Coaches rank teams, decide on power league
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- September
- 18
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Our poll question is “Which team will be the best in Section 1 next season?”
And right now, John Jay holds a lead over Yorktown.
That’s a sentiment that Section 1’s coaches also agree with. At last night’s league seedings meeting at Yorktown High School, the Indians were ranked No. 1, followed by No. 2 Yorktown.
The coaches also agreed on a power league and league alignments. Their recommendations must be approved next month by athletic directors — which is likely.
The top-ranked nine teams who will make up the power league are (in the order they were ranked last night):
1. John Jay
2. Yorktown
3. Lakeland/Panas
4. Somers
5. Brewster
6. Rye
7. Mahopac
8. Horace Greeley
9. Hen Hud
Here are the proposed league alignments for the A-Division:
League 1-A: John Jay, Rye, Mahopac, Putnam Valley, Suffern, Byram Hills
League 2-A: Yorktown, Brewster, Horace Greeley, Mamaroneck, Pleasantville, Scarsdale
League 3-A: Lakeland/Panas, Somers, Hen Hud, Fox Lane, North Rockland, Clarkstown South
Please be sure to weigh in with your thoughts.
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on Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 12:55 pm by Joe Lombardi.
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Joe,
How about the league alignments for B and C as well? Thanks.
Hey Bob – I'll see what I can do, but may not be able to get all the league alignments until they are approved in October.
Thanks Joe…It appears they have expanded the A league to 18 from 15 teams by adding Pville, Scarsdale and Byram Hills. It'll be interesting to see how they fare.
I think there is some room for discussion re: the "power league" teams based on the performance of a couple of those listed over the past few years. There might be a couple of those teams that just don't belong there. Why nine teams for the power league? Is it always nine teams, if so, why? Thanks.
How is Byram Hills in the power leauge? now thats a joke…
Actually, Byram Hills is not in the power league. The "power league" is the top nine ranked teams. Those are the teams assured of a higher sectional seed than teams out of the league regardless of what their records are. Byram Hills is in Division A, however.
9 teams in the power league bc the teams play 8 in section games vs those teams and then are free to play their other out of section games….town vs cham, melville, stanth, darien, etc..jj with gc, hunt, etc…..
Rye should be at least 4th best. Brewster got killed by them last year and although they have sick players in King and Badalucco i think rye should beat them. Somers is weak besides jojo so i think rye could beat them but it will be close and panas and rye should be another close one but panas will probably win that one.
Joe, how close was JJ and Yorktown in being chosen for the #1? Do you think that Yorktown should be number 1 considering all the talent coming back, even if they're still a little young?
Green – I'm guessing the green isn't for, say, Pleasantville.
I wasn't at the meeting, but I'll see if I can find out if JJ being No. 1 over Yorktown was a close call or not. I imagine it wasn't.
After all, as mentioned, JJ has won 39 straight games vs. Section 1 teams. Also, let's not forget JJ was ranked seventh in the country, beat the No. 1-ranked team in the country and has two players ranked in the top 15 in the nation.
Yes, JJ lost two of its three starting attackmen, but Chris Bocklet is back. And any attack with Bocklet has to be regarded as the best in the section for that reason alone.
And yes, JJ lost its entire starting close defense and best long-stick middie, but goalie Chris Latino is back.
So I can't really see how you can't go with the Indians as No. 1.
Having said all that, Yorktown could very well be as good if not better as JJ by the end of next season. The 'Huskers have that much returning talent and potential. And I do believe the JJ-Yorktown game will probably be a toss-up. But, going into the season, JJ has to be No. 1.
Thoughts?
