Section III football champs play on in Vestal, Waterville
VESTAL - Play within the high school sections across New York is complete for the fall, but 40 football teams play on in the NYSPHSAA playoffs in five 11-player classes, starting with regionals Friday and Saturday.
For Section III champions in classes AA-D, that means traveling to Vestal High School for Central Regional playoffs against the corresponding champions from Section IV – Class A Whitesboro and Class D Dolgeville Friday, and Class C Adirondack Saturday afternoon among schools in Oneida and Herkimer counties – while Frankfort-Schuyler plays closer to home at Waterville High School's Brothertown Stadium in an eight player regional Saturday afternoon. Travel east across the county line into Montgomery and Fonda-Fultonville plays on in Class C.
Section III winners this weekend – Christian Brothers Academy of Syracuse in Class AA and Indian River in Class B fill out the field in Vestal – will be play closer to home in state semifinals against the West Regional champions at Cicero-North Syracuse's Michael J. Bragman Stadium.
Section IV won three of five regionals last fall with Section III General Brown advancing to an eventual runner-up finish in Class C. Section IV Maine-Endwell and Tioga won state championships in classes B and D last year and three schools from the section won the year before. Christian Brothers Academy won Section III's last state title in Class A in 2021.
State champions will be crowned indoors the first weekend in December at Syracuse University's JMA Wireless Dome.
Class D: Dolgeville vs. Tioga, Friday, 5 p.m.
Dolgeville vs. Tioga for the third year in a row.
Dolgeville (8-2) is ranked ninth in the state by the New York State Sportswriters Association and has won eight consecutive games; the Blue Devils were tied for 15th two weeks ago before beating Beaver River in the Section III semifinals and Mt. Markham in the championship game.
Undefeated Tioga (11-0), the two-time defending state champion, is ranked first in the state. Tioga beat Delhi's Delaware Academy 55-7 in its sectional final last week, and has beaten Dolgeville 42-6 and 50-12 in regional play the last two years.
Tioga's Tigers have won Section IV 10 of the last 11 fall seasons and won the regional playoff each time. In fact, Section IV now has a 15-game regional winning streak in Class D dating back to Onondaga's victory over Delaware Academy in 2006; prior to that, Section III had won five state championships in eight years, starting with West Canada Valley in 1997 and including Dolgeville's 2000 title.
Dolgeville is 4-6 in regional playoffs and last won in 2002 on the way to a runner-up finish. The Blue Devils have been beaten four times by Tioga.
Class A: Whitesboro vs. Vestal, Friday, 8 p.m.
Whitesboro (10-1) rolled to a 10th consecutive victory in the Section III championship game and the sixth-ranked Warriors won by 40 points or more for the fourth time this season.
Section IV Vestal (8-1) is ranked 15th in the state but plays on its home field Friday. The Golden Bears defeated their last two opponents, Binghamton and Horseheads in the sectional final, 82-30 the last two weeks and have won their last six games.
Whitesboro won its last two regional games in 2016 and 2017 and has a 5-3 record in the state quarterfinals. Vestal was the Class A state champion in 1997 but has lost its three other regional games.
Class C: Adirondack vs. Waverly, Saturday, noon
A last-minute win over General Brown gave fourth-ranked Adirondack (10-1) Section III's Class C title and avenged the Wildcats' one defeat this season. General Brown was beaten by Adirondack during the regular season last fall before making its run to the finals.
Section IV Waverly (10-1) is No. 2 in the state rankings and has been beaten by only Tioga this season and that was an overtime game in the second week of the season.
Waverly's lone win in four regionals in classes B and C was against Herkimer in the 2011 C game. Adirondack is a first-time state tournament participant.
Adirondack has five wins by eight points or fewer this season including last week's 30-26 win in which the lead changed hands four times in the fourth quarter.
Class C: Fonda-Fultonville vs. Gouverneur, Saturday, noon
Frankfort-Schuyler (11-1), the state's top-ranked Class C team, avenged its only loss of the season when it beat Schuylerville 31-21 in the Section II final last week.
Section X Gouverneur (9-1) defeated Section VII Saranac 13-10 in a sub-regional last week and enters Saturday's game in Ogdensburg ranked 16th in the state.
Fonda-Fultonville is in the state playoffs for the first time since a Class B regional loss in 1999 Gouverneur was the runner-up in the state's 2019 Class C playoffs but has been beaten in regionals four times.
Eights: Frankfort-Schuyler vs. Pembroke, Saturday, 1 p.m.
Frankfort-Schuyler, the runner-up last fall, won its first eight player sectional title by beating West Canada Valley in overtime last week. The unbeaten Maroon Knights (9-0) are ranked third in the state heading into Saturday's game at Brothertown Stadium against Section V Pembroke (12-0) which is also undefeated, ranked first in the state and the defending Western New York champion.
