May 30 - June 5, 2017 www.TheExaminerNews.com 21

May 30-June 5, 2017 SMALL NEWS IS BIG NEWS SPORTS SECTION

Members of the Lakeland/Panas boys’ lacrosse team and Lakeland softball team were on top of the mountain last week, each claiming a Section 1 championship and hoisting the hardware. Third-seeded Lakeland crushed No.5 Eastchester, 15-5, to win the Class B softball crown, their first championship since 1984, at North Rockland High School Saturday. The top-seeded Rebel lacrosse program repeated as Section 1 Class A champions in Thursday’s 6-4 title triumph of Wappingers, what was L/P’s third sectional title in four years... see Boys’ Lax, Softball Notebooks

RAY GALLAGHER/RICK KUPERBERG PHOTOS (PLEASE VISIT WWW.HVSP.PHOTOS FOR MORE)

Doubling Down!Lakeland/Panas Boys’ Lax, Lakeland Softball Hit Section 1 Jackpots

By Ray GallagherExaminer Sports Editor@Directrays

If it weren’t for third-year Lakeland/Panas G Kevin Dyckman, there’s no telling what the outcome might have been. Sure, the top-seeded Rebels (16-3) prevailed and advanced to the NYS Class A tournament via a 6-4 win over No.4 Wappingers (15-4) in the finals of the Section 1 tournament behind four goals from senior Offensive MVP Tim Fallo.

But it was Dyckman, the Defensive MVP, who likely determined the outcome of the game by making four pivotal first-quarter saves before the Rebels ever got a shot on goal in a whirlwind session that signaled the upstart Warriors were here from start to finish in their initial title venture.

“(Wappingers) Coach (Brian) Kuczma is probably the best coach in the league and we knew, based on our first game and the level of improvement, that we were in for a game from start to finish, but, yeah, Kevin kept us in the game until we got settled in,” said Lakeland/Panas Coach Jim Lindsay, upon winning the Rebels second-straight title, third in four seasons and fourth since 2010. “Kevin kind of let us get into the flow of the game a little bit. He's been doing that for three years for me, so that's the luxury of having a senior goalie with his ability. He let us stem that run they had. We were able to settle in and play pretty good defense in front of him after that. But without a doubt, Kevin bailed us out early on."

Once the Rebels settled in, Fallo took over and had a championship impact similar to his brother, Will, who cranked the game-winning overtime tally in the Rebels’ 8-7 upset of Yorktown in 2010.

“The Fallo boys are gamers," Lindsay said. "They're around sports all the time, the sons of a coach, three-year starter for me like his brother, so it's not the first time he's seen this kind of pressure, so it's

a luxury to have these seniors who have been here before. There's been a lot of pressure on these guys, and we responded in the sectionals. I'm really proud of this group because today we didn't really have it on the offensive end of the field, and we had to find another way to win and we did. We didn't do that in our losses to John Jay, Rye and Yorktown, but when it mattered most we did. It's the culmination of a lot of people doing a lot of hard work, including the youth guys, to develop the program. We've drawn the interest and gotten the kids back into the program, but it's these kids: They've worked their butts off and do everything I ask them to do. It's very rewarding."

State-ranked (No.15) Lakeland/Panas (16-3), which got two assists from LSM Griffin Shiland and one goal apiece from JoJo Janavey and Matt Hodges, advanced to the regional semifinals where they will face Section 9's Monroe-Woodbury on Wednesday, May 31, at Middletown High

School (4:00 p.m.).The offense, which

was afforded multiple possessions on account of stellar faceoff play from sophomore middie TJ Bryant, will need to up the ante, but Fallo provided enough to get past an upstart Wappingers club that could be here to stay under Kuczma, who guided Putnam Valley to three sectional titles in its heyday.

"They had some athletes, some physical

defensive players who made it hard to turn and go at the goal, but we found a way to get by them," Fallo said. "We made some good decisions and finished. The lead was huge because we knew they were playing with a lot of confidence. Kevin was great, couple of those saves in close were huge and kept us in the game.

"This is awesome," Fallo said when asked to compare his four goals with his brother's clutch tally. "I saw him get that huge goal in a sectional championship win over Yorktown, so that was goal ever since, so to end up this way is just amazing. Coach has told us time and time again that we want to be at the top every year, and having repeated as champions is a good start to that. This is our first step for bigger and better things ahead."