Town… i dont think it was that close, what talent is every1 talking about Froats? Rocky? Mike? Fox? and who
JJ has 4 major d-1 players in Bocklet, Granelli, Drew and Latino… 2 being top-20 in the country. In my eyes I c those 4 putting the team on their backs and taken them for another ride past all section 1 teams. dont get me wrong froats, and the brothers are great players but i thikn they are in the same boat as J with a lil less talent in there top guns…
while Im on them, where are rocky and john headed after this yr any word? Now that Latinos all rapped up J is just waiting on Graneli to pick a stop…wheres he off 2?
wow i just happened to look at this wow else knows Joe Todd bc im joetodd2 some1s messin with me and my boy
I think Yorktown should be very similiar to its 2003 team with seniors and sophmores/juniors leading the team. Should be a great a game between Jay and Town and I think who ever wins that has a great chance to go all the way in the playoffs…
not that this has anything to do with the topic, but that could be one of the coolest pictures ive ever seen of high school lacrosse
Lacrosse1 – It is a pretty impressive photo and ran over two pages in a recent issue of Inside Lacrosse. It was taken by a Garden City parent named Steve Carroll. As an editor, whenever our photographers submit their work and I see a good action shot like this, I always look right away to see if the ball is in the shot. It is here. And anyone who saw the play live knows it really captures the moment — which any great photo does.
Stevo,
Thanks for the response but I'm still not sure why nine teams. Why can't there be say 7 teams or 10? Thanks.
Sorry, hit "submit comment" too quickly…
Are you saying that each team is REQUIRED to play a minimum of 8 "in section" games and that's why there are nine power league teams? Thanks again.
JJ is in A this year? I thought they were staying in B
Joe:
Definitely anxious to see the B and C league alignments…let me see if I understand this correctly..only the "power" teams get playoff preference…so, doesn't that mean that the non-power A teams will have a much tougher time getting into the playoffs, as they will have to play all the teams in the leaque at least once?
JJ – stays B
To be honest the rankings after the top three are pretty arbitrary. Nobody really knew where to rank each other JJ, Y-town, and L/P. The better teams just want to make sure they are in the top 18 to play the better schedules. Usually teams 10-18 cross over with all the top 9 teams anyway.
JJ is still in class B.
there are only 9 "power league" teams, because those teams did not want to be locked into more than 8 SEction 1 games..as posted before…many of those teams will of course book games with other "better "B" and non-power league "A" teams to fill their schedule (max of 18 or 20 I beleive). For those teams playing in "A" , but are not top 9 I hope for their sake they get pref over all other "b" and "C" teams (not talking class here). Otherwise they could have a poor record playing better teams and get higher seed behind lesser "b" and "C" teams.
I'm a bit surprised McNally didnt make a stronger push to keep Suffern in the power league..either he thinks his team is way down or the other coaches just outvoted him. I know he isnt real popular with many of the other Section One Coaches… (Empire backlash?) Anybody have info on this?
Bear –
Basically, the deal is this:
All Division A teams qualify for sectionals regardless of record. In Division B, teams must have a winning percentage of 30 percent. In Division C, it’s 40 percent.
According to the seeding rules employed this past spring, the nine "power league" teams drew higher seeds than any non-power league teams regardless of record. You will recall last year, Mahopac got a No. 4 seed in Class A despite finishing the regular season 4-13 because it was in the power league — a scenario that created quite a bit of discussion right here.
There is a stipulation that the members of the seeding committee may, at their discretion, decide not follow that criteria.
how many games did mahopac lose last year? And they make the power league while Suffern, who lost to Town by only 2 in the semis, is on the outside looking in?
Joe:
Mostly because I love picking on Byram, and if I understand you correctly, they could easily lose the vast majority of their games in leaque (they are in a very tough one) and get in…I still don't get it….
Joe:
Mostly because I love picking on Byram, and if I understand you correctly, they could easily lose the vast majority of their games in leaque (they are in a very tough one) and get in…I still don't get it….
Joe,
Bottom 9 teams in Division A can get ranked higher than a top 9 team if they meet the following criteria:
Better Overall Record in the Division
Better Record against Common Opponents
If there is still a tie, Head to Head
As far as Division A,B,C. A will be seeded first then B, then C.
LaxFan – Thanks for the info. That would be a change from the selection criteria used in the past, and I think it's a good change.
Hen Hud w.o bosco and bernard do not belong in the power league.
Joetodd-Rocky B. is likely headed to Army as of now,while Froats won't be heading to a elite D1 program,but academically he can go anywhere.John Jay will definately get a game from the Huskers when they bring their section 1 streak to Murphy's Turf.Who cares how many "studs" Town has compared to Jay?Jay may have the best starting attack bc of Bocklet,but Town has a great offense that doesn't need to rely on one player.Yeah the Huskers have Rocky and Froats,but how can you forget about Kurpis,Ranagan,and young Interlicchio who was a freshman last year?
