OK, here’s a look at the final rankings from the preseason. There were certainly some hits and misses, although the Top 3 have remained my Top 3 all year. I think they earned it.
I’m sure there will be a few disagreements, the most vocal of which will be my choice of North Rockland over Somers for No. 4. In my opinion, although North Rockland certainly wasn’t flashy, its defense was the second best in the section. The Red Raiders also played the Class AA state champ tougher than any team in the state. They were the best tackling team I saw all season.
Surprisingly, the rest of the spots were pretty simple. I think the Top 8 are tough to argue. Obviously, the efforts of John Jay and Mahopac have to be respected. They both challenged New Rochelle into the fourth quarter.
I tried to look at each team’s complete resume and the competition that it compiled it against.
Now, give it a read, then let’s hear your thoughts.
TOP 10
1. New Rochelle (11-1) - Not until some point last Saturday afternoon did I think about the Huguenots as a state championship. Teams from the western region of the state had floundered in other state finals; Orchard Park was not at the level of its 2011 state champs; and New Ro had risen, particularly on offense. It resulted in one of the more stunning outcomes you’ll see in a state final. A team that at one point struggled to score touchdowns had come full circle, thoroughly dominating on the Carrier Dome turf. Forget about the state championship. After that performance, there’s simply no other choice for No. 1.
2. Iona Prep (8-2) - In some ways, the season was a great achievement. In others, a disappointment. Iona beat St. Anthony’s for the first time in four years and was dominant in eight of its games. But the Gaels simply couldn’t solve a tough Chaminade team. Twice. The Flyers spoiled what Iona players and fans hoped would be a championship season.
3. North Rockland (7-2) - Well, you’ve read part of my defense above. Other than their two losses to New Rochelle, the Red Raiders allowed a total of 38 points in seven games. They held six opponents to a touchdown or less. And no one — including New Rochelle, actually — made it harder to move the ball. You had to earn it to beat North Rockland, a few yards at a time.
4. Somers (10-1) - Sometimes you have to trust your judgement. In Somers’ case, it looked good from August and that never stopped. Past teams had strong records and fallen short come playoff time, but not this one. Be it against Harrison or Poughkeepsie or Sleepy, the Tuskers delivered. Their big, deep roster was built to survive the condensed Section 1 playoffs. They didn’t need to be lucky; they were just good.
5. Harrison (8-1) - Like the best Husky teams, this one had a dynamic running game, but the difference was the addition of a passing game that kept defenses off guard. That helped propel a team stocked with competitors to a comeback victory in one of the signature moments of their season, a 27-point comeback against John Jay. But Harrison showed its versatility against rival Rye, running the Garnets record winning streak into the ground. Poughkeepsie came close, but Harrison grabbed hold of that second spot in Class A.
6. Poughkeepsie (6-2) - The Pioneers drew an unfortunate playoff draw and, man, did they send a scare into Harrison. In the end, it was easy to forget Poughkeepsie had just won the championship a year before with almost an entirely different group. They were still so good, so dangerous. The defense wasn’t quite as strong as last year, but the offense was still perhaps the section’s most explosive. That’s tough to repeat two years in a row, but they did it.
7. John Jay-East Fishkill (5-3) - Like a mini-North Rockland, John Jay doesn’t have the most eye-popping resume. But it’s tough to ignore the fact the Patriots were perfect outside of three games against the Class AA finalists. Their shutout victory over Mahopac was actually the Indians’ most lopsided loss of the year.
8. Mahopac (5-3) - Again, Mahopac wasn’t the most explosive team, but the Indians were darn tough to score against. Just consider that they held an offense that scored 34 points (and could’ve scored 50) in the state final without a point. Although Mahopac missed the playoffs, it put a stamp on the season with a 28-0 victory over Clarkstown North to end the year.
9. Sleepy Hollow (8-2) - The championship game was something of a nightmare. It was the coldest, windiest night all season (trust me: I know) and Sleepy’s only chance (to throw for big yardage) simply wasn’t going to work. Still, the Headless Horsemen beat Rye, John Jay and Brewster, giving them more quality wins than every team left out of the rankings. They deserve this spot. No doubt.
