Nice start for baseball teams

The league season got under way today for local baseball teams and three came away with victories. Rocky Point earned a 9-1 win against East Hampton, Miller Place beat Shoreham-Wading River, 7-1, and Longwood blanked Patchogue-Medford, 8-0.

The Eagles have gotten off to a strong start with three wins and no losses. They beat Comsewogue and Mount Sinai in non-league. Pitcher Tim Popko is already 2-0 on the year and won the league opener Monday with a complete game and six K's. Phil Rado has been red hot at the plate. Against Comsewogue he had three hits, against Mount Sinai he hit a 2-run homer for the team's only runs and against East Hampton he went 4-4 with two doubles and four RBIs. Now that's how you start a baseball season!

The Panthers won on the back of their ace, Thor Miller. That was a tough way for the Wildcats to have to start the season on a chilly, windy afternoon against a hard-throwing lefty. The next two games should be pretty competitive. Shoreham needs to make sure its gets at least one of the next two. In a league this competitive, starting 0-3 is far from ideal.

For the Lions they picked up a real nice win against the Raiders. As expected, the Raiders did not go with ace Marcus Stroman for the opener. With the win, behind a shutout by Jimmy Knudsen, the Lions are in good shape to get two of three in the series. That would be a perfect way for the Lions to open in League I, where plenty of tough games lie ahead.

189 Semifinal: Buonaiuto pinned

You don't see this very often. In fact, only once before. But Zach Buonaiuto was pinned in the 189 semifinals by Matt Loew of Wantagh. Buonaiuto settled for fifth place for the second straight year.

VIDEO: Day 1 in Albany

Here are a few video highlights of Day 1 of the state wrestling championship:

LIVE: Wrestling Quarterfinals

We're set for the quarterfinals here in Albany and to start off is Corey Rasheed vs. Will Montgomery of Seaford at 96 pounds. Montgomery won a 1-0 decision to reach the quarters.

Here we go: Good match early on as both wrestlers fight for position. Rasheed gets the early two with about a minute left in the first. He's riding on top and maintains a 2-0 lead after one. An injury timeout delays the start of the second. Corey had some issue with his right hand, but it's quickly resolved. Rasheed starts the second period on bottom. Rasheed is having problems getting off bottom. He's slowly working his way toward the edge of the circle and gets out of bounds with :56 left in the second. He'll start on bottom again. A real rough period for Rasheed but he manages to gain a point. A late escape gives him a 3-0 advantage going into the second and he'll start on top for the third. Rasheed really survived a tough stretch.
A reversal makes it 3-2 with 1:13 left. We get a whistle and an injury timeout for Montgomery.

Rasheed gets another point to go ahead 4-2 but Montgomery ties it with under a minute to go. Rasheed quickly reverses to go ahead 6-4. An escape by Montgomery makes it 6-5 with :38 to go. This is quite the match. They'll have a neutral start with :38 after blood on the mat is cleaned.

They go out of bounds with :23 left and will start neutral. Rasheed is hit with a stall warning. The match is delayed again with blood on Montgomery. It was a good thing because he nearly had a takedown on Rasheed.

There's 14 seconds left. Rasheed hangs on and gets a takedown for the 8-5 win. A very impressive victory for the seventh-grader over a junior.

Meanwhile, Malik Rasheed was wrestling at the same time and pulled out a 3-2 win over Tim Schaefer, the No. 3 seed from Lancaster.

C. RASHEED, 8-5, OVER ERIC MONTGOMERY


M. RASHEED, 3-2, OVER TIM SCHAEFER


........................


At 119 pounds Steven Keith won a 12-3 major decision against Brentwood's Alex Gomez in a rematch of the county final. My original post on his match didn't save when I tried to publish, so I have to do this again...

KEITH, 12-3, OVER ALEX GOMEZ


...........................


Next up is Stephen Dutton vs. Josh Halladay at 135

Before that happens, another big development to note: The No. 2 seed at 189, Christian Boley of Brockport lost in the first round. Boley placed third in the state last year at 189 and was upset by Matt Loew of Wantagh. This clears the path for Buonaiuto to reach the finals against Austin Meys, who is the top seed. Buonaiuto will face CJ Floor of Port Jervis in the quarterfinals first. If he wins, he'll get the winner of Loew vs. Ken Hamilton of Niagara Falls. A big break for Buonaiuto, we'll see if he can capitalize.

