy building the North Rockland of Dutchess County — a place where heavy advantages in enrollment mean the program never rebuilds, it just reloads. The Admirals will be out to prove that this season after suffering heavy losses to graduation. They’ll also aim for a second straight victory over the original North Rockland. Arlington soundly defeated the Red Raiders 28-7 on the road in a league game that didn’t count. That was despite the fact it missed the playoffs and North Rockland made them.

Honorable mention
Nyack at Tappan Zee: Surprised to see TZ in the first honorable mention slot? Well, consider that by Week 4 this fall, the Dutchmen will likely have gone 11-0 in Section 1 since the beginning of 2010. But they will finally face a legit force in county rival Nyack, and it will be fascinating to see just how far they’ve come.
Tuckahoe at Dobbs Ferry: Dobbs was long the program Tuckahoe couldn’t beat. Now, that may be Bronxville, but the Tigers proved they had what it took to defeat the Eagles — at least in 2010.
Mahopac at Scarsdale: As I have said the last few days, any time two Class AA playoff teams meet in a regular season game it is worth noting.
White Plains at Mount Vernon: The longtime rivals deserve at least a mention, although White Plains is seemingly a heavy favorite to win.