Pembroke beat Section III Morrisville-Eaton 54-38 last year, scoring 34 points in the second half.
Other than two nail-biters against West Canada Valley – a last minute 30-26 win on the road during the regular season and last week's come from behind 56-50 victory – Frankfort-Schuyler has won each of its other games by at least 20 points and all but one by 30 or more.
Martino Rocco, Frankfort-Schuyler's all-state quarterback scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns in the Section III final and the winner in overtime. Pembroke features running back Tyson Totten, the state player of the year as a junior last fall.
Class AA
NOV. 18 REGIONALS
Section II Albany-Christian Brothers Academy vs. Section IX Middletown at Faller Field, Middletown High School, noon
Section II Shenendehowa vs. Section I Carmel at Mahopac High School, 3 p.m.
Section III Syracuse-Christian Brothers Academy vs. Section IV Elmira-Southside at Vestal High School, 6 p.m.
SectionV Rochester-McQuaid Jesuit vs Section VI Buffalo-Lewis J. Bennett/Olmstead/Middle Early College/East at Williamsville South High School, 7 p.m.
NOV, 25 SEMIFINALS
Shenendehowa/Carmel winner vs. Albany-CBA/Middletown winner at Middletown High School, 6 p.m.
McQuaid/Buffalo winner vs. Syracuse-CBA/Southside winner at Cicer-North Syracuse Highb Shool, 6 p.m.
DEC.3 FINAL
Semifinal winners at JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, 3 p.m.
Class A
NOV. 17 REGIONALS
Section II Niskayuna vs. Section IX Cornwall at Goshen High School. 6p.m.
Section II Averill Park vs. Section I Somers at Mahopac High School, 7 p.m
Section V Rochester East/World of Inquiry vs. Section VI Clarence at Williamsville South High School, 8 p.m
Section III Whitesboro at Section IV Vestal, 8 p.m.
NOV. 24 SEMIFINALS
Niskayuna/Cornwall winner vs. Averill Park/Somers winner at Middletown High School, 6 p.m.
Rochester/Clarence winner vs. Whitesboro/Vestal winner at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, 6 p.m.
DEC. 2 FINAL
Semifinal winners at JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, 3 p.m.
Class B
SUBREGIONAL
Section VII Peru 20, Section X Ogdensburg Free Academy 18
NOV. 18 REGIONALS
Section I Rye vs. Section IX Port Jervis at Goshen High School, noon
Section III Indian River vs. Section IV Maine-Endwell at Vestal High School, 3 p.m.
Section V Monroe vs. Section VI Health Sciences/Buffalo Academy of Science/Global Concepts at Williamsville South High School, 3:30 p.m.
Section VII Peru vs. Section II Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk at Mechanicville High School, 4 p.m.
NOV. 25 SEMIFINALS
Rye/Port Jervis winner vs. Peru/Ravena winner at Middletown High School, 3 p.m.
winner vs. Monroe/Buffalo winner at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, 3 p.m.
DEC. 3 FINAL
Semifinal winners at JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, noon
Class C
SUBREGIONAL
Section X Gouverneur 13, Section VII Saranac 10
NOV. 17 REGIONAL
Section II Fonda-Fultonville vs. Section X Gouverneur at Ogdensburg Free Academy, 7 p.m.
NOVE. 18 REGIONALS
Section IX Highland Falls-O'Neill vs. Section I Bronxville at Mahopac High School, noon
Section V Le Roy vs. Section VI Salamanca at Williamsville South High School, noon
Section III Adirondack vs. Section IV Waverly at Vestal High School, noon
NOV. 25 SEMIFINALS
Gouverneur/Fonda-Fultonville winner vs. O'Neill/Bronxville winner at Middletown High School, noon
Le Roy/Salamanca winner vs. Adirondack/Waverly winner at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, noon
DEC. 2 FINAL
Semifinal winners at JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, 6 p.m.
Class D
NOV. 17 REGIONALS
Section IX Goshen-Burke Catholic vs. Section I Haldane at Mahopac High School, 4 p.m.
Section V Canisteo-Greenwood vs. Section VI Clymer/Sherman/Panama at Williamsville South High School, 5 p.m.
Section III Dolgeville vs. Section IV Tioga at Vestal High School, 5 p.m.
NOV. 18 REGIONAL
Section VII Moriah vs. Section II Stillwater at Mechanicville High School, 12:30 p.m.
NOV. 24 SEMIFINALS
Burke/Haldane winner vs. Moriah/Stillwater winner at Middletown High School, 3 p.m.
Canisteo-Greenwood/Clymer winner vs. Dolgeville/Tioga winner at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, 3 p.m.
DEC. 2 FINAL
Semifinal winners at JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, noon
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Whitesboro, Adirondack, Dolgeville play football regionals in Vestal
