Since we already know who the Top 3 Game Balls are going to, I’ll split the rest into two posts. Here’s the first set of recipients, plus a list of honorable mention:

Week 8 Game Balls
Honorable mention: Brendan Connolly, Edgemont; Reuben Frank, Poughkeepsie; Brendan Nagle, Rye; Nolan Robinson, Pleasantville; Josh Grant, Yonkers; Paul Grimaldi, Lakeland; Gabe Ostrow, Nanuet; Donovan Walker, Roosevelt; Matt Wheeler, Scarsdale; Joe Tralli, Croton-Harmon; Caleb Gilligan-Evans, Stepinac; Timmy Muller, Fox Lane; Mike Celenza, Albertus Magnus; Ben Spiegelman, Scarsdale; Hart Mechlin, Bronxville; Matt Laccetti, Ossining; Devonte Brailsford, Dobbs Ferry.

Top 10 performances
10. Matt Deiana, Somers: The Tuskers were able to peel themselves off the pavement after losing to Poughkeepsie and avenge a loss that festered for over a year. Credit Matt Deiana for leading that charge. The senior running back rushed for 164 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries in the 27-0 win over Nyack. Deiana also recorded 10 tackles with a sack to help give Somers one more game, versus Ossining on Friday.
7. Jameson Pickel, John Jay: Few realize the season Pickel has to put together this season. He carried John Jay to its third win in a row on Saturday, a 42-32 thriller over Scarsdale. Pickel ran for 183 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and was 18-of-27 passing for 143 yards and two touchdowns. There might not have been a more productive double-threat quarterback in Class AA this season.
8. Sal Sulla, North Rockland: A week after being used sparingly out of the backfield because of injury, Sulla made one of the most dramatic plays of the season. With Saturday’s Class AA semifinal with Arlington tied 14-14, the senior running back broke a 65-yard touchdown run to put the Red Raiders into the championship for the seventh time this decade. Sulla was also stellar defensively as North Rockland shut down an Arlington team that had scored 98 points combined in its previous three games.
7. Joey Lapopolo and Jonny McGhee, New Rochelle: Does this defense have to do it all? It seems like it each week as the Huguenots turned in another commanding performance in their 24-7 win over White Plains in the AA semis. Lapopolo returned a fumble 22 yards for New Rochelle’s first score and McGhee sealed it late, returning an interception 28 yards for a score. It was the second time McGhee put White Plains to rest with a second-half interception return this season. The kid has a flair for the dramatic.

The rest of the list will be posted Tuesday night. The Player and Coach of the Week will be announced on Wednesday’s edition of Varsity Central Chat, which starts at 7 p.m.

Let’s run through the best of last weekend’s non-playoff games:

Edgemont 27, Ardsley 8: Edgemont closes a disappointing season on a solid note. Brendan Connolly scored three touchdowns for the Panthers, who bring back the core this year’s team. This year, although frustrating, should serve them well as they make another run towards contention in Class B.
Spring Valley 20, Panas 17: Although this game didn’t mean much to the outsider, it was an important win for the Tigers, who finish the season 5-3. It was truly a turn-around year at Spring Valley, which has struggled in recent seasons. The Tigers gutted out the win, rallying in the fourth quarter as Geraldo Cetoute broke a 70-yard touchdown run for the winning score.
Hackley 27, St. Luke’s 7: The Hornets get back on track after a difficult couple of weeks. Adam Parker ran for 118 yards and two touchdowns for Hackley. A championship is probably out of the question as long as KLHT is still intact. But the Hornets could put together a few more wins and position themselves for a run in the postseason.
Ossining 21, Fox Lane 7: Apparently the game wasn’t as close as the score indicates. The Foxes got yards but they couldn’t make their way into the end zone after the first quarter as the Ossining defense made the stops it needed throughout. Lemar Johnson ran for 133 yards and threw for 65, and Matt Laccett rushed for 137 yards and two scores on 22 carries in the win. Tim Muller had 22 tackles for the Foxes. Ossining gets Somers in a bowl game on Friday.
Somers 27, Nyack 0: Not the best few weeks for the Indians, who end the years losers of four of five. Credit the Tuskers for swallowing the bitter taste of losing to Poughkeepsie by putting forth a strong effort here. Matt Deiana led the way, rushing for 164 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. He also had 10 tackles and a sack.
Eastchester 12, Horace Greeley 7: The Eagles shut down Greeley to advance in the Class A bowl playoffs. They’ll get an eagerly-awaited rematch with Harrison in what will be certainly be one of the most intense games of the weekend. Eastchester deserves credit for how its responded since losing to Roosevelt and being denied a playoff berth. If they can avenge that loss to Harrison, the season won’t be a total loss.
Harrison 28, Yorktown 7: The Huskies beat a Yorktown team without its starting quarterback to play one more week. Steven Ricciardi scored twice for Harrison, which has been one of the most productive running teams in Section 1 this season. It will have to open it up a little more against Eastchester, which coughed the ball up seven times in the first meeting, a one-point Harrison win.
Yonkers 20, Dover 0: Josh Grant rushed for 150 yards and scored two touchdowns to end his high school football career on a positive note. Grant started the year at Gorton but was forced to return to Yonkers because he apparently violated Section 1’s transfer rules. Yonkers won two of the three games Grant played after going winless last season and up until his return. Grant hopes to play football in college.
Iona Prep 35, Farrell 0: This is just what the Gaels needed going into the playoffs. They’re healthy now that Jeff Mack is back and they’re clicking on both sides of the ball. Mack ran for 140 yards and four touchdowns and Tyrae Woodson-Samuels had his second straight 300-yard passing game, going 20 for 27 for 301 yards and a touchdown.
Mount Vernon 32, Carmel 14: Really didn’t see this one coming. When I saw the score, though, it reminded me of past years with Mount Vernon, which has won some big games in the non-playoff bowl season. Don’t be shocked if Mount Vernon goes up and gives Arlington a great game on Friday, if not wins.
John Jay 42, Scarsdale 32: This one seems like a wild game where both teams filled the stat sheet. Jameson Pickel was at his best. The John Jay quarterback ran for 183 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries and completed 18 of 27 for 143 yards and two scores. Ben Spiegelman ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns for Scarsdale, and Matt Wheeler caught seven passes for 131 yards.
Stepinac 17, St. John’s the Baptist 14: The Crusaders end the regular season 8-0 for the first time in school history. Caleb Gilligan-Evans ran for 124 yards and a touchdown as Stepinac survived late. The Crusaders have a tough road to a AA Division title since it will likely have to beat two AAA teams that dropped down for the postseason.
Class C League 3 Semifinals
Valhalla 28, Woodlands 8: The Vikings improved to 7-1 and have lost only to unbeaten Bronxville in the regular-season opener. John Meaney scored three touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. Valhalla will host Blind Brook in the final.
Blind Brook 40, Pawling 36: It won’t get nearly the attention but this was actually one of the best games of the year. Pawling trailed 34-16 entering the fourth quarter before scoring 22 straight points to take the lead. Kyle Hollander, though, scored the winning touchdown with 15 seconds left on a 1-yard plunge. He had 13 yards rushing and two scores, and Mike Tomasulo rushed for 265 yards and scored four touchdowns.

Other games: Mamaroneck edged Lincoln 7-6 on a late touchdown by Dean Chiapparelli on a pass from Henry Millette. … Pearl River outlasted Brewster, 16-6. … Clarkstown South pounded Gorton 34-0 for its second win. … Clarkstown North finally got past Ramapo after two near misses, winning 14-0. … Hen Hud beat Port Chester 6-0. … Ketcham routed Mahopac 25-7. … John Jay-EF beat Suffern 42-6 as Suffern star Anthony DiMarsico didn’t play because of injury. … Lourdes beat Irvington 31-6. … Rye Neck defeated Putnam Valle 41-22. … Byram Hills got a pair of fourth quarter touchdown runs from Eric Mainthrow and beat Westlake 21-16. … KLHT pounded Rye Country Day 36-14. … Briarcliff beat Pelham 30-7. …

If you missed this instant classic, you have two chances to make up for it.

You can watch the replay on Lohud.com/vcsports1 where the game is available onDemand. You can get there by clicking here.

Or, if you’re a Cablevision subscriber, you can watch the game tonight at 7:30 p.m. on MSG Varsity (Ch. 14). They had announcers and sideline reporters at the game, which I’ve said is one of the best I’ve ever been a part of.

At 7, you should check out MSG’s High School Sportsdesk. They’ll have highlights of Sleepy Hollow-Pleasantville, Croton-Bronxville. Sportsdesk repeats at 10 and will again be followed by Rye-Poughkeepsie at 10:30.