Now we're set for Dutton.

Dutton gets the quick 2-0 lead and takes control of the match. Dutton is so fast on the mat it's hard for wrestlers to react to his moves. Add in his strength and it's easy to see why he's undefeated this year and has only lost three matches since entering high school. The first period ends with Dutton ahead 2-0. It's not often he leads a match only 2-0 after one period. But this is the state tournament and nothing is easy. Dutton starts the second on bottom.

Now he goes to work in the second and grabs a 5-0 lead. He's riding on top. He's working to flip Halladay on his back but they reach a stalemate with :35 left in the second period. Dutton maintains that lead going into the third period.

In the third period Halladay gets a point after Dutton is hit for a stall, which the Rocky Point coaches don't understand. It makes it 5-1 with a minute remaining. Now it's Halladay who's warned for a stall, but no point. Dutton gets in an awkward position and gives up another point on a stall. He hangs on for the 5-2 decision.

It's been awhile since Dutton had a match that close. He was never really challenged in the county tournament.

STEPHEN DUTTON, 5-2, OVER JOSH HALLADAY


That now makes our local wrestlers 13-for-13 today.


..........................



Next up, 145
Anthony Volpe vs. Luke Speno (Fox Lane)

Speno won a 17-1 tech fall in the first round against Tony Carlo of Monsignor Farrell. He is the four seed while Volpe is the five. Speno comes in with a 36-1 record. This could be the end of our perfect streak today.

Update on the semifinal matchups tomorrow: Malik Rasheed will face the wrestler he lost against in the county final, Huntington's Damon McQueen. Rasheed struggled against McQueen and will have a hard time beating him here. His brother Corey will take on Joe Barbato of Wantagh who is also a wild card. He fell as the No. 11 seed and he beat the No. 3 Alec Dierna in the quarterfinals. Steven Keith will face John Belanger of Shenedehowa. He is the No. 4 seed.

Now we're set for Volpe vs. Speno

Volpe takes a 2-0 lead early in the first and comes real close to getting a pin. He gets three back points to storm ahead 5-0. Volpe came out this period ready to wrestle. Wow. He jumps ahead 8-0 and is dominating the action. An electric first period closes with Volpe ahead 8-0. I'm sure that has to be one of the better periods he's had this season.
Volpe got two more in the second period and he's closing in on a tech fall with a 10-0 lead. The action is stopped, though, and the score is now 10-2. Not sure where those two came from for Speno. Volpe gets an escape to go ahead 11-2. Now he's just got stay smart and close it out.

At the end of the second, Volpe leads 11-2. Now it's 12-2. Speno earned a takedown with about :33 left in the third to close it to 12-4. Volpe started to relax a bit in the final period with the big lead.

The final score is 13-5 and Volpe is definitely excited as he flexes his arms to his fans in the crowd. He's on to the semifinals after a very impressive quarterfinal win.

VOLPE, 13-5, OVER SPENO

So now we're 14-for-14 with five matches remaining in the quarterfinals.

.........................


Next up we'll have two matches at the same time at 160 with Coggins and Neidhart.

Coggins is set to face John Paris of Amsterdam who comes in off a pin against Nick Matthews of Kingston.

Neither wrestler can take control in the first period. Coggins goes on his stomatch with about :10 left in the first and stays there to ride out the period. They're notted at zero going into the second where Coggins will start on bottom. He gets the escape for the 1-0 lead. He takes the 1-0 lead into the third period where Paris starts on bottom. He gets the escape to tie it at 1. A takedown with 1:20 left gives Paris the 3-1 lead. He closes to 3-2 with just over a minute left. A takedown makes it 5-2 and Coggins is in trouble. He starts on bottom with :42 left. Coggins goes down 6-4 for the first local wrestler's loss of the day.

PARIS, 6-4, OVER COGGINS

Neidhart is underway in his match vs. Pat Brady of Carthage. He gets a late takedown for a 2-0 lead in the first. Neidhart gets the pin in the second period to advance to the finals.

NEIDHART, PIN, OVER BRADY


.......................


