The preseason rankings are always the scariest. Unfortunately for me, you can still see mine in writing. Sheesh.
The Class AA preseason Top 10 was particularly ugly considering one glaring omission. But North Rockland eventually proved it belonged among the area’s elite yet again.
That’s where the Red Raiders find themselves now, perched alongside the area’s top teams.
Take a peek below at my final rankings — a Top 10 expanded to 12 as an homage to the area’s champions and a final set of class-by-class picks. Feel free to debate them but play nice…support your teams but avoid denigrating the accomplishments of others. I think we’ve all had enough of that at this point in the season.
TOP 10 (er…12)
T1. Iona Prep (6-4, preseason: 3) and Stepinac (9-3, preseason: 2) — A bit of a cop out to be sure, but these teams are tough to differentiate. On one hand, Stepinac had the better season by advancing to the league title game and having more success against quality opponents, namely Xaverian and Chaminade. But Iona won head-to-head and played better than the Crusaders in two tries against St. Anthony’s. Stepinac showed its vast improvement in the AAA final, allowing the Friars no offensive touchdowns in the final 40 minutes. However you rank ‘em, these two teams also pass the eye-test of those who saw them (including several Section 1 coaches) — they were the area’s two top teams in 2011.
3. North Rockland (9-2, preseason: NR) — I couldn’t have been more wrong about the Red Raiders, who rallied from modest (and ill-informed) preseason expectations and a tough opening loss to win the Section 1 Class AA title. So let’s get this straight now: They were unequivocally Section 1’s best team. Their defense and special teams were terrific, as were their string of quality wins. North Rockland went 6-1 against Class AA playoff teams, including a pair of victories vs. runner-up John Jay.
4. John Jay-East Fishkill (8-2, preseason: bubble) — The Patriots had their best season since the inception of the state playoffs, capped by a shutout of five-time defending Class AA champ New Rochelle in the regular season and solid playoff wins over Arlington and Clarkstown South. Despite an inability to get a punt off in the AA final, they nearly recovered from that (and the memory of a three-touchdown regular-season loss) to beat North Rockland, losing the championship game in OT.
5. New Rochelle (7-2, preseason: 1) — Although the Huguenots were largely young and inexperienced, especially at key positions, they nearly came together late in the season. New Ro shrugged off its first regular-season loss since 2008 to win a thriller over rival White Plains in the playoffs. It nearly reached another Class AA final, only falling short to eventual champ North Rockland on the game’s final play. Like the Red Raiders, the Huguenots will enter next season as a Class AA co-favorite.
6. Poughkeepsie (10-1, preseason: 5) — The Pioneers grabbed control of Class A in Week 2 and never relinquished it. Behind Section 1’s clear MVP, QB Josh Oliver, they beat defending champ Harrison twice and won every game by double-digits until the Section 1 final. Oliver and co. then delivered again on a clutch drive in the fourth quarter to beat John Jay and claim the program’s first Section 1 football title.
7. John Jay (9-2, preseason: bubble) — With an improved defense, John Jay proved its opening-game loss was a distant memory when it became the only team to seriously threaten Poughkeepsie deep into a game. The Indians were game in the Section 1 final, falling 28-21 on Poughkeepsie’s last-second drive. Before that moment, they have fended off challenges from Harrison, Rye (twice) and Somers en route to Mahopac.
8. Clarkstown South (7-2, preseason: NR) — With an experienced team that thrived this season thanks to improved health, the Vikings became a surprise contender. Behind a spread running attack and strong defense, they beat rival North in both the regular season and playoffs. It helped South advance to the semifinals, where it lost to John Jay-East Fishkill.
9. White Plains (5-4, preseason: 4) — Until last Thursday’s loss to Turkey Bowl loss to Stepinac, the Tigers had suffered their three losses by a combined 12 points, including a four-point loss to North Rockland and a one-point loss to New Rochelle. White Plains was certainly a “boom-or-bust” team with a “boom” that rivaled any team in the section. Pressure wins over Suffern, Arlington and Yorktown on the heels of an 0-2 start proved as much.
