TROY — Two years ago, the Lansingburgh High School boys soccer team posted one of the marquee victories in program history when it upset Ichabod Crane in the Section II Class A playoffs.

Friday night, the Knights welcomed Ichabod Crane to town for its first Colonial Council game in Lansingburgh and the Riders were not about to see history repeat itself.

Ichabod Crane (2-0-1, 4-0-1) scored three goals in the first 11 minutes of Friday’s game en route to a 4-0 victory.

Sophomore Ricardo Cruz tallied a pair of goals and freshman Seth Scarano and senior Mitchell Niemeyer added single tallies for the Riders.

Lansingburgh goalkeeper Jarrod Jarosz – a freshman – made 19 saves in net for the Knights (2-2-0, 2-3-0).

It was Ichabod Crane’s third victory of the season in the Collar City. The Riders topped two of Troy’s Big 10 Conference teams, Catholic Central and La Salle Institute, in non-league games to open the season.

2010 has been a rebuilding season so far for Lansingburgh, which lost 12 seniors to graduation after having secured a third place finish in the Colonial Council regular season and the No. 2 seed on the South Side of the Section II Class A bracket a season ago.

Lansingburgh senior soccer player Jarrod Nash prepares to kick the ball during Friday's home game against Ichabod Crane. (Photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

“We knew they (Ichabod) were a good team coming into the game,” said Lansingburgh head coach Ed Classen. “We lost 12 seniors last year, so we’re young and we knew it was going to be a tough game. Ichabod, they move the ball well and they play a good soccer game. They move the ball left to right and they get give-and-goes up through the middle. They’re a good team.”

Ichabod Crane, which has moved from its traditional place in the Patroon Conference to the Colonial Council beginning this fall, controlled the ball nearly the entire game. Every time Jarosz made a save, it seemed that the Riders were there to swoop in and steal the ball away or cut off a passing lane and create yet another offensive opportunity.

“Since we’ve started, we’ve really been trying to get the defense going again,” senior Jarrod Nash said. “Last year we had a really quick D and we had a really good stopper, but all of them left. So we’ve slowed down our defense and that’s what we’re trying to build toward.”

Wednesday, the Knights played Cohoes and scored the first two goals of the game, only to have Cohoes storm back with two goals to tie the score. Lansingburgh scored again to go ahead, 3-2, but the Tigers scored four unanswered goals to close out that game and win 6-3.

Lansingburgh's Aaron Barker (17) battles an Ichabod Crane defender for control of the ball during Friday's Colonial Council game.

“I’m still shuffling guys,” Classen said. “We only have 14 guys on the team and I only had one sub in the first half. I’m still moving guys to different spots and I’m not even sure where they’re going to play for the rest of the year. We’re trying new things.”

"Some guys just started this year and some guys have been playing for a few years, but it’s all a mix of guys who just coming together," continued Classen.

As soon as the defense picks up, Nash hopes he can help create a few opportunities for the team’s striker, Brian Gardner.

“I think we need to take more shots,” Nash said. “We’re trying to get too close to the goal to take our shots. We need to start ripping from outside the 18. That’s what we need to do.”

Lansingburgh had just 20 players show up on the first day of practice for both the junior varsity and varsity teams – they would need at least 22 to field two teams with no substitutes.

For video highlights from Friday's game, visit www.troyrecord.com/video/sports

"We have three seniors on the team and on the first day we had 20 guys for JV and varsity and that’s not even enough for two teams," Classen said. "We’ve been picking up guys left and right. Football, they have a lot of guys. They have a winning program and they’ve done well the last few years so I think a lot of guys go to that for the attraction of that."

The Knights are aware they have their work cut out for them if they hope to catch Ichabod Crane in the Colonial Council standings this season.

“We’re working on possession every day,” said Classen. “We’re doing keep-away and possessing the ball and that’s what we really have to work with, pass and trap and moving into space. You can tell my kids, they’re just starting at this. With Ichabod, you can just see that they’ve been playing together a long time and they’re three steps ahead of us.”

"They’re a good team," Nash said. "They move the ball really well. There was nothing we really did about it. We didn’t try marking and we didn’t try cutting off passing lanes. It’s going to be a long year."

