Marlboro confronts another challenge
Saugerties looks for third straight win in Mum Bowl at Monticello’s expense
KINGSTON, N.Y. >> In its bid for a second straight Section 9 championship, Marlboro High’s football team continues to run the gauntlet of a tough schedule.
After holding off John S. Burke Catholic in a 26-14 battle, the (4-1) Iron Dukes take on an old Class B (now C) rival in Spackenkill in a 7 p.m. Friday night game.
The Spartans are 3-2 after Chester rallied for a 34-20 victory.
Marlboro quarterback Sam Mongelli was hurt early in the third quarter, but Christian Diorio took over to lead the team to victory.
Other Friday games have Roosevelt playing host to Cornwall in a big Class A, Division I game, Onteora going to Millbrook in a critical Class C match-up and Highland at home to Red Hook in a non-league tussle.
On Saturday, Saugerties is home to Monticello in a big Class A, Division II meeting for the annual Mum Bowl at 3 p.m., Rondout Valley goes to Ellenville for a 2 p.m. Class B contest, Wallkill travels to Liberty for a 3 p.m. nonleague game, and New Paltz en-
tertains East Syracuse-Minoa in a 2 p.m. non-league meeting.
Monticello at Saugerties
The (1-1 Class A, 3-2 overall) Sawyers have bounced back with wins over New Paltz and Roosevelt. Matt Bucci has quietly put up a big season for the Sawyers, passing for 1,389 yards in five games.
Monticello (0-3, 0-5) has allowed 40 or more points in every game and managed just two touchdowns.
The Sawyers are battling New Paltz and Wallkill for the final two postseason spots in the division. Saugerties plays at Wallkill next week.
Cornwall at Roosevelt
The (0-2, 0-5) Presidents have shown life in the past two weeks offensively, scoring a combined six touchdowns in losses to Corning and Saugerties. They now have to deal with a (1-0, 5-0) Cornwall team that has a win over Marlboro and scored 63 over Saugerties.
Red Hook at Highland
Red Hook (2-3) looks to regroup after losing a nonleaguer to Woodlands.
After opening the season with three straight wins, Highland (3-2) has lost to Wallkill and Rondout.
Onteora at Millbrook
As rocky as the season has been for (0-1, 0-5) Onteora, the Eagles can make their push for a Class C postseason berth now. They need to defeat (0-1, 1-4) Millbrook to set up a winner-take-all showdown with Spackenkill in two weeks.
Rondout at Ellenville
Rondout (3-2) looks to win its third in a row as it takes on (0-5) Ellenville.
Austin Wells rushed for 274 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-14 win over Highland. In its best game of the season, Ellenville fought back from a 30-20 halftime deficit, but lost to Millbrook 36-34.
Wallkill at Liberty
Liberty (2-3) stopped a three-game losing streak with a 63-24 win over Onteora. Next up for the Indians is a (2-3) Wallkill squad that needs a good outing to set up for next week’s home game with Saugerties.
East Syracuse-Minoa at New Paltz
New Paltz (2-3) had three players rush for more than 100 yards in a 56-0 triumph over Monticello.
East Syracuse-Minoa (2-3) will be a stiff test for the Huguenots. The Spartans have lost three straight, but have allowed just 54 points in that span. They’re allowing just 13.6 points per game. They lost to Whitesboro 7-0 last week.