10. Croton-Harmon (11-1, preseason: bubble) — Tough call among the three teams that played deeper into the season than anyone. The nod here goes to the Tigers, whose defense — one of the section’s best — proved its mettle in the second half of the Class B state final vs. high-powered Hornell. Croton’s line play, in particular, moves its team a half step ahead of the other small schools on this list.
11. Rye Country Day (10-0, preseason: NR) — The Wildcats just completed the best season in program history, as you probably know. They won the Fairchester, won a NEPSAC Bowl and finished unbeaten — all school firsts. Speed and athleticism were big reasons why. To those who haven’t seen them, anyone who has said they belong right alongside Section 1’s two state finalists. That’s very high praise for such a tiny school.
12. Dobbs Ferry (11-1, preseason: NR) — Along with North Rockland, the Eagles are the section’s most improved team from Week 1. Just check out the shift in their two meetings with Bronxville (a 15-14 loss to a 38-14 win). Dobbs went on to win two of its three state playoff games handily, including a 39-0 rout over 2008-09 champ Southwestern in the state final. The win gave Dobbs its fourth state championship.
On the bubble: Arlington, Somers, Rye, Ossining, Our Lady of Lourdes, Bronxville.
Class AA
1. North Rockland
2. John Jay-EF
3. New Rochelle
4. Clarkstown South
5. White Plains
6. Arlington
7. Clarkstown North
8. Suffern
9. Scarsdale
10. Ramapo
Class A
1. Poughkeepsie
2. John Jay
3. Somers
4. Rye
5. Ossining
6. Harrison
7. Tappan Zee
8. Pelham
9. Eastchester
10. Pearl River
Class B
1. Croton-Harmon
2. Our Lady of Lourdes
3. Irvington
4. Putnam Valley
5. Ardsley
6. Pleasantville
7. Westlake
8. Briarcliff
9. Nanuet
10. Edgemont
Class C/D
1. Dobbs Ferry
2. Bronxville
3. Woodlands
4. Haldane
5. Tuckahoe
6. Pawling
7. Blind Brook
8. Albertus Magnus
9. Hastings
10. Dover
CHSFL
T1. Iona Prep
T1. Stepinac
3. Mount St. Michael
4. Fordham Prep
Privates
1. Rye Country Day
2. Sacred Heart
3. Hackley
4. Harvey
285 Comments
“You think it is a coincidence that in 2006 & 2011, no class AA or A team advanced from the quarterfinals?”
BTW, that quote was a thought shared by either Josh or Kev. I remember one of them writing something very similar.
LOLOL!!!
Just,
Last year’s Sect 1 record in the state playoffs had something to with your comment about Sect 1 being the top league last year. You obviously don’t watch ANY local football. You know little about what you write, but you write it anyway – there is a word for that.
Not even PSAL fans would call the PSAL the best league around! The PSAL has improved tremendously of late and there has been a big increase in the quality of coaching at some of the better PSAL schools. But the PSAL overall still has a long way to go. One of the big things is the scheduling – the Championship division is too big (32 teams) and the regular season schedules are a joke. The top teams end up playing teams from the bottom of the 32 all the time. I will agree last year both Lincoln and Fort Hamilton absolutely deserved to be considered among the Top 10 teams in the state…but overall, no way the PSAL up there yet.
Hoops, Massey ranked Section 1 #1 OVERALL last year(2010).
Hoops, I am reporting what Massey and NYSSWA reports. What does me seeing a team or not have to do with it???
Are you getting desperate????
???
Poor guy.
Hoops, NYSSWA reported PSAL the best big Class(AA) team for 2010.
Not 2011 or 2009, so not sure where this comes from:
“Not even PSAL fans would call the PSAL the best league around!”
Keep spinning!
There is a word for that!!
Prince/Scary..
