Championship weekend? See which HS soccer, football teams, runners may claim titles

Throughout the team, extending to the school, and even into the community, there is a perceptible buzz. A feeling of pride comes with theirs being one of the few scholastic teams still competing while brown, brittle leaves outline the fields.

"Going into this weekend," Beacon High School boys soccer standout Andre Alzate said, "we're the most excited we've been all year. But, also the most anxious."

That, likely, is a common feeling among the athletes preparing now for championship games and tournaments this weekend. As the fall sports season nears its conclusion and only the elite teams and competitors remain, several local teens are within reach of goals they've dreamt of ― and worked for ― most of their lives.

Three area football teams will vie for section titles, while four soccer teams and 32 cross country runners head out of town to contend for state championships.

"Going to states means so much to me," said Isabella Colabatistto, an Our Lady of Lourdes senior who is among the better distance runners in this region. "It's an amazing feeling to make it this far."

It would, of course, be an even more amazing feeling to return home with a medal.

The Beacon, Lourdes and Haldane boys soccer teams are among the final four in their respective school-size classifications, as is the Millbrook girls soccer team. Those squads will play in semifinals on Saturday, with victories advancing them to the state final Sunday. The New Paltz, Lourdes and Spackenkill football teams each will compete for a Section 9 championship Friday morning.

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Colabatistto and Roy C. Ketcham schoolmates Connor Hitt and Abigail Kowalczyk are among the headliners in the state cross country championships, which begin 10 a.m. at Vernon Verona Sherrill High School, near Syracuse.

Dutchess County, despite being a relatively small area, has produced a handful of state champions in recent memory. The Millbrook girls basketball and Spackenkill baseball teams won it all earlier this year.

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association groups teams geographically for competition. The local soccer and football teams still involved, excluding Haldane, belong to Section 9, which includes Ulster, Sullivan and Orange counties, and part of Dutchess. Haldane is a member of Section 1, which covers Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, and four schools in Dutchess.

The teams are also categorized based on school enrollment, with Class AA incorporating the largest schools, on down to Class D. To win a state title, a team must emerge as the section champion in its class, then defeat other champions from neighboring regions to reach the final four.

Emily Grasseler helped lead Millbrook to the basketball title and she stars for the soccer team that now hopes to duplicate that feat.

"There are going to be some nerves and anxiousness, there's no way around that," the senior said of her experience on that big stage. "But your confidence comes from your preparation, knowing how much time and effort you've put in to earn the chance to be this position. You're confident because you've done everything you can to be ready."

'Make a name for ourselves'

Beacon already has made program history, reaching the state semifinals for the first time. And they've done it with improbable wins during a season in which a run like this seemed unbelievable.

The Bulldogs won their first section championship last fall and graduated a slew of stars, which made some observers believe the team would take a step back. Instead, they again conquered the section before stunning state-title favorites Vestal and Yorktown in the regionals to get here.

"I'm sure a lot of people didn't think we could get as far as we did last year, let alone to where we are now," said Alzate, a senior. "That was some of our biggest motivation coming in; we had a goal to make a name for ourselves."

Beacon faces Section 3's Christian Brothers Academy in a Class A state semifinal Saturday, 12:30 p.m. at Monroe-Woodbury High School. The winners, in each of these brackets, advance to the state championship game on Sunday.

The Lourdes boys soccer team upset top-ranked Briarcliff in a regional semifinal and now its confidence is "up in the clouds," goalkeeper Ned Van Loan said.

The Warriors, who left Section 1 for Section 9 this fall, reached the state semifinals for the first time since 2002 and are a serious contender for the Class B title. They play Section 6's Lewiston-Porter on Saturday, 11:15 a.m. at Goshen High School.

Haldane, which won its first Section 1 title since 2013, is in pursuit of its first state crown. The Blue Devils face Section 5's Avon in the Class C semifinal Saturday, 4:45 p.m. at Goshen High School.

The Millbrook girls soccer team also is making its first state semifinals appearance, enjoying a sterling season after years of playoff heartbreaks. The Blazers face Section 2's Waterford-Halfmoon in a Class C semifinal Saturday, 10 a.m. at Cortland High School.

"Having been there before and knowing what it's like to win it all, you want that feeling again," said Bosan, who is one of four Blazers who also was part of the state championship basketball team.

In the running...

Among the locals who secured berths to the cross country state championships are established stars like Arlington's Ethan Green, who dominated throughout the season, and those on the rise like Pine Plains freshman Violet Bliss, whose time and second-place finish in the Section 9 Class D tournament turned heads.

Matt Ferreri (Lourdes), Liam Boyd (Red Hook), Henry Reinke (Beacon), Brian Brutting (Arlington) and Amanda Intrieri (Webutuck) are among the familiar names.

"Preparation this week has been an equal number of hard workouts and (light) days," Colabatistto said. "The hard days are extremely crucial to performing well, but it's also important to rest a few days before a race."

High-stakes rematches

New Paltz has been, perhaps, the biggest surprise team in Section 9 football. The program was reestablished last fall after the district withdrew from the previous football season amid the pandemic, but the rebuild was rapid.

The Huguenots have surged down the stretch, highlighted by an upset of previously undefeated Port Jervis last month. That, coincidentally, is the team they'll face in the Class B section final Friday, 10 a.m. at James I. O'Neill High School. Underdog New Paltz is after its first section title since 2016, and Port Jervis is looking for a fourth straight championship.

Spackenkill, seeking to defend its eight-man football championship, will host Tri-Valley in that final at 10 a.m. Friday. The Spartans beat Tri-Valley earlier this season.

Lourdes announced itself emphatically in its inaugural season in Section 9, crushing each of its opponents, except for a narrow, nail-biting loss to Cornwall in September. Those powerhouses will have their rematch in the Class A section final Friday, 10 a.m. at Goshen High School.

"It means everything to us," Lourdes lineman Grant Hold said of competing for a title. "I'm following in the footsteps of my dad and brother, who played football, and there wouldn't be a better way to honor them than by winning a championship. This is what we play for."

Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4

This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Beacon, Lourdes, Millbrook soccer teams among states hopefuls