Not that you want to look too far ahead… but the Section 1 teams playing for championships this weekend should probably be looking ahead (at least a little).

Here’s the Section 9 championship schedule:

Friday
Class D: Eldred vs. Chester, at Dietz Stadium, 7 p.m.
Class A: Cornwall vs. Wallkill Faller Field, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Class C: Ellenville vs. Liberty, at Dietz Stadium, 3 p.m.
Class AA: Monroe-Woodbury vs. Warwick, at Faller Field, 7 p.m.
Class B: Highland vs. O’Neill, at Dietz Stadium, 7 p.m.

The way it looks now, Monroe-Woodbury and Cornwall should be back in the state tournament for what seems like the 10th year in a row. Monroe is 9-0, top ranked in the state and beat Warwick 49-32. Cornwall is 6-2 but beat Wallkill 49-13.

Highland is 8-0, ranked fourth in the state but only beat O’Neill 12-0 in Week 2. Ellenville is 8-1 with a 36-6 win over Liberty. Eldred is 8-1, ranked fifth in the state and beat Chester only 13-12. Chester, by the way, lost to Tuckahoe in the regular season, 26-6.

For those who feel inspired to go scout, Faller Field is at Middletown High School and Dietz Stadium is in Kingston. Here are the directions to each:

To Faller Field at Middletown H.S.: Take I-87 to Exit 16 (Harriman) to Route 17 West. Route 17 West to exit 120. At the end of ramp, make a left onto Route 211 West. Stay in middle lane. Go approximately 2 miles and turn left onto Wisner Avenue (Gas station on right before you turn.) Go to the first stop sign and turn left onto Gardner Avenue Ext. which goes into the school lower parking lot.

To Dietz Stadium in Kingston: Take I-87 to exit 19. Go around traffic circle and continue to Washington Avenue exit to third traffic light. Take right into stadium.

The state tournament schedule is as follows:

State quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 13
at White Plains High School
Class D: Tuckahoe-Haldane winner vs. Section 9’s Eldred-Chester winner, 4 p.m.
Class B: Nanuet-Sleepy Hollow winner vs. Section 9’s Highland-O’Neill winner, 7:30 p.m.
at Dietz Stadium, Kingston
Class C: Bronxville-Croton winner vs. Section 9’s Ellenville-Liberty winner, 4 p.m.
Class A: Poughkeepsie-Roosevelt winner vs. Section 9’s Cornwall-Walkill winner, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 14
at Dietz Stadium, Kingston
Class AA: New Rochelle-North Rockland winner vs. Section 9’s Monroe Woodbury-Warwick winner, 7:30 p.m.

State semifinals
at Dietz Stadium, Kingston
Friday, Nov. 20
Class D, 4 p.m.
Class A, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 21
Class C, noon
Class B, 4 p.m.
Class AA, 8 p.m.

State championships
at Carrier Dome in Syracuse
Saturday, Nov. 28
Class D, noon
Class C, 3 p.m.
Class A, 6 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 29
Class AA, 1 p.m.
Class B, 4 p.m.

*Note that the state finals were pushed back to Saturday-Sunday instead of Friday because Syracuse basketball has a home game that night.

Here’s the breakdown for the top two conferences:

AAA Division
Quarterfinals
No. 8 Chaminade at No. 1 Holy Trinity
No. 7 Xaverian at No. 2 St. Anthony’s
No. 6 Fordham Prep at No. 3 Holy Cross
No. 5 Iona Prep at No. 4 St. Joseph by the Sea

AA Division
Quarterfinals
No. 8 St. John the Baptist at No. 1 Monsignor Farrell
No. 7 Xavier at No. 2 Mount St. Michael’s
No. 5 Stepinac at No. 4 St. Francis Prep
No. 6 Cardinal Hayes at No. 3 Kellenberg

Dates and times for all games will be posted later.

I confirmed with Section 1 that the Roosevelt-Poughkeepsie game on Saturday will be held at 5 p.m. and the Haldane-Tuckahoe is now at 2.

Here’s the bowl game schedule that I’ve gathered so far:

Thursday
Lincoln at Mahopac, 5 p.m.
Mount Vernon at Arlington, 6 p.m.
Scarsdale at Clarkstown South, 6 p.m.
Ketcham at John Jay, 6:30 p.m.