ICHABOD CRANE 4, LANSINGBURGH 0

Ichabod Crane (2-0-1, 4-0-1) 4 0 — 4
Lansingburgh (2-2-0, 2-3-0) 0 0 — 0
Scoring: IC: Cruz 2-0, Scarano 1-0, Niemeyer 1-0. L: None.
Goalkeepers: IC: Domino, 2; Ooms, 3. L: J.Jarosz, 19.
Corner kicks: IC: 5. L: 0.

Brian Gardner, a senior at Lansingburgh High School, looks to kick the ball around an Ichabod Crane defender during Friday's Colonial Council game.

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Section II football scoreboard

Class AA
Liberty Division
Colonie 21, Columbia 14


Class A
Northwest Division
Amsterdam 22, South Glens Falls 12

Class B 
West Division
Schuylerville 34, Cobleskill 7
Schalmont 62, Broadalbin-Perth 13
Reinfurt Division
Ravena 50, Cairo-Durham 20
Non-division
Ichabod Crane 35, Taconic Hills 12 *(first win in program history)

Class C
North Division
Hoosick Falls 20, Greenwich 0
Lake George 42, Stillwater 7
Mechanicville 35, Corinth 12
South Division
Chatham 35, Fonda-Fultonville 28

Section II high school football standings, 2010

(I'm still missing Quarterpoints on Coxsackie-Athens-Taconic from Week Two & Greenwich-Hoosick Falls from Week Three if anyone can help in that department, thanks).

Class AA, League, Overall
Empire Division, W-L, W-L, PF, PA, QP
Shenendehowa, 3-0, 3-0, 82, 10, 21
Ballston Spa, 2-1, 2-1, 71, 34, 11.5
Saratoga Springs, 2-1, 2-1, 68, 33, 16.5
Bethlehem, 1-1, 1-2, 42, 86, 4.5
Christian Bros. Acad., 1-1, 2-1, 83, 53, 9
Guilderland, 0-2, 1-2, 61, 74, 0.5
Albany, 0-3, 0-3, 7, 107, 0
Liberty Division
Shaker, 2-0, 3-0, 97, 35, 12
Troy, 2-0, 2-0, 95, 0, 14
Niskayuna, 2-1, 2-1, 88, 81, 13.5
La Salle, 1-1, 1-2, 28, 105, 4
Colonie, 1-2, 1-2, 21, 88, 5.5
Columbia, 0-2, 0-3, 56, 92, 4
Schenectady, 0-2, 0-2, 49, 60, 3

Class A
Northwest Division
Amsterdam, 1-0, 3-0, 105, 24, 6
Burnt Hills, 0-0, 2-0, 67, 15, 0
Glens Falls, 0-0, 2-0, 73, 37, 0
Queensbury, 0-0, 2-0, 71, 19, 0
Gloversville, 0-0, 0-2, 61, 73, 0
South Glens Falls, 0-1, 1-2, 59, 63, 1
Southeast Division
Averill Park, 1-0, 2-1, 72, 81, 7
Bishop Maginn, 1-0, 2-1, 91, 73, 6
Lansingburgh, 0-0, 1-1, 50, 53, 0
Mohonasen, 0-1, 0-3, 38, 102, 1
Scotia-Glenville, 0-1, 0-3, 6, 84, 0

Class B
Reinfurt Division
Albany Academy, 1-0, 3-0, 157, 51, 7
Ravena, 1-0, 3-0, 115, 52, 7
Cohoes, 0-0, 0-2, 13, 88, 0
Cairo-Durham, 0-1, 0-3, 26, 132, 0
Hudson, 0-1, 1-2, 49, 71, 0
West Division
Schalmont, 1-0, 3-0, 143, 26, 7
Schuylerville, 1-0, 3-0, 117, 20, 7
Hudson Falls, 0-0, 0-2, 38, 82, 0
Johnstown, 0-0, 0-2, 14, 79, 0
Broadalbin-Perth, 0-1, 0-3, 25, 177, 0
Cobleskill, 0-1, 1-2, 67, 55, 0
Independent
Ichabod Crane, 0-0, 1-2, 72, 81, 0

