The Standings, and a look at Week 7's Playoff Implications

Here are the current standings for the five classifications entering Week 7.

		Conference		Overall
CLASS AA
	Team	W	L	W	L	Week 7	Week 8
x	Shaker	6	0	6	0	@ CBA	COL
	Saratoga Springs	5	1	5	1	SCHDY	@ SHEN
	Shenendehowa	5	1	5	1	@ALB	SAR
	Bethlehem	3	3	3	3	NISKY	SCHDY
	CBA	3	3	3	3	SHAKR	@GUILD
	Guilderland	3	3	3	3	@COL	CBA
	Colonie	2	4	2	4	GUILD	@SHAKR
	Niskayuna	2	4	2	4	@BETH	ALB
e	Schenectady	1	5	1	5	@SAR	@BETH
e	Albany	0	6	0	6	SHEN	@NISKY
CLASS A
Capital Division
x	Averill Park	4	0	6	0	@TROY
x	Troy	4	0	5	1	A-PARK
x	Columbia	2	2	3	3	@TECH
	La Salle	1	3	3	3	@AMST
	Amsterdam	1	3	2	3	SALLE
e	Green Tech	0	4	1	5	COLUM
Grasso Division
x	Burnt Hills	5	0	6	0	QSBY
x	Queensbury	5	0	6	0	@BH
x	Ballston Spa	3	2	3	3	SGF
	Scotia	2	3	2	4	GLOV
	Gloversville	1	4	1	5	@SCOT
	South Glens Falls	1	4	1	5	@BSPA
e	Mohonasen	1	5	1	5	HUDFLS
CLASS B
North Division
d	Glens Falls	3	0	4	2	@BROAD
h	Schuylerville	2	1	4	2	JOHN
x	Hudson Falls	2	2	4	2	@MOH
x	Broadalbin-Perth	1	2	3	2	GF
e	Johnstown	0	3	2	4	@SCHUY
Reinfurt Division
x	Schalmont	3	0	4	1	@COBLE
x	Cobleskill	4	0	4	2	SCHAL
x	Hudson	2	1	3	2	RAVENA
x	Ravena	2	2	2	4	@HUD
e	Ichabod Crane	0	4	0	6	LANS
e	Lansingburgh	0	4	0	6	@IC
CLASS C
Central Division
x	Stillwater	4	0	6	0	HOLY
x	Holy Trinity	4	0	5	1	@STIL
	Fonda	2	2	3	3	@MECH
	Canajoharie-Fort Plain	1	3	2	4	TAM
e	Mechanicville	1	4	2	4	FONDA
e	Tamarac	0	4	2	4	@CANJO
North Division
d	Cambridge	4	0	6	0	@GREEN
	Hoosick Falls	3	1	5	1	CORN
	Granville	2	2	3	3	LG-HL
	Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne	2	2	4	2	@GRAN
e	Greenwich	1	3	1	5	CAMB
e	Corinth	0	4	0	6	@HOOF
South Division
d	Chatham	6	0	6	0	@GREENE
	Voorheesville	4	1	4	2	@COX
	Helderberg Valley	2	2	3	3	@HILLS
	Catskill-Cairo-Durham	2	2	2	4	VLIET
e	Watervliet	1	4	2	4	@CAT
e	Coxsackie-Athens	1	4	1	5	VOOR
e	Taconic Hills	1	4	1	5	HELDV
CLASS D
x	Warrensburg	4	0	5	1	WHITE
x	Whitehall	4	0	4	2	@WRSBG
x	Hoosic Valley	3	2	4	3	@RENS
x	Fort Edward/Argyle	1	3	1	4	@COH
e	Rensselaer	0	3	1	5	HOOV
i	Cohoes	0	4	0	6	FE

x - clinched playoff spot
d - clinched divisional title
h - clinched second seed, will play at home Week 8
e - eliminated
i - ineligible for playoffs-playing in a lower class.

Several divisional titles are up for grabs in Week 7.  In Class A, both divisional titles will be on the line when Queensbury visits Burnt Hills in the Grasso Division, and the Capital Division will be determined when Averill Park visit Troy.

In Class B, the Reinfurt Division will be determined as Schalmont travels to Cobleskill, although I'm not certain how the cancelled Hudson at Schalmont game from last week will play into this.  This isn't as easy of a scenario as the Amsterdam/Broadalbin-Perth match where the two teams were non-divisional opponents and thus wouldn't impact playoff seeding.  Glens Falls finishes the season against Broadalbin-Perth, but win or lose, they have the North Division's title.  

In Class C, Cambridge and Chatham have their divisional titles sewn up, but the Central Division is up for grabs as Stillwater hosts Holy Trinity.  