If Dyckman (11 saves) can play like he

did, and the Rebels can get their offense into the rhythm it was in against Mamaroneck and Mahopac, Lakeland/Panas should find its way to Mohonasen High School to face the Section 2 champion – possibly state-ranked (No.8) Shaker or No.21 Shen’ – on June 3rd (10:00 a.m.) for the right to square off with the Long Island champion on June 7th at SUNY Albany (4:00 p.m.).

"The defense played well in front of me, they did their job," a humble Dyckman said. "They let me get a look at the shots to make the saves, and I just try to do my best to make the saves that I can to keep our team in the game. We knew they were going to come out and play hard, so we knew it was going to be a tough game going in. This is just an amazing feeling to come out here and repeat. It's the best feeling I can ever get. Coming from where we were my sophomore year when we struggled really bad, and to be here now is amazing. But we’re not done yet and that’s the focus now, the next round.”

Having repeated as section champs and having locked up three of the last four, a resurgent bunch of Rebels are poised to get back to the NYS semis.

"Last year's title belonged more to the seniors, so it was their title, but to get back here and do it as a senior is huge," L/P attackman Sean Makar said. "It's been the goal since November, so to win back-to-back, there's no better feeling than that. Wappingers gave us a game and Kevin kept us in, and we’re moving on."

Only once time in history has four-time sectional champion Lakeland or nine-time sectional champion Lakeland/Panas, advanced past the Long Island champs to reach the NYS finals, circa 1991, the Ric Beardsley era… the standard-setting, golden epoch of Section 1 lax.

May 30 - June 5, 2017 22 The Northern Westchester Examiner

Class A Boys’ Lax NotebookSports

RAY GALLAGHER PHOTOS

Lakeland senior Tim Fallo (11) braces for hug from Griffin Shiland after Fallo scored four goals in Rebels’ Class A title win.

No.1 Lakeland/Panas Repeats, Wins 3rd title in 4 YearsLike His Brother Did in 2010, Fallo Clutch in Class A Title Tilt vs. Wappingers

Lakeland-Panas players get ready to bum-rush captain Griffin Shiland as he hoists the Section 1 Class A hardware last Thursday.

Rebel A Sean Makar finds a crease in Wappingers defense for shot on goal in L-P’s 6-4 Class A title win Thursday.

May 30 - June 5, 2017www.TheExaminerNews.com 23

Class B LAX NotebookSports

Cornhuskers Crowned Section 1 Champs for 40th Time in HistoryCavallo, Embury Expose No.2 John Jay D in No.1 Yorktown’s Title Defense

RAY

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Yorktown’s Jamison Embury celebrates one of four goals he would score in Huskers 14-6 championship rout of John Jay last Friday at Mahopac High.

By Ray GallagherExaminer Sports Editor@Directrays

Every time John Jay was successful in preventing a powerful inside roll by Yorktown senior A Justin Cavallo, which was rare, junior teammate Jamison Embury’s dashing speed burned John Jay. The Indians had little success containing either last Friday at Mahopac High School where it quickly developed into the Cavallo (5G) and Embury (4G) show as the dynamic duo’s combination of

strength and speed amassed nine goals in the top-seeded Huskers’ 14-6 Section 1 Class B championship win over No.2 John Jay; what was Yorktown’s 40th title overall and seventh-straight sectional crown.

With Husker Offensive MVP Anthony Altimari (1G) dominating the X (21

of 24 faceoff wins) and affording the Huskers possession, and Defensive MVP G Louis Ragusa (8 saves) getting it done between the pipes, Yorktown’s vintage team-wide effort enabled the state-ranked (No.2) Huskers (14-4) to advance to the NYSPHSAA Class B regionals against Section 9 champion Minisink Valley at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Middletown High School. The Huskers fully expect to survive and advance to Mohonasen High School for a June 3rd playdate with the Section 2 champion – possibly No.4 Nisky or No.12 Ballston Spa -- at 12:30 p.m. for the right to square off with the Long Island champion on June 7th at SUNY Albany (6:30 p.m.).

Yorktown Coach Sean Carney, in his first season as head coach, figured that Cavallo would be a tough matchup for state-ranked (No.7) John Jay (13-6), which was without the services of Duke-bound D Braden Burke, the Indians’ best all-round player, who suffered a torn ACL in the semifinals.

