SWC75
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(See Breakdown of 2019 classes for teams, which is a download)
The state playoffs began in 1993. The Classes were A, B, C and D. Class AA was created in 1996. Now we have 8 man teams for schools that lack the resources or participation to even competes in Class D. There are 11 sections in New York State and their general areas:
Section 1: Hudson River has 18 AA teams, 22 A teams, 15 B teams, 4 C teams, 2 D team and 1 eight man team.
Section 2: Capital District has: AA: 10 A: 13 B: 14 C: 17 D: 4 8M:0
Section 3: Central New York has: AA: 11 A: 10 B: 17 C: 17 D: 8 8M:10
Section 4: Southern Tier has: AA: 5 A: 2 B: 8 C: 9 D: 9 8M:7
Section 5: Genesee Valley has: AA: 11 A: 15 B: 10 C: 14 D: 12 8M: 5
Section 6: Western NY has: AA: 9 A: 16 B: 20 C: 13 D: 5 8M: 2
Section 7: Champlain Area has: AA: 0 A: 0 B: 3 C: 3 D: 2
Section 8: Nassau AA: 15 A: 30 B: 7 C: 2 D: 0 8M: 0 (They don't participate in the state playoffs.)
Section 9: Catskills has: AA: 7 A: 9 B: 8 C: 1 D: 0 8M: 11
Section 10: St. Lawrence Area has AA: 0 A: 3 B: 2 C: 3 D: 0 8M: 1
Section 11: Suffolk AA: 24 A: 18 B: 8 C: 1 D: 0 8M: 0 (They don't participate in the state playoffs.)
NYC PSAL: AA: 16 A: 20 B: 20 C: 0 D: 0 8M: 0
(Public School Athletic League. They don't participate in the state playoffs.)
NYC CHSFL: AA: 6, A: 13 B: 4 C: 0 D: 0 8M: 0
(Catholic High School Football League. They don't participate in the state playoffs.)
NYS AIS: AA: 0 A: 0 B: 8 C: 0 D: 0 8M: 1
(Association of Independent Schools. They don't participate in the state playoffs.)
Monsignor Martin: AA: 3 A: 3 B: 0 C: 0 D: 0 8M: 0
(Catholic High Schools + some secular in Western New York.)
That’s a total of 617 teams: 135 AA, 174 A, 144 B, 84 C, 42 D and 38 eight man teams. There are also combined teams. This is not the same as a single school covering what were previously two school districts or two schools within a district, such as Cicero-North Syracuse. It’s when separate schools combine their teams, which they can do if they get permission from their league and from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, (meaning the option is limited to public schools). There are 65 combined teams, some of which involve more than two schools. A number of the individual schools involved have won sectional and state titles by themselves but they now feel the need to combine teams to keep playing at the level they are at.
The classifications are based on enrollment: AA is 1,025 or more students, A is 585-1,024, B is 355-584, C is 230-354 and D is less than 230 students. If the school is all-male, the enrollment is multiplied by two before classifying. Schools can move up in class but not down unless they lose students and fall under these limits. I don’t know which classifications the individual schools that have combined forces would be in but I assume the majority of them would be in the lower divisions.
Sections 8 & 11 do not participate in the NYSPHSAA, (“state”), playoffs. Sections 7 and 10 have so few schools that they have no schools in certain categories and have preliminary elimination games to get their schools into the playoffs. This year, for the first time teams that did not win their section are being allowed into the playoffs. Previously, in the quarterfinals, Section 1 played Section , 9, 3 played 4 and 5 played 6. Section 2 would play the winner of a play-in game between sections 7 and 10, except in Class AA, where 7 and 10 have no teams. There sections 1, 2 and 9 would take turns getting a bye with the other two playing each other in the quarterfinals. Now the runner-up from Section 3 will play the Second 1 champion in classes AA, A and D because of a dearth of teams in sections 7 and 10 in those classifications. One wonders what the other sections think of Section 3 getting that assignment in each case rather than using the state rankings to select the best runner up for any section to play in those games. Section 3 does have the most teams, (73), but not by much. Section 5 had 67 teams and Section 6 has 65, etc.
I post all of this information to lead up to my vision of the way things should be done, (which I recognize is of no interest to the people actually making the decisions). Before we had sectional and state playoffs, there were only two informal classifications of New York State high school football teams: Large School (LS) and Small School (SS). The state rankings reflected that with LS and SS rankings and champions. The local paper until this year issued LS and SS Rankings. Leagues were based on geography, not enrollment and the schools in those leagues, if they wanted to compete with a rival, did so with youth programs, facilities and coaching, which have more to do with the quality of a program than the size of the student body. CBA was a class C level school that, in a decade dominated and rose from C to B to A to AA and won the state AA championship Onondaga won three straight state titles in classes D, C and back in D. they had the easiest time in Class C. Having so many classes separates schools with strong football programs that should be competing with each other, much the way splitting divisions and titles prevents the fights that people want to see in boxing.
I’d like to see three classifications: LS, (the current classes A and AA), SS, (B, C, and D), and Eight man football for the schools that have trouble competing even in the Small School level. Schools that dominate in one level could be moved up to the next and schools that can’t compete on the level they are in could move down. Some of those schools that combined with others might revert to having a team just for their school that competes at a lower level.
I also believe that it’s absurd that 181 of the state’s 617 teams don’t even compete in the state playoffs. Let’s give everyone a shot at a state title. The NYC PSAL and CHSFL could comprise a new Section 1. The two Long Island sections, (8 & 11) could be combined into a new Section 2. Section 1 would be the new Section 3. I’d combine Sections 2 and 7, (the new Section 4) , Sections 3 and 10, (the new Section 5) and Sections 4 and 9, (the new Section 6). Section 5, would remain the same but be Section 7. Section 6, now Section 8 would have the Monsignor Martin schools in their playoffs. The 9 independent teams (NYS AIS), could be added to that and the schools that might break away from fielding combined teams in favor of eight man teams or SS teams representing their individual school would be added to the mix. Then you can have 8 quarterfinals in three classes a state tournament that every school would have a chance to win. Anyway….
Here are the won-loss records of each section in each classification in state playoff games, with the number of titles in parenthesis.
SECTION 1 Total: 168-100(27) Class D: 30-22(4) Class C: 42-18(8) Class B: 43-18(8) Class A: 32-22(5) Class AA: 21-20(3)
SECTION 2 Total: 150-112(12) D: 29-23(3) C:29-24(2) B: 34-23(3) A: 36-22(4) AA: 22-20(3)
SECTION 3 Total: 95-112(13) D: 20-20(5) C: 16-22(3) B: 16-25(1) A: 18-25(1) AA: 26-20(3)
SECTION 4 Total: 116-108(19) D: 19-24(2) C: 34-18(8) B: 38-21(5) A: 21-22(4) AA: 4-23(0)
SECTION 5: Total: 130-102(25) D: 23-22(4) C: 23-23(3) B: 21-22(4) A: 28-20(6) AA: 35-15(8)
SECTION 6: Total: 124-101(22) D: 33-18(7) C: 18-24(2) B: 25-22(3) A: 28-20(6) AA: 20-18(5)
SECTION 7: Total: 35-67(1) D: 14-23(0) C: 6-20(0) B: 15-23(1) A: 0-0(0) AA: 0-1(0)
SECTION 9: Total: 46-118(3) D: 10-25(0) C: 7-24(0) B: 7-24(1) A: 12-24(0) AA: 11-21(1)
SECTION 10: Total: 13-50(0) D: 0-2(0) C: 6-9(0) B: 5-16(0) A: 1-21(0) AA: 1-2 (0)
Comments: The best high school football in New York State, (north of New York City), has historically been played in Sections 1 ,2 and 5, (the Hudson River area and the Rochester Area) but Section 6 has been coming on strong in recent years. Amazingly, in 2014 the most historically successful section, Section 1, went 0-5 and the same thing happened to the second most successful section, Section 5, in 2017. Central New York has been slipping in recent years but managed state titles in Class a in 2015 and Class C in 2017. . The North Country just doesn’t have enough population to compete with the other sections and neither does Section 9, (basically the Adirondacks and the Catskills). The State Playoffs are set up on an East-West basis so Section 3 teams play Section 4 teams, against who they historically have been fairly well-matched, (but we were 4-16 in from 2013-2016), and then play the winner of Section 5 vs. Section 6, which is tougher. Sections 1 & 2 get Section 7, 9 or 10 in the first round which is kind of a walk-over. Then they typically face each other in the semis. The teams in the “West” would seem to have a harder road than the teams in the “East”. They’ve won 75 state titles at all levels vs. 42 for the eastern sections. One wonders if, should sections 8 & 11 and New York City stop “playing with themselves”, there might be a “North-South” look to the playoffs and Section 3 might do better.