Finally, Class D's title will be handed out when Warrensburg hosts Whitehall under the temporary lights on Friday night.  

In Class AA, Shaker can clinch their division this week with a win at CBA, as they will have head-to-head wins over both Saratoga Springs and Shenendehowa, who face each other in Week 8.  Don't forget, Class AA is playing eight weeks regular season this year, and will only admit four teams to the playoffs.

As far as the other teams making the playoffs, Saratoga Springs and Shenendehowa are on the inside path to making the playoffs and can clinch with victories over Schenectady and Albany this week.  If both teams win, they will determine who gets to host the Class AA Semifinal when they face each other next week.  

In Class A, only Mohonasen has been eliminated from consideration as this week's home game is against non-divisional opponent Hudson Falls and thus cannot catch the final seed into the playoffs.  South Glens Falls is in a scenario where they need to win and get help from Gloversville, and then hope the quarter points are good enough to eliminate Scotia, as the Bulldogs have the tiebreaker over Gloversville, but not the Tartans.  If the Bulldogs lose to Ballston Spa, the Gloversville/Scotia game becomes a win-and-you're-in game.  Ballston Spa is in the playoffs, and can do no better than the #3 seed.

In the Capital Division, Green Tech is eliminated as the LaSalle at Amsterdam winner will take the fourth and final playoff spot in the division.  Columbia is in, and will take the #3 seed win or lose, as a win will give it to them outright, and with wins over both LaSalle and Amsterdam this season, the Blue Devils will win the tiebreaker if they do lose. 

In Class B, the eight team field is set.  Johnstown can beat Schuylerville to tie Broadalbin-Perth in the standings, but the Patriots hold the tiebreaker over the Sir Bills by virtue of their 48-6 win this past Friday.  If Schuylerville wins, it will set in stone Schuylerville's place as the #2 seed, Hudson Falls as the #3 seed and Broadalbin-Perth as the #4 seed.  In the Reinfurt Division, Hudson and Ravena meet to see who will be travelling up to Glens Falls next week.  Winner gets the #3 seed and a likely trip to Schuylerville, loser has to go further up the Hudson River to Glens Falls.  

Class C is complicated, as the only guarantee from my understanding talking to Lake George's Athletic Director Kyle Manny on Friday is that the divisional winner is the only team guaranteed in the playoffs.  Those three teams will be seeded 1-3, then it comes down to five wild cards for the remaining spots.  Cambridge is a strong candidate for the #1 seed, with the winner of the Holy Trinity/Stillwater match getting the #2 seed and Chatham getting the #3 seed.  But for the remainder of the teams, you should expect Hoosick Falls, the loser of the Holy Trinity/Stillwater match, Voorheesville to get in, and the other two teams coming down to the Lake George/Granville winner and Fonda, if they get past Mechanicville this week.  Again, this classification is hard to read, so take these words with a grain of salt. 

In Class D, after Whitehall/Warrensburg, Hoosic Valley is in the field of four.  Fort Edward will also get to play a meaningful game in Week 9 by way of their tiebreaker over Rensselaer.  

What this means is a lot of great football coming up this week.  Division titles are up on the line and playoff position is as well.  Give Section II credit, they made some right choices for Week 7 schedules when they came out with the schedules back in March. 

Analyzing What We've Covered So Far - Part 3

The third and final post giving a brief analysis from what we've seen from new teams we've featured on our High School Football broadcasts.  This is only for the new teams we've had a chance to look at this week, the two who were on for a second time this season will get covered again when we take a second look later this week.

Cambridge/Salem Indians 54, Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne War Eagles 0
Cambridge: This team is solid.   The offensive line helps shift the defensive line forward and creates positive opportunities for the running backs.  Calvin Schenider airs it out every so often to keep the defense guessing.  And Doug Luke likes getting Tommy English involved when it comes to taking snaps, whether it be a wildcat set or English dropping back to pass.  Tyler Lindendoll being successful on the run also opens the door for opportunities for English.  In short, this team has only a few issues, which was their shotgun snaps.  But that can be pointed at the fact that the Indians were down their regular Center.  The Indians will be a threat to go deep into the playoffs.

Burnt Hills Spartans 55, Glens Falls Indians 27
Burnt Hills: The Spartans figured out the holes in the Glens Falls defense and use those holes to give DJ Lashley a career day at the Spartans Homecoming.  Five touchdowns, three on the ground and two by air, offered little doubt on paper who was the difference maker in the game.  But it was the whole team coming together.  Darien LaPietro was great under center, and showcased his talent best in the closing stages of the second quarter when he put together a two-minute drill that ended in Lashley's completion for a touchdown as time expired.  Vincent Daviero was another strong starter for the Spartans, and Bryce Mussen and Jakai Townsend complemented the main two with some good touches of their own.  Gordy Adams played the role of Tight End well, and all of this was why Burnt Hills scored on every possession, except for the final when they kneeled the ball down in victory formation as time expired.