“Justin’s a big dude,” senior captain Kyle Casey (2G, 3A) said after his dominant effort. “With Braden Burke out, we knew it would be a mismatch no matter who they put on him. We used our size and strength to our advantage.”

It was more than just unfair, it was a mismatch the Huskers preyed upon.

“I don’t know, I’ve just been going hard at it in practice every day,” Cavallo said when pressed for comment about his career performance. “I knew this could be my last game and I didn’t want it to end here, so I just had to give it my all and that was my all. I guess I did a good job with that. We knew we had to bring our A-game against these guys and we knew we couldn’t afford a slow start. This one’s great, being a senior and all and just

being able to win it for this town. It’s just awesome.”

Using mostly an inside roll, the Albany-bound Cavallo put on a clinic, lowering his shoulder and the boom in one fell swoop. Jay was at his mercy.

“He’s a four-year player who has gotten better and better each season,” Coach Carney said. “I think Burke usually covers him when he’s playing, so I’m sure they missed having him, but when Justin plays like that he’s tough to stop. Last year, part of our issue, even though we got to state finals, was beating guys one-on-one, and that issue isn’t there really now. We have matchups all over the field we like. We can invert you, we can attack and dodge from the wings, we’re setting picks all over place, there’s lot of things we can hit you with and if you can do all those things on offense things get easier and easier.”

After unranked Minisink Valley, which should be a tune-up for the Huskers, there’s nothing easy on the horizon, according to Carney, but an eighth NYS title is the one and only goal.

“There’s a lot of good teams out there,” Carney said of the state tournament. “We have players at every level across the field and that’s definitely what you want, but I’ve been watching these other teams we might play and they’re really good out on Long Island and upstate, but the boys think we can do this, that’s for sure. There’s definitely a drive for eight and the boys believe we can get that state championship. It’s right there in front of them.

“The whole town buys in,” Carney said

of the 40 sectional titles. “The school and the backing we get from everyone is phenomenal. I’ve talked with other Section 1 coaches, and I tell them as soon as football season’s over it lacrosse season eight-nine months out of the year no matter what; whether it’s 8-9 o’clock in November and December or it’s 100 degrees in August, the commitment is there. People always say, ‘Well, it’s Yorktown’ but they don’t completely understand what it takes: It’s a lifestyle, and it’s my privilege to be part of it.”

Shane Dahlke and Hunter Embury each added a goal for the Huskers, who trailed 3-2 but had a 6-3 lead and momentum at the half, after getting two goals from Casey and one from Hunter Embury in a game-turning span of three minutes. The lead expanded to 8-3 when Cavallo sniped again in the third. That cushion remained the rest of the way, and Jay, which rarely had possession, was simply overmatched and fell to 1-13 in championship matches against Yorktown.

“They’re just very good,” said Jay boss Tim Schurr, a former Yorktown great himself, who’s Indians have now lost 15 games in a row to rival Yorktown. “They won the faceoffs, so they had the ball most

of the time. They’re excellent. Losing Braden, our best player, was tricky, but we had other guys on the field and we could have done a little better, I think. More than anything: It just seems to me that they have their best athletes playing lacrosse. Everyone’s playing and they have a great pool of athletes to choose from and they’re very talented.”

Deep and talented, indeed, and further driven than any other boys’ program in Section 1 history… Make no mistake: Yorktown lacrosse is a living, breathing dynasty.

Yorktown’s Hunter (23) and Jamison Embury (3), along with Justin Cavallo, ham it up after winning Section 1 Class B title.

Yorktown players rush goalie Louis Ragusa, the game’s Defensive MVP, after Huskers won 7th-straight Section 1 Class B crown in 14-6 win over John Jay.

Yorktown captains Dom Cioffi, Jose Boyer, Kyle Casey, Brett Makar and Justin Cavallo are first to hoist hardware after 14-6 Section 1 Class B title win over John Jay.

By Tony Pinciaro & Ray GallagherThe Yorktown varsity girls’

lacrosse team was going through an uncharacteristic period late in the season.

Senior Rilea Fusco noted the Cornhuskers had a five-game losing streak. Now a losing streak for Yorktown girls’ lacrosse usually constitutes one game, so anything exceeding that is as rare as a lunar eclipse.