It’s interesting to see how some sections do in each class. Assuming that success rate is directly related to the number of schools in each class, Section 4, (the Southern Tier) has little to offer at the level of the smallest and the biggest schools but is pretty strong in between. Section 3 for some reason, is the opposite, the second best in the state in Class D and better than you’d think in AA but mediocre in C and less than that in A and B. Section 7, (Lake Champlain) is pretty good in Class B but lousy elsewhere, indicating that most of their schools are at that level. Sections 5 and 6, (basically Western New York), are pretty good down the line, as are Sections 1 &2, from the capital district down the Hudson.
Here is a list of the most successful teams in the state, ranked by victories in the state tournament, regardless of class, (many of them have played in more than one class). They are listed in order of victories. If that’s a tie, the first tie-breaker is state titles, (including large or small school poll championships from 1969-92) and the second the number of losses. I’m listing all the teams with 10 or more state tournament victories.
Source: New York State High School Football State Playoffs Advancement
1) Chenango Forks (4) 30-12 (5 state titles)
2) Rochester Aquinas (5) 26-6 (8)
3) Cambridge-Salem(2) 21-13 (3)
4) Dobbs Ferry (1) 19-6 (7)
5) Caldonia-Mumford (Section 5) 18-4 (9)
6) Troy (2) 18-5 (4)
7) Maine-Endwell (4) 17-3 (5)
8) Tuckahoe (1) 17-11 (2)
9) Rye (1) 16-5 (3) (Rye and Rye Neck are two different schools)
10) Randolph (6) 15-2 (5)
11) New Rochelle (1) 15-11 (4)
12) Jamestown (6) 14-2 (4)
13) Hornell (5) 13-8 (3)
14) Webster Schroeder (5) 11-3 (3)
(Webster High School split into Webster Schroeder and Webster Thomas in 2002. “Webster” had won the 2001 AA title and when Webster Schroeder win the 2002 AA title all references I could find were to their winning their “second straight state title”, so I added Webster Schroeder’s record to that of “Webster” and gave Webster Thomas their own record. Webster Thomas is 3-2 with no title so the overall “Webster” record would be 14-5 (3) if you added them altogether.)
15) Lackawanna (6) 11-6 (3)
16) Harrison (1) 11-5 (2)
17) Walton (4) 11-5 (2)
18) Amsterdam (2) 11-6 (2)
19) Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (2) 11-8 (1)
20) Edgemont (1) 10-2 (3)
21) Glens Falls (2) 10-3 (2)
22) Onondaga (3) 10-5 (3)
23) Maple Grove (6) 10-5 (2)
24) Nyack (1) 10-4 (2)
25) Hoosick Falls (2) 10-7 (1)
26) Monroe-Woodbury (9) 10-9 (1)
27) Syracuse CBA (3) 10-10 (1)
28) Leroy (5) 10-11 (1)
29) Cornwall (9) 10-13 (1)
The New York State Sportswriter’s Association has had rankings since 1969. They include sections * and 110. Originally they ranked all schools together. In 1970 they were divided, (as they should be) between “large” schools and “small” schools. In 1988 they went to Class A, B and “C-D”. Here are the teams, (with section numbers) that won in the polls for the years prior to the start of the state tournament in 1993, along with the highest ranked team in the sections that now play in the state tournament if the top team was from sections 8 or 11 and the top-rated Section III team when not #1:
1969 Kenmore West-6 (Utica Notre Dame was #3)
1970 Large: Ithaca-4 (Auburn was #3) Small: Albany Academy-2 (Lafayette was #7)
1971 Large: Farmingdale-8 (White Plains-1 was #2, Corcoran was #11) Small: Pleasantville-1 (Cazenovia was #4)
1972 Large: Farmingdale-8 (Kenmore West- 6 was #2, Auburn was #6) Small: Pleasantville-1 (Solvay was #13)
1973 Large: Vestal-4 (Utica Notre Dame was #7) Small: Pleasantville-1 (Westhill was #12)
1974 Large: Syosset-8 (Buffalo-Canisius-6 was #2 Auburn was #5) Small: Monroe-Woodbury-9 (Oneida was #7)
1975 Large: Vestal-4 (Auburn was #3) Small: Croton-Harmon-1 (Ilion was #14)
1976 Large: Rush-Henrietta- 5 (Jamesville-Dewitt was #12) Small: Penn Yan-5 (Cazenovia was #9)
1977: Large: New Rochelle-1 (Nottingham was #9) Small: Caledonia-Mumford- 5 (Mt. Markham was #12)
1978: Large: East Rochester-5 (Rome Free Academy was #6) Small: Caledonia-Mumford-5 (Oneida was #5)
1979: Large: Union-Endicott-4 (Liverpool was #2) Small: Caledonia-Mumford-5 (Solvay was #3)
1980: Large: New Rochelle-1 (Rome Free Academy was #5) Small: Caledonia-Mumford-5 (Ilion was #7)
1981: Large: Tie between Rome Free Academy-3 and West Islip St. John the Baptist-11 Small: Olean-6 (Solvay was #9)
1982: Large: A four-way tie between Shenendehowa-2, Liverpool-3, Bellport-11 and East Islip-11 Small: Penn Yan-5 (Herkimer was #10)
1983: Large: Tie between St. Francis Prep-NYC and Shenedehowa-2 Small- Tie between Dobbs Ferry-1, Albion-6 and Riverdale-NYC (Holland Patent was #12)
1984: Large: Tie between Shenendehowa-2, Williamsville South-6 and Bronx JFK-NYC (Rome Free Academy was #4) Small: Dobbs Ferry-1 (Bishop Grimes was #17)
1985: Large: Binghamton-4 (Rome Free Academy was #8) Small: Tie between Dobbs Ferry-1 and Canandaigua-5 (Homer was #3)
1986: Large: Hempstead-8 (Jamestown-6 was #2, Baldwinsville was #13) Small: Homer-3
1987: Large: Liverpool-3 Small: Albion-6 (Indian River was #10)
1988: Class A: Hempstead-8 (New Hartford was #2) Class B: Plainedge-8 (Binghampton-Seton-4 was #2, Nottingham was #8) Class C-D: Taconic Hills-2 (Westmoreland was #5)
1989: Class A: Union-Endicott-4 (Henninger was #22) Class B: Johnstown-2 (New Hartford was #3) Class C-D: Nanuet-1 (Dolgeville was #8)
1990: Class A: Henninger-3 Class B: Garden City-8 (Canadaigua-5 was #2, New Hartford was #4) Class C-D: Watervliet-2 (Ilion was #3)
1991: Class A: Fairport-5 (Rome Free Academy was #2) Class B: Tie between Ossining-1, Batavia-5 and Garden City-8 (Fowler was #10) Class C-D: Watervliet-2 (Dolgeville was #3)
1992: Class A: Susan Wagner-NYC (North Rockland-5 was #2, Rome Free Academy was #5) Class B: Lynbrook-8 (Garden City-8 was #2, VVS was #3) Class C-D: Caledonia-Mumford-5 (Dolgeville was #4)
The following teams have won state titles, (I am including poll champions from 1969-92- if a poll champion was from section 8 or 11, I treated the highest rated team from sections 1-7 and 9-10 as the “poll champion“- if there had been a tournament in those years, they‘d have been in it and winning the poll was the equivalent of winning the tournament in those days):
Section 1 (Hudson River):
Bronxville C-2010 (1)
Croton-Harmon Poll-1975 (small) (1)