Class C
North Division
Hoosick Falls, 3-0, 3-0, 110, 20, 14
Tamarac, 2-0, 2-0, 74, 18, 13.5
Greenwich, 2-1, 2-1, 97, 35, 14
Lake George, 2-1, 2-1, 74, 48, 11
Granville, 1-1, 1-1, 58, 56, 7
Mechanicville, 1-1, 1-2, 35, 75, 7
Hoosic Valley, 0-2, 0-2, 0, 100, 0.5
Stillwater, 0-2, 1-2, 47, 103, 0
Corinth, 0-3, 0-3, 45, 97, 3
South Division
Chatham, 3-0, 3-0, 105, 48, 20
Watervliet, 2-0, 2-0, 85, 13, 13.5
Fonda-Fultonville, 2-1, 2-1, 100, 71, 15
Coxsackie-Athens, 1-1, 1-1, 58, 59, 0
Canajoharie, 0-1, 1-1, 42, 46, 0
Voorheesville, 0-1, 1-1, 35, 33, 0
Catholic Central, 0-2, 0-2, 27, 82, 0.5
Taconic Hills, 0-2, 0-3, 38, 117, 0

Class D
Cambridge, 2-0, 2-0, 61, 15, 11.5
Rensselaer, 1-0, 1-0, 34, 22, 7
Fort Edward, 1-1, 1-1, 76, 49, 6
Warrensburg, 1-1, 1-1, 33, 68, 6.5
Whitehall, 1-1, 1-1, 43, 49, 7.5
Bishop Gibbons, 0-1, 0-1, 7, 20, 1.5
Salem, 0-2, 0-2, 22, 53, 1.5

*QP=quarter points, Section II's postseason spot tie-breaker

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High school football central on www.troyrecord.com

Josh Ingham (left), signing his letter of intent to play at Central Connecticut State University, was named the Patroon Conference's MVP. (Photo by J.S. Carras - The Record).

Patroon Conference League MVP- Josh Ingham- Ichabod Crane

First team
Derick Horn- Ichabod Crane
Kevin Gorman- Hudson
Alex Mastrianni- Ichabod Crane
Brad Holmes- Hudson
Jonathan Halligan- Cairo-Durham
Chas Griffiths- Coxsackie-Athens
Joe Cozzolino- Chatham
Scott Fox- Greenville
Michael Jacobsen- Taconic Hills

Second team
Jordan Sirani- Chatham
Talib Barksdale- Hudson
Tyler Rocco- Catskill
Seth Williams- Ichabod Crane
Phil Basile- Ichabod Crane
Dalton Phillips- Cairo-Durham
Fred Sloyan- Catskill
Chris Gagliardi- Cairo-Durham
Peter Russo- Coxsackie-Athens

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2010 Patroon Conference Exceptional Seniors

Hudson
Kevin Gorman
Talib Barksdale
Brad Holmes

Chatham
Joe Cozzolino

Coxsackie-Athens
Chas Griffiths
Lucas Palmateer

Cairo-Durham
Chris Gagliardi
Dalton Phillips
Chris Hoose

Greenville
James Lopresti

Taconic Hills
Michael Jacobsen

Maple Hill
Matt Busdiecker

Catskill
Tyler Rocco
Fred Sloyan

Ichabod Crane
Derick Horn
Josh Ingham
Phil Basile
Seth Williams
David Winch

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Ichabod Crane head coach Jack Brady (second from left) watches his team compete Tuesday afternoon against Whitesboro in the New York State Class A regional final at Bob Bellizzi Field in Albany. (Photo by Mike McMahon - The Record).

Former Troy High head coach Jack Brady had a wonderful year at Ichabod Crane. Check out Wednesday's edition of The Record for a full story on his journey back into coaching.

Here are some excerpts from his players.

"Going into last year, we didn’t know what to expect or who our coach would be at first," senior catcher Derick Horn said. "He came in and he kind of brought a new attitude, or a swagger, as he would like to call it.

"Just over time, he got to know us and we got to know him. And coming into this year we felt really confident in our approach to our game and our philosophy," continued Horn. "We were able to have a really successful year and accomplish all of our goals. We won the Patroon Conference and a sectional championship. It was a great run."

"He’s a great guy," Ingham said. "He’ll wear his emotions on his sleeve and he’s taught me a lot about not only being a player, but just about being a good person. He’s one of the best guys I’ve ever met. He’s a great coach and an even better person."