Fusco knew the team was better than what that five-game stretch showed. A fun-filled, but focused day at practice set Yorktown straight and the Cornhuskers went on a roll.

It culminated with Yorktown defeating Somers, 9-4 in the Section 1 Class B Girls’ Lacrosse Championship last Thursday, giving the Cornhuskers their second consecutive sectional title, eighth under Coach Ellen Mager and 11th overall.

Yorktown advances to the regional final, 10 a.m., Saturday, June 3, at Suffern Middle School where it will face the winner of Warwick (Section 9)-Niskayuna (Section 2). A victory would send Yorktown to the state Final 4 at SUNY-Cortland, June 9-10.

“We were trying to think of everything that was not working,” Fusco explained. “We learned that people were scared to make mistakes and this wasn’t allowing ourselves to get better.”

Fusco explained that Yorktown coach Ellen Mager had an idea. The beginning of the practice would be fun and allow the girls to relax as Mager split the varsity into

two teams.“It was one of our most intense

practices,” Fusco said. “We were playing better and getting better within the drills, but we were having fun. That showed us that we could play like this all the time.”

Yorktown rolled through its first two sectional opponents before meeting Somers for the fourth consecutive year in the title game. After Somers opened

the scoring, Yorktown took control.

“We went out really hard against Somers and after they got the first goal it made us a little angry,” said the Syracuse-bound Fusco, who finished with three goals and two assists. “We kept trying to do what we could to get a cushion. Somers is a great team we knew from the previous three years that the game is always close.”

Defensively, Yorktown was outstanding, limiting Somers’ high-octane offense to four goals and none by its leading scorer, Loyola-bound Livy Rosenzweig.

Yorktown achieved the first part of its goal and will now look to author a different ending to its 2016 season. Last year, Yorktown was defeated in the state-title game.

“Winning the second sectional title is an amazing feeling,” Fusco said. “Last year, we wanted to win so badly. We knew this year we just wanted to experience that again and show the younger girls what it felt like, to us, to get the first one. Back-to-back sectional titles makes me happy because the first two years we lost to Somers.”

Fusco would also like the feeling her older brother, Austin, experienced in 2014 when the Yorktown boys’ lacrosse team won the state title.

“To watch Austin win it, especially with that group with such great chemistry, it made me to want it so badly,” Fusco

said. “There is no better feeling than completing your season with a win and getting the ring. Also, losing last year puts a little chip on our shoulder to get back there and finish the job. But, our main focus is on Saturday.”

Ellen O'Callaghan, Yorktown’s junior midfielder, had a goal and an assist, but more importantly she helped contain the Rosensweig, the section’s most lethal scorer, at the other end.

Huskers Kelsey McDonnell and Ciara Frawley both found the back of the net while G Lexi DeBene (four saves) had a

May 30 - June 5, 201724 The Northern Westchester Examiner

Girls LAX NotebookSports

continued on page 26

Yorktown Defeats Somers, 9-4, Huskers Repeat as Section 1 Champs

Players and coaches of the Yorktown girls lax team pose with medals and Section 1 championship plaque after defeating Somers 9-4 last Thursday at ‘The Murph’.

RICK KUPERBERG/BOB CASTNER PHOTOS

Yorktown’s Katie Vogel (L) and Somers’ Livy Rosenzweig get after a loose ball in Huskers’ Section 1 Class B title win over Tuskers.

Somers’ Teagan Lucchese cranks shot on Yorktown G Lexi Delbene in Huskers’ Class B championship win over Tuskers last Thursday.

Putnam Valley’s Madelyn Deegan makes her move for Tigers in Class D championship loss to Bronxville.

Softball NotebookSportsMay 30 - June 5, 2017www.TheExaminerNews.com 25

continued on page 26

One Town, Two Champions: Lakeland, Yorktown CrownedBy Tony Pinciaro

One town has produced two Section 1 softball champions, and that town is Yorktown where both sides of the track – Class A Lakeland and Class AA Yorktown -- were crowned.

Pitcher Colleen Walsh was upset she had to miss the pre-season Lakeland varsity softball meeting because she was in the midst of her varsity basketball season.

When Walsh alerted Lakeland co-coach Steve Fallo, she was curious to know what was going to be discussed.