So it looks like we won't have 9 state champions.... Coggins goes down 6-4 and now Neidhart, who lost to him in the county finals, has a chance to earn the higher placing. Of course, if Neidhart loses in the semis, the two could very well face again. Coggins will have a busy schedule now to fight for third. He'll wrestle again tonight and will need four more wins to claim third. He needs to win at least his next two matches for a chance to place.



Buonaiuto is taking on the sixth seed CJ Floor of Port Jervis. Buonaiuto takes a quick 2-0 lead and then gives up and escape. He goes ahead 4-1 and as usual is riding on top. He gives up another escape, though, and he seems confident in his ability to get points. Buonaiuto gets in trouble and loses back points. It’s 6-6 after one. He nearly got pinned.
Buoanituo recovers to dominate the second and get the pin with :43 left.

BUONAIUTO, PIN 3:17, OVER FLOOR


James also got a pin, so quick that I didn’t even see it happen. YIKES! Next thing I know coach Mike Picozzi is sitting next to me. I’m here looking for James and it’s already over.

JAMES, PIN, OVER SHERIDAN


.......................


That wraps up the quarterfinals for us. An awesome day of wrestling for local wrestlers as they combine to go 17-of-18. The only loss coming for Coggins, who was the top seed at 160. He'll try to bounce back for third place.

The semifinals begin at 10 a.m. Saturday.

LIVE: State Wrestling Championship

******KEEP REFRESHING*******


Just arrived at the Times-Union Center where wrestling has been underway for about an hour and a half. So far four local wrestlers have competed and all have won.

The results are as follows:

96 pounds: Cory Rasheed (Longwood) pinned Derrick Gray of Indian River in :36.

103 pounds: Malik Rasheed (Longwood) won a 10-5 decision against Zack Hammell.

119 pounds: Steven Keith (SWR) pinned Jim Widger of St. Francis in 1:15.

135 pounds: Stephen Dutton (RP) won a technical fall against Brian Latham.

The quarterfinal matchups are as follows:
C. Rasheed vs. Will Montgomery (Seaford)

M. Rasheed vs. Tim Schaefer (Lancaster)

Keith vs. Alex Gomez (Brentwood)

Dutton vs. Josh Halladay (Johnson City)
................


I just got to see my first match and Anthony Volpe against Mike Perry of Massena. Volpe jumped out to a fast 6-2 start and was in control throughout the match. Volpe didn't score in the second period, but was never in trouble. He got into a slightly awkward spot early in the third when Perry got ahold of his left leg. But he quickly recovered and got a reversal to go ahead 8-2. Volpe needed an injury timeout midway through the third. It looked like something with his left leg. But he appeared OK and finished off the match. Volpe gave up an escape with :42 left and then Perry got it to 8-4. Then he got a takedown with about :10 left, but couldn't add anything else with Volpe on his stomach.

Final Score: VOLPE 8 - PERRY 6


.................


Interesting note at the 135 bracket. Dutton was originally listed as the second seed in the bracket, but he's at the top spot now that the bracket is posted. A great quarterfinal matchup is Paul Liguori of Wantagh against Andrew Lenzi of Fordham Prep. Them facing each other in the quarterfinals seems a bit early. Lenzi won a state title last year and was the wrestler everyone expected Dutton to face before he was upset in the first round. Dutton beat both wrestlers this year and Liguori was probably the closest match of the year. He beat Lenzi at the Eastern States and didn't have too much trouble. An undefeated regular season really pays off when he gets that high seed and avoids having to beat both Liguori and Lenzi. And when he does face one of them, it'll be in the finals.


....................


160 Pounds: Coggins vs. Rob Grabher (North Shore)

Coggins gets a takedown with :46 left in the first period to go ahead 2-0. A late escape point for Grabher makes it 2-1 after one period. Coggins gets an escape early in the second to go back ahead by two, 3-1. He then reverses Grabher for a 5-1 lead with under a minute left in the second. He takes a 5-1 lead into the third period. An escape point gives Coggins a 6-1 lead. A takedown puts Coggins ahead 8-1 and he's in full control. Interesting note, Grabher was ranked fourth in Nassau at 152 in the rankings of Feb. 3. A nice job by him to get to the state tournament by winning the Nassau title.
Coggins held on 8-1 to make our local wrestlers 6-for-6 so far in the first round.

COGGINS 8 - GRABHER 1

....................