Just,
Can you find the quote that said the PSAL was the best league around last year from ANY news source? I’ll take the Daily news, Post, ESPN, MSG, NYSWWA, anything. Guess what – no one in NYS said that…only you.
As far as Massey ratings last year…again, if you include AA, A, B, C and D, maybe you’re right. They also had Tuckahoe ranked in the Top 20 – ahead of New Ro! I’m guessing you didn’t think Tuckahoe was better than New Ro last year. As I’ve said too many times, the computer rankings are very accurate if you look at them by class – not accurate if you look at all the classes together. What part of that don’t you understand?
Hoops, real simple. Take 2010 AA rankings by the Sports writers. They ranked 25 teams. #1 team gets 25pts, #2 team gets 24pts, and when all is said and done, PSAL has the most points(highest rated).
Hoops, I agree Massey st-inks – but you want to pick and choose where it is good and where it is not, to suit YOUR NEEDS!!!
Guys… Please stop arguing. You all repeat the same arguments over and over and over again. Everyone understands your points. Neither side is convincing the other side so just drop it and move on. Please.
Thank you.
...that is called imagination, as in you’re using yours. No such special filter exists. What actually happened was that I blocked the word ignorant and ignorance since you guys won’t stop using it and I can’t see how they have any place in a discussion about high school sports.
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Hoops fan December 4th, 2011 at 9:34 pm
PPR,
You have to realize, EVERYTHING you write is your opinion. Very, very little of what you write are facts or are based in facts. You seem to think that just because you think something, it is a facts – thats far from the truth. If you need further clarification, ask the New Ro coaches if every opinion you have is a fact….. HOOPS EVERYTHING I SAY IS THE “TRUTH”..... WHY DN’T YOU ASK NEW RO COACHES THAT???
Scary,
I’d be the first person to admit that Step’s D has issues early in the season that St As seriously exposed in the first game. Step’s D made some major adjustments and in the final 3 games of the season, Step’s D played exceptionally well. It is a fact that Step’s D held St As to their lowest offensive output in years in the CHSFL championship game. That is fact, not my opinion, but a plain fact. Can you tell me the last time St Anthonys was held to only one offensive TD in a game – I don’t know, but it has been a long time. And in Step’s final game, they held an explosive WP offense to only 1td – also their worst offensive output of the season (WP’s O scored 2 tds on New Ro). If you look at what Step’s D did in the CHSFL chip and in the Turkey Bowl, they clearly were playing great D at the end of the year. Agreed, in the beginning of the year they were not, but I’m talking about the end of the year. For you to classify Step’s D as weak, you expose yourself as someone who wasn’t following football the last 4 weeks of Step’s season and someone generally uninformed. Even PPR wouldn’t dare say Step’s D was weak at the end of the year…........WHEN HAVE WP BEEN EXPLOSIVE ALL YEAR!!.. THEY HAD THE MOST TALENT OFFENSE THIS YEAR BUT EXPLOSIVE I’M NOT SURE IF THATS THE CORRECT CHOICE OF WORDS!!...
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LETS GET TO STEP PLAYING BETTER DEFENSE ACTUALLY YOUR WRONG!!
FORDHAM!!.... WAS VERY BAD!! HOLDING THEM TO 7 IS NOT IMPRESSIVE!!.. YOU GET NO POINTS FOR THAT!!...........SORRY!...
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HOLY CROSS…..HOLY HAS SCORED MORE THEN 19 POINTS 1X THIS SEASON HOLDING THEM TO 13 POINTS IS THER AVERAGE!!.. I DN’T SEE WHAT YOU DID DIFFERENT!... YOU DN’T GET NO POINTS FOR THAT EITHER!! ..... SORRY!!
XAVERIAN…...... A GAME THAT TAPS MADE A GREAT PLAY TO GET YOU THE VICTORY!!!..... STEP DEFENSE ON AVG. ALL SEASON GAVE UP 21 POINTS!!... WELL XAVERAIN SCORED 21 POINTS!!..... YOU DN’T GET NO POINTS FOR THAT EITHER!!!.... SORRY!!!!