More blog posts to come this week, including a look at the playoff implications for this week, a second look at all the teams we've covered and a preview of the upcoming playoffs.

Bills football returns to WMML this Sunday

With the conclusion of the New York Mets 2018 season, the Buffalo Bills broadcasts move to FOX Sports Radio 97.9/1230, where they will stay for the remainder of the season.

The first broadcast on FOX Sports Radio 97.9/1230 will be this Sunday, as the Bills host the Tennessee Titans at New Era Field. 

Pregame coverage will begin at 11AM, with the game slated to kick off at 1:00PM.

Analyzing What We've Covered So Far - Part 2

Just like we did after the 3rd week of the regular season, let's take a look at the four additional teams we have covered since then.

Week 4: Queensbury Spartans 48, Glens Falls Indians 34
Queensbury: Don't let the final score fool you.  The Spartans defense was on target when they needed to be in this game.  Jordan Ziegler was a pest down the field when Joe Girard III was looking to pass, intercepting the Section's leading passer twice.  Jason Rodriguez's pick-6 thwarted the momentum that the Indians were hoping to build off Joe Girard III's first touchdown strike in the closing minutes of the first half.  On offense, the work of Liam O'Mara, James Ward and Brendan Scott resembled the work of the 2015 Spartans, the squad that had quality runners but not as many as their 2013 and 2014 Dome runs had.

Glens Falls: This is a case where the Indians game plan fell apart quickly.  The script started to come together in the second half when Joe Girard III passed for most of his 420 total passing yards and five touchdown scores, but by then, the damage was already done by way of the 28-0 early lead the Spartans built.  Once Girard got going, the usual suspects for Pat Lilac showed up.  Trenton Girard, David Barclay and Aalijah Sampson all helped generate offense for the Indians as they tried to come back with the help of a Queensbury kick return team that waited too long to grab the football following a Glens Falls touchdown.  The Indians are a strong squad, just this Saturday was a case of them being taken out of their game plan by a hungrier Queensbury squad.

Week 5: Hudson Falls Tigers 33, Broadalbin-Perth 26
Hudson Falls: Caleb Condon has the ability to burn defenses two ways, both by pass and by ground.  After throwing a pick and having his second pass go incomplete, the senior quarterback threw six straight completions, including a 54 yard strike that helped counter a Broadalbin-Perth long bomb touchdown score only twenty seconds prior.  But in addition to his 103 yards passing, he also broke the century mark in rushing with his 117 yards.  It was Condon's second double-century this season, the first coming against Johnstown in Week 1.   Riley Maddison was uncharacteristically quiet in the contest, and Brennan Prevost was the other presence in the backfield.  Connor Hermanson and Andrew Hogan were showcased in the passing game.  The offensive line protected Condon well, as he did not get sacked all game. 

Broadalbin-Perth: Big plays helped the Patriots early, but those became fewer and farther between in the second half.  Brodryk Benton threw for nearly 200 yards, including a huge 62 yard score late in the second quarter to Nicholas Geren.  Dante Calderone and Kobe Waldvogel both were short yard specialists for the Patriots, who could have been a little rusty after losing their Week 4 game against Amsterdam due to health reasons. 

In Week 6, we meet two new teams, the Cambridge Indians and the Burnt Hills Spartans.  We'll cover both of them here next week.

Enjoy the games!
-R

Analyzing: What we've covered so far...

We are three weeks into the new season of Section 2 High School Football.

Some teams we've seen have emerged to be teams to watch this season.  However, some have elements they need to work on as they continue their 2018 campaign.

Here's some observations from the eight teams I've covered so far in the 2018 season:

Week 1: Mohonasen 28, South Glens Falls 6
Mohonasen - The Mohonasen Warriors won their week 1 match against the South Glens Falls Bulldogs but it was an extremely sloppy game that didn't feel inspiring, especially when you compare how the two teams look at this time of the season.  Especially when countless players went down with cramp issues during the second half of a game that just seemed to drag on.  The Warriors defense got exposed in Week 2 when they gave up 62 points to the Queensbury Spartans, as the Spartans tied a school recorded for points scored.  Jared Stillson has emerged into a player to watch, and while we enjoyed the work Harrison Ford did against the South Glens Falls Bulldog offense on opening night, two players do not complete a eleven man roster. 