10. Yorktown (6-2) - The ‘Huskers scored 248 points in their last seven games, averaging over 35 points per game. Their prolific offense put points on the board against everyone outside of Somers Week 1. They didn’t beat any playoff teams, but only lost to two of the very best in Somers and Poughkeepsie. The rest were all quality wins over the likes of Nyack, Ossining, Eastchester and John Jay, making them, in my mind, the best of the rest.
SMALL SCHOOL TOP 10 Hackley’s strong win over Rye Country Day vaults it to No. 2. Woodlands vs. Pleasantville or Nanuet is close, but I’d still favor the Falcons.
1. Our Lady of Lourdes
2. Hackley
3. Woodlands
4. Pleasantville
5. Nanuet
6. Tuckahoe
7. Rye Country Day
T8. Ardsley
T8. Croton-Harmon
T8. Westlake
Here are the class-by-class rankings:
Class AA - There is a clear delineation between the top four, all of which were fantastic defensive teams. They established a big gap above the rest of the pack. Late-rising Ramapo climbed the rankings with a strong finish.
1. New Rochelle
2. North Rockland
3. John Jay-East Fishkill
4. Mahopac
5. Clarkstown North
6. Mamaroneck
7. Ramapo
8. Clarkstown South
9. Ketcham
10. Scarsdale
Class A - Somers wins Section 1’s most competitive race for the top spot. Yorktown proved itself deserving of a playoff spot. The final two spots were really up for grabs.
1. Somers
2. Harrison
3. Poughkeepsie
4. Sleepy Hollow
5. Yorktown
6. Brewster
7. John Jay
8. Rye
9. Nyack
10. Ossining
Class B - Although the top three are clear, the middle is muddled. Ardsley, Croton and Westlake all finished 1-1 vs. each other. Putnam Valley finished strong, winning five straight, but didn’t have a quality win to jump the three teams tied for fourth.
1. Our Lady of Lourdes
2. Pleasantville
3. Nanuet
T4. Ardsley
T4. Croton-Harmon
T4. Westlake
7. Putnam Valley
8. Irvington
9. Edgemont
10. Kennedy
Class C/D - The champs proved they belonged on top, but Rye Neck surpassed preseason expectations to finish third.
1. Woodlands
2. Tuckahoe
3. Rye Neck
4. Dobbs Ferry
5. Bronxville
6. Pawling
7. Albertus Magnus
8. Haldane
9. Valhalla
10. Hastings
Catholics/Privates - It was an historic season for Hackley, which earned a share of the league title for the first time in 39 years.
1. Iona Prep
2. Stepinac
3. Hackley
4. Rye Country Day
5. Harvey
87 Comments
This ranking is ridicoulous to have Yorktown sleepy John jay ef and mahopac on this and not stepinac there being penalized for playing in a hard league !!!!
Truth December 2nd, 2012 at 11:53 am
This ranking is ridicoulous to have Yorktown sleepy John jay ef and mahopac on this and not stepinac there being penalized for playing in a hard league !!!!
Truth!!.... Not true!!.. They are being penalized for being over rated!!..... #THE REAL TRUTH!!!
Truth
Stepinac struggled with the #15 worse team in sec1 AA!!( THEY GOT LUCKY @ TURKEY BOWL) They deserve more!!
Just a fact December 2nd, 2012 at 11:32 am
Prince, plus look
What they did after the game?? They played awesome!!! In the Pro’s teams get credit tor improving but not in the MSG Bias painted world!!
Just!!.. That is so true!!!! But like I said MSG is a joke!!
Remember when they said!!!
.
Z
.
Z
.