Friday
John Jay-EF at Rye, TBA
Carmel at Suffern, 5 p.m.
Blind Brook at Valhalla, 6 p.m.
Gorton at Clarkstown North, 6 p.m.
Ossining at Somers, 7 p.m.

Saturday
Eastchester at Harrison, 2 p.m.

And the Section 1 Championship Weekend schedule:

Saturday
Class D
Haldane vs. Tuckahoe, 2 p.m.
Class A
Poughkeepsie vs. Roosevelt, 5 p.m.
Class B
Sleepy Hollow vs. Nanuet, 8 p.m.

Sunday
Class AA
New Rochelle vs. North Rockland, 1 p.m.
Class C
Croton-Harmon vs. Bronxville, 5 p.m.

I spent my day off on Sunday by, well, trying to take the day off. Sometimes it doesn’t always work like that. But knowing what’s ahead this week, I did my best to relax.

Unfortunately, the Giants, Jets and my fantasy teams didn’t allow for too much of it. So I decided to sit down last night during the World Series and pound out my weekend recap, which I finished this morning.

(Don’t worry, I’ll be posting a ‘Non-playoff games’ recap later in the day)

Class AA
New Rochelle 24, White Plains 7: Perhaps I overstated the “switch” New Rochelle flicks in the postseason. After pounding Mount Vernon last week, the lights flickered for the Huguenots as a very talented White Plains defense gave them fits in this semifinal.

Jake Thomases had the story in today’s Journal News, which you can read here.

Behind two defensive touchdowns, New Rochelle was able to grind out a victory and get back to the Class AA final for the seventh time this decade. It has won the previous six, including the last three, and seems poised to extend those numbers. But, with this offensive inconsistency, it’s not going to be easy.

White Plains just couldn’t get anything going offensively, either, against the best defense in Section 1. The Tigers’ only score came after an interception return to the New Ro 5. Don’t expect North Rockland to have many more opportunities, either.

North Rockland 20, Arlington 14: The Admirals were in an unfamiliar position on Saturday: on the wrong side of a thrilling finish.

The Red Raiders got a 65-yard touchdown with under four minutes left from Sal Sulla to snap a 14-14 tie. Sulla ran for two touchdowns in the game, and Terrell Smith ran for the other.

This game proves just how good North Rockland is defensively. It completely shut down John Jay-EF in the second half last week after holding down White Plains the previous game.

North Rockland fell behind 9-0 early and was down two at the half before taking the lead early in the third. Sulla’s touchdown that broke the tie late was followed by a forced fumble and a defensive stand by the Red Raiders, who are also making their seventh Section 1 Class AA final appearance this decade.

More on the New Rochelle-North Rockland game this week. But I can promise you that, with these two defenses, it will be a far better game anyone might think.

Class A
Roosevelt 32, Lakeland 7: The game was a closer than the score indicates as the Hornets threatened twice in the third quarter, trailing by 12.

But, continuing the most indescribeable phenomenon of the 2009 season: A Roosevelt team with the thinnest of rosters managed to play its best again in the fourth quarter.

You can’t help but marvel at this group. They start 10 players on both sides of the ball, put the football in the hands of only two players for the most part, and are in the most grueling, competitive conference on a week to week basis. Yet they’re one win away from the most improbably of championships.

Saturday was the first time I got to see Roosevelt this season. Donovan Walker throws the ball with authority and really makes good decisions in the pocket. Dave Thomas has unteachable instincts and can manuever in small spaces better than any back I’ve seen this year. His legs don’t stop and he does an incredible job of using contact as a way to gain more yards. He drives his legs through defenders (the way Emmitt Smith once did) and gets yards few other backs can.

The first thing people asked me on Saturday was whether Roosevelt would beat Poughkeepsie. Again, I don’t want to get too much into the finals just yet. The short answer is that it will be a great game.

Lakeland, meanwhile, was better than I thought it would be. The reason the Hornets were able to get this far was evident: they liked to hit (Phil Grimaldi at middle lineback was superb and took on Walker and Thomas all day), they were a very good tackling team and they had three special offensive players in Mike Fraioli, Conor Prunty and Chris Fazio. Overall, a very solid football team.

Class B
Nanuet 21, Kennedy 7: Not too much of a surprise here. Nanuet won the game by a healthy margin against a Kennedy that physically found a way to stay in the game throughout.

The unbeaten Golden Knights get back to a Section 1 final for the first time since 2000, as Josh Thomson reported in his article, where it will take on Sleepy Hollow. Nanuet statistically dominated Kennedy despite three turnovers, two of which came late and didn’t matter much.