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SAINT ANTS…......... THE LAST FOR GAMES SAINT ANTS SCORED 21,21,14,AND 14 SO I LOOK LIKE YOU DID PRETTY MUCH WHAT THE OTHER TEAMS DID!!....”LOST” AND FOR THE RECORD THIS IS THE LOWEST OFFENSIVE SCORING OUTPUT FOR SAINT ANTS SINCE 2004!! EVEN THE YEAR THEY LOST TO IONA IN THE CHIP THEY ALMOST DBL THE AMOUNT OF OFFENSIVE SCORING THAT YEAR VERSUS THIS YEAR!!... LIKE I SAID THIS WAS A DOWN YEAR FOR SAINT ANTS AND THE CHSFL!! ... SO ONCE AGAIN YOU DN’T GET POINTS!!... SORRY!!.. CN’T REWARD “NOTHING”!...
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WHITE PLAINS….... WHITE PLAINS HAS STRUGGLED SCORING THERE LAST 3 OUT OF 4 GAMES
ALSO I NOTICE FOR THE LAST 2YRS WP GAME PLAN AGAINST YOU IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT THEN WHAT I SEE FROM THEM DURING THE SEASON LAST YRS THEY RAN QB DIVE ATLEAST 6-9X DIDN’T MAKE SENSE!!.. THIS SEASON ALMOST THE SAME BUT THEY WENT I-FORM AND JUST DIVE AND OFF TACKLE MAYBE 1 OR 2 TOSS SWEEPS DIDN’T SEE ANY POWER I FORM LIKE THEY RAN VERSUS NEW RO A FORMATION I THOUGHT THEY WHER VERY GOOD IN!!... THEY LOOK LIKE THEY RAN THE SAME GAME PLAN THEY TRYED TO USE ON NORTH ROCK AND CLK NORTH BOTH GAMES THEY LOST!!! AND SCORED ON A PUNT RETURN AND A TOSS SWEEP TO EVERETT (NORTH ROCK)..... AND A TOUCH DOWN PASS AND A RUN AND INT RETURNED FOR A SCORE I BELIEVE (CLK NORTH)
15, 27(SCARS) , 13, 14 I THINK IT WOULD BE SAFE TOO SAY THAT YOU HELD WP TO PRETTY MUCH WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN SCORING!!... ONCE AGAIN SORRY I CN’T REWARD YOU FOR NOTHING…
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PPR,
Yes, for the 19th time, Ellerbe started the year as the 3rd string TB at St As. Does it matter to you how good a player is, or just where he started a year on the depth chart? To me, and the rest of the football fans with a little knowledge – how talented a kid is has far more weight than where he started the year on the depth chart – particularly if you’re talented about the undisputed best football program in NYS. THe 4th string RB at LSU would probably start for EVERY Big East team – is it about where a kid starts the year or how talented they are. I prefer talking about talented…maybe I’m crazy. YEA MAYBE YOU ARE!!... EVERY KID AT LSU (RB) IS A NATIONAL STUD!!! UNLIKE 95% OF THE RB IN THE BIG EAST!!! SO I CAN SEE HOW ALL OF THEM WOULD START IN THE BEST EAST!!!... YOUR POINT?..... HOW ABOUT YOU ACCEPT HIM (3RD STRING RB) FOR WHAT HE IS!!!..THE 3RD STRING RB!! THAT MEANS THER WHER 2 RB’S BETTER THEN HIM!! NO MATTER HOW YOU SPIN IT!!
