The Carmel Rams greet military members during a recent home game. Photo courtesy of Head Coach Victoria Beauchesne. The Carmel High School football team recently hosted county rival Brewster for a game that paid tribute to the U.S. military. The Carmel football program is partnering with Guardian Revival, a nonprofit organization that offers free mental health, wellness, and community programs for military, veterans, first responders, and their families. Through the team’s fu

After a season that so far has been defined by forfeits, the Haldane High School football team is proving it can be a terror when it actually gets on the field. Especially David Powlis – on both sides of the ball. Powlis had a monster game with three interceptions, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery on defense. On offense, he completed 10 of 11 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for a touchdown. It all resulted in a 35-7 win over Woodlands in a league g

Haldane High School girls’ soccer team beat Pawling, 10-0, in a league game last week. Yes, you read that correctly. The Blue Devils put 10 on the board while hanging a goose egg on the Tigers. Stella Gretina scored a hat trick for Haldane while teammates Mira Trimmer, Marcela Duarte, and Taya Robinson scored twice each. Eighth-grader Lucia McIlwain tallied her first varsity goal. The game erased the memories of a 3-0 loss to Nanuet earlier in the week. The victory over Pawli

Carmel High School beat Peekskill, 3-0, during its Senior Night celebration for the girls’ soccer program. Ava Connors had two goals and an assist, Claire Kelley had a goal, and Macey Rivard had an assist, as did Kara Connolly. Erica Chiarella had the clean sheet in goal… Seniors, one and all. “Our season has been challenging, but on Senior Night the entire team came together to make sure our seniors had a night they will never forget against a team with a better record than

Brewster’s AJ Accurso in action. Photo courtesy of Hudl. Brewster High School football quarterback AJ Accurso is selfish… In a good way. Entering the final month of the regular season, the standout is hoping to extend his shelf life into the postseason. It’s a selfishness shared by his teammates. “Our record doesn’t show how good we actually are,” said Accurso. “We have to clean things up and stop giving other teams an advantage through our mistakes.” The Bears had yet to win

This time, the Mahopac High School football team was on the other end of a rivalry game. The right end, as far as the Wolf Pac is concerned. Mahopac bounced back from its loss to Carmel with a 14-7 victory over Brewster. Quarterback Ethan Dedvukaj threw 9-of-12 passes for 104 yards. He also scored a rushing touchdown. Teammate Jack Egan ran for 98 yards and a score. Mikey Subin scored the Bears’ only touchdown on a 14-yard run. Haldane 2, Croton-Harmon 0, forfeit – It goes in

The powerhouse names in high school boys’ soccer in Section 1 were always schools like Arlington, Rye, and New Rochelle. Get ready to add another name to that list: Mahopac. At press time, the Wolf Pac have won six of its first eight games. That includes a 3-0 win over previously unbeaten Lakeland, which made Mahopac 6-1-1. And the only loss on that ledger was a 1-0 decision to Harrison. Five of those first six victories came by shutout. Nick Portanova scored two of the three

The combined swim team of Mahopac, Putnam Valley, and Carmel is on a roll. Photo courtesy of Kate Brady. CARMEL – It was two victories last week for the combined swim team of Mahopac, Putnam Valley, and Carmel. The team hosted Harrison, earning a 93-70 victory. MPVC got off to a strong start, taking first and third in the 200-yard medley relay. Chloe Forger, Elisabeth Knuth, Kira Furfaro, and Keira Troccoli finished first, while Olivia Brady, Laura Svrcek, Savannah Jarrett, a

Catie Caputo. Photo courtesy of sportsrecruits.com. She’s like a sponge, soaking in all that she can… Even practice. It’s the midway point of the season and for Putnam Valley High School volleyball player Catie Caputo, it’s the last go-around – not just for the season, but for her high school career. She is a senior and will graduate in the spring. “I’m beyond upset,” she said. “This is my favorite time of year. I’ve been on varsity since my freshman year. Volleyball is my li

Maybe it’s just dumb luck, or a family curse, but the Mahopac High School football team continues to struggle against Somers. The Wolf Pac was shellacked by the Tuskers, 35-7, in a league showdown Sept. 18. Somers has won eight in a row against Mahopac. Somers is coached by Anthony DeMatteo, who took over from his legendary father Tony five years ago. Tony is the second-most winningest coach in New York State history with a combined 360 victories. He won two state championshi