Nanuet seems poised to finished what it started here this season and beat Sleepy Hollow next week. There’s something to be said, however, about being asked to beat a team twice and about having the additional pressure of being “the favorite” to win a championship. This squad has the maturity to handle it.

Sleepy Hollow 28, Pleasantville 19: From the moment I saw Sleepy coach Steve Borys on the field before the game, I knew the Headless Horsmen were going to win.

Or should I say “Headless Horseman” since that’s what Borys was dressed up as for Halloween in tribute of the short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Check out my article here from Sunday to learn more.

Basically, in the first half Borys actually wore a black cape over a black shirt and black pants. Before the game, he walked into the Sleepy Hollow locker room in character: introducing himself as “the Headless Horseman” and using the story’s theme as an allegory to the football team’s season. The team started 1-3 and were frustrated, thus ‘losing their heads’ like the character; but the Horsemen eventually found his head by perseverence, which is what Borys implored his team to go out and do by beating Pleasantville.

In a word: Brilliant!

Kids get tired of the rah-rah pregame speeches of “nobody is giving us respect” or “play the next 48 minutes for the rest of your life.” Some might have scoffed at Borys for his attire. Those people just don’t get it. Not only did he relax his team and teach them a valuable life lesson through literature, he got them excited for the game… I’m sure smashing the pumpkin against the wall helped.

Bobby Small led the brigade, rushing for 300 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries. Small was magnificent considering the soggy Parkway Field turf. He and L.J. Garrant (134 yards rushing) are going to be a nightmare on the Mahopac turf.

Class C
Croton-Harmon 25, Dobbs Ferry 21: Somehow, these guys almost outdid themselves from last season.

Not quite, but it was close as Rick Carpiniello reported in his column on Sunday. The Tigers scored twice in the final five minutes to rally back and beat the Eagles in the semifinals for the second year in a row.

Croton-Harmon, the defending champs, gets to take on Bronxville which beat it rather handily a month ago. Both teams are back at full strength after a handful of injuries apiece.

The Tigers led this one 13-0 in a blink but behind 14-13 at the half after two Devonte Brailsford touchdown runs. Dobbs blocked two punts and a field goal in the first half and opened up the lead to 21-13. A Croton blocked punt led to a touchdown where a Tyler Dorien pass to the end zone was intentionally deflected by Tyler Keppler away from a defender and into the hands of Tralli for the score. The 2-point failed and Dobbs still led 21-19.

Another botched punt, this one off a bad snap, led to a Kevin Soares touchdown run in the final minutes.

The game might not have been just a win for Croton. It might have been the boost it needed to close the gap on Bronxville next week.

Bronxville 38, Hastings 7: Well, I was wrong about this one.

I though the Yellow Jackets would be able to come out and put a serious scare into the unbeaten Broncos. Wrong. Bronxville defensively is too sound, too physical and too deep.

Mike Dougherty of The Journal News was at the game and you can read his article from the game here.

Dougherty led with Jack Near, the superb Bronxville quarterback who injured his knee in the win over Dobbs in Week 2 and is slowly making his way back. Near showed mobility and quickness against Hastings and could be ready for full-time duty very soon. Maybe even on Sunday.

Bronxville is still my clear pick to win this weekend. But given the momentum Croton has built up the last few weeks, something tells me the Class C final will be a tighter one than many predict.

For this weekend’s Section 1 championships at Mahopac High School:

Friday
no games

Saturday
Class A
Poughkeepsie vs. Roosevelt, 2 p.m.
Class D
Tuckahoe vs. Haldane, 5 p.m.
Class B
Nanuet vs. Sleepy Hollow, 8 p.m.

Sunday
Class AA
New Rochelle vs. North Rockland, 1 p.m.
Class C
Bronxville vs. Croton-Harmon, 5 p.m.

Early forecast for this weekend: Mid 50s and Saturday and Sunday and a chance of showers Sunday. Not bad.

Albertus Magnus quarterback Ryan McLaughlin set the Section 1 record today for passing yards in a game, throwing for 409 yards and four touchdowns in the Falcons’ 41-34 win over Lincoln Hall in a non-playoff game.

McLaughlin completed only 16 of 23 passes, but threw three long scores in the first half; two to Mike Celenza and one to Corey Lopez. Celenza caught five passes for 200 yards and Lopez had six receptions for 156 yards and two touchdowns.