....Hoops fan November 11th, 2012 at 9:47 pm
Just,
Before you call New Ro a Top 3 team in the state, you have to see what they do vs OP. I think OP and Aquinas are much better than Shaker and PB. OP just beat Aquinas 14-7 in the Sect 6 v Sect 5 QF. But keep in mind Canisius beat Aquinas 35-7 and St Joes Buffalo beat Aquinas 28-14. I do think New Ro has likely played themselves into the Top 10 in the state, but there are several good teams out there.
HOOPS
NEW RO 35-PARK 0
NEW RO 35- AQUIN 0
NEW RO 31 – CANI-14
NEW RO 31 – ST JOES 10
Remember when they said!!....
Sisophous November 10th, 2012 at 9:35 pm
Next up Shaker, be afraid New Ro, this is not Pine Brush, it is the Invincible Shaker.
I think Prince is even shaking now. He better not dismiss the Shaker squad.
Congrats to New Ro, the muffed Punt is the only glaring error by New Ro. The tipped pass for an INT is understandable but the main star was the New Ro defense. Well done, mighty impressive.
PRINCE PERFORMING AS PPR!!! November 10th, 2012 at 9:49 pm
Siso
Is shaker better then Troy??? Is shaker running backs on canzeri and Lewis level!???
IF ANY OF YOUR ANSWERS ARE #NO… New Ro wins!!.
I’m not a step fan but I seen both the underclassmen that was on varsity and the jv team I guarantee you that team will be special next yr and none of y’all will be talking bad like this about them !!!
Truth December 2nd, 2012 at 4:48 pm
I’m not a step fan but I seen both the underclassmen that was on varsity and the jv team I guarantee you that team will be special next yr and none of y’all will be talking bad like this about them !!!
TRUTH!.....I BET YOU THEY WILL NOT!!.. AND YOU MAKE SURE YOU COME ON HERE AND SAY #PPR YOU ARE RIGHT!!..
STEP IS LOOKING TO GO BACK DOWN TO THE CHSFL A-AA DIV AGAIN!!.. THEY LOOKING TO RUN FROM CHSFL AAA!...
Truth!!
You looking at a frosh team and thank the varsity is going to be better the following year!!... Not going to happen
@truth. Stepinac almost lost to Wp. Wp got beat by everyone in section one. Stepincrap should not be in the top 10
I would say. There are only 2 other teams I have seen live who would beat the 99 Harrison team. First is 2000 Nyack then 2012 new Rochelle. That’s it but I never saw live 2003 new ro
@ppr it was the jv team not the frosh and they were really good had about 6 kids who could’ve played on that varsity team and we will see I think they will still be In AAA next yr !!!
@rotten white plains wasnt bad though look at the margine of those games they lost you acting like they was getting blown out in those games !!!
Truth
I seen the jv they where good but I Dnt see it translating to varsity next year!! Maybe the year after!!.. A lot teams had there good soph on varsity and Iona beat you on jv!!!
Like I said I’m not a step fan I just thought they had a great jv team they had a good rb #9 who was very strong they had a big NG who was about 6’2 260 who I thought could’ve easily played varsity ! And they had a good qb who was a lil undersized at about 5’10 but was really fast and they had about 4 to 5 sops on varsity and they had a good jr class like I said I think they will be a surpriser next yr my opinion !!! Y’all saying it won’t translate but look at chaminade they didn’t have that good of a yr but went undefeated on jv the same yr and then won the championship the next yr !!!! Idk though my opinion !!!!
Rotten Tomato December 2nd, 2012 at 7:05 pm
@truth. Stepinac almost lost to Wp. Wp got beat by everyone in section one. Stepincrap should not be in the top 10
Rotten …. A very true point!!.. And it’s a good point!!
Truth December 2nd, 2012 at 8:12 pm
Like I said I’m not a step fan I just thought they had a great jv team they had a good rb #9 who was very strong they had a big NG who was about 6’2 260 who I thought could’ve easily played varsity ! And they had a good qb who was a lil undersized at about 5’10 but was really fast and they had about 4 to 5 sops on varsity and they had a good jr class like I said I think they will be a surpriser next yr my opinion !!! Y’all saying it won’t translate but look at chaminade they didn’t have that good of a yr but went undefeated on jv the same yr and then won the championship the next yr !!!! Idk though my opinion !!!!