160: T.J. Neidhart vs. Darin Wignall (Depost/Hancock)

A scoreless first period, not many shots by either wrestler. Neidhart starts the second period on bottom and earns the escape point for a 1-0 lead. Neidhart goes ahead 3-0 with about 1:15 left in the second. Neidhart gets two more just before the second period ends for a 5-0 lead. A neutral start to the third period and Neidhart is being patient. He makes his move after about 20 seconds and gets another takedown for a 7-0 lead. Neidhart closes it out 9-0. And local wrestlers are 7-for-7.

NEIDHART 9 - WIGNALL 0

........................

Zach Buonaiuto vs. Josue Cardenas (Portchester)

Buonaiuto fell behind early 2-0 before taking a 4-2 lead into the third period. It was a slow start for Buonaiuto but he turned it on in the third period and won it 9-2. Video to follow.

BUONAIUTO 9 - CARDENAS 2

.......................

Ernest James vs. Patrice Castor (East Ramapo)

James takes a 2-0 first-period lead. In the second James takes a shot at Castor's right leg and earns the takedown. An injury time-out forces a delay with seven seconds left in the second period. Not sure what's wrong. Actually, it looks like a problem with Castor's head gear. He's got a crazy mask on that looks like some kind of hockey goalie helmet. You can't see any of his face. Wild stuff. The period resumes and James closes it out with the 4-0 lead. James starts down for the third period. James goes ahead 6-0. James rides on top the final period and twists Castor on his back to get the pin with 12 seconds left. James in jeopardy of the rare non-pin win. He's only had a couple of those this year. But he pulls it out in 5:48.

JAMES PIN OVER CASTOR, 5:48

Next stop: Albany

Wrestling fans should expect a great showing from Section XI and specifically local wrestlers from the north shore, at this year's state championship, which begins Friday at the Times-Union Center in Albany.

As noted in Friday's North Shore Sun, I'll be up in Albany blogging live during the two days. So to keep track of wrestlers from Longwood, Rocky Point, Shoreham and Miller Place, this is the place.

I'll be leaving early Friday morning, so I'll probably miss the early part of the first round. I'm hoping traffic won't be too bad...

The schedule is as follows:

FRIDAY
10 a.m.: Parade of Champions/National Anthem
10:30 - 2:30 p.m.: Preliminaries
2:30-4:30 p.m.: Quarterfinals
4:30-6:30 p.m.: Wrestlebacks
6:30-8:30 p.m.: Wrestlebacks

SATURDAY
9:30 a.m.: National Anthem/Special Awards
10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Semifinals & Wrestlebacks
12:30 - 2 p.m.: Wrestlebacks/Consolation Semifinals
2-3:30 p.m.: Consolation Finals
6 p.m.: Finals

If you log on before I get settled in at the Times-Union Center, check here for the early results:
http://www.nysphsaawrestling.com/results.html

Once again, the local wrestlers competing are as follows:
96 - Cory Rasheed, Longwood
103 - Malik Rasheed, Longwood
119 - Steven Keith, SWR
135 - Stephen Dutton, Rocky Point
145 - Anthony Volpe, Rocky Point
160 - Billy Coggins, Rocky Point
160 - T.J. Neidhart, SWR
189 - Zach Buonaiuto, Miller Place
215 - Ernest James, Longwood

VIDEO: Wrestling County Championship

Here's a highlight package of all the local wrestlers in the county finals from Saturday. Six locals won titles with Steven Keith, Stephen Dutton, Anthony Volpe, Billy Coggins, Zach Buonaiuto and Ernest James.

Wrestling video highlights

Here's a video of some highlights from the League VI wrestling tournament Saturday at Shoreham-Wading River. The Wildcats finished second in the tournament behind the powerhouse John Glenn Knights. Four Wildcats were crowned league champs.

Another Boys Hoops Roundup...

We're down to the final stretch in high school basketball before the playoffs begin. So let's take a look at where boys team's stand and how the playoffs might shake up.

Only one local team has clinched a playoff spot and that's Longwood in League I. The Lions face first-place Brentwood at home tonight for a chance to earn a share of the league title. If the Lions can win out these next two games, including a home game against Sachem East, the real interesting question will be which team gets the higher seed? Brentwood or Longwood? The Lions would have the better overall record, but Brentwood played the tougher schedule. Longwood did beat St. John the Baptist, a team Brentwood lost to. An Indians win tonight makes it a moot point. Brentwood has won three straight against Longwood, all at Brentwood. Longwood won its last home meeting against the Indians last year.

