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By Nolan Weidner | nweidner@syracuse.com
on March 22, 2018 4:56 PM
The Liverpool High School boys basketball team already has a place in school and Section III history.
The Warriors are the first team in school history to win a state basketball title, and they are only the team from this section to earn a Class AA boys championship (Henninger won in Class A in 2002).
But the Warriors would love a little more, said coach Ryan Blackwell.
Liverpool (26-0) is one of four Class AA teams in this weekend's Federation Tournament of Champions in Glens Falls.
The tournament features Liverpool, winner of last week's state public high school AA championship, against the winners from three leagues that don't play in the public schools tourney - New York's Public School Athletic League, the Association of Independent Schools, and the Catholic High School Athletic Association.
The Warriors, ranked No. 2 in this week's state Class AA poll, will face PSAL champion South Shore (20-8), the No. 4-ranked AA team in the state, at 7:45 p.m. Friday.
Tourney brackets
If Liverpool wins it will advance to Saturday's 7:55 p.m. final against either No. 1 Long Island Lutheran (22-2), the AIS winner, or No. 3 Archbishop Stepinac (25-5) of the CHSAA. That game is scheduled to air live on Spectrum News channels.
"They're excited. They're looking forward to it," Liverpool coach Ryan Blackwell said. "It's a great chance - because you always hear about New York City and the great history of players that have come out of there. It's going to be a great atmosphere - a lot of coaches. It's another opportunity for (the players) to showcase their skills and for us, as a team, to showcase who we are."
Blackwell said the Warriors had a few days to digest the feeling after winning the school's first public schools basketball title on Sunday in Binghamton.
But the players want to try and complete an undefeated season.
"We won a state title - best ever at Liverpool - but to go forward and beat a team out of Brooklyn, and possibly Stepinac or Lutheran, to go even farther just adds icing on the cake," Blackwell said.
It won't be easy.
Blackwell said Friday's opponent has good guard play, decent size and will likely press the Warriors a lot.
While Long Island Lutheran is No. 1 and more of a name school on the other side of the bracket, Blackwell said Stepinac could easily win that game.
"Stepinac is really good, honestly. They could beat Long Island Lutheran. They've got a couple of Division I players. It could be either team (assuming the Warriors win Friday)," he said.
The coach said he's worried more about how his team plays.
"At this time, it's about us," he said. "Do we take care of the ball? Do we move the ball? Do we still do the same things we've been doing?"
One thing that concerns Blackwell is rebounding.
"We didn't rebound very well (against Half Hollow Hills East) on Sunday," he said. "And we can't rely on 3-pointers. We have to mix it up."