Dobbs Ferry Poll- 1983, 1984, 1985 (small) D-2002 C-2004, 2006, 2011 (7)
Dover C-1997 (1)
Edgemont C-1998, 1999, 2000 (3)
Harrison B-1999, 2002 (2)
Nanuet Poll- 1989 (C-D) (1)
New Rochelle Poll- 1977, 1980 (large) AA-2003, 2012 (4)
North Rockland Poll- 1992 (A), A-1993 (2)
Nyack A-2000, 2003 (2)
Ossining Poll- 1991(B) (1)
Pleasantville Poll-1971, 1972, 1973 (small) (3) B-2017
Rye B-2005, 2006, 2008 (3)
Somers A-2017 (1)
Tuckahoe D-2006, 2010 (2)
Valhalla D-1996 (1)
White Plains Poll-1971 (large) (1)
Yonkers-Roosevelt AA-1996 (1)
Yorktown B-1993, 1994 (2)
(That’s 19 schools that have won 40 state titles)
Section 2 (Capital District):
Albany Academy Poll- 1970 (small) (1)
Amsterdam B-1995 A-2005 (2)
Burnt Hills-Balston Lake- A-2012 (1)
Cambridge D-1999, 2016, 2017 (3)
Glen’s Falls B-2017, 2018 (2)
Hoosick Falls C- 2012 (1)
Johnstown Poll-1989 (B) (1)
Queensbury A-2013 (1)
Shenendehowa Poll- 1982, 1983, 1984 (large) (3)
Taconic Hills Poll- 1988 (C-D) (1)
Troy A-1996 AA- 1998, 2017, 2018 (4)
Watervliet Poll- 1990, 1991 (C-D), C- 1996 (3)
(That’s 12 schools that have won 23 state titles)
Section 3 (Central New York):
Auburn AA-2006 (1)
Bishop Ludden C-2007 (1)
Cazenovia B- 2015 (1)
CBA AA-2004 (1)
Dolgeville D-2000 (1)
Henninger- Poll- 1990 (large) (1)
Homer- Poll- 1986 (small) (1)
Indian River- 2014 (B) (1)
Liverpool Poll- 1982, 1987 (large) (2)
New Hartford Poll- 1988 (large) (1)
Onondaga D-2001 C-2002 D-2003 (3)
Rome Free Academy Poll- 1981 (large) (1)
Skaneateles C- 2017 (1)
VVS- Poll- 1992 (B) (1)
Weedsport D-2004 (1)
West Canada D-1997 (1)
West Genesee AA-2007 (1)
(That’s 17 schools that have won 20 state titles)
Section 4 (Southern Tier):
Binghamton Poll- 1985 (large) (1)
Binghamton Seton Poll- 1988 (B) (1)
Chenango Forks B-2003, 2004, C-2013, 2014, 2015 (5)
Corning East A-2006 (1)
Delhi C-2001 (1)
Ithaca Poll- 1970 (large) (1)
Maine-Endwell A-2004, 2011, B- 2012, 2013, 2014 (5)
Newark Valley C- 2017 (1)
Sidney C-2005 (1)
Susquehanna Valley C-2018 (1)
Tioga D- 2015 (1)
Union-Endicott Poll- 1979 (large) 1989 (A) (2)
Vestal Poll- 1973, 1975 (large) A- 1997 (3)
Walton C-1994 D-2007 (2)
(That’s 14 schools that have won 26 state titles)
Section 5 (Rochester area):
Aquinas A-1998, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2010, AA-2013, 2015, 2018 (8)
Batavia Poll- 1991 B (1)
Caledonia-Mumford Poll- 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 (small) 1992 (C-D), C-1993 D-1994, 1995 C-2003 (9)
Canandaigua Poll- 1985 (small) 1990 (B), A-1999 (3)
Clyde-Savannah D-1993 (1)
East Rochester Poll- 1978 (large) (1)
Fairport Poll- 1991 (A) AA-1997 (2)
Geneva B-2006 (1)
Hornell B-2009, 2010, 2011 (3)
Letchworth D-2011 (1)
Leroy C-1995 (1)
Penn Yan Poll- 1976, 1982 (small) (2)
Rush-Henrietta Poll- 1976 (large) AA-2010 (2)
Webster (Schroeder) AA-1999, 2001, 2002 (3)
(That’s 14 schools that have won 38 state titles)
Section 6 (Buffalo area):
Albion Poll- 1983, 1987 (small) (2)
Buffalo Canisius Poll- 1974 (large) (1)
Clymer Central/Sherman/Panama D- 2018 (1)
Jamestown A-1994, 1995 AA-2000, 2014 (4)
Lackawanna B-1997, 1998 (2)
Maple Grove D-1998, 2008 (2)
North Tonawanada AA-2009 (1)
Olean Poll- 1981 (large) (1)
Orchard Park AA-2008, 2011 (2)
Randolph D-2005, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014 (5)
South Park A- 2015 (1)
Southwestern C-2008, 2009 (2)
Springville B- 1996 (1)
Sweet Home A-2008, 2009 (2)
West Seneca West A- 2017 (1)
Williamsville South - 1984 (large) (1)
(That’s 16 schools that have won 29 state titles)
Section 7 (Champlain area):
Peru B-2001 (1)
(That’s one school that’s won 1 state title)
Section 9 (Catskills):
Cornwall A- 2018 (1)
Monroe-Woodbury Poll- 1974 (small) AA-2005 (2)
Roundout Valley B-2000 (1)
(That’s 3 schools that have won 4 state titles)
Section 10 (St. Lawrence area):
None
Section Three always starts out by playing Section 4 in the first round We are 18-4 against them in Class AA, 14-10 in Class A, 10-15 in Class B, (thank you, Chenango Forks, who beat our teams 8 times in a row and 14 overall), 9-15 in Class C and 10-15 in Class D, (Section coaches in Classes C and D voted not to send a team to the state playoffs in the first year, 1993). Over all Section 3 is 61-59 vs. Section 4.
If they survive Section 4, the Section 3 champs play the winner of the Section 5 and 6, (basically the Rochester and Buffalo areas) first round game. We’ve done well in Class D, 6-4 (3-2 vs. each), and held our own, 5-4, (3-3 vs. Section 5, 2-1 vs. Section 6), in Class C but been dominated in Class B, 2-8, (1-5 vs. Section 6, 1-3 vs. Section 5), Class A, 3-11, (3-6 vs. Section 5, 0-5 vs. Section 6) and Class AA, 4-14, (3-8 vs. Section 5, 1-6 vs. Section 6). Overall vs. Section 5 they are 13-21 vs. Section 5 and 7-19 vs. Section 6.
The following Section III teams have cleared the quarterfinal hurdle vs. Section 4 and survived the semifinal carnage vs. Sections 5 and 6 to play for the state championship:
1993 Class B Chittenango lost to Section 1 Yorktown 13-23
1996 Class A Whitesboro lost to Section 2 Troy 13-27
1996 Class AA Rome Free Academy lost to 1 Yonkers Roosevelt 14-27
1997 Class C CBA lost to Section1 Dover 26-32 (2OT)
1997 Class D West Canada beat Section 1 Bronxville 22-14
2000 Class A Fulton lost to Section 1 Nyack 20-34
2000 Class D Dolgeville beat Section 2 Fort Edward 55-3
2001 Class D Onondaga beat Section 1 Dobbs Ferry 35-7
2002 Class C Onondaga beat Section 1 Briarcliffe 35-6
2002 Class D Dolgeville lost to Section 1 Dobbs Ferry 35-38
2003 Class D Onondaga beat Section 2 Cambridge 41-21
2004 Class AA CBA beat Section 1 New Rochelle 41-35
2004 Class D Weedsport beat Section 1 Tuckahoe 22-11
2006 Class AA Auburn beat Section 9 Monroe-Woodbury 27-26 (1OT)
2007 Class AA West Genesee beat Section 9 Monroe-Woodbury 42-21
2007 Class C Bishop Ludden beat Section 1 Dobbs Ferry 21-16
2008 Class B Oneida lost to Section 1 Rye 12-16
2010 Class C General Brown lost to Section 1 Bronxville 14-34
2014 Class A Indian River beat Section 2 Queensberry 63-38
2015 Class B Cazenovia beat 2 Schuylerville 22-19
2017 Class C Skaneateles beat 2 Holy Trinity 28-25
Section 3 is 13-8 in state championship games. They lost their first four, then had an incredible 10-2 streak before winning 3 for the last 5. They are 6-7 vs. Section 1, 5-1 vs. Section 2 and 2-0 vs. Section 9. So if we can survive the semi-finals our chances of winning a state title are pretty good.
