High school football is back: Here's what you need to know for 2022

Summer may linger for a few more weeks, but rest assured football fans: Kickoff is almost here.

The high school football season began this week in the Hudson Valley with the first official practices of 2022. All teams should be back in action by Monday at the latest as they prepare for opening night in early September.

Here's what you need to know about the start of preseason camp:

There was no universal opening day

Unlike most seasons, there will be a staggered start for Hudson Valley programs. Teams in the Catholic High School Football League (CHSFL) began practice on Wednesday, but it isn't uncommon for those teams to start on a different day than public and private schools. However, while this year's official opening day for schools in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) was Saturday, dozens of Hudson Valley teams opted to wait until Monday. That group included reigning Class AA state champion Carmel and fellow Section 1 champs Somers, Pleasantville and Tuckahoe and Section 9 Class AA winner Newburgh.

With the NYSPHSAA's rule that prohibits practice on seven straight days, several coaches cited a desire to remain on a traditional Monday-Saturday practice schedule.

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Week Zero is here to stay

Starting practice two days earlier was a benefit to some schools that scheduled games for Sept. 2 or 3, referred to as "Week Zero." It's an optional week to schedule an additional game, which was first permitted by the NYSPHSAA last season.

There were only a handful of games involving Sections 1 and 9 last September, but more coaches have opted to take advantage this season.

So far, 30 Section 1 teams and 21 Section 9 teams are slated to play that weekend, which falls before Labor Day. The result is several cross-section matchups, highlighted by games between past state-playoff foes, like New Rochelle-Newburgh and Rye-Cornwall.

The contests will be played in lieu of preseason scrimmages, which have been played prior to Labor Day for years. However, teams throughout the Hudson Valley have opted to scrimmage rather than schedule the additional game.

Preparations are back to pre-COVID form

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, the football season was nearly six months away. However, the impact was felt for more than two years. Preseason workouts, summer team camps and 7-on-7 tournaments disappeared and the typical summer schedule was significantly altered last year as well. In addition to lingering COVID protocols, the majority of schools had just squeezed their delayed fall 2020 seasons into a March/April of 2021 window.

With so many changes, this was teams' first full offseason in three years. The last offseason with team workouts, passing tournaments and college recruiting camps was in 2019.

Coaches are creatures of habit, but they rightfully expect the offseason to have a positive effect on the level of play and roster numbers going forward.

Expected contenders to emerge, old and new

Iona Prep, last year's city and state Catholic champ, finished as the top-ranked Class AA team in the state. Expect the Gaels to open in that spot as well. They were recently ranked 74th in the nation by High School Football America after finishing 101st last fall. No other New York teams are ranked in the Top 300.

Rival Stepinac and Section 1's reigning Class A champ Somers were the only other Hudson Valley teams named honorable mention by the outlet. In fact, Somers was the only public school in the NYSPHSAA so honored. Last year's state runner-up, the Tuskers bring back several important pieces and appear poised to contend in Section 1 and again in the state.

Other returning stalwarts offer a mixed bag of expectations for 2022. Carmel's deep, senior-laden state championship team was hit hard by graduation, as was fellow Section 1 champ Dobbs Ferry in Class C. And all four of Section 9's champs — Newburgh, Minisink Valley, Port Jervis and O'Neill — must replace their standout starting quarterbacks.

Like Somers, Section 1 winners Pleasantville (Class B) and Tuckahoe (Class D) appear armed to challenge again. Arlington, which was a two-time victim to Carmel's dominance and lost to Newburgh as a state-playoff wild card, might be Section 1's Class AA team to beat.

In Section 9, Monroe-Woodbury (Class AA) and Cornwall (Class A) enter the season with heightened hopes. Cornwall was upset by Minisink in the Class A final last year, bringing an end to its record nine-year streak of state-playoff appearances.

Looking ahead

The first games will be played on Sept. 2-3, but it won't be until Sept. 9-10 that everyone is in action. A seven or eight-week regular season will determine playoff seedings and sectional championship will be decided Nov. 11-12.

All five Section 1 games will be hosted Nov. 11-12 and will return to Mahopac High School after being played last year at Arlington. The Section 9 finals will be split among three sites: The Class A game is at Goshen and Class B at O'Neill on Nov. 11, and two games (Class AA and C) will follow Nov. 12 at Newburgh Free Academy.

Winners will advance to the state tournament, which is scheduled to conclude on Dec. 2 and 4 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. While Section 1 teams filled at-large berths last fall, this year's at-large teams will be the Section 5 runner-up.

Josh Thomson is the Sports Editor for The Journal News, Poughkeepsie Journal and Middletown Times Herald-Record. He can be reached by e-mail at jthomson@lohud.com, on Twitter at @lohudinsider, and on Instagram at @lohudinsider.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Hudson Valley HS football: Information to start the 2022 season