“Coach Fallo told me, ‘Colleen, we’re going to talk about winning the sectional title,’” Walsh said.

One year ago, Lakeland lost a heartbreaker in the Section 1 Class A Softball Championship game to Pearl River. Walsh and her teammates had been waiting, anxiously, to get another chance in the final with a different finish.

This time, it was Lakeland that walked off the field with utter joy as the Hornets

overwhelmed Eastchester, 15-5, to win the Section 1 Class A title.

According to Lakeland co-coach Joe Chiara, this is the Hornets’ first sectional title since 1984. Lakeland advances to the regional semifinal, 7 p.m., Thursday, June 1, where it will play the Section 9 champion at Middletown High School. The winner advances to the regional final, Saturday, June 3 against Section 4 titlist, Maine-Endwell.

Lakeland took control of the title game early and never let up the intensity. The Hornets pounded out 15 hits, led by Cameron Lischinsky, who hit for the cycle among her five hits. She also had two RBI. Claire Fon collected three hits, including a grand slam home run, and drove in six runs.

When the final out was recorded, the pure enjoyment and jubilation that Lakeland had been holding in for a year came spilling out.

“It meant so much for us,” said Walsh, among the best to ever suit up at Lakeland. “We’ve been working so hard for this and we were so excited and happy for ourselves and the program. The hard work paid off.”

Lakeland may have won the sectional title when it beat rival Brewster, 4-3, in nine innings, in the semifinals. It was the third meeting between the two teams, who both reached the 20-win plateau. The teams split the regular-season set.

Lischinsky delivered the decisive hit, a run-scoring single to plate Amber Lopez in the top of the ninth inning.

“Going into the game we knew exactly how they were offensively, defensively and with their pitching,” Walsh said. “We were all very motivated and excited for the game.”

Considering the magnitude of the game, Walsh said she was not surprised it went extra innings because it was two excellent teams who were evenly-matched.

Even though it was Eastchester and not Pearl Rivver, who beat Lakeland in the 2016 final, it did not matter to the Hornets. They walked away with the ultimate sectional goal.

Joining Lakeland as a

sectional champion was YORKTOWN as the Cornhuskers defeated North Rockland, 4-1, to win the Section 1 Class AA title.

It was Yorktown’s first sectional championship since Cassie Reilly-Boccia was instrumental in leading the Cornhuskers to the 2008 crown.

Yorktown defeated North Rockland for the second time this season. The Cornhuskers and P Erica Salveggi blanked the Red Raiders, 4-0 during the regular season.

Yorktown will play the Section 9 champion in a regional semifinal, 3 p.m., Thursday, June 1, at Middletown High School. The winner moves into the regional final, Saturday, June 3, against Section 4 victor Binghamton.

“It means a lot because now we can have so many girls see what we have done and it can help rebuild the softball program,” senior Brittany Giordano said. “This was our goal, all winter, to get this sectional title. It’s an amazing feeling.”

Giordano pointed out that in preparation for the season, the team spent the winter working Reilly-Boccia, who was teammates with Yorktown Coach Ryan Iamurri at the University of Alabama.

“We worked so hard with Cassie over the winter and it was awesome to have her

watch us win it,” Giordano said.Yorktown rallied to outlast Clarkstown

South, 9-8, in eight innings, in the quarterfinals. The Cornhuskers then sent Mamaroneck home in the semifinals. The win was especially sweet for Yorktown, which had lost to Mamaroneck in the quarters last year.

“Actually, they’ve knocked us out the last few years so it was a great feeling,” said Giordano.

Even though Yorktown owned a regular-season victory over North Rockland, Giordano and her teammates fully expected a Red Raider team bent on exacting revenge. However, Salveggi would not allow it. In two games, Salveggi limited North Rockland’s offense to one run in 14 innings.

“Erica did a phenomenal job,” said Giordano, who will attend Post University (Ct.) in September and play softball.

Yorktown players revel in the Huskers’ 4-1 Class AA Section 1 championship win, the program’s first since 2008.

RICK KUPERBERG PHOTOS

Yorktown sophomore Julianne Strauss, 1 of 11 underclassmen on the Husker roster, celebrates a key run in Class AA title win over North Rockland.

Lakeland OF Hannah Matusick makes a heck of a grab in Hornets’ 15-5 Section 1 Class A title win over Eastchester.