In the game, McLaughlin also passed Albertus Magnus grad Brian Duffy for the most passing yards in a season in Rockland County. McLaughlin now has 1,909.

More on this in tomorrow’s Journal News.

What a day of football. Here’s a quick rundown of just some of the highlights:

New Rochelle beat White Plains 24-7 to earn its first fourth straight trip to the Section 1 Class AA final and seventh this decade. The Huguenots haven’t lost a championship game in that time.

North Rockland rallied in the final minutes to defeat Arlington 20-14. Again, North Rockland makes its seven appearance in the AA final this decade. The Red Raiders have won three, lost three (all to New Ro).

Roosevelt beat Lakeland 32-7 in a game that was a little closer than the score indicates. Lakeland had the ball inside the Roosevelt 30 twice in the third trailing 19-7 but couldn’t score either time. The Indians pulled away late to set up a Class A final showdown with Poughkeepsie. That game is pretty much the reason they invented field turf.

In Class B, Nanuet steamrolled Kennedy yardage-wise, although the score was only 21-7. Nanuet had three of turnovers after having only one all year or else it would have been a little different.

Sleepy Hollow pulled off a 28-19 upset at Pleasantville behind 300 yards rushing and three touchdowns by Bobby Small. Headless Horsemen coach Steve Borys dressed up as just that — the Headless Horsemen — for Halloween. Yes, that’s him to the right wearing a black cape. You’ll understand more in tomorrow’s Journal News.

In Class C, Croton-Harmon won yet another thriller, scoring in the final minuts to defeat Dobbs Ferry 25-20. Devonte Brailsford had a monster game for the Eagles, who allowed two touchdowns in the final five minutes to fall in the semifinals for the second year in a row.

Bronxville won the day’s other playoff game, beating Hastings 38-7. The Broncos are on a mission.

More news and info to come later.

We’ll be broadcasting the White Plains-New Rochelle game today at lohud.com/vcsports1. Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m.

Follow the rest of the action on the Twitter feed:

Rye should have punted. Poughkeepsie shouldn’t have gone for two. Rye should have been in a prevent defense. Poughkeepsie went offsides.

The last 12 hours has featured many of the same comments on this blog. All very valid. If you want read more about last night’s epic Rye-Poughkeepsie game, read my game story here. I spoiled it a little last night by posting the postgame comments on the blog. But the article has a better play-by-play of the action.

It wasn’t the only game last night, although it felt that way. Somers blitzed Nyack 27-0 behind 149 yards rushing from Matt Deiana. Nyack coach John Castellano was ejected in what was surely a spillover of the frustrations from the past few weeks. great column in today’s paper about the ‘Developmental League’ in Class C (known as League 3).

Carp and I differ on this set up. He thinks it’s great that the struggling programs get an opportunity to play a weakened schedule and get their low numbers back up. I’m not disagreeing with that concept. It’s needed at that level. But I have such a difficult time thinking that there’s six teams of players who enter the season without the ultimate dream — winning a state championship — even if it’s fantasy. I think you’ll eventually turn more kids away from football because the games now are almost exhibition.

My idea for Class C is to play a weighted schedule, much like the Piner System. I know people cringe when they hear Piner because they were conditioned to by the promiment coaches in Classes A and B years back. If the Piner would work in any conference in Section 1, it would be Class C. Play an eight-game regular season (assuming Section 1 gives a game back next year) and put four in the playoffs. Trust me, it would work. The Piner is a good system, I don’t care what any of the 200-win coaches say.

Just my take. Going out to eat pancakes and get ready to watch Pleasantville-Sleepy Hollow and Lakeland-Roosevelt. Should be a great day.

The most incredible eight seconds of football I’ve ever witnessed will followed by months of second-guessing, finger-pointing and head-shaking.

How did Josh Graham get so wide open? Did Graham go offsides on the final play? Why didn’t Rye punt on the previous drive? Why did Poughkeepsie go for the 2-point conversion? Were all those penalties against Rye legit?

There are dozens of questions from this game from the fourth quarter alone. In case you don’t know what happened, here’s what transpired:

Rye led 17-0 at the half and was 20-7 to start the fourth quarter before the Pioneers scored on three straight possessions, ending with Josh Graham’s miraculous 49-yard touchdown catch from Jarrid Williams as time expired. Williams had 202 yards in the game, most of which came in the second half, and three touchdowns.