Ichabod Crane lost the game, 8-4, but they still walked off the field as Patroon Conference and Section II champions, which was a point Brady was sure to make in his final on-field meeting with the team in 2010.

"Coach just kind of talked and reflected over the year and what a good job we’ve done and how we accomplished so much," Horn said. "He said, ‘we can walk off the field today, even though we didn’t win today, as champions.

"It shows a lot of Coach Brady, how he looks at us as champions even though we lost today’s game."

Click the box score to see a full-size image.

It was the first game I had seen at the new Plumeri Sports Complex in Albany and I was very pleased with the field and the setting. The only problem Tuesday was a lack of seating...which I would imagine would make a Section II playoff game with a pair of local teams a tough ticket. Other than that, it's a beautiful place to watch a ballgame.

Check out The Saratogian on Wednesday for stories on Greenwich and Spa Catholic moving on to the New York State Final Four in Class C and Class B, respectively.

Tuesday's scores:

BASEBALL

Class A regional final
Whitesboro 8, Ichabod Crane 4
Class B regional final
Saratoga Central Catholic 7, Potsdam 6
Class C regional final
Greenwich 7, Ticonderoga 3
Class D regional finalFort Ann 10, Chateaugay 1

Winners advance to NYS Final Four Saturday in Binghamton. Click here for brackets. Schedule below.
Class AA
Guilderland vs. McQuaid (Section V) at 1 p.m. at Binghamton UniversityClass B
Spa Catholic vs. JF Kennedy Catholic (Section I) at 10 a.m. at NYSEG Stadium
Class C
Greenwich vs. Valhalla (Section I) at 10 a.m. at Broome Community College

Class D
Fort Ann vs. Chapel Field (Section IX) at 10 a.m. at Conlon Field

SOFTBALL

Class AA regional final
Cicero-North Syracuse 1, Colonie 0

Colonie's Casey Rowland throws a pitch during Tuesday's regional final against Cicero-North Syracuse. The Garnet Raiders lost on an unearned run, watching their dream postseason run come to an end in Queensbury. (Photo by Ed Burke - For The Record).

Rowland was fantastic in the Section II playoffs, as the Garnet Raiders, the No. 9 seed, were an underdog every step of the way. She'll have a big following, and a big target on her back, in 2011.

"She’s the rock of our team and we love her," Colonie senior first baseman Laura Loudis said. "I can not wait to come watch her (next year). I know she’s going to do great things with her career."

For the full story, check out Andrew Santillo's account in Wednesday's edition of The Record.

Class A regional semifinal
South Glens Falls 5, Oneida
South Glens Falls will play Wednesday at SUNY Potsdam at 5:00 vs Massena

Hoosick Falls' Rachel Quackenbush (left) high-fives her catcher, Shelby Jones, during last Friday's victory over Duanesburg. The Panthers play Ticonderoga in Plattsburgh today at 5:30 p.m. (Photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

Wednesday's schedule - all games at SUNY-Plattsburgh

Class B- Mechanicville 1:00 vs. Peru
Class D- Germantown 3:15 vs. Crown Point
Class C- Hoosick Falls 5:30 vs. Ticonderoga

I'll have a preview story on Hoosick Falls' second straight trip to the regional round in Wednesday's edition of The Record.

A big part of the Panthers' success in 2010 is thanks to rookies like Jones, Alyssa Schneider and center fielder Samantha Skott, pictured below.


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Ichabod Crane third baseman Alex Mastrianni is about to hit head coach Jack Brady in the face with a shaving cream pie after the Riders defeated Averill Park in the Section II Class A title game, 6-2. For the video of this incident, click below. (Vidcap by Will Montgomery).

TROY -- Jack Brady came back to the Collar City Wednesday night and did something he had never done before as a high school baseball coach.

He watched his team win a Section II championship.

In his second year at the helm at Ichabod Crane after spending many years before that at Troy High School, Brady saw his starting pitcher, Josh Ingham, pump the Averill Park lineup with strikes in the Class A title game at Joe Bruno Stadium.