Lakeland 2B Cameron Lischinsky slides head first for a run in 15-5 Section 1 Class A title win.

Yorktown junior P Erica Salveggi was twirling a no-hitter through five innings of Huskers’ 4-1 Section 1 Class AA championship win over North Rockland Saturday.

May 30 - June 5, 201726 The Northern Westchester Examiner

Softball NotebookSports

Yorktown Defeats Somers, 9-4, Huskers Repeat as Section 1 Champs

One Town, Two Champions: Lakeland, Yorktown Crowned

continued from page 24

continued from page 25

relatively easy day between the pipes.Hannah Tiso had two goals for Somers

while and Emma Kittredge and Katie Campbell each scored once.

SOMERS (12-7) reached its fourth straight Section 1 Class B title game with a 17-6 shellacking of Tappan Zee.

Teagan Lucchese, Rosenzweig and Hannah Tiso each had four goals and Sophia Fiorino added three goals.

“We had a solid performance, all-around, against Tappan Zee,” Somers’ coach Jaime Pryschlak said. “Winning the draw controls contributed to our overall success. Our defense played together as a whole and was on the same page helping to protect the goalie. Our key on attack was patience and after going down two goals in the beginning of the game we started playing patiently and just slowly started scoring goals to gain and maintain the lead.

  “Our sectional final game against Yorktown wasn't how we wanted our season to end,” she added, “but in competition there has to be a winning and losing team and unfortunately we were on the latter end. The girls fought hard until the end of the game and we had some opportunities that we couldn't capitalize on. I'm proud of the way the team fought

and after having an up and down season, was extremely proud that we made it back to the section final to compete.”

PUTNAM VALLEY defeated North Salem, 8-7 to earn a berth in the Section 1 Class D final, where it lost to perennial champ, Bronxville.

“We finished the season with a 16-4

record and I’m very proud of these girls and how the season went,” Putnam Valley coach Courtney Hyndman said. “We’re young and I feel like we’re only going to improve next season.”

In the five-goal, come-from-behind win over North Salem, junior Emma Rippon

scored the winning goal with 3:55 to play. Jessica Denike had two goals and two assists for the youthful Tigers, who reached their first sectional final since 2013, when PV was crowned Class C champs.

Now-legendary Yorktown Coach Ellen Mager shouts instructions in during her eighth championship win.

“When she was warming up, one of my teammates said, ‘Erica has it.’ Erica worked so hard this season and she really deserved that.”

Even though Brewster lost its epic semi-final game with Lakleand, coach Lisa Delzio had nothing but praise for her girls as they finished with a 20-2 record.

“Our girls battled the entire game,” Delzio said. “They are fighters, and certainly proved coming back twice to tie the game after being down. They had another phenomenal season and I am so proud of them. This will sting for a long time, but when that pains subsides, I want them to realize they had an incredible season to look back on and be proud of.”

Taylor Riccardi and Francesca Cioffi had run-scoring singles for Brewster and Cioffi brought home the third run with a single.

PUTNAM VALLEY had an excellent run – to the Section 1 Class B semifinals – behind eighth-grader Emily McKenna, who established herself as an excellent windmiller this season.

McKenna tossed a five-hitter and struck out 10 in the Tigers’ 9-2 quarterfinal win over Dobbs Ferry. The offense backed McKenna as senior Allie Dick doubled twice among her three hits and drove in three runs. Classmate Jessica Pierce had two hits and two RBI.

The victory sent Putnam Valley to the

sectional semifinals for the first time since 2011, said coach Rena Finsmith, where it took on top-seeded Rye Neck.

Rye Neck bested Putnam Valley, 4-3, as the Panthers scored the decisive run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Senior Emma Longden and freshmen Alex Waters and Keiko Waters had two hits apiece. Alex Waters drove in two runs and Longden had an RBI.

Despite the loss to Rye Neck, the 2017 season was another step in the continued progress of the Putnam Valley softball program.

“We jumped out to a fast start, starting the season 7-2,” Finsmith said.