Troy Wright’s 1-yard score with 3:30 left capped an 89-yard drive and pulled Poughkeepsie to within 20-13. The touchdown was set up by a totally legitimate pass-interference call in the end zone. The span on the extra point was low and the holder ran out but was tackled. Rye then went 3-and-out, running just 32 seconds off the clock was Poughkeepsie used two timeouts and an incomplete pass.

The Pioneers then went 66 yards in 58 seconds. Amazingly, Williams was 1 for 7 passing on the drive but was helped by a 30-yard completion on 4th-and-10 to Graham with 2:40 left and then a questionable pass-intereference foul on 4th-and-10 at the Rye 37. Graham broke a 23-yard score on the next play, making it 20-19 with 2:00 left. Poughkeepsie opted to run a “muddle huddle” where six guys are at the left hash, four are in the middle and one is split right. Williams took the snap and tried to throw a pass but was hit by Brendan Nagle as he released and it fell incomplete.

Poughkeepsie coach Ken Barger on the decision:

“We’ve been doing that. We figured that we’re on the road, we had to go for the win. We didn’t want to go to overtime. I stand by the call. I guess I went from zero to hero in the span of eight seconds.”

Once Rye recovered the onside kick, the game should have been over. Oh, it wasn’t.

With no Poughkeepsie timeouts left, Rye ran three plays up the middle and ran the clock down to 27 seconds. Facing fourth-and-6 at the Pioneers 46, Rye elected not to punt to Poughkeepsie’s dangerous return men and instead ran a play where Connor Eck was to roll right and eat up as much time as he could. He only got six seconds off before Reuben Frank (headed to UConn) slammed him down for a 5-yard loss.

Rye coach Dino Garr on the decision:

“We felt we could run some time off the clock and hopefully get a first down. A lot could go wrong on a punt. It could have gotten blocked or a bad snap or whatever. Do I second guess myself? No.”

Williams threw three straight incomplete passes — all overthrown with a Poughkeepsie receiver behind a leaping Rye defensive back — before the final play. With 8 seconds left at the Rye 49, Williams hit Graham on the left sideline about 20 yards downfield. Graham slipped through two defenders and burst into the end zone as the clock went down to 0:00.

Mayhem on one sideline. Total devastation on the other.

It’s hard to really describe the scene. As I looked out from the Rye sideline, I never would have known anybody was standing behind me. It was the quiested a thousand people could possibly be.

What will forever stick out in my mind was looking at the Poughkeepsie players’ faces after they shook hands. Three out of every five players was sobbing crying. The other two were choking back tears.

Barger’s take on the final play:

“We were trying to isolate Josh all game. The quarterback made a great throw and I was screaming ‘Get out of bounds. Get out of bounds. I guess it’s plays like that that make you look good as a coach. It was a special game.”

Garr didn’t have much nice things to say about the officiating. Rye, a team that rarely commits penalties, was flagged six times for 59 yards.

“I can’t be happy with the officiating,” Garr said he was smacked his hand down the table in his office after the game. He then turned to me: “Did you watch the game? Did you?”

Garr added: “Throughout this whole stretch, I always thought these last (seven) years that if we were going to lose, we’d lose it on the field. I don’t think we did.”

Graham was penalized for leaving the line too soon three times. But, I can tell you with my own eyes that he didn’t a whole lot more and got away with it.

Did he do it on the last play? It’s not impossible. I have to see the tape.

Overall, this was as memorable a football game as I’ve ever seen. It will be aired on MSG this weekend. I’ll post the date and time when I get it.

It’s a must watch.

We’ll be airing the Poughkeepsie vs. Rye semifinal in the Class A playoffs tonight on lohud.com/vcsports1. You can click here to watch or go right to the address. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

(Please be patient with the video. The wireless at Rye isn’t great and it tends to stop and start often.)

White Plains at New Rochelle will be aired tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. on the same channel.

As we prepare for the Section 1 semifinals, I had a feature in today’s Journal News pinpointing who will be the most important player(s) in each game this weekend.

I called them the ‘X-factors’ and highlighted the non-quarterbacks and non-running backs who play vital roles. You can check them out by clicking here.

We also had a preview of every game scheduled this weekend, which you can read here.

There were a couple of games yesterday — Edgemont topped Ardsley 27-8 and Tappan Zee hosted Beacon.

Beautiful day and should be a nice weekend. Going to play some golf. Back later.