State (playoff) Champions from Section III (12):
1997- West Canada (Class D)
2000- Dolgeville (Class D)
2001- Onondaga (Class D)
2002- Onondaga (Class C)
2003- Onondaga (Class D)
2004- Christian Brothers Academy (Class AA), Weedsport (Class D)
2006- Auburn (Class AA)
2007- West Genesee Class AA), Bishop Ludden (Class C)
2014- Indian River (Class A)
2015- Cazenovia (Class B)
2017- Skaneateles (Class C)
(We have won 3 Class AA titles, 1 Class A title, 1 Class B title, 3 Class C titles and 6 Class D titles)
This year’s Quarterfinal Match-ups:
Class AA
3 Cicero-North Syracuse 7-3 (225-181) NYSSWA #21 MaxPreps 69/3630 States: 2-2 with 0 titles
Lost to: Liverpool 0-10, RFA 27-34, Utica Proctor 0-32 - beat Utica Proctor 28-25
4 Corning-Painted Post 9-1 (325-139) NYSSWA #15 MaxPreps 37/2600 States: 8-8 with 1 title
Lost to: Corcoran (3) 30-47 (Formerly Corning East and Corning West- combined 2010)
6 Lancaster 8-2 (330-140) NYSSWA #23 MaxPreps 39/2646 States: 2-4 with 0 titles
Lost to Clarence 26-27 and Orchard Park 20-21
5 McQuaid Jesuit 9-0 (348-122) NYSSWA #6 MaxPreps 20/1760 States: 0-0 with 0 titles
9 Pine Bush 7-2 (371-189) NYSSWA #27 MaxPreps 25/1912 States: 0-2 with 0 titles
Lost to: Cornwall 35-38 and Newburgh Free Academy 35-45
2 Shenendehowa 9-1 (376-95) NYSSWA #16 MaxPreps 4/580 States: 7-5 with 3 titles
Lost to: Shaker 14-28
3 Utica Proctor 9-1 (371-152) NYSSWA #10 MaxPreps 31/2335 States: 0-0 with 0 titles
Lost to: Cicero-North Syracuse 25-28
1 New Rochelle 10-0 (407-81) NYSSWA #3 MaxPreps 5/636 States: 15-11 with 2 titles
Comments: New Rochelle will be the odds on favorite as the highest ranked team (Freeport from Section 8 and Iona Prep from the NYC CHSFL are ranked #1/#2 by the NYS sportwriters) and the only school to win the AA tournament title before, (Corning/PP won an A title when they were Corning East in 2006 while Shenendehowa won LS poll titles in 1982-84 – all ties with other schools). If somebody can knock off the Hugenots, this one is wide open.
Class A
3 Carthage 9-1 (459-146) NYSSWA #4 MaxPreps 7/1024 States: 1-3 with 0 titles
Lost to: Utica Proctor 7-12
4 Union-Endicott 2-7 (178-290) NYSSWA UR MaxPreps 261/8750 States: 3-13 with 2 titles
Lost to: Waverly 22-23, Elmira Southside 13-63, Whitesboro 14-35, Horseheads 25-49, Corning-Painted Post 6-14, Chenango Forks 12-41, Binghamton 26-29
6 South Park 10-0 (404-84) NYSSWA #6 MaxPreps 42/2776 States: 3-0 with 1 title
5 Canandaigua Academy 9-1 (337-149) NYSSWA #18 MaxPreps 28/2087 States: 3-1 with 1 title
Lost to Victor 14-31
9 Cornwall Central 9-0 (355-133) NYSSWA #1 MaxPreps 16/1605 States: 10-13 with 1 title (defending state champs)
2 Queensbury 10-0 (362-147) NYSSWA #10 MaxPreps 26/2022 States: 9-3 with 1 title
3 Auburn 7-3 (370-313) NYSSWA #27 MaxPreps 73/3679 States: 3-0 with 1 title
1 Rye 9-1 (348-134) NYSSWA #13 MaxPreps 33/2386 States: 16-5 with 3 titles
Lost to: Somers 24-28
Comments: Section 4 has exactly two Class A teams: Union Endicott and Vestal, who played three times. Both of UE’s wins are over Vestal, who went 1-9. Why is South Park rated ahead of Canandaigua by a large margin in the state poll and yet are behind them in the Max Preps ratings? Beats me. Meanwhile, our flag bearer, Carthage, is the only team in this field not have won a state poll title or a tournament.
Class B
3 Solvay 10-0 (419-205) NYSSWA #4 MaxPreps 47/2950 States: 0-1 with 0 titles
4 Chenango Forks 10-0 (364-115) NYSSWA #1 MaxPreps 19/1697 States: 30-12 with 5 titles
6 Western New York Maritime Charter/Health Sciences 9-1 (314-132) NYSSWA #6 MaxPreps 57/3330 States: 0-0 with 0 titles Lost to Canisius 0-40
5 Livonia 9-2 (364-182) NYSSWA #11 MaxPreps 137/5212 States: 0-1 with 0 titles
Lost to: Batavia 8-19 and University Prep 22-38
2 Schuylerville 9-1 (331-117) NYSSWA #8 MaxPreps 63/3436 States: 4-3 with 0 titles Lost to: Glens Falls 13-34
10 Potsdam (beat 7 Beekmantown 30-0) 7-2 (287-107) NYSSWA #24 MaxPreps 139/5844 States: 0-3 with 0 titles Lost to: Gouveneur 14-15, Ogdensburg Free Academy 16-48
9 Port Jervis 8-2 (286-177) NYSSWA #9 MaxPreps 104/4807 States: 1-5 with 0 titles
Lost to: Middletown 14-57, Marlboro 20-28,
1 Ardsley 9-0 (289-102) NYSSWA #2 MaxPreps 18/1686 States: 0-1 with 0 titles
Comments: Beyond Chenango Forks this seems wide open: The Blue Devils are the only team that’s ever won the state title. But they’d done it 5 times and hold the state record for most playoff wins with 30. So how do you get beyond Chenango Forks?
Class C
3 Lowville 10-0 (511-138) NYSSWA #4 MaxPreps 9/1155 States: 0-2 with 0 titles
4 Susquehanna Valley 10-0 (472-56) NYSSWA #1 MaxPreps 23/1804 States: 3-1 with 1 title (defending state champs)
6 Southwestern 10-0 (432-67) NYSSWA #2 MaxPreps 30/2304 States: 8-2 with 2 titles
5 Warsaw/Letchworth 9-1 (287-85) NYSSWA #6 MaxPreps 126/5385 States: 3-2 with 1 title
Lost to : LeRoy 6-7
10 Gouverneur (beat 7 Saranac Lake 53-0) 9-0 (397-74) NYSSWA #5 MaxPreps 35/2551 States: 0-4 with 0 titles
2 Stillwater 10-0 (376-97) NYSSWA #3 MaxPreps 48/2977 States: 0-0 with 0 titles
1 Valhalla 7-2 (208-184) NYSSWA #16 MaxPreps 298/9490 States: 3-1 with 1 title
Lost to: Chester 22-42, Hackley 14-35
9 Chester 6-2 (265-156) NYSSWA #1 MaxPreps 208/7609 States: 6-10 with 0 titles
Lost to Nauet 26-44, Burke Catholic 20-23
Comments: Lowville has bene dominant but to win the state title, they will need to beat three other dominant teams, the defending state champs in Susquehanna Valley and probably Southwestern and the Gouveneur-Stillwater winner. It’s interesting that MaxPreps rate the red Raiders above eveyr other team in the Class C playoff- they expect them to win this.
Class D
3 Frankfort-Schuyler 8-2 (313-167) NYSSWA #4 MaxPreps 205/7568 States: 0-0 with 0 titles
4 Tioga 10-0 (424-189) NYSSWA #1 MaxPreps 79/3848 States: 9-6 with 1 title
6 Clymer Central/Sherman/Panama 8-1 (310-72) NYSSWA #2 MaxPreps 67/3479 States: 5-4 with 1 title (defending state champs)
5 Notre Dame of Batavia 10-0 (399-70) NYSSWA #3 MaxPreps 131/5701 States: 0-1 with 0 titles
2 Warrensburg 9-1 (456-94) NYSSWA #7 MaxPreps 141/5883 States: 1-2 with 0 titles
7 Moriah 6-3 (266-145) NYSSWA #11 MaxPreps 307/9606 States: 8-14 with 0 titles
3 Waterville 7-3 (151-107) NYSSWA #13 MaxPreps 305/9565 States: 0-0 with 0 titles
1 Tuckahoe 8-1 (314-173) NYSSWA #8 MaxPreps 235/8393 States: 17-12 with 2 titles
Comments: You can kiss Frankfurt-Schuyler goodbye. Tioga eats Section 3 teams alive. They’ve beaten 7 of them in this decade by a combined 350-118 (50-17). And a Waterville team that’s only score 151 points isn’t likely to go very far, either.
