I'll have a column on the week ahead in Monday's newspaper, but I figured I'd post a brief update here first.

Big 10 Conference

La Salle, 12-1, 12-4
CBA, 10-2, 13-2
Troy, 10-3, 10-4
Schenectady, 5-4, 6-5
Catholic Central, 6-6, 8-6
Amsterdam, 4-8, 5-10
Albany, 2-8, 3-8
Bishop Gibbons, 2-9, 3-10
Bishop Maginn, 2-10, 2-13

La Salle put itself in the driver's seat by beating CBA Thursday night, but the Cadets will have to keep winning if they want to hold off Troy High and CBA atop the Big 10.
All three of those teams figure to factor in the Section II Class AA playoffs and reach at least the second round...but then again, La Salle lost a home game to Shaker a season ago in an extra-innings instant classic.

Catholic Central, Schenectady and Amsterdam are all still alive, but they need to secure eight wins to qualify.

Suburban Council

North Division
Shenendehowa, 13-1, 13-1
Shaker, 11-3, 13-3
Saratoga Springs, 9-5, 11-7
Niskayuna, 8-5, 10-5
Burnt Hills, 7-5, 10-5
Ballston Spa, 2-13, 2-15

Unless the Plainsmen lose out and Shaker wins out, Shen will be the North Division champs and one of the favorites in the Section II Class AA playoffs. The last 10 years were not kind to the Plainsmen in the playoffs. They were bounced in the first round five times and twice held the lead in the championship game, but lost.

South Division
Colonie, 9-5, 12-6
Guilderland, 8-6, 9-8
Averill Park, 7-7, 8-9
Columbia, 6-8, 6-10
Bethlehem, 3-11, 4-12
Mohonasen, 0-14, 0-15

The top three teams (Colonie, Guilderland and Averill Park) are all in the playoffs. Columbia needs two more wins (Monday vs. Bethlehem; Wednesday vs. Mohonasen) to qualify for the postseason.

Colonie plays Mohon on Monday and faces Averill Park on Wednesday.
Guilderland plays Averill Park on Monday and Bethlehem on Wednesday.

Based on opponent records, Colonie has the edge right now, but that doesn't mean Guilerland (and slugging Matt Zanotta) are out of the race quite yet.

Colonial Council

Schalmont, 12-1, 14-3
Lansingburgh, 11-1, 11-4
Mechanicville, 9-3, 11-4
Albany Academy, 6-5, 8-5
Voorheesville, 6-6, 9-7
Watervliet, 4-9, 4-12
Cohoes, 3-10, 4-13
Ravena, 3-10, 3-12
Cobleskill, 2-10, 2-13

This race is going to come down to Tuesday's do-or-die game featuring Lansingburgh at Schalmont High School. Whichever team wins likely is the regular season champion. Both figure to be factors in the Section II Class A tournament.

Mechanicville and Albany Academy were much improved in 2010 and could pull an upset or two in the playoffs...but those teams still may be a year away.

Voorheesville is also on the brink of securing a playoff berth, but there is no room for error. The Blackbirds need two wins in two games to get in.

If you're looking for more Colonial Council news, this page is certainly one to bookmark.

Wasaren League

Granville, 9-2, 14-2
Schuylerville, 7-2, 10-5
Greenwich, 8-3, 12-4
Hoosick Falls, 8-3, 10-4
Cambridge, 5-5, 7-7
Hoosic Valley, 3-7, 5-9
Tamarac, 1-8, 4-10
Stillwater, 0-10, 1-12

This is shaping up to be a fantastic fight to the finish.

Here are the remaining schedules for the top four teams, all of which have a shot at winning the league title.

Granville: Schuylerville (Monday), Hoosick Falls (Thursday).
Schuylerville: Hoosic Valley (Fri), Granville (Mon), Hoosic Valley (Thurs), Cambridge (Friday)
Hoosick Falls: Stillwater (Mon), Granville (Thurs)
Greenwich: Tamarac (Mon), Stillwater (Thurs) - and a makeup game I can't find scheduled.

Greenwich just might have the most advantageous schedule based on opponent records, but they can't make up any ground with their games.

Granville, on the other hand, can really cement its position at the top with victories over Schuylerville and Hoosick Falls.

Cambridge also has a nice pitching staff and could be a postseason dark horse if they qualify.

Patroon Conference

Ichabod Crane, 12-0, 13-1
Chatham, 9-3, 12-4
Coxsackie-Athens, 8-6, 8-6
Cairo-Durham, 7-5, 8-7
Hudson, 7-5, 7-7
Greenville, 5-7, 5-8
Catskill, 3-8, 5-8
Maple Hill, 3-8, 4-9
Taconic Hills, 1-11, 2-11

It looks like the Riders have the Patroon Conference title all but locked up.

CHVL

Germantown, 12-0, 14-3
Loudonville Christian, 12-2, 14-4
Waterford, 7-3, 7-5
Heatly, 5-5, 7-5
Rensselaer, 5-7, 5-10
New Lebanon, 2-2, 2-4
Berlin, 2-7, 2-11
Doane Stuart 0-4, 0-4

Germantown takes the Clipper ship up the Hudson to Loudonville Christian for a Monday afternoon showdown. I think that game will tell you all you need to know about who will walk away with the CHVL hardware.

Waterford doesn't have a ton of depth, but they've played well in 2010 despite their lack of experience. Don't count out the Fordians in the playoffs.

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Remember, I'll be hosting a chat right here on the blog Sunday afternoon starting at 4 p.m. and running until everyone departs...
Bring your ideas for what the final week of the season will bring for your favorite team and share them with fans from around Section II.



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