Even though I'm a Town fan I don't mind seeing the Huskers #1 b/c it's September,Jay beat us last year,and we're not even in the same class.All that matters is how great of a game the section is in store for when Jay comes to our house.
Word out of Baldwin Road, and Mahopac Faithful is that the Haddeland brothers are definitely in as the Varsity coaches.
The dissapointing thing I see happening this year is JJ and Town running away with B and A section titles.JJ owned Somers last year and they will move on to states unless there's a big upset.Then you travel west on route 35 and arrive in Yorktown.Who's going to stop them?They will go at it with Jay,but who in Class A will be able to stop their offense,which has five guys that can all score along with Bonitatibus in goal and Fox running LSM.Look for Coach Marr and Yorktown to make section 1 proud in June when they have a chance to play with anyone in the state for 48 minutes.
InjunLax –
I actually touched base with Mahopac AD Frank Miele earlier today and he said likely won't be finalized unti sometime in early October.
last spring as a team byram hills decided that they wanted to re-enter the higher levels of lacrosse in section 1. Three years ago, when the senior class of 2008 entered the high school as freshman and Byram was in division a with town and suffern the bobcats went 2-13 and did not enter sectionals. after two league championships in division b the team wanted a chance to go up against the best of the best day in and day out and prove themselves. i personally commend byram hills on wanting to challenge themsevles. this being said, i wouldnt count byram out against some of these teams, byram has a lot of seniors that have been a part of the varisty program for three or four years. the defense has three senior defenseman that have played together for years (two of which were all league last year), the offense will be is experienced and with a few nice additions coming up from jv byram will have a very solid team. they have a long winter ahead of them and knowing what is in front of them hopefully they will put in the necessary work. remember, the bobcats will be playing not only for wins but for pride.
byram hills as a team decided last spring that they wanted to reenter the higher level of lacrosse in section 1, mainly because, as demonstrated by above comments on this blog, are considered a joke. when this years senior class entered the high school some were part of a team that went 2-13 in league 1-a that played against town and suffern and did not participate in sectionals. this being said, i commend the bobcats on attempting to challenge themselves and i wish them luck. also, i wouldnt count the bobcats out that fast, the defense and attack are all very experienced and many are solid players whose names are unbeknownst to many in the lacrosse community in westchester. byram knows it has a hard winter ahead of them, and hopefully knowing what lays in front of them they come march april may, they will put in the necessary work to get the job done. the bobcats are not only playing for wins in 2008, but they are playing for pride and to prove that they are in fact not a joke.
Section 1 – Let's not forget about Lakeland/Panas in Class A. Yes, the Rebels a couple of first-team Journal News Westchester-Putnam all-stars in all-America midfielder Andrew Collins and defenseman Dan DaCosta, but the Rebels were still a pretty young team last year, and among the returnees are Jack Doherty and Mike MacKay. I think it may be a bit premature to have the 'Huskers already in the state tournament at this point.
Joe: Who is Towns potential starting line up this year? Who will be the holding down the attack and midfield? There D will be in question but they got a heck of a goalie directing traffic. I saw many games last year but this year they have to do better than just win section title!
Joe:
saw Mackay all summer, he is really great, can keep you in a game…
Green – Wow, you're really putting me on the spot here asking me to name the Ytown starting lineup in the middle of football season and all. Anyway, I will throw out a few names, and you folks can fill in the gaps. Sound good?
Attack: Brendan Kurpis, Kevin Interlicchio, John Ranagan
Midfield: Rocky Bonitatibus, John Froats
Defense: Ethan Fox, John Fennessy, Peter Hodgkinson
Goaltender: Michael Bonitatibus
Also gang, in our neverending quest to add more features here at Lax to the Max, we have yet another one. It's called "Recent photos." Just scroll down in the right panel of the frame. Now, obviously, there haven't been any recent varsity boys lax games, but there are some photos up from the summer, and if you click on "more" you can revisit page after page of pics from the high school season. Here's the direct link.