Cham varsity staff we can all agree is much better then ther jv!!.. I watched step jv and I just Dnt think they will be a force the next year!!... Maybe the following year but I Dnt think next year
Who did you watch them against prince ??
Iona
Oo ok I think if you would’ve seen them play other teams st anthonys chaminade etc you maybe will change your thoughts but hey it’s ok !!! I’m not a step fan just think that jv team was talented !!!!
Truth
Understand!!... I watched them
Versus Iona and I seen enough!!.. Are saying they will beat saint ant and Cham next year???
No not at all !!!! ^
TRUTH
WELL.. YOU DN’T THINK THEY WILL BEAT CHAM OR SAINT ANTS AND THEY LOSS TO IONA!!
WHO WILL THEY BEAT!!.... IT LOOK LIKE THEY WILL BE #5 AGAIN!! FARRELL WAS 6-2 YOU MIGHT WANT TO RE-THINK THIS ONE OUT!!..
?@ sorry truth stepinac did not buy their way into the top 10 this year lol
Rotten Tomato December 3rd, 2012 at 2:31 pm
?@ sorry truth stepinac did not buy their way into the top 10 this year lol
ROTTEN LOL!!.. TRUE … TRUE…. TRUE… REALITY CAUGHT UP TO THERE LIES AND GAMES!!...
Rt,
Talk about ‘buying’ your way into something? Are you serious? Think about what you’re writing. WP was leading Harrison in the early 4th qtr or at least late 3rd and came back to win. So did step. How different were the Harrison and step outcomes vs WP? Not much if you look at it objectively. Step was excellent the last two years – if u don’t believe me, ask the Harrison coaches they scrimmaged step two years ago.
PPR,
You should enjoy new Ro being the top local team this year, because both step and Iona are returning a lot more talent than new Ro next year.
As far as Step not being in th aaa next yar, that’s absurd. They finished #5 in aaa this yea, started 4 sophs and a bunch of juniors. they also had a Jb team that only lost one game in the aaa. Step is looking good next year.
Hoops
PPR,
You should enjoy new Ro being the top local team this year, because both step and Iona are returning a lot more talent than new Ro next year.
As far as Step not being in th aaa next yar, that’s absurd. They finished #5 in aaa this yea, started 4 sophs and a bunch of juniors. they also had a Jb team that only lost one game in the aaa. Step is looking good next year.
HOOPS!... I am!!.. You do not have to tell me!!..
you should enjoy new Ro being the best team in the state not worrying about next year!! New Ro always reload!!.. U better keep in
Mind new Ro jv was 7-1 they will pickup where they left off!!.. #1 team in westchester again!!!
PPR,
Want to make a bet about the #1 team in Westchester next year?
Hoops fan December 5th, 2012 at 8:06 am
PPR,
Want to make a bet about the #1 team in Westchester next year?
HOOPS!!.... YES I WOULD LOVE TO!!...
REMEMBER WHEN WEDNESDAY!!.....
Prince, purple rain 10,000 bucks June 29th, 2011 at 8:28 am
Before I post my teams I will post what I think the team will need!!!..... The team will need to be very discipline on defense because new Ro will , a team will have to have a very solid Qb!!!.... you know how to be a Qb not just play the position!, the team will need a back who runs well off tackle and knows how to finish his runs!!! And the O.C. Has to be a very balance and create good spacing on the field the O.C. cnt want to just punch new Ro in the mouth!!( or think he will run up the score!!... New Ro will play good defense and it’s being coached to play 4 qtrs of good defense) Being Predictable will make it very hard to beat new Ro being unpredictable is there ( new Ro) weakness!!!....... And finally it will come down too the coaching staff it self are they prepared for a battle or are they prepared for a war!!!....