The state playoffs began in 1993. The Classes were A, B, C and D. Class AA was created in 1996. Now we have 8 man teams for schools that lack the resources or participation to even competes in Class D. There are 11 sections in New York State and their general areas:
Section 1: Hudson River has 18 AA teams, 22 A teams, 15 B teams, 4 C teams, 2 D team and 1 eight man team.
Section 2: Capital District has: AA: 10 A: 13 B: 14 C: 17 D: 4 8M:0
Section 3: Central New York has: AA: 11 A: 10 B: 17 C: 17 D: 8 8M:10
Section 4: Southern Tier has: AA: 5 A: 2 B: 8 C: 9 D: 9 8M:7
Section 5: Genesee Valley has: AA: 11 A: 15 B: 10 C: 14 D: 12 8M: 5
Section 6: Western NY has: AA: 9 A: 16 B: 20 C: 13 D: 5 8M: 2
Section 7: Champlain Area has: AA: 0 A: 0 B: 3 C: 3 D: 2
Section 8: Nassau AA: 15 A: 30 B: 7 C: 2 D: 0 8M: 0 (They don't participate in the state playoffs.)
Section 9: Catskills has: AA: 7 A: 9 B: 8 C: 1 D: 0 8M: 11
Section 10: St. Lawrence Area has AA: 0 A: 3 B: 2 C: 3 D: 0 8M: 1
Section 11: Suffolk AA: 24 A: 18 B: 8 C: 1 D: 0 8M: 0 (They don't participate in the state playoffs.)
NYC PSAL: AA: 16 A: 20 B: 20 C: 0 D: 0 8M: 0
(Public School Athletic League. They don't participate in the state playoffs.)
NYC CHSFL: AA: 6, A: 13 B: 4 C: 0 D: 0 8M: 0
(Catholic High School Football League. They don't participate in the state playoffs.)
NYS AIS: AA: 0 A: 0 B: 8 C: 0 D: 0 8M: 1
(Association of Independent Schools. They don't participate in the state playoffs.)
Monsignor Martin: AA: 3 A: 3 B: 0 C: 0 D: 0 8M: 0
(Catholic High Schools + some secular in Western New York.)
That’s a total of 617 teams: 135 AA, 174 A, 144 B, 84 C, 42 D and 38 eight man teams. There are also combined teams. This is not the same as a single school covering what were previously two school districts or two schools within a district, such as Cicero-North Syracuse. It’s when separate schools combine their teams, which they can do if they get permission from their league and from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, (meaning the option is limited to public schools). There are 65 combined teams, some of which involve more than two schools. A number of the individual schools involved have won sectional and state titles by themselves but they now feel the need to combine teams to keep playing at the level they are at.
The classifications are based on enrollment: AA is 1,025 or more students, A is 585-1,024, B is 355-584, C is 230-354 and D is less than 230 students. If the school is all-male, the enrollment is multiplied by two before classifying. Schools can move up in class but not down unless they lose students and fall under these limits. I don’t know which classifications the individual schools that have combined forces would be in but I assume the majority of them would be in the lower divisions.
Sections 8 & 11 do not participate in the NYSPHSAA, (“state”), playoffs. Sections 7 and 10 have so few schools that they have no schools in certain categories and have preliminary elimination games to get their schools into the playoffs. This year, for the first time teams that did not win their section are being allowed into the playoffs. Previously, in the quarterfinals, Section 1 played Section , 9, 3 played 4 and 5 played 6. Section 2 would play the winner of a play-in game between sections 7 and 10, except in Class AA, where 7 and 10 have no teams. There sections 1, 2 and 9 would take turns getting a bye with the other two playing each other in the quarterfinals. Now the runner-up from Section 3 will play the Second 1 champion in classes AA, A and D because of a dearth of teams in sections 7 and 10 in those classifications. One wonders what the other sections think of Section 3 getting that assignment in each case rather than using the state rankings to select the best runner up for any section to play in those games. Section 3 does have the most teams, (73), but not by much. Section 5 had 67 teams and Section 6 has 65, etc.
I post all of this information to lead up to my vision of the way things should be done, (which I recognize is of no interest to the people actually making the decisions). Before we had sectional and state playoffs, there were only two informal classifications of New York State high school football teams: Large School (LS) and Small School (SS). The state rankings reflected that with LS and SS rankings and champions. The local paper until this year issued LS and SS Rankings. Leagues were based on geography, not enrollment and the schools in those leagues, if they wanted to compete with a rival, did so with youth programs, facilities and coaching, which have more to do with the quality of a program than the size of the student body. CBA was a class C level school that, in a decade dominated and rose from C to B to A to AA and won the state AA championship Onondaga won three straight state titles in classes D, C and back in D. they had the easiest time in Class C. Having so many classes separates schools with strong football programs that should be competing with each other, much the way splitting divisions and titles prevents the fights that people want to see in boxing.
I’d like to see three classifications: LS, (the current classes A and AA), SS, (B, C, and D), and Eight man football for the schools that have trouble competing even in the Small School level. Schools that dominate in one level could be moved up to the next and schools that can’t compete on the level they are in could move down. Some of those schools that combined with others might revert to having a team just for their school that competes at a lower level.
I also believe that it’s absurd that 181 of the state’s 617 teams don’t even compete in the state playoffs. Let’s give everyone a shot at a state title. The NYC PSAL and CHSFL could comprise a new Section 1. The two Long Island sections, (8 & 11) could be combined into a new Section 2. Section 1 would be the new Section 3. I’d combine Sections 2 and 7, (the new Section 4) , Sections 3 and 10, (the new Section 5) and Sections 4 and 9, (the new Section 6). Section 5, would remain the same but be Section 7. Section 6, now Section 8 would have the Monsignor Martin schools in their playoffs. The 9 independent teams (NYS AIS), could be added to that and the schools that might break away from fielding combined teams in favor of eight man teams or SS teams representing their individual school would be added to the mix. Then you can have 8 quarterfinals in three classes a state tournament that every school would have a chance to win. Anyway….
Here are the won-loss records of each section in each classification in state playoff games, with the number of titles in parenthesis.
SECTION 1 Total: 168-100(27) Class D: 30-22(4) Class C: 42-18(8) Class B: 43-18(8) Class A: 32-22(5) Class AA: 21-20(3)
SECTION 2 Total: 150-112(12) D: 29-23(3) C:29-24(2) B: 34-23(3) A: 36-22(4) AA: 22-20(3)
SECTION 3 Total: 95-112(13) D: 20-20(5) C: 16-22(3) B: 16-25(1) A: 18-25(1) AA: 26-20(3)
SECTION 4 Total: 116-108(19) D: 19-24(2) C: 34-18(8) B: 38-21(5) A: 21-22(4) AA: 4-23(0)
SECTION 5: Total: 130-102(25) D: 23-22(4) C: 23-23(3) B: 21-22(4) A: 28-20(6) AA: 35-15(8)
SECTION 6: Total: 124-101(22) D: 33-18(7) C: 18-24(2) B: 25-22(3) A: 28-20(6) AA: 20-18(5)
SECTION 7: Total: 35-67(1) D: 14-23(0) C: 6-20(0) B: 15-23(1) A: 0-0(0) AA: 0-1(0)
SECTION 9: Total: 46-118(3) D: 10-25(0) C: 7-24(0) B: 7-24(1) A: 12-24(0) AA: 11-21(1)
SECTION 10: Total: 13-50(0) D: 0-2(0) C: 6-9(0) B: 5-16(0) A: 1-21(0) AA: 1-2 (0)
Comments: The best high school football in New York State, (north of New York City), has historically been played in Sections 1 ,2 and 5, (the Hudson River area and the Rochester Area) but Section 6 has been coming on strong in recent years. Amazingly, in 2014 the most historically successful section, Section 1, went 0-5 and the same thing happened to the second most successful section, Section 5, in 2017. Central New York has been slipping in recent years but managed state titles in Class a in 2015 and Class C in 2017. . The North Country just doesn’t have enough population to compete with the other sections and neither does Section 9, (basically the Adirondacks and the Catskills). The State Playoffs are set up on an East-West basis so Section 3 teams play Section 4 teams, against who they historically have been fairly well-matched, (but we were 4-16 in from 2013-2016), and then play the winner of Section 5 vs. Section 6, which is tougher. Sections 1 & 2 get Section 7, 9 or 10 in the first round which is kind of a walk-over. Then they typically face each other in the semis. The teams in the “West” would seem to have a harder road than the teams in the “East”. They’ve won 75 state titles at all levels vs. 42 for the eastern sections. One wonders if, should sections 8 & 11 and New York City stop “playing with themselves”, there might be a “North-South” look to the playoffs and Section 3 might do better.