Here are the current standings:

Brentwood 9-1

Longwood 8-2

Lindenhurst 6-3

Pat-Med 5-4

Floyd 3-6

Sachem East 2-7

Ward Melville 0-10

The only other local team with a chance to clinch a playoff berth is Shoreham-Wading River in League VI. The Wildcats are 6-7 and should get their seventh win when they play Mount Sinai Monday at home. Miller Place and Mt. Sinai are eliminated from contention.

Here are the standings:

East Hampton 12-1

John Glenn 10-3

Amityville 9-4

Bayport 9-4

SWR 6-7

Miller Place 4-9

Mt. Sinai 1-12

Westhampton 1-12

In League V Rocky Point is eliminated from contention with a 4-9 record.

Harborfields 11-1

Huntington 10-2

Kings Park 10-3

Comsewogue 7-6

Islip 6-7

Rocky Point 4-9

Hauppauge 3-10

Sayville 0-13

So let's take a look at possible playoff positioning:

In Class A the bracket is set up for seven teams, but we'll have more teams make it. As of now there are eight teams clinched with another two as possibilities. Shoreham should make it nine and an Islip win against Rocky Point would make it 10 teams. So we're looking at outbracket games to get in the dance. Shoreham will definitely be an outbracket team, playing either a Comsewogue or Islip.

My guess would be if 10 teams get in that the 9 and 10 would play an outbracket for the right to play the No. 1. Then the 7 and 8 would play for the right to play the No. 2.

Something like this:

9. Comsewogue

vs.

10. SWR

7. Amityville

vs.

8. Islip

1. East Hampton

vs.

9-10 Winner

4. John Glenn

vs. 

5. Kings Park

3. Huntington

vs.

6. Bayport-Blue Point

2. Harborfields

vs.

7-8 winner

That'd be a tough bracket right there.

Back to Class AA:

This is where things get real tricky. A lot of good teams without a couple really dominant teams as sure 1 and 2 seeds. This won't be easy to break down and the season's final few games will go a long way toward determining these final seeds.

So far 11 teams have clinched a playoff spot. The bracket is set up for 16 teams. From League I through IV there are at least one or two teams that stand one win away from clinching. So within the next few days we'll have a better picture of what teams are in. There are simply too many important games left to accurately predict how the seedings may fall. Among them are Longwood-Brentwood tonight, Hills West-Bellport, Whitman-Bay Shore and Copiague-North Babylon. These games all have huge ramifications toward playoff seeding and potential league titles.

It should make for an exciting prelude to the playoffs.

Boys Hoops Roundup

Most teams have reached the midway point or beyond in the league season, so let's take a look at where the teams stand. I was down in Rocky Point tonight for the boys basketball team's big game against Comsewogue. The Eagles needed a win but struggled offensively in the second half and fell 63-53 to drop to 3-6 in League VI with five games to play.

Here's a look at League VI:

East Hampton 8-1

Amityville 7-2

John Glenn 7-2

Bayport 6-3

SWR 4-5

Miller Place 2-7

Mt. Sinai 1-8

Westhampton 1-8

So Mount Sinai is eliminated from postseason contention after tonight's loss against Bayport. Miller Place must go 5-0 to end the season to earn a repeat trip to the postseason. Shoreham still has a good shot to get in with games remaining against Miller Place (Jan. 31), Westhampton (Feb. 3) and Mount Sinai (Feb. 9). If the Wildcats can win those three games they'll assure themselves a .500 record and a very unpleasant first-round matchup, possibly even an outbracket game for the right to play that very unpleasant first-round team.

Not looking pretty.

Here's a look at League V:

Harborfields 7-1

Huntington 6-1

Kings Park 7-2

Islip 4-5

Comsewogue 4-5

Rocky Point 3-6

Hauppauge 3-5

Sayville 0-9

The Eagles must win four of their final five games for a 7-7 record and postseason berth.

Now some uplifting news, let's look at League I:

Brentwood 6-0

Longwood 4-2

Lindenhurst 4-2

Pat-Med 4-2

William Floyd 2-4

Sachem East 1-5

Ward Melville 0-6

The Lions are two wins away from clinching a playoff berth, but obviously are dreaming much bigger. I don't know if the Lions can catch Brentwood for the league title. They meet once more at Longwood, so the Lions will need someone else to knock them off as well. 

