So now what?
-
- May
- 9
As the surprising (but maybe not shocking) Rye upset 9-8 overtime win over John Jay sets in, we can begin to consider what this means going forward.
Sam Fulmer, center, had a big day for Rye yesterday. (Photo by Frank Becerra Jr./The Journal News)
As blog poster “Syracuse” pointed out, Rye might actually be the biggest favorite to win its respective sectional title. Certainly an interesting question.
Class A: Rye beating John Jay doesn’t really shed any light on Class A, though it does make Yorktown’s less-than-stellar 6-3 win over Rye seem a little better. Anyway, that was more than a month ago and it really doesn’t have much impact at this point. We’re still looking at Yorktown in the final almost for sure against any number of possibilities, the most obvoius being Lakeland/Panas. The team that emerges is going to have a very tough time getting by Niskayuna and then Long Island.
Class B: John Jay…perhaps the expecations were too much, but I STILL think this is Section 1’s best hope for a state title, and here’s why: At its best, this is the best team. It has the most high-end players that have some experience working their way through a state tournament.
Clearly, consistency is an issue, and at this point, the 2008 Indians don’t approach the 2007 team. But ultimately, as good and consistent as John Jay was last season, the first thing that will always come to mind was its win over Huntington, and this year’s team should have a similiar opportunity, even if it won’t be against the No. 1 team in the nation. That said, the possibilty of John Jay being upset by the likes of Brewster doesn’t seem absolutely inconceivable at this point.
John Jay can’t have a magical “everything went perfect from start to finish” type of season, but it can still achieve the ultimate goal of a state title. I’m not counting the Indians out.
Class C: No one would have even thought of Rye as a state championship contender prior to yesterday. Basically, Rye was going along the same path it had the last few years. Win the Section 1 title, lose to Long Island. Yesterday’s win obviously changed expectations. If Rye can beat John Jay, it can beat anyone. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be the favorite in a game against likely state semifinal opponent Manhasset, a team that also beat John Jay. It just means the game shouldn’t be viewed as a mismatch. I think yesteday’s game should make everyone reevaluate Rye’s ceiling.
This entry was posted
on Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 2:46 pm by jgold.
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I think you may be hating a little bit too much on rye: "No one would even have thought of Rye as a state championship contender prior to yesterday." I think there was certainly some talk that Rye could compete last year, I mean it was a 2-1 game at halftime of their state semi-final. They ended up losing 4-2 to Shoreham, who then went out and smoked Corning East in the final.
Surely not many people would look at Rye as a "favorite" to win a state championship, but I think there performance, at least in last year's state semi, would be able to convince some people that it was plausible that Rye could win. I understand that you have the artistic license to employ hyperboles, but let's try to limit this "hating" on Rye. This win has been a long time coming.
What he meant by.."no one would even have thought of Rye as a state championship contender prior to yesterday" was that no one expected them to excel in this years state playoffs, he didn't mean last years game against Shoreham. He was just saying that before the j game, state championship seemed harder to accomplish, especially after the 3 ot game with a bad hen hud team. Now that they beat jay they have a better chance for that championship. So there really was no hating on rye there!
Hopefully JJ will sharpen up and show a more determination going forward. Great intensity showed by Rye. They get full credit for a great win.
The future, however, does not look too bleak for Jay… their JV is undefeated in the section with only 14 goals scored against them so far this season by their in-section opponents(including a shut-out of Rye).
The breaking of the sectional streak for Jay's varsity is not the beginning of the end. It's what happens when coaches like the Dooleys build a strong program- better competition in the section so streaks like Yorktown used to have aren't possible going forward.
That's it JGold, my boy, showing proper love.
I not only said Rye should be looked at as the biggest lock to win its section, I also think they have a better chance than anything Classes A and B have to win some serious hardware, as in a state title:
Here's why, and most of it most of us already know:
Class A: Yorktown should win the section. If they don't, I'm climbing under a rock until next March. A potential matchup with Niskayuna is very nerve-wracking because here's a team that plays DEFENSE, like you read about. However, because the jury is still out on what John Jay is this season, I can't look at Nisky's 9-5 win over them as proof Yorktown will lose. I think Yorktown can beat John Jay by four goals. I may be in the minority, but after Thursday nothing is out of bounds. OK, so say Town gets by Nisky, they then have to deal with the program's biggest Achilles heel since state tourney play started in 1980 or so—Ward Melville or some facsimile of at Hofstra. We all know how this usually goes. If it's not Melville, it will probably be West Islip, which is basically the same thing as playing Melville. I'm sorry but Town never matches up against Class A Long Island powers. OK, say Town somehow gets by Long Island, they'd have a better than average shot at winning it all because West Genny is way down and no one from outside Section 3 has ever won a state title. Canandaigua is undefeated. Orchard Park is a staple upstate. I guess we'll cross that bridge if and when it's necessary.
