Local teams poised for Section 9 semifinals
Saugerties, Wallkill to compete in Class A games tonight, with New Paltz, Marlboro playing in B games on Saturday
KINGSTON >> It’s make or break time for Saugerties, New Paltz, Marlboro and Wallkill highs’ football teams this weekend as they play for spots in Section 9 championship games.
The Class A semifinals are 7 p.m. today with Saugerties playing Goshen at Dietz Stadium and Wallkill facing Cornwall at Middletown’s Faller Field.
The Class B semis are 3 p.m. Saturday with New Paltz taking on Liberty at Dietz and Marlboro going against James I. O’Neill at Faller.
Dietz has a tripleheader on Saturday. At 11 a.m. is a Class C semi between Chester and Millbrook. Newburgh Free Academy plays Pine Bush in a Class AA game at 7 p.m.
Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for students. Gold Cards will be honored, but not Section 9 Passes.
At stake is a place in the Nov. 4 Class A title game at Faller and the Nov. 5 Class B championsnhip at Dietz.
Today
Class A Goshen vs. Saugerties
Saugerties (7-1) was brought harshly back to earth by Cornwall in last week’s 56-0 loss that decided the division title and top seed in the tourney.
The Sawyers will look to get its ground game going again. They defeated (3-5) Goshen 2817 back on week two. Saugerties stayed on the ground in that game, going 389 yards on 52 attempts. Rob Trincellito rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns and quarterback Matt Bucci also ran for two scores.
Goshen snapped a three-game losing streak last week, beating Poughkeepsie 14-6 to secure the No. 3 seed.
Wallkill (3-5) earned the fourth and final playoff spot with a 30-24 win over Port Jervis on a touchdown with two minutes remaining. A.J. Dembroski passed for 117 yards and one touchdown and ran for another to lead the way.
The Panthers get fivetime defending champion Cornwall, who beat them 47-0 two weeks ago. Green Dragons quarterback Kieran Kreider threw for 207 yards and three TD in the win over Saugerties.
Cornwall and Wallkill’s programs have a history, especially in the postseason. The teams played for the Class A championship seven straight years from 2007-2013.
Saturday
Class B Liberty vs. New Paltz
With the one-week bye, a refreshed New Paltz (6-1) is primed to make a run toward its first sectional title in six years.
The Huguenots have won three straight after its only setback — 14-6 to John S. Burke Catholic. They outscored their opponents 142-43 in those games and were certainly firing on all cylinders in a 60-22 win over Red Hook where their defense was even doing plenty of scoring.
Liberty (7-1) presents a challenge to the Hugie defense, which has to seal the holes and corral the Indians’ Roy Penn-Cosentino. The junior is an explosive back who has rushed for 1,460 yards and 23 touchdowns. He has averaged 14.7 yards per carry and had a field day in last week’s win over Red Hook when he rushed 24 times for a career-high 371 yards and six touchdowns.
Liberty won the Class C title last year.
The teams did not play each other this season. Marlboro vs. O’Neill
Marlboro’s defense gets another crack at trying to contain O’Neill’s Tiquan Scott. The senior has 1,556 yards and 22 touchdowns. His career highs were against the Dukes when he ran 27 times for 380 yards and five TDs in a 63-43 shootout back on Sept. 9.
The (6-1) Raiders that night had more big plays, counter-punching every time the (6-2) Dukes responded.
The five-time defending champion Dukes have been able to run on every team. Marlboro has a host of weapons, but junior Billy Williamson had emerged in the past few weeks as a breakout player.