Are you ready for some playoff football? High school football, that is. Section 1 has announced its tournament bracket pairings in five different classes based on school enrollment sizes. Quarterfinal games in all class sizes were scheduled to kick off last weekend and conclude with the championship games on the weekend of Nov. 13 and 14 at North Rockland High School. There were no Putnam County schools in Class AA. In Class A, both Carmel and Mahopac were scheduled to open o

PEEKSKILL – This is exactly how you want to end the regular season and roll into the playoffs… Peaking. The Mahopac High School football team is playing some of its best ball of the season after a 28-6 win over Peekskill to wrap up the regular season. The Wolf Pac was scheduled to play Clarkstown South in the quarterfinals of the Section 1, Class A tournament Oct. 30. Mahopac dominated Peekskill with a devastating running attack and a stout defense. The offense scored all fou

The combined Mahopac, Putnam Valley, and Carmel varsity girls’ swim team is having a great season so far. Photo provided by Coach Erica Burlenski. CARMEL – The combined Mahopac, Putnam Valley, and Carmel varsity girls’ swim team celebrated senior night with a 92-78 victory over Yorktown/Somers. The team started off strong, taking first and third in the 200-yard medley relay. The team of Keira Troccoli, Elisabeth Knuth, Kira Furfaro, and Chloe Forger captured first place, whil

The epicenter of the Section 1 high school soccer world will be in Mahopac – for both the boys’ and girls’ programs. Both Wolf Pac teams were duly rewarded for an excellent regular season as the Section 1 tournaments got underway recently. The Mahopac boys were seeded first in Class AA while the girls were seeded third. The Mahopac boys finished 12-2-2 in the regular season and 8-0 in league play. They will play the winner of the out-bracket game between Suffern and Yorktown

The combined high school swim team of Mahopac/Putnam Valley/Carmel went 1-1 in two meets recently. Photo provided by Coach Erica Burlenski. CARMEL – The combined high school swim team of Mahopac/Putnam Valley/Carmel went 1-1 in two meets last week, beating Bronxville-Tuckahoe, 91–79, but falling to John Jay Cross River-North Salem, 89-81. “The girls came out strong, built momentum throughout the meet, and delivered some impressive performances across the board,” said Coach Er

The Haldane High School football team is showing off its versatility on both sides of the ball – and the Blue Devils did it in front of a great crowd during Homecoming. Haldane whipped Rye Neck, 35-6, and shut out the Panthers in the second half. “We were able to establish control early and continued to build the lead throughout the contest,” said Coach Ryan McConville. In actuality, this was never really a game, as the Blue Devils dominated. Heading into last weekend’s game

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