Right now, the Lions need to focus on getting at least the second best record. They can live with that. The goal is to be a top four seed in the playoffs. Finishing ahead of Lindy and Pat-Med would give the Lions a decent shot at that. The other teams in contention for the top four spots would be B'Wood, L'Wood, Bay Shore, Whitman and possibly Bellport. I'm not sold on League III teams. In my opinion, the winner of League I is the top seed, followed by the winner of League II as the second seed. Then the runner-ups will be the three and four, unless Bellport runs the table in League IV (The Clippers are 6-0).

A top four seed guarantees two home playoff games before the neutral court games at SUNY Farmingdale. The Lions have had to go on the road in the second round the last three years and have lost each time.

Saturday will be a huge game for the Lions when they travel to Pat-Med, a team they narrowly beat the first time around at home. Pat-Med got them one game last year and just beat Lindenhurst the other day. Marcus Stroman is tough to defend. With two losses already, the Lions have no room for error.

Pipe, Fox are Zone winners

Miller Place seniors Erin Pipe and Chris Fox were the school's recepients of the Suffolk Zone Award presented by the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. There were 118 Suffolk Zone winners based on their academics, leadership and physical performance throughout the school year.



Pipe is ranked eighth in her class with a GPA of 97.5. She's a tennis, basketball and track athlete who is also a member of the National Honor Society, National Foreign Language Honor Society, Varsity Club, Future Business Leaders of America, Athletes Helping Athletes and the Freshman-Senior Mentoring Project.

She was a tennis MVP in 2007 and All-League player in 2008. In basketball she's led the team in scoring this year and was also a member of the Empire State team in 2008. In track she was All-League and All-Division and holds the school record in the shot put and pentathlon.

Fox is ranked 13th in his class with a 96.4 average. He plays on the football and wrestling teams. He's also a member of the National Honor Society, Foreign Language National Honor Society and Varsity Club. He's an Advanced Placement scholar and received the school's Academic Excellence Award in 2006, 07 and 08.

Cross Country times

The cross country county championship is Friday at Sunken Meadow State Park.

Here are the race times:

Girls Class B/C/D: 1:30

Boys Class A: 1:55

Boys Class B/C/D: 2:25

Boys Class AA: 2:50

Girls Class A: 3:20

Girls Class AA: 3:45

We should have county champs in the boys and girls B/C/D race. The Shoreham boys should have no trouble winning their race. In the girls B/C/D it'll be either Shoreham or Mount Sinai.

In the Class A race keep an eye on Miller Place to see if the Panthers can win a title. They came close last year and will be close again.

Playoff Brackets Posted!

We'll start with boys soccer.

The brackets are pretty similar to how I predicted earlier. Mount Sinai did earn the No. 2 seed despite falling into a tie with Miller Place. So good news for the Mustangs, who won't have to face Comsewogue until a county championship. Miller Place meanwhile gets Sayville in the first round. Yikes! Here's the rule with Sayville in soccer: You never, ever want to play them. I don't care what their record is.

So here it goes:

1. Comsewogue

vs.

8. Bayport-Blue Point vs. 9. Harborfields

5. Sayville

vs.

4. Miller Place

3. Hauppauge

vs. 

6. SWR

7. Westhampton

vs.

2. Mt. Sinai

The outbracket game is Monday and the first round games are Thursday with the semifinals to be played Monday, Nov. 3. The county championship will be Thursday, Nov. 6 at Dowling Sports Complex.

I'd feel real good about Mt. Sinai winning its first game against Westhampton. The Hurricanes have struggled down the stretch and I think the Mustangs got their bad game out of the way Wednesday at Shoreham. 

Our other two schools, however, I think are prime for one and done. I never pick against Sayville and Shoreham has been very inconsistent the last three weeks. If they play like they did Wednesday, they can win. If not, Hauppauge can run away with that game.

Onto FIELD HOCKEY:

Three local teams made it as expected.

1. Sayville

vs.

8. Huntington

5. East Hampton

vs.

4. Rocky Point

3. SWR

vs.

6. Bayport-Blue Point

7. Harborfields

vs.