Sorry to all you Town fans but Jay will run all over them again this year, the talent coming up is very strong. It will once again not be a match…
Lacrosse Insider-I'm sure the talent coming up is strong,however I think any JJ fan would have to admit that they lost so many seniors.While JJ returns 3 great players in Bocklet,Drew,and Latino Town returns 7 good players with Bonitatibus',Froats,Fox,Kurpis,Ranagan,and Interlicchio.John Jay's talent coming up might be strong,but let's not forget Town started 3 sophomores last year and one freshman.I don't think we should say Jay will run all over them.
Let's not forget about Town's youth that already has experience.The Huskers started 3 sophomores inluding Mike and Fox who started when they were freshmen.Interlicchio is probably the best player in his grade and last year he only got his first taste of varsity after playing freshman as a 8th grader.This will be the best game between two teams in the section because of the rivalry and JJ's section 1 winning streak.
Once again not be a match? John Jay has beaten Yorktown 2 years in a row…while on the flip side Yorktown has been completely dominant over John Jay for centuries…Looks like lax insider needs to be a little more familiar with his input
Injun, And Joe,
Heard that at the coaches meeting, the other night the Haddelands were in, it was just a matter of Board approval.
sorry for the double comment, computer glitch
well
all the talk about pretty much the same schools JJ TOWN (respect show all upper case ) My 2 cents for the smaller schools … Rye should not count their eggs to fast this year. Put Valley was on them for both games last year with a roster of mostly underclassman. I think some eyes will open this year and next as these kids rise up. Not to mention Kuzma & Baker do a good job preparing their team. The team will miss Kelly, Morgan & Ender but young gun Fitzgerald & the OGorman Brothers with Landi will surprise people. Yes I'M from the Valley and Joe you watched this yound group jelling in sound shore this summer come on JOE give me a nod here
I really don't think Bonitatibus is heading to Army. I heard he was looking at Albany.
i think john jay is very overated. yeh bocklet is sick but other teams will put 3-4 guys on him and they have no other good scorers. drew is an athlete but cant shoot and has no stick skills. he only scored vs huntington bc they had a slow shortie on him. somers will upset jj to win sectional title.
Chilllaxx,
Four guys on Bocklet, huh? I'm sure the rest of JJ's crew would be quite content playing 5 on 2 as you suggest. I have a feeling that most of defensive coaches around the area might disagree with you. In case you missed it, which it seems like you must have: Kevin Drew scored the goal that sent the State semifinal game into overtime against two Huntington Defensemen. His other goals were against Rhamel Bratton. Is he the slow middie you're reffering to? JJ's offense is going to be just fine next season. They'll be new names along with plenty of Bocklet and Drew for you to agonize over when JJ beats up on your team again
Drew is not a offensive threat at all, Bocklet is a very good player but nothing Marr and the Huskers cant handle, 10-5 ytown..
Just remember Drew will be a year better. I think you are forgetting about the other offensive guys like Granelli, Durts, Jones, Silver, Malara, Daniello, Stewart, Dibetta, Masterson- these guys can all score. Go to varsity central and check out Drew scoring in each game, i think you will change your mind about him scoring.
drew not a threat to score? that's a joke right?
Valley is shwag I think rye will still beat them
Drew's strentgh's lie in his legs…speed and dodging..he will have another year to improve on his stick skills and shooting…both are not upto D1 Syracuse standards by any means..if you have watched him at lentgh you will see this to be true…that is why Cuse is interested in him as a D-Middie…very athletic and good size…not a knock on him, just the reality…
don't think the question was is Drew a high-end D1 player…I think the question was will he be a threat to score, today, in High School…he surely is…
BTW, Westrock lacrosse box leaque kicked off this weekend, a good time was had by all
12rock –
Put Valley was a very young team this past season at the varsity level and definitely seems to be on the rise. With Rye suffering signficant graduation losses, I agree, you can't count the Tigers out, though Rye will go in as the favorite in Class C.