How can a high school football team that’s only played two games have a 1-3 record? This is not a mathematical problem nor an SAT question… This is life for the Haldane High School football team. Haldane was scheduled for four games so far this season, but only played in two. One was a forfeit loss to Tuckahoe when the Devils could not field a full, healthy team; one was a forfeit victory over Croton-Harmon when the Tigers temporarily suspended their program due to low partic

BREWSTER – Some friendly advice: don’t get involved in a tight game with the Brewster High School boys’ soccer team. They’re stingy. Easier said than done, of course. The Bears won a pair of one-goal games last week. Even better, they allowed just one goal combined in both games. Brewster beat John Jay-Cross River, 2-1, as Aiden Monge and Ben Unson each scored. Earlier in the week, the Bears registered a shutout victory over Arlington B, 1-0. Ashwin Sookram had the only goal

This caught my eye while looking at the Section 1 high school athletic schedules: Boys’ soccer – Putnam Valley vs. Arlington B at Arlington. It was a non-league game scheduled after we went to press so, unfortunately, I couldn’t tell you the results. But that’s not the point. The point is, it seemed out of place. Putnam Valley has an enrollment of just over 520 students; Arlington is a behemoth with almost 2,500 students. It is so big that in some sports, like boys’ soccer, i

PUTNAM VALLEY – The Putnam Valley High School field hockey team defense was nearly impenetrable against county rival Mahopac. In a defensive-minded game, PV beat the Wolf Pac, 2-1. ’Pac goalie Maddy Bucci needed to make just one save in the game – an impressive performance in its own right – but the Tigers were just flat out frustrating on defense. In fact, goalie Minisha Singh made 12 saves for Putnam Valley. Ella Heitman and Lia Buerkle each scored for the winners, while Is

Chloe Forger is the Mahopac/Putnam Valley/Carmel team’s first swimmer of the season to achieve a state qualifying time. CARMEL – Call it a competitive loss. The combined high school girls’ swim team of Mahopac/Putnam Valley/Carmel lost its opening meet of the season when it fell to Ardsley-Dobbs Ferry, 96-74, but coach Erica Burlenski was pleased with the results for the first time out. “The final score did not tell the whole story,” she said. “The meet was competitive from s

HARRISON – Just call it the night the lights went out on the Brewster High School football team. The entire second half of the Bears’ game against Harrison was wiped out when the lights went out at Harrison’s field. The game ended with the hometown Huskies winning 19-14, by agreement with both schools. That’s the way it will go into the books after it was determined at halftime that it was a Con Edison problem and the lights would not be restored. All statistics from the game

I still remember covering my first football game at the Big House in Ann Arbor for the University of Michigan. That was 30 years ago, but I can recall it vividly. I soaked in every moment and for some reason, as the blue jerseys kept pouring out of the tunnel, I remember thinking there must be 100 guys in uniform. I was close – there were 85. I remember thinking there wouldn’t be any problems with substitutions or injured players. I thought of that little anecdote after heari

Football {subhead} MAHOPAC – The Mahopac High School football team lost a tough one when Minisink Valley kicked a winning field goal as time expired for an 18-15 victory in a non-league game. It was the season opener for both teams. The Warriors are from Orange County in Slate Hill and compete in Section 9. Although the Wolf Pac lost the game, it just might have introduced a new standout on the local scene. Mahopac quarterback Ethan Dedvukaj completed 11 of 13 passes for 156

COLD SPRING – When it comes to football, they say injuries are part of the game. But not if it leaves your roster depleted. At least three Section 1 high school football programs have had to cancel and/or forfeit games opening weekend due to a lack of healthy players. That includes Haldane High School. The Blue Devils suffered a series of injuries in their season-opening game against James I. O’Neill and were forced to cancel and forfeit their Sept. 10 contest against Tuckaho

This is no longer a trend or a fad. This is reality. It is as everyday as brushing your teeth or, as actor Jon Hamm says in the film “Top Gun: Maverick,” it is as immutable as gravity. It doesn’t take a genius to figure this out – even the village idiot knows this is true: Sports parents are the problem. Kids are rarely, if ever, the issue. They play the game with unbridled enthusiasm and love. Parents, however, are a different story. Maybe that’s why I’m jaded by this when I