It’s interesting to see how some sections do in each class. Assuming that success rate is directly related to the number of schools in each class, Section 4, (the Southern Tier) has little to offer at the level of the smallest and the biggest schools but is pretty strong in between. Section 3 for some reason, is the opposite, the second best in the state in Class D and better than you’d think in AA but mediocre in C and less than that in A and B. Section 7, (Lake Champlain) is pretty good in Class B but lousy elsewhere, indicating that most of their schools are at that level. Sections 5 and 6, (basically Western New York), are pretty good down the line, as are Sections 1 &2, from the capital district down the Hudson.
Here is a list of the most successful teams in the state, ranked by victories in the state tournament, regardless of class, (many of them have played in more than one class). They are listed in order of victories. If that’s a tie, the first tie-breaker is state titles, (including large or small school poll championships from 1969-92) and the second the number of losses. I’m listing all the teams with 10 or more state tournament victories.
Source: New York State High School Football State Playoffs Advancement
1) Chenango Forks (4) 30-12 (5 state titles)
2) Rochester Aquinas (5) 26-6 (8)
3) Cambridge-Salem(2) 21-13 (3)
4) Dobbs Ferry (1) 19-6 (7)
5) Caldonia-Mumford (Section 5) 18-4 (9)
6) Troy (2) 18-5 (4)
7) Maine-Endwell (4) 17-3 (5)
8) Tuckahoe (1) 17-11 (2)
9) Rye (1) 16-5 (3) (Rye and Rye Neck are two different schools)
10) Randolph (6) 15-2 (5)
11) New Rochelle (1) 15-11 (4)
12) Jamestown (6) 14-2 (4)
13) Hornell (5) 13-8 (3)
14) Webster Schroeder (5) 11-3 (3)
(Webster High School split into Webster Schroeder and Webster Thomas in 2002. “Webster” had won the 2001 AA title and when Webster Schroeder win the 2002 AA title all references I could find were to their winning their “second straight state title”, so I added Webster Schroeder’s record to that of “Webster” and gave Webster Thomas their own record. Webster Thomas is 3-2 with no title so the overall “Webster” record would be 14-5 (3) if you added them altogether.)
15) Lackawanna (6) 11-6 (3)
16) Harrison (1) 11-5 (2)
17) Walton (4) 11-5 (2)
18) Amsterdam (2) 11-6 (2)
19) Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (2) 11-8 (1)
20) Edgemont (1) 10-2 (3)
21) Glens Falls (2) 10-3 (2)
22) Onondaga (3) 10-5 (3)
23) Maple Grove (6) 10-5 (2)
24) Nyack (1) 10-4 (2)
25) Hoosick Falls (2) 10-7 (1)
26) Monroe-Woodbury (9) 10-9 (1)
27) Syracuse CBA (3) 10-10 (1)
28) Leroy (5) 10-11 (1)
29) Cornwall (9) 10-13 (1)
The New York State Sportswriter’s Association has had rankings since 1969. They include sections * and 110. Originally they ranked all schools together. In 1970 they were divided, (as they should be) between “large” schools and “small” schools. In 1988 they went to Class A, B and “C-D”. Here are the teams, (with section numbers) that won in the polls for the years prior to the start of the state tournament in 1993, along with the highest ranked team in the sections that now play in the state tournament if the top team was from sections 8 or 11 and the top-rated Section III team when not #1:
1969 Kenmore West-6 (Utica Notre Dame was #3)
1970 Large: Ithaca-4 (Auburn was #3) Small: Albany Academy-2 (Lafayette was #7)
1971 Large: Farmingdale-8 (White Plains-1 was #2, Corcoran was #11) Small: Pleasantville-1 (Cazenovia was #4)
1972 Large: Farmingdale-8 (Kenmore West- 6 was #2, Auburn was #6) Small: Pleasantville-1 (Solvay was #13)
1973 Large: Vestal-4 (Utica Notre Dame was #7) Small: Pleasantville-1 (Westhill was #12)
1974 Large: Syosset-8 (Buffalo-Canisius-6 was #2 Auburn was #5) Small: Monroe-Woodbury-9 (Oneida was #7)
1975 Large: Vestal-4 (Auburn was #3) Small: Croton-Harmon-1 (Ilion was #14)
1976 Large: Rush-Henrietta- 5 (Jamesville-Dewitt was #12) Small: Penn Yan-5 (Cazenovia was #9)
1977: Large: New Rochelle-1 (Nottingham was #9) Small: Caledonia-Mumford- 5 (Mt. Markham was #12)
1978: Large: East Rochester-5 (Rome Free Academy was #6) Small: Caledonia-Mumford-5 (Oneida was #5)
1979: Large: Union-Endicott-4 (Liverpool was #2) Small: Caledonia-Mumford-5 (Solvay was #3)
1980: Large: New Rochelle-1 (Rome Free Academy was #5) Small: Caledonia-Mumford-5 (Ilion was #7)
1981: Large: Tie between Rome Free Academy-3 and West Islip St. John the Baptist-11 Small: Olean-6 (Solvay was #9)
1982: Large: A four-way tie between Shenendehowa-2, Liverpool-3, Bellport-11 and East Islip-11 Small: Penn Yan-5 (Herkimer was #10)
1983: Large: Tie between St. Francis Prep-NYC and Shenedehowa-2 Small- Tie between Dobbs Ferry-1, Albion-6 and Riverdale-NYC (Holland Patent was #12)
1984: Large: Tie between Shenendehowa-2, Williamsville South-6 and Bronx JFK-NYC (Rome Free Academy was #4) Small: Dobbs Ferry-1 (Bishop Grimes was #17)
1985: Large: Binghamton-4 (Rome Free Academy was #8) Small: Tie between Dobbs Ferry-1 and Canandaigua-5 (Homer was #3)
1986: Large: Hempstead-8 (Jamestown-6 was #2, Baldwinsville was #13) Small: Homer-3
1987: Large: Liverpool-3 Small: Albion-6 (Indian River was #10)
1988: Class A: Hempstead-8 (New Hartford was #2) Class B: Plainedge-8 (Binghampton-Seton-4 was #2, Nottingham was #8) Class C-D: Taconic Hills-2 (Westmoreland was #5)
1989: Class A: Union-Endicott-4 (Henninger was #22) Class B: Johnstown-2 (New Hartford was #3) Class C-D: Nanuet-1 (Dolgeville was #8)
1990: Class A: Henninger-3 Class B: Garden City-8 (Canadaigua-5 was #2, New Hartford was #4) Class C-D: Watervliet-2 (Ilion was #3)
1991: Class A: Fairport-5 (Rome Free Academy was #2) Class B: Tie between Ossining-1, Batavia-5 and Garden City-8 (Fowler was #10) Class C-D: Watervliet-2 (Dolgeville was #3)
1992: Class A: Susan Wagner-NYC (North Rockland-5 was #2, Rome Free Academy was #5) Class B: Lynbrook-8 (Garden City-8 was #2, VVS was #3) Class C-D: Caledonia-Mumford-5 (Dolgeville was #4)
The following teams have won state titles, (I am including poll champions from 1969-92- if a poll champion was from section 8 or 11, I treated the highest rated team from sections 1-7 and 9-10 as the “poll champion“- if there had been a tournament in those years, they‘d have been in it and winning the poll was the equivalent of winning the tournament in those days):
Section 1 (Hudson River):
Bronxville C-2010 (1)
Croton-Harmon Poll-1975 (small) (1)