PRINCE PERFORMING AS PPR!!! Your comment is awaiting moderation. December 5th, 2012 at 2:22 pm
REMEMBER WHEN WEDNESDAY…....
Prince, purple rain 10,000 bucks July 1st, 2011 at 4:35 am
10583
What does Scarsdale defense look like!!!... To win the section this year theme will. Be “athletic defense”.... I’m getting that feeling!! Not offense but serious defense!!
Just fact…............. I think coaches have been blogging!.... I feel a migration movement of teams trying to be a lil more balance in ther offense!!! Ther starting to understand!!! What the basement dwelling idi.ots, who cnt coach ther way out of a paper bag!! has been saying!! Hahahahaha…... You cnt win the big game just running!!!
.
.
Just fact!!!......... That was a serious throw back
Post!!!..... Real blast!!.... . .
Dutchesss really did drops two bombs on us!!! Now let’s see what they do come 2011 november!!!.......
REMEMBER WHEN WEDNESDAY!!......
Just a fact – 10 – K – onator July 1st, 2011 at 10:04 am
Prince, Dutchess post showed he knew how to get the STATS!! He always was good for the Northern info as well.
Coaches bloggin adds to this Blog when they are not attacking and giving credit where and when it is due,
As for more balance in general, I think it is just the Spring/Summer. Teams always trying to practice the pass then season starts and Coaches forget about all this time that was spent developing a passing game. If New Ro becomes more balanced, me and the rest of the Blog will know how they arrrived there, “PPR Basement dwelling Rantings”
Excellent quote!!!
“Being Predictable will make it very hard to beat new Ro being unpredictable is there ( new Ro) weakness!!!....... And finally it will come down too the coaching staff it self are they prepared for a battle or are they prepared for a war!!!....”
Just a fact December 5th, 2012 at 9:09 pm
Excellent quote!!!
“Being Predictable will make it very hard to beat new Ro being unpredictable is there ( new Ro) weakness!!!....... And finally it will come down too the coaching staff it self are they prepared for a battle or are they prepared for a war!!!....”
JUST.. THAT WAS A THROW BACK 2011 POST!!!...
PRINCE PERFORMING AS PPR!!! Your comment is awaiting moderation. December 6th, 2012 at 2:30 pm
JUST I RE-POSTED THIS ON WEDNESDAY!!... LOOK AT WHAT JOSH TWEETED TODAY!!..
PRINCE PERFORMING AS PPR!!! Your comment is awaiting moderation. December 5th, 2012 at 2:22 pm
REMEMBER WHEN WEDNESDAY…....
Prince, purple rain 10,000 bucks July 1st, 2011 at 4:35 am
10583
What does Scarsdale defense look like!!!... To win the section this year theme will. Be “athletic defense”.... I’m getting that feeling!! Not offense but serious defense!!
Just fact…............. I think coaches have been blogging!.... I feel a migration movement of teams trying to be a lil more balance in ther offense!!! Ther starting to understand!!! What the basement dwelling id…iots, who cnt coach ther way out of a paper bag!! has been saying!! Hahahahaha…... You cnt win the big game just running!!!
.
.
JOSH TWEETED TODAY!!...
LoHudInsider I don’t ever remember there being so many top players at QB. Many will just be honorable mention but they are among the area’s best. ...
19 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite
.
.
.
.LoHudInsider Goes to show you just how much teams in this area have continued to emphasize the passing game. It’s no longer station-to-station football.
19 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite
.
.
.
LoHudInsider …con’t: Raishaun McGhee, Justin Davidov, Joe Fraietta, Brian Prunty, Carlos Monserrate,
19 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite
.
.
.
.
.LoHudInsider Read this list of top QBs: Edney, Biaggi, Hoffer, Mariano, Verboys, Nicita, John Decker, Devin Lopez, Joe McDermott, Keech, Lambert, Riccio.
19 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite
.
..
Prince, you are educating the masses!!!!
JUST
ONE DAY THEY WILL SEE WHAT WE HAVE BEEN SAYING!!!