“Unfortunately, we hit a few rough patches and entered the playoffs on a four-game losing streak. The 10 seniors on this team started this journey four years ago where they were used to losing seasons and only winning one or two games. The last two years we have made the playoffs, but were ousted in the quarterfinals. To make the semifinals for the first time since 2011 is a testament to the hard work and effort the girls put forth over the years to make Putnam Valley softball relevant again. While the semifinal game didn’t end with

the result we wanted, the girls held their head up high as they knew they had "left everything" on the field. As a coach, that is all I have ever asked of them which is to bring it every game for seven innings and don't ever give up. I am proud with the effort the girls had during our playoff run.”

“We may be losing many of our starters but our younger athletes Keiko Waters, Alex Waters, Sophia Lord, and Emily McKenna are going to be a core nucleus for us next year.”

Lakeland players mob Claire Fon (28) after her grand slam clinched the Hornets’ first sectional title since 1984.

Yorktown’s Rilea Fusco lets a shot fly on Somers G Jess Monaco in Huskers’ Class B title win over Tuskers.

Huskers Erica Salveggi, Brittany Giordano and Courtney Cardea are all smiles after winning Section 1 Class AA title Saturday.

Direct Rays

May 30 - June 5, 2017www.TheExaminerNews.com 27

Baseball NotebookSports

Mahopac, Put Valley, Lakeland, Croton Eliminated in SemisBy Ray GallagherExaminer Sports Editor@Directrays

Black Wednesday was cruel to the local baseball teams, as none were left standing after the Section 1 semifinals were concluded in Class AA, A and B. In one fell swoop, the baseball season concluded for four championship-bound hopefuls from the Northern Westchester/Putnam County region.

Still, it turned out to be a better-than-expected finish to what was a slow start from the local ball clubs.

CLASS AANo.9 MAHOPAC hung tough for six

inning at No. 5 White Plains, trailing 4-0 before the Tigers blew open a close one and went on to post an 8-0 win behind P Mike Attonito, who shoved six frames of shutout ball. The Indians, who were hoping for the first championship appearance since 2005, failed to bunch hits together, stroking five harmless singles. The Tigers (16-7) advanced to No. 10 Arlington in the championship game at Dutchess Stadium where the Admirals were crowned champions.

The Indians (15-8) advanced to the Final 4 after defeating No.16 Yorktown, 8-2, behind three hits, three runs and two RBI from SS Pat McGee, plus two hits, a run and three RBI from Anthony Simeone. The visiting Huskers had three costly errors and couldn’t muster much against starter Brian Murray, who pitched six innings of five-hit ball and allowed two earned.CLASS B

After surviving a rigorous, extra-inning battle with state-ranked (No.3) Briarcliff, CROTON-HARMON’s championship hopes were dashed in a 14-3 loss to Albertus Magnus, upon the conclusion of Tuesday’s suspended quarterfinal game, which was called due to darkness. Coach Eric Rosen’s No.9 Tigers (11-12) busted up the Class B bracket with an 11-inning,

5-4 quarterfinal win over the top-seeded Bears, but the momentum didn’t carry over against the fifth-seeded Falcons. P Chris Colombo (3 for 6, 3 RBI) stroked the game-winning homer in the top of the 11th and shut the door on the Bears with a 1-2-3 bottom half.

The Falcons (14-8) advanced to play No. 2 Edgemont at Dutchess Stadium where Magnus won its second title in three years.

Edgemont advanced via a 3-2 win over No.3 Putnam Valley, who mustered just three hits off ace Kevin Lee. Nick Ferraro and Andrew Salerno had an RBI apiece

for the improved Tigers (15-7), who saw starter Chris Crawford throw six solid innings in the loss.CLASS A

No.5 LAKELAND had its championship hopes dashed in a 9-3 semifinal loss to top-seeded Pearl River after defeating rival Walter Panas in the quarters, 4-3. The Hornets finished a strong season at 16-7. Dom Dean, Matt Tuite and Freddy Reichelt each knocked in run for the Hornets, who rallied for two runs in the bottom of the sixth and won behind seven solid frames from P Bryan Petriccione.

Mahopac 1B Matteo Avallone and SS Pat McGee get some air as Tom Krasniqi sails by in Indians’ 8-0 Class AA quarterfinal win over Yorktown.

Lakeland SS James Houlahan and Panas OF John Young await umpires call in Hornets’ 4-3 quarterfinal win over Panthers.