Class B: Earlier this season I thought John Jay would shock everyone but themselves by winning their first state title with a team that isn't as good as last year's team, which should have won a state title. But all along Jay has not been impressive this season. Whether it was the loss to St. Anthony's, the loss to Manhasset, the loss to Nisky or the loss to Rye, I just thought for sure they'd win at least two of those games. People point at Yorktown and raise their eyebrows because they went 2-3 against national powers (with traditional power Wilton tomorrow), but Jay 2-4 against elite teams (and I'm giving them Duxbury now because they need some help on their resume). Jay-Brewster will be a great game and if they win (which I think they should) they'll handle depth-less Section 2. But then there's Long Island in the semis, which in Class B has dealt Section I brutal losses in past years by relative unknown programs. Bethpage, South Side, Wantagh … all made a name for themselves by beating Town at Hofstra. Jay could be in for something similar if Rocky Point is as good as everyone says. If it's not Rocky Point, bet on Garden City, Lynboork or tomorrow's opponent, Comeswogue, a program which also beat Yorktown when the Huskers were in Class B and has won two state titles of its own (1998, 2002). Jay wins on Long Island, though, they'll win it all because I can't imagine them losing to a Jamesville-Dewitt again or a Carthage, which for all the Powells they spit out, has never won a state title. I just don't see Jay getting off the Island.
Class C: Rye's likely opponent at Hofstra would be Manhasset. Does anyone at this point not see the Garnets hanging with or forcing 'Sett to play from behind all game? I don't see Manhasset losing to Mt. Sinai, but you can bet good money on an epic should Manhasset play Cold Spring Harbor again, what with what's gone down between those teams over the last few years. Either way, regardless of the opponent, Rye would go into any game it plays at Hofstra as an even-money bet in my opinion. That's a lot more than Yorktown or Jay can say. Should Rye get to the state finals, you're talking about Lafayette, the upstate Class C perennial power, Corning East (losses to Canandaigua, John Jay and Orchard Park) or, perhaps, Homer, which has just one loss this season, 17-5 to JD midway through the season. I can totally see Rye playing Lafayette for all the marbles. Whether they will win is anyone's guess because it's not like we're all inundated with Lafayette highlights on lohud.com or the North County News or what have you.
Again, I'm not saying Rye will win a state title, but I do believe the road to that Saturday at Hofstra is less filled with landmines for them than for Yorktown, Brewster or John Jay.
Regardless, if Rye does get there, or any Section I team for that matter, we all need to put our allegiances aside and root like hell for our area. Because, as one poster put it quite well the other day, to become a section that wins more than the occasional state championship, we need a stable full of great teams. We're getting there. We really are.
And if it's not your team there in June, make them your team for a day.
Syracuse
Were you the one who argued that no one cares about any team but their own? Might not have been you but I thought you took the position that no Jay fan would ever support Town or vise-versa. I happen to agree fully with the end of your post but am wondering if you have changed your tune.
I said fans may often say all the right things, like how sportsmanship takes precedent over everything else, just to sound politically correct. Ultimately, though, they want their team to win. They just don't want to admit that winning is the most important thing.
I'm a reactionary poster, not an instigator. If someone insults me or my team I'm going to respond in kind. I will not, however, start a fight just because this blog gives me license to.
The whole Jay-Town issue earlier this season was more a case of me getting hot under the collar and saying some things I probably shouldn't have. Not that I don't stand completely behind what I said, I just probably should have kept it to myself.
Truth is, if Jay wins or does well, great. Same with Rye. Same with L/P. Same with any team in our section, but at the end of the day I'll be rooting for Yorktown to smoke them at any cost. I never once said I didn't want to see Jay win a state title. I said on more than one occasion this spring I had a feeling they had a good shot because so many were counting them out (that, of course, was before they lost to Nisky and Rye).
When you get to states, all the rivalry talk between Section I teams should go out the window. I, for one, will be completely in support of whomever is still standing come June at Hofstra.
Thanks. I agree.
State Quarters-place?
Could someone help me out please? Confused about whether in Kingston or not? something to do with whether Sec 9 or Sect 1 involved?
Thanx
SLacrosse, link to the B championship bracket here—>
http://brackets.ihigh.com/scripts-bracketmaker/tmenu.cfm?tid=260923&tclass=
Joe – predictions for today's games?
Looks like the first round is at Kingston, for the second round (quarterfinal), Sec 2 (first round bye) plays at the winner of the first round Sec 1 vs Sec 9 game. So, if our Sec 1 teams win the first round, they will play the quarterfinal at home. The semis and final are at Hofstra. Link is here——>
http://brackets.ihigh.com/scripts-bracketmaker/tmenu.cfm?tid=260923&tclass=
Joe – predictions for today''s games? Big games at Jay and Town.
Insider – I like both Ytown and JJ to win. Ytown more so because Wilton's resume is not as strong as Comsewogue.
to syarcuse and others i agree that once teams get out of the sectional playoffs everyone should be cheering for eachother. I remember when jj beat huntington last year the whole rye team cheering for jj on the sideline,even after they were beaten 11-1 earlier that year. the win ended up motivating rye to play shoreham very tough to an unexpected 4-2 loss right after.