Dobbs Ferry Poll- 1983, 1984, 1985 (small) D-2002 C-2004, 2006, 2011 (7)
Dover C-1997 (1)
Edgemont C-1998, 1999, 2000 (3)
Harrison B-1999, 2002 (2)
Nanuet Poll- 1989 (C-D) (1)
New Rochelle Poll- 1977, 1980 (large) AA-2003, 2012 (4)
North Rockland Poll- 1992 (A), A-1993 (2)
Nyack A-2000, 2003 (2)
Ossining Poll- 1991(B) (1)
Pleasantville Poll-1971, 1972, 1973 (small) (3) B-2017
Rye B-2005, 2006, 2008 (3)
Somers A-2017 (1)
Tuckahoe D-2006, 2010 (2)
Valhalla D-1996 (1)
White Plains Poll-1971 (large) (1)
Yonkers-Roosevelt AA-1996 (1)
Yorktown B-1993, 1994 (2)
(That’s 19 schools that have won 40 state titles)
Section 2 (Capital District):
Albany Academy Poll- 1970 (small) (1)
Amsterdam B-1995 A-2005 (2)
Burnt Hills-Balston Lake- A-2012 (1)
Cambridge D-1999, 2016, 2017 (3)
Glen’s Falls B-2017, 2018 (2)
Hoosick Falls C- 2012 (1)
Johnstown Poll-1989 (B) (1)
Queensbury A-2013 (1)
Shenendehowa Poll- 1982, 1983, 1984 (large) (3)
Taconic Hills Poll- 1988 (C-D) (1)
Troy A-1996 AA- 1998, 2017, 2018 (4)
Watervliet Poll- 1990, 1991 (C-D), C- 1996 (3)
(That’s 12 schools that have won 23 state titles)
Section 3 (Central New York):
Auburn AA-2006 (1)
Bishop Ludden C-2007 (1)
Cazenovia B- 2015 (1)
CBA AA-2004 (1)
Dolgeville D-2000 (1)
Henninger- Poll- 1990 (large) (1)
Homer- Poll- 1986 (small) (1)
Indian River- 2014 (B) (1)
Liverpool Poll- 1982, 1987 (large) (2)
New Hartford Poll- 1988 (large) (1)
Onondaga D-2001 C-2002 D-2003 (3)
Rome Free Academy Poll- 1981 (large) (1)
Skaneateles C- 2017 (1)
VVS- Poll- 1992 (B) (1)
Weedsport D-2004 (1)
West Canada D-1997 (1)
West Genesee AA-2007 (1)
(That’s 17 schools that have won 20 state titles)
Section 4 (Southern Tier):
Binghamton Poll- 1985 (large) (1)
Binghamton Seton Poll- 1988 (B) (1)
Chenango Forks B-2003, 2004, C-2013, 2014, 2015 (5)
Corning East A-2006 (1)
Delhi C-2001 (1)
Ithaca Poll- 1970 (large) (1)
Maine-Endwell A-2004, 2011, B- 2012, 2013, 2014 (5)
Newark Valley C- 2017 (1)
Sidney C-2005 (1)
Susquehanna Valley C-2018 (1)
Tioga D- 2015 (1)
Union-Endicott Poll- 1979 (large) 1989 (A) (2)
Vestal Poll- 1973, 1975 (large) A- 1997 (3)
Walton C-1994 D-2007 (2)
(That’s 14 schools that have won 26 state titles)
Section 5 (Rochester area):
Aquinas A-1998, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2010, AA-2013, 2015, 2018 (8)
Batavia Poll- 1991 B (1)
Caledonia-Mumford Poll- 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 (small) 1992 (C-D), C-1993 D-1994, 1995 C-2003 (9)
Canandaigua Poll- 1985 (small) 1990 (B), A-1999 (3)
Clyde-Savannah D-1993 (1)
East Rochester Poll- 1978 (large) (1)
Fairport Poll- 1991 (A) AA-1997 (2)
Geneva B-2006 (1)
Hornell B-2009, 2010, 2011 (3)
Letchworth D-2011 (1)
Leroy C-1995 (1)
Penn Yan Poll- 1976, 1982 (small) (2)
Rush-Henrietta Poll- 1976 (large) AA-2010 (2)
Webster (Schroeder) AA-1999, 2001, 2002 (3)
(That’s 14 schools that have won 38 state titles)
Section 6 (Buffalo area):
Albion Poll- 1983, 1987 (small) (2)
Buffalo Canisius Poll- 1974 (large) (1)
Clymer Central/Sherman/Panama D- 2018 (1)
Jamestown A-1994, 1995 AA-2000, 2014 (4)
Lackawanna B-1997, 1998 (2)
Maple Grove D-1998, 2008 (2)
North Tonawanada AA-2009 (1)
Olean Poll- 1981 (large) (1)
Orchard Park AA-2008, 2011 (2)
Randolph D-2005, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014 (5)
South Park A- 2015 (1)
Southwestern C-2008, 2009 (2)
Springville B- 1996 (1)
Sweet Home A-2008, 2009 (2)
West Seneca West A- 2017 (1)
Williamsville South - 1984 (large) (1)
(That’s 16 schools that have won 29 state titles)
Section 7 (Champlain area):
Peru B-2001 (1)
(That’s one school that’s won 1 state title)
Section 9 (Catskills):
Cornwall A- 2018 (1)
Monroe-Woodbury Poll- 1974 (small) AA-2005 (2)
Roundout Valley B-2000 (1)
(That’s 3 schools that have won 4 state titles)
Section 10 (St. Lawrence area):
None
Section Three always starts out by playing Section 4 in the first round We are 18-4 against them in Class AA, 14-10 in Class A, 10-15 in Class B, (thank you, Chenango Forks, who beat our teams 8 times in a row and 14 overall), 9-15 in Class C and 10-15 in Class D, (Section coaches in Classes C and D voted not to send a team to the state playoffs in the first year, 1993). Over all Section 3 is 61-59 vs. Section 4.
If they survive Section 4, the Section 3 champs play the winner of the Section 5 and 6, (basically the Rochester and Buffalo areas) first round game. We’ve done well in Class D, 6-4 (3-2 vs. each), and held our own, 5-4, (3-3 vs. Section 5, 2-1 vs. Section 6), in Class C but been dominated in Class B, 2-8, (1-5 vs. Section 6, 1-3 vs. Section 5), Class A, 3-11, (3-6 vs. Section 5, 0-5 vs. Section 6) and Class AA, 4-14, (3-8 vs. Section 5, 1-6 vs. Section 6). Overall vs. Section 5 they are 13-21 vs. Section 5 and 7-19 vs. Section 6.
The following Section III teams have cleared the quarterfinal hurdle vs. Section 4 and survived the semifinal carnage vs. Sections 5 and 6 to play for the state championship:
1993 Class B Chittenango lost to Section 1 Yorktown 13-23
1996 Class A Whitesboro lost to Section 2 Troy 13-27
1996 Class AA Rome Free Academy lost to 1 Yonkers Roosevelt 14-27
1997 Class C CBA lost to Section1 Dover 26-32 (2OT)
1997 Class D West Canada beat Section 1 Bronxville 22-14
2000 Class A Fulton lost to Section 1 Nyack 20-34
2000 Class D Dolgeville beat Section 2 Fort Edward 55-3
2001 Class D Onondaga beat Section 1 Dobbs Ferry 35-7
2002 Class C Onondaga beat Section 1 Briarcliffe 35-6
2002 Class D Dolgeville lost to Section 1 Dobbs Ferry 35-38
2003 Class D Onondaga beat Section 2 Cambridge 41-21
2004 Class AA CBA beat Section 1 New Rochelle 41-35
2004 Class D Weedsport beat Section 1 Tuckahoe 22-11
2006 Class AA Auburn beat Section 9 Monroe-Woodbury 27-26 (1OT)
2007 Class AA West Genesee beat Section 9 Monroe-Woodbury 42-21
2007 Class C Bishop Ludden beat Section 1 Dobbs Ferry 21-16
2008 Class B Oneida lost to Section 1 Rye 12-16
2010 Class C General Brown lost to Section 1 Bronxville 14-34
2014 Class A Indian River beat Section 2 Queensberry 63-38
2015 Class B Cazenovia beat 2 Schuylerville 22-19
2017 Class C Skaneateles beat 2 Holy Trinity 28-25
Section 3 is 13-8 in state championship games. They lost their first four, then had an incredible 10-2 streak before winning 3 for the last 5. They are 6-7 vs. Section 1, 5-1 vs. Section 2 and 2-0 vs. Section 9. So if we can survive the semi-finals our chances of winning a state title are pretty good.