RAY GALLAGHER/RICK KUPERBERG PHOTOS

Yorktown A.D. Nardone Goes Out with Bang, Enter Mr. BarrettMahopac Mustn’t Waste Another Minute in Search for Grid Coach

Good luck to Rob Barrett, the newly-minted athletic director at Yorktown High. Talk about pressure; Barrett will be under it from the get-go as he inherits what is widely considered one of the finest athletic

programs in Section 1, where winning isn’t everything, it’s the

whole shebang, and the only option.On God’s green earth, there is pressure

to succeed everywhere, but Yorktown High may well represent Section 1’s upper crust better than any other school district in Section 1. Everybody buys in to one thing there: Winning! And that’s exactly what the Cornhuskers did last week, taking aim at four Section 1 championships and hitting the target an unmatched four times; hoisting the Class B hardware in boys’ and girls’ lacrosse, which we’ve come to expect, the AA title in softball (its first since 2008) and serving notice on the tennis court behind Peter

Wei. In my three decades along the local beat, I can’t recall anything quite like it.

This is what Mr. Barrett walks in to as he departs Port Chester and enters highly heralded Yorktown; a set of unprecedented circumstances. Best of luck there, Bobby boy! I can’t imagine it will be easy, but your calm demeanor and awareness of humanity should prevail, provided you follow the last-bastion lead of one Fio Nardone, the outgoing A.D. cut from the cloth of athletic royalty. When it comes to people power and controlling the vicarious revolution, Nardone was unmatched in his 17 years at Yorktown. So long, Fio, we’ll miss you…

Okay, so last week we merely touched on the Mahopac football mess in a snippet designed to evoke action. This week, we’re suggesting that the powers that be don’t delay another second in hiring the Phys. Ed. Teacher that has been accounted for in the current school budget, so long as he brings crack gridiron genetics to the table. There is some talk about reinstating former football coach, Mark Langella, and

if that’s the route Mahopac takes, then so be it, just get a coach, please. That ship may have sailed, though, when Langella was not reappointed by the BOE last winter.

If that’s the case and that ship has, indeed, sailed, Mahopac will likely get a

slew of solid candidates for the P.E. position, but it is highly unlikely that any have the dual-capability qualities of Dominick DeMatteo, the former Arlington and current Nyack football coach, who just so happens to

live right here in Mahopac with his wife and two sons and has a vested interest in promoting everything the Mahopac community used to stand for… when Mahopac was the envy of most Section 1 athletic programs under the guidance of former A.D.’s Frank Miele and Gerry Keevins.

If Mahopac were ever looking for a knight in shining armor, a fair-haired boy, a guy on a white horse… DeMatteo, a family man with tremendous character and appeal, is all those dudes rolled into one. The fact that he has applied for the

Mahopac P.E. position should be enough to induce swift action by the Mahopac Board of Education and school administrators. The fact that this is being delayed is not only teeming with tomfoolery, but is also putting the children this board represents in peril. This isn’t Class D football we’re talking about, this is Class AA, where the big boys have been preparing under sagacious coaches since last November.

DeMatteo, Langella or whoever this BOE decides to put in place, needs to be instated like yesterday, so just remember: Every minute you delay, every second you waste, your children are being thrown to a pack of wolves that will eat them alive this September without the proper preparation to take the field. So, what are you waiting for?

P.S. DeMatteo’s dad, Tony, is only the greatest living amateur football legend in the state of New York. Perhaps Mahopac gets some of that residual effect on its sideline when Tony D eventually steps down at Somers -- where he just guided the Tuskers to their only state grid title in school history -- and helps coach his grandsons to something similar. It’s win-win, y’all!

By Ray GallagherExaminer Sports Editor

May 30 - June 5, 2017 28 The Northern Westchester Examiner

In what was an unprecedented spring season in Section 1 sports history, when Yorktown High snagged four sectional championships last week, hoisting the Class B hardware in boys’ and girls’ lacrosse in dominating fashion (the boys doing so for the 7th-straight time over John Jay, 14-6, and the girls repeating over Somers), winning a Class AA softball championship against North Rockland for the first time since 2008 and taking home top honors on the tennis court behind senior Sean Wei. No other school in Section 1 history has dominated the sports landscape like this previously, leaving the Cornhuskers with remote control of Section 1 as they send four teams into their respective NYSPHSAA tournaments this week in search on NYS championships… see Sports

RAY GALLAGHER/RICK KUPERBERG/BOB CASTNER PHOTOS

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