South Glens Falls - On a damp night that included a rain shower midway through the first quarter, the Bulldogs looked flat.  Connor Bovair worked well with the passing game for the Bulldogs for the first 9 attempts, going 6-for-9 and scoring a touchdown on the first drive of the game.  But his reliance on the passing game broke apart as the rains began to fall, and without a reliable run game, hampered by graduation, the passing game started becoming predictable for the Warrior defense.  Plus the moisture made the ball harder to grip and resulted in several dropped passes. 

Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne 28, Warrensburg 12
Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne: The War Eagles were slow to get going, but Michael Johnson gave Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne the lead for good when he passed to Logan Duers from 45 yards back.  With Johnson out with cramp issues, the War Eagles showed that they have depth on their roster as Cole Clarke was able to lead the offense in Johnson's absence.  The War Eagles have several weapons on offense, and if they can tighten up their defense, the War Eagles could make things interesting in a competitive Class C North.

Warrensburg: Warrensburg looks good as well, but they didn't have the weapons on defense to slow down the War Eagles when they got going.  Plus, without a strong kicking game, the Burghers gave up good field position to the War Eagles on several occasions, which led to points.  The lack of a strong kicking game won't hurt the Burghers in divisional matches for the most part, but field position can make the difference in key games.

Week 2: Whitehall 33, Fort Edward 20
Whitehall: Whitehall moved the ball well, taking advantage of miscues from the Flying Forts as the Railroaders scored 33 straight points before the Flying Forts were able to answer back with 14 points in the 4th quarter.  The ability to use two different quarterbacks means Rich Gould's playbook is more open than some teams in our area, allowing for some possible option plays between Brandon Bakerian and Moore.  Jake Moore is a specialist for the Railroaders, and will be a player to watch no matter where on offense he lines up.  With the absence of Greenwich and Cambridge from Class D this season, Whitehall seems to be in a very good spot to take Class D, and will be in for a great test to see how strong the team truly is when they host Lake George this week.

Fort Edward: This team doesn't give up.  They're not completely at a level where they can compete with the top teams on the standings, but they will have a decent chance to win a game or two as this season progresses.  Colby Phillips is mixing up the pass and run, and part of that mixing it up was what helped lead to points against the Railroaders.  His accuracy isn't quite there yet, as there were some hard misses to Cameron Sullivan and Brody Sullivan during the course of the game, but the fact that he does this stretches the opponent's defense and keeps them guessing.  There are several seniors on this roster but if these guys are able to restock on the JV level next fall, it'll be fun to see how much Phillips and Brody Sullivan grow.

Week 3: Granville 28, Greenwich 10
Granville: The Golden Horde are starting to emerge out of the basement.  They might not be quite there yet -- this Saturday's game against Cambridge will determine just how much John Irion has progressed with his team.  Nick Andrus has adapted to the John Irion system that results in quick hand-offs pretty well, and has shown a little of his passing game too in the last couple of weeks.  Taylor Bourne can work his feet well and used it to escape some failed tackles by the Greenwich D.  But one of the biggest workhorses for the Golden Horde is Logan Swain, a 200+ pound fullback who moves the pile as he runs, collecting five yard pickups that helps keep the playbook wide open when it comes to second and third down. 

Greenwich: It is so weird seeing the Witches at 0-3 after the success the program has had over the last five or so years.  Some of the issue is the defense, which allowed the Golden Horde to catch fire in the second half.  Plus Jesse Kuzmitch has not equaled his predecessors at the quarterback position just yet.  And that was part of the Witches success over the past several years, a solid passing game that opened the door for a running game that kept defenses guessing.  Kuzmitch is not bad, he is just missing a step or two that would allow the Witches to open up their playbook.  Chris Albrecht gives the Witches an option not a lot of teams have, a kicker who can put points on the board if the Witches have a hard time pounding it in while near the red zone, as his 32 yard field goal showcased on Saturday. 

Bills Football: Bills start the season on WENU, move to WMML in October

The Buffalo Bills will try to make it back-to-back trips to the playoffs when they start their 2018 campaign in Baltimore. 

And again, for the 7th season, Glens Falls will be a part of the Buffalo Bills Radio Network.

We are pleased to announce that 12 regular season games will air live on FOX Sports Radio 97.9FM and AM 1230, WMML, starting with the Week 5 home game between the Bills and the Tennessee Titans.  The other four regular season games will be offered on our sister station, CBS Sports Radio 1410, WENU, while the Mets conclude their season on WMML.

In addition, CBS Sports Radio 1410 can now also be heard on FM, at 96.9FM.

John Murphy and Mark Kelso once again will be in the booth for all the games, with Sal Capaccio updating from the sidelines.  Howard Simon will host the pregame show, while Mike Shoop and Chris 'Bulldog' Parker emcee most post-game shows. 

The season begins Sunday as the Bills travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens.  Pregame begins at 11:00AM, with the kickoff commencing at 1:00PM.