State (playoff) Champions from Section III (12):
1997- West Canada (Class D)
2000- Dolgeville (Class D)
2001- Onondaga (Class D)
2002- Onondaga (Class C)
2003- Onondaga (Class D)
2004- Christian Brothers Academy (Class AA), Weedsport (Class D)
2006- Auburn (Class AA)
2007- West Genesee Class AA), Bishop Ludden (Class C)
2014- Indian River (Class A)
2015- Cazenovia (Class B)
2017- Skaneateles (Class C)
(We have won 3 Class AA titles, 1 Class A title, 1 Class B title, 3 Class C titles and 6 Class D titles)
This year’s Quarterfinal Match-ups:
Class AA
3 Cicero-North Syracuse 7-3 (225-181) NYSSWA #21 MaxPreps 69/3630 States: 2-2 with 0 titles
Lost to: Liverpool 0-10, RFA 27-34, Utica Proctor 0-32 - beat Utica Proctor 28-25
4 Corning-Painted Post 9-1 (325-139) NYSSWA #15 MaxPreps 37/2600 States: 8-8 with 1 title
Lost to: Corcoran (3) 30-47 (Formerly Corning East and Corning West- combined 2010)
6 Lancaster 8-2 (330-140) NYSSWA #23 MaxPreps 39/2646 States: 2-4 with 0 titles
Lost to Clarence 26-27 and Orchard Park 20-21
5 McQuaid Jesuit 9-0 (348-122) NYSSWA #6 MaxPreps 20/1760 States: 0-0 with 0 titles
9 Pine Bush 7-2 (371-189) NYSSWA #27 MaxPreps 25/1912 States: 0-2 with 0 titles
Lost to: Cornwall 35-38 and Newburgh Free Academy 35-45
2 Shenendehowa 9-1 (376-95) NYSSWA #16 MaxPreps 4/580 States: 7-5 with 3 titles
Lost to: Shaker 14-28
3 Utica Proctor 9-1 (371-152) NYSSWA #10 MaxPreps 31/2335 States: 0-0 with 0 titles
Lost to: Cicero-North Syracuse 25-28
1 New Rochelle 10-0 (407-81) NYSSWA #3 MaxPreps 5/636 States: 15-11 with 2 titles
Comments: New Rochelle will be the odds on favorite as the highest ranked team (Freeport from Section 8 and Iona Prep from the NYC CHSFL are ranked #1/#2 by the NYS sportwriters) and the only school to win the AA tournament title before, (Corning/PP won an A title when they were Corning East in 2006 while Shenendehowa won LS poll titles in 1982-84 – all ties with other schools). If somebody can knock off the Hugenots, this one is wide open.
Class A
3 Carthage 9-1 (459-146) NYSSWA #4 MaxPreps 7/1024 States: 1-3 with 0 titles
Lost to: Utica Proctor 7-12
4 Union-Endicott 2-7 (178-290) NYSSWA UR MaxPreps 261/8750 States: 3-13 with 2 titles
Lost to: Waverly 22-23, Elmira Southside 13-63, Whitesboro 14-35, Horseheads 25-49, Corning-Painted Post 6-14, Chenango Forks 12-41, Binghamton 26-29
6 South Park 10-0 (404-84) NYSSWA #6 MaxPreps 42/2776 States: 3-0 with 1 title
5 Canandaigua Academy 9-1 (337-149) NYSSWA #18 MaxPreps 28/2087 States: 3-1 with 1 title
Lost to Victor 14-31
9 Cornwall Central 9-0 (355-133) NYSSWA #1 MaxPreps 16/1605 States: 10-13 with 1 title (defending state champs)
2 Queensbury 10-0 (362-147) NYSSWA #10 MaxPreps 26/2022 States: 9-3 with 1 title
3 Auburn 7-3 (370-313) NYSSWA #27 MaxPreps 73/3679 States: 3-0 with 1 title
1 Rye 9-1 (348-134) NYSSWA #13 MaxPreps 33/2386 States: 16-5 with 3 titles
Lost to: Somers 24-28
Comments: Section 4 has exactly two Class A teams: Union Endicott and Vestal, who played three times. Both of UE’s wins are over Vestal, who went 1-9. Why is South Park rated ahead of Canandaigua by a large margin in the state poll and yet are behind them in the Max Preps ratings? Beats me. Meanwhile, our flag bearer, Carthage, is the only team in this field not have won a state poll title or a tournament.
Class B
3 Solvay 10-0 (419-205) NYSSWA #4 MaxPreps 47/2950 States: 0-1 with 0 titles
4 Chenango Forks 10-0 (364-115) NYSSWA #1 MaxPreps 19/1697 States: 30-12 with 5 titles
6 Western New York Maritime Charter/Health Sciences 9-1 (314-132) NYSSWA #6 MaxPreps 57/3330 States: 0-0 with 0 titles Lost to Canisius 0-40
5 Livonia 9-2 (364-182) NYSSWA #11 MaxPreps 137/5212 States: 0-1 with 0 titles
Lost to: Batavia 8-19 and University Prep 22-38
2 Schuylerville 9-1 (331-117) NYSSWA #8 MaxPreps 63/3436 States: 4-3 with 0 titles Lost to: Glens Falls 13-34
10 Potsdam (beat 7 Beekmantown 30-0) 7-2 (287-107) NYSSWA #24 MaxPreps 139/5844 States: 0-3 with 0 titles Lost to: Gouveneur 14-15, Ogdensburg Free Academy 16-48
9 Port Jervis 8-2 (286-177) NYSSWA #9 MaxPreps 104/4807 States: 1-5 with 0 titles
Lost to: Middletown 14-57, Marlboro 20-28,
1 Ardsley 9-0 (289-102) NYSSWA #2 MaxPreps 18/1686 States: 0-1 with 0 titles
Comments: Beyond Chenango Forks this seems wide open: The Blue Devils are the only team that’s ever won the state title. But they’d done it 5 times and hold the state record for most playoff wins with 30. So how do you get beyond Chenango Forks?
Class C
3 Lowville 10-0 (511-138) NYSSWA #4 MaxPreps 9/1155 States: 0-2 with 0 titles
4 Susquehanna Valley 10-0 (472-56) NYSSWA #1 MaxPreps 23/1804 States: 3-1 with 1 title (defending state champs)
6 Southwestern 10-0 (432-67) NYSSWA #2 MaxPreps 30/2304 States: 8-2 with 2 titles
5 Warsaw/Letchworth 9-1 (287-85) NYSSWA #6 MaxPreps 126/5385 States: 3-2 with 1 title
Lost to : LeRoy 6-7
10 Gouverneur (beat 7 Saranac Lake 53-0) 9-0 (397-74) NYSSWA #5 MaxPreps 35/2551 States: 0-4 with 0 titles
2 Stillwater 10-0 (376-97) NYSSWA #3 MaxPreps 48/2977 States: 0-0 with 0 titles
1 Valhalla 7-2 (208-184) NYSSWA #16 MaxPreps 298/9490 States: 3-1 with 1 title
Lost to: Chester 22-42, Hackley 14-35
9 Chester 6-2 (265-156) NYSSWA #1 MaxPreps 208/7609 States: 6-10 with 0 titles
Lost to Nauet 26-44, Burke Catholic 20-23
Comments: Lowville has bene dominant but to win the state title, they will need to beat three other dominant teams, the defending state champs in Susquehanna Valley and probably Southwestern and the Gouveneur-Stillwater winner. It’s interesting that MaxPreps rate the red Raiders above eveyr other team in the Class C playoff- they expect them to win this.
Class D
3 Frankfort-Schuyler 8-2 (313-167) NYSSWA #4 MaxPreps 205/7568 States: 0-0 with 0 titles
4 Tioga 10-0 (424-189) NYSSWA #1 MaxPreps 79/3848 States: 9-6 with 1 title
6 Clymer Central/Sherman/Panama 8-1 (310-72) NYSSWA #2 MaxPreps 67/3479 States: 5-4 with 1 title (defending state champs)
5 Notre Dame of Batavia 10-0 (399-70) NYSSWA #3 MaxPreps 131/5701 States: 0-1 with 0 titles
2 Warrensburg 9-1 (456-94) NYSSWA #7 MaxPreps 141/5883 States: 1-2 with 0 titles
7 Moriah 6-3 (266-145) NYSSWA #11 MaxPreps 307/9606 States: 8-14 with 0 titles
3 Waterville 7-3 (151-107) NYSSWA #13 MaxPreps 305/9565 States: 0-0 with 0 titles
1 Tuckahoe 8-1 (314-173) NYSSWA #8 MaxPreps 235/8393 States: 17-12 with 2 titles
Comments: You can kiss Frankfurt-Schuyler goodbye. Tioga eats Section 3 teams alive. They’ve beaten 7 of them in this decade by a combined 350-118 (50-17). And a Waterville team that’s only score 151 points isn’t likely to go very far, either.
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