2. Miller Place

I like all of our teams to win Tuesday and advance to the semis Thursday. The real confusing part of the bracket is how in the world Miller Place earned a higher seed than Shoreham-Wading River. Shoreham led Division III all year until at the very end, Miller Place jumped the Wildcats in power points. If anyone cared about field hockey, this would be causing a major stir right now. But it's field hockey, so I'm sure no one has noticed outside of Shoreham or Miller Place.

But Miller Place finished 12-2, 14-3. Shoreham finished 13-1, 15-2. OK, so Shoreham had a better record. But why would something like better records matter in determining standings? It comes down to power points. So MP gets the edge with 170.o10 to Shoreham's 166.43.

But look closer. Who did Miller Place lose to? Shoreham. TWICE! 

Miller Place is a very good team that can win a county championship, but the Panthers have no business finishing ahead of Shoreham and to do so makes an absolute mockery of Suffolk County field hockey. Last I checked the Wildcats were defending county champions. And the Wildcats have won six of the last seven games between the two schools, including in the playoffs last year. Now this lower seeding doesn't hurt the Wildcats that much. It just means they have to play at Miller Place as opposed to home in the second round. But it's still perplexing and shouldn't be.

You can argue the power points could work into Miller Place's favor had Shoreham played a significantly worse schedule. They did not. The Wildcats' only loss came to Rocky Point, 1-0. The Eagles are pretty good this year, right? Seeded fourth in the playoffs?

Breaking down their schedules, Miller Place played:

SWR: 13-1

Rocky Point: 11-3

Pierson: 12-2

Port Jeff: 7-7

East Hampton: 7-7

Comsewogue: 5-9

Hampton Bays: 2-12

SWR played:

MP: 12-2

RP: 11-3

Port Jeff: 7-7

Riverhead: 7-7

East Hampton: 7-7

Comsewogue: 5-9

Southampton: 3-11

So Miller Place's opponents went: 57-41, a .582 percentage

Shoreham's opponents went: 52-46, a .531 percentage

One more note: SWR outscored opponents 54-7. MP outscored opponents 50-13.

Sorry, but that's nowhere near enough to give Miller Place a higher seed after losing TWICE to Shoreham. Unbelievable.

Onto GIRLS SOCCER:

1. Islip

vs. 

9. Mt. Sinai vs. 8. Rocky Point

5. SWR

vs.

4. John Glenn

3. Harborfields

vs. 

6. Bayport-Blue Point

7. Hauppauge

vs.

2. Sayville

Should be a quick girls soccer postseason. I like RP over Mt. Sinai for the right to lose to Islip. SWR should take care of Glenn and then the Wildcats will fall victim to Islip. 

I'd be shocked to see anything but Islip playing Sayville for the county title.

Thoughts on Week 6...

Two weeks to go in the high school football season and things are taking shape. With eight teams making the postseason this year, it's created a lot more meaning to the end of the regular season for many teams which otherwise would be running out the string.

The Longwood Lions improved to 5-1 in Division I and are in prime position to earn the No. 2 seed for the second straight year. The Lions played a terrific first half against a good Lindenhurst team Friday night with their only mishaps coming on the opening kickoff which the Bulldogs returned for an touchdown. Later in the half Eddie Wess threw a late pick after completing a 40-plus yard pass to Nick Esposito, halting a drive that nearly resulted in points the other way for Lindenhurst. The Lions made too many mistakes in the second half, but had built enough of a lead to withstand it. It was a similar game to Week 1 against Connetquot where the Lions built an early lead, couldn't add on, then had to hang on for dear life. Lindenhurst never really threatened to win the game Friday — their last touchdown came on the last play of the game — but it was still closer than you would have liked. 

I've liked the passing defense the Lions have shown this year. You'll remember William Floyd came out throwing against Longwood in Week 2 and had little success. Lindenhurst didn't have much success either until late in the game when the Bulldogs relied on short passes, which the Lions were willing to give up as they played a protective Cover-3.

The Lions finish the regular season against Brentwood at home Saturday for homecoming and then go to Sachem East. I don't see the Lions having too much trouble in either game and should finish 7-1, which means they don't have to face Floyd until the county championship. Of course, even if the Lions slip to a three seed, they still wouldn't face Floyd until the county championship.