As for the John Jay offense, I think it is clear, some other players will have to emerge to complement Bocklet, Drew and Granelli. Moto mentioned the names of some of them, including Harrison Silver, Mike Daniello, Lucas Durst and Harrison Jones. There is certainly no questioning the offensive talents of Bocklet, Granelli and Drew. Does Drew still need to improve his stick skills? Yes. But remember, a big part of scoring is the ability to take it to the cage — and a lot of that comes from speed, size and athleticism. And he is gifted with all three of those attributes.
Who would ppl take….Yorktown's 2008 offense or JJ's… pretty good question huh?
Need to go with JJ offense. Town doen't have any one equal to Bocklet's overall skill level at attack. They don't have anyone at middie with Drew's speed, which will allow for separation and create odd-man situations. Granelli is an x-factor. If he wants to be more involved in the game, we will be awesome, but he needs to be more aggressive. Not sure of the other players, but I bet they will be good, and fit into the Sav system.
Town has good players. Rocky, Ranagan and McCarthy at mid will be a good combo. Not sure who will take faceoffs.
Attack will be better with Kurpis, Froats and Interlicchio. Don't know if a three-headed montster can be better than Bocklet.
Will make for an interesting season and a great game between JJ and Town
hey
Bear As for the box league its somewhat over rated only four teams in the league (five but two from the valley). And its seems its the same every week either a team does not show up or some one needs a goalie ! BUT when the games do go off the guys enjoy. I don't blame the guys who cann't make it …it's a ride to Valley on Sunday morning to play 5X5 after a good saturday nite … this is not a knock just a wish that it had more teams and more people showed up
12 rock:
it's actually 7×7…just put it in perspective…it's all about the fun, game is very fast…gives a lot of younger kids a chance to work on stick skils…(and, btw, Briarcliff rolled, 23 -18)...another problem is that we (like many other teams) have a bunch of kids playing football too…
BEAR ALL VERY TRUE fast, skills, etc just wish more teams were involved
JJ offense obviously gets the edge. Yorktown attack is strong as a unit. Interlicchio is a rising star but not near Bocklet yet. Drew will score at will vs. Section One teams. Definately JJ.
Box league is alot of fun, especially with the music blasting , and format in which they play. I think the problem this year was Somers, and Mahopac had no coach to organize teams ,that they had in the past. Lakeland, and other locals get blocked by football coaches telling kids they can not play. Definitely helps stick skills BIG TIME!!.
Also heard from some Westrock players that the Wolfpack is playing in one or two 7v7 tourneys this fall. Don't know if they have done that before.
PV-Tigers-lax
Playing November 11, I believe, on the westrock site
heard last week at the football game that Rocky B from Town is going to Albany to play for scott marr….
Surprised no one talikg about Pleasantville.Almost the whole team returns. 2 players from empire team and the 4 of the 5 top scorers. Any one else have a thought on them?
P'Ville will have to finally play consistent if they are to take the next step. I think most of them have been on the Varsity for 2-3 years as well. These guys are going into their third season under Cavaluzzi. No more excuses.
I think people dont think of Pleasantville as a power mainly because they aren't. there a good team but after the loss to Ardsley in overtime last year they have to prove a hell of alot this year.
I agree the loss to Ardsley hurt. Just remember the beat Mahopac and played chappaqua and Somers tough. In class C the lost to RYE and Put Valley each by one goal. Put Valley graduated a lot of Seniors as did Rye. With all their best players back I think they are the team to beat in C. They are not deep, but are talented.With that said I agree this is the year they must put up or shut. My gut says they will be a strong team and win class C
P'Ville lost to ardsley because they were poorly coached. He did not have them ready. Awful job.
it had nothing to do with the coaching, we plain sucked and didnt deserve to win, he put us where we needed to be and we didnt perform. we practiced great that week and then we choked. we have to prove it this year and we will be ready an i can gaurantee that.
Just maybe we should be giving some credit to the Ardsley team here…
They won over 30 games in their first 2 varsity seasons and although alot of their games were against creampuffs they also beat the likes of Iona Prep, Ossining and Bronxville…just saying that it wans't a fluke
Hey this is on Erik … sounds like he's one of those guys that just points the finger when things go wrong …. first give the other team credit. And at times kids will have bad games regardless of the coaching…(even your kid) You guys did put up a good team so it is what it is … hence the saying wait till next year. P.S when they won the games they won did you say " must be the coaching"