JOSH
this not the first time this has happened and i stated this once before and you never said otherwise!!..... so as far as i’m concern ther is /was a filter system in place for certain bloggers!!
hoops
it was obvious that saint ants offense lost a lil when they when too the soph not sure why they actually switched (injuries, personal, or performance) i think they wanted a better runner here are some stats for the both of them!!
soph
chip….
passing….. o-2
rushing ….. 13-53
IONA
passing….. 3-10 43yds 2int
rushing….. 11-60yds
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MOUNT
PASSING… 4-6 45YDS 1 INT
RUSHING…. 7- 19yds
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IONA
PASSING…... 2-8 37 YDS 1 INT
RUSHING…...10- 85YDS
SOPH GALLIGAN SEASON STATS
PASSING…..... 9-26 125 yds 0td’s 5 interceptions
rushing….......51-291yds
CAREW the senior (benched)
PASSING…........ 23-50 404YDS 3TD’S 1 INTERCEPTION
RUSHING ….......41- 74YDS ….....
Josh,
Very fair point.
PPR,
You’re apparently not aware that St As D scored a TD on a fumble return vs Step – O only scored 1 td (their least all year). And WP scored a INT return vs Step (O only scored 1 td). Carew was benched in favor of Galligan. Galligan was definitely the better runner. Carew looked very, very good against Step in their 1st game, but apparently in their other games he was mistake prone with fumbles, ints, etc. Galligan actually has a good arm, but I guess they were more comfortable with him running the ball. I wouldn’t argue that this wasn’t St As best offensive team – thats probably true – but holding their O to 1 offensive TD was still impressive for any D.
HOOPS
carew stats he only had 1 int. and threw for 400 yds!!.... but he didn’t look like a effective runner 41 touches for 74yds!!
looking at saint offense the last 4 games they obviously struggled with moving the ball (scoring)!!! 21,21,14,14 is unlike saint ants!!.. thats why i keep saying that the team was very weak!!.. this year and it’s obvious that the 3rd string player that played!!.. they wher 3rd string for a reason!! and it showed iin ther ability to score consistently!!! something that has been a staple of ther program ther offense! (dbl wing)
hoops
saint
2011
283 off points
131 def points
2010
420 off points
151 def points
2009
398 off points
165 def points
2008
426 off points
254 def points
2007
292 off points
133 def points
2006
348 off points
204 def points
2005
407 off points
188 def points
2004
283 off points
104 def points
JUST
WHY IN THE CHSFL RANKING!!.. A TEAM WITH A WORSE RECORD IS NOT RANKED HIGHER THEN A TEAM WITH A BETTER RECORD!!!/..... JUST ASKING!!...
1. St. Anthony’s (10-0)
2. Archbishop Stepinac (8-3)
3. Xaverian (7-3)
4. Iona Prep (6-4)
5. Chaminade (5-4)
6. Mount St. Michael (5-4)
7. Farrell (4-5)
8. Fordham Prep (7-5)
9. Holy Cross (4-5)
10. Kellenberg (4-7)
Prince, lolololol , I want Hoops to answer the question about Chsfl rankings!!!
Prince, serious
question!!
Why the 2011 drop off in scoring fo St A????
JUST
can i say 3rd string!! players
just
a week or 2 ago i said 3rd string and some1 came on a nd said prince does not hace a clue what he talking about !!.. and that i need to know what i’m talking about before i just say something!!! then hoops jumped on the band wagon and said yea!!.. the 3rd string players wher great!!... THE PROOF IN THE SCORING OUTPUT!!! THEY STRUGGLED
Josh Thomson November 21st, 2011 at 3:38 pm
Prince, Hoops… Enough is enough. Please stop arguing. You’re really dragging down the discussion.
Prince… You obviously have no idea what happened in the game and don’t know anything about St. Anthony’s. Please stop using what you know as an excuse to bash Stepinac. It’s very petty. None of those players are third-stringers. Both running backs played last year and received carries when St. Anthony’s went undefeated, including two wins over Iona Prep. The sophomore QB is the QB of the future for St. Anthony’s and they decided to start him over the senior.