What's important to keep an eye on is where Sachem North lands. The Flaming Arrows are 2-4 and finish against Pat-Med and Lindenhurst. Sachem could very well end up in the seven seed and come to Longwood in the first round. That's a very scary first round matchup and one the Lions would be very happy to avoid. Longwood coach Chris Meyer would much rather see a team like Northport in the first round. Even Pat-Med or Brentwood would be a more welcome sight.

The Miller Place Panthers also improved to 5-1 in Division III after a high-powered win against Deer Park Saturday, 47-28. It sets up a huge showdown Saturday at 5-1 Sayville, the team regarded as the best in the division. The Panthers will likely need a win to earn enough power points to receive one of the top four seeds. I think if the Panthers finish 6-2, it won't be enough for a seed higher than five or six, which is hard to believe. Hills West will finish 5-3 and will have more power points than Miller Place at 6-2, unless the Panthers can beat Sayville.

Harborfields has two easy games left so expect the Tornadoes to earn the top seed with an 8-0 record. If Sayville wins its next two, the Golden Flashes will be seeded second. Kings Park, Hills West, Miller Place, Islip and Hauppauge will all be fighting for power points to finish as high as possible. I like Rocky Point to grab the eighth seed, although the Eagles are only 2-4.

Miller Place grad preseason All-MAAC

Press Release from Canisius Athletics:

The Canisius College baseball team was picked to finish first by the league’s coaches in the annual preseason poll released by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference today. It’s the highest preseason projection for the baseball program since joining the MAAC for the 1990 season.

Three Golden Griffins earned preseason All-MAAC honors, the most of any school in the league. Junior Kevin Mahoney (Miller Place, N.Y.) and Kevin Reimer (Steinbach, Manitoba) along with sophomore Ian Choy (Mississauga, Ont.) were chosen by the league’s coaches to the 12-man squad.

Mahoney earned second-team All-MAAC honors after his sophomore season when he led the Griffs with six home runs, four triples, 13 doubles and 42 runs scored. The team’s third baseman had 34 RBIs, a .482 slugging percentage and .388 on-base percentage while posting 14 multiple-hit games and 10 multiple-RBI games. Mahoney played in 53 games at third base, making 12 errors.

Choy, a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and second-team All-Freshman selection by Ping! Baseball, was the first Rookie of the Year in program history and earned first-team All-MAAC honors. The team’s left fielder tied for the team lead and ranked fifth with a .358 batting average while also totaling 12 doubles and 26 RBIs. Choy had 18 multiple-hit games, which included eight games with three-plus hits, while striking out just 17 times in 173 at-bats and posting a .437 on-base percentage.

Reimer tied with Choy for the team lead in batting average at .358. The team’s catcher had 11 doubles, four home runs, 10 multiple-RBI games, 17 multiple-hit games, which included five games of three hits or more, while leading the team with a .503 slugging percentage and .460 on-base percentage. Reimer stole five bases and scored 40 runs while committing two errors behind the plate.

In the coaches’ poll, Canisius received 71 points from the league’s nine coaches while Manhattan was second with 67 points and Marist third with 66. Fairfield and Siena tied for fourth with 50 points. Rider (36), Saint Peter’s (34), Iona (19) and Niagara (12) rounded out the poll.

The Griffs qualified for their second MAAC Tournament in program history last season, compiling a 13-12 conference record. Canisius closed out the MAAC schedule with 11 wins in the final 15 games, including nine straight wins at the Demske Sports Complex.

Canisius opens the 2008 schedule Friday, Feb. 22, when the Griffs play Long Island in Gastonia, N.C.

Before Canisius:
Lettered three seasons at Miller Place High School… Named all-state, All-Long Island, all-county and league MVP in 2005 after hitting .479 with 11 homers, 11 doubles and two triples… Team was the Section XI Class A Champs… Went 4-for-4 in Vitra’s Long Island inaugural all-star game… Garnered all-county honors as a junior and competed on the Long Island team at the Empire State Games; hit .580 with eight homers… Hit .430 as a sophomore and was selected first-team all-league… Three-sport athlete, lettering in football, basketball and baseball… Also played for the Smithtown Cardinals and Long Island Titans… Team was the 2003 National Pony Invitational Eastern Region Finalists… Named an FABL Long Island All-Star.