Hoops… I’ve really had enough of you insulting Prince’s intelligence, education, etc. I know you know he’s baiting you, and you’re taking the bait and going against a certain level of decorum that I have asked you to practice in the past. Please stop with the insults
JUST
to add more proof to my point!!! from 2004-2011 saint ants has never “SCORED” A TOTAL OF 14 POINTS IN BACK TO BACK GAMES UNTIL THIS “YEAR”!!..... ( i might be on to something) here are other back to back struggles
2010…........ 28 points
2009…......... 28 points
2007…...........17 points both games wher shut outs!!
just
they say we are out of control take a look at this post!! in the b/ball thread
fooseball December 5th, 2011 at 10:05 pm
real talk this this guy josh is easily the worst at predicting games hahahahaha. white plains is horrible this year. seriously how does this guy even got a job? TZ is defiantly going places this year every starter has atleast 3 years of experience.. get a job that you good at you bum!!!!
Prince, just saw some highlight film on Wayne Morgan and some other players for tomorrow’s game. I give Coaches credit for putting tapes out there on youtube, but some of these tapes, the quality leaves you scratching your head.
Lincoln line play looks suspect from the tape I saw(Lincoln Semi game). Could not find Erasmus game, just individual highlight tapes that were not good.
I am picking Lincoln based on not too much, but both teams look like they have some dangerous athletes at the skill position. Two keys would be who gives up more big plays loses. I would say who ever gets better line play, but not sure that is gooing to happen on either side.
Who do you have and why?
just
i like lincoln b/c i think they gonna make morgan pass lincoln has been pretty consistent all season erasmus some times can play flat!! it will be very interesting!! i agree who ever limit the big play b/c both teams has home run hitters!!
just
lincoln line i think will be better!!
just
i went to the game last year and fort hamilton and lincoln had a ton of talent it was a pretty good game!!!
just
how does bama play for the national chip!! they didn’t even win there league!!..
Prince, I am not a college fan, but IMO they should have let another team battle LSU.
With that said, and this is what it is about($), I will be sitting in front of my TV watching – lol
Should be a fun one to watch – of course it would have been fun to see another team get a chance to prove if the SEC the GREATEST in the Country…
Seems like we heard this before,
– problem is I left myself open to CHSFL = SEC – you know Hoops is thinking it!!! – lolol
JUST
i totally agree they should have let oak.. play them bama vs lsu already happened!! it just shows the politics in the game!!
BCS Standings
RK TEAM RECORD
1 LSU 13-0
2 Alabama 11-1
3 Oklahoma State 11-1
4 Stanford 11-1
5 Oregon 11-2
6 Arkansas 10-2
7 Boise State 11-1
8 Kansas State 10-2
9 South Carolina 10-2
10 Wisconsin 11-2
11 Virginia Tech 11-2
12 Baylor 9-3
13 Michigan 10-2
14 Oklahoma 9-3
15 Clemson 10-3
16 Georgia 10-3
17 Michigan State 10-3
18 TCU 10-2
19 Houston 12-1
20 Nebraska 9-3
21 Southern Miss 11-2
22 Penn State 9-3
23 West Virginia 9-3
24 Texas 7-5
25 Auburn 7-5
Complete Standings »
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AP Top 25
RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 LSU (60) 13-0 1500
2 Alabama 11-1 1418
3 Oklahoma State 11-1 1400
4 Stanford 11-1 1283
5 USC 10-2 1179
6 Oregon 11-2 1170
7 Arkansas 10-2 1148
8 Boise State 11-1 1107
9 Wisconsin 11-2 1038
10 South Carolina 10-2 946
11 Kansas State 10-2 829
12 Michigan State 10-3 733
13 Michigan 10-2 707
14 Clemson 10-3 663
15 Baylor 9-3 656
16 TCU 10-2 632
17 Virginia Tech 11-2 591
18 Georgia 10-3 566
19 Oklahoma 9-3 386
20 Houston 12-1 370
21 Nebraska 9-3 363
22 Southern Miss 11-2 336
23 West Virginia 9-3 199
24 Penn State 9-3 129
25 Florida State 8-4 49
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