The Central Connecticut State University-bound Ingham allowed two unearned runs on six hits, striking out eight and throwing first-pitch strikes to 18 of the 29 batters he faced in a 6-2 victory.

"He threw an awful lot of first-pitch strikes and we were in the hole right off the bat every at-bat," said Averill Park head coach Mike Conroy.

For the full story, check out Thursday's edition of The Record.

Ichabod Crane's Zach Albery slides in front of Averill Park's Tyler Listing during Wednesday's Section II Class A title game.

Averill Park had its ace on the mound in Nick Cioffi, but the Warriors quickly, and unusually, found themselves behind in the ballgame.

Ichabod Crane's first three batters all came around to score in the first inning and the Riders added two more in the second to post an early 5-0 advantage.

"All of a sudden, you get down 3-0 and the nerves kick in a little bit with everyone else," Conroy said. "That doesn’t usually happen with Nick on the mound."

Averill Park's Greg Hotaling makes a catch in center field at Joe Bruno Stadium during Wednesday's game against Averill Park.

Averill Park pitcher Nick Cioffi responded well after allowing back-to-back RBI singles by Derick Horn and Alex Mastrianni in the second inning. He held the Riders to one run on three hits the rest of the way, finishing the game with 10 strikeouts.

Sophomore Dylan Sprague drove in a run with a two-out single in the fifth inning. Greg Hotaling had scored earlier in the inning on a fielding error.

The Averill Park bench watches a foul ball off the bat of Ichabod Crane's David Winch (foreground, No. 6) during Wednesday's Section II Class A title game at Joe Bruno Stadium in Troy.

Sprague’s older brother Josh Sprague, was the only senior in the starting lineup for the Warriors, which has Conroy and his youthful team already hungry for 2011.

"We had one senior in the lineup tonight and there were some great characters and some great influences on the younger guys, but we’re very young," said Conroy. "We will be back."

Click on the box score fora full-size image.

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When J.P. Sportman made his verbal commitment to play baseball at Central Connecticut State University in February, he instantly became the Blue Devils’ top recruiter.

Josh Ingham (left) and J.P. Sportman (right) made it official Friday afternoon. They'll both play their college baseball at Central Connecticut State University and they'll room together, too. In the background are Ichabod Crane head coach Jack Brady (left) and La Salle Institute head coach Jesse Braverman (right). (Photo by J.S. Carras - The Record).

Sportman, a senior at La Salle Institute, knew that CCSU head coach Charlie Hickey and assistant Pat Hall were also interested in the services of Icahbod Crane senior Josh Ingham, who plays with Sportman for the South Troy Dodgers during the summer and fall seasons.

His efforts as pitchman certainly worked, as Sportman and Ingham confirmed their intent to compete at CCSU in a ceremony at Geer Field.

Sportman, who plays second base for La Salle, can also play the outfield. He will join Ingham, a shortstop and pitcher, on the Blue Devils’ roster in the spring of 2011.

Naturally, the duo will also room together when school starts in the fall.

For the full story, check out Saturday's edition of The Record.

Check the bottom of this post for videos from the Hoosick Falls and Maple Hill games.

Lansingburgh senior center Tyler Hammett attempts a putback over a sea of Ichabod Crane defenders during Thursday's Section II Class A semifinal. Lansingburgh won, 56-38. (Photo by Will Montgomery - The Record).

Remember the scene in Hoosiers when the Hickory High coach, played by Gene Hackman, brings his team into Hinkel Fieldhouse in Indianapolis and he measures the rim and the distance to the foul line, telling his team that it's just like the one they play in at home?

Well, that was Guy DiBacco Thursday afternoon.

Lansingburgh High hadn't played in a postseason game at the Glens Falls Civic Center since 1976, so DiBacco made sure his group was ready to go, getting them there super early, even before the Gloversville team arrived for it's 6 p.m. game. The players scoped out the arena, saw the court - DiBacco said about 10 of them stopped in midstride when they turned the bend in the hallways beneath the building and saw the huge floor - and they got warmed up. With the ice underneath the floor, it's chilly in the Civic Center, always.

Their opponent Thursday night, Ichabod Crane, got stuck in rush hour traffic on the way north. The Riders sat on the bus for three hours and caused the opening tipoff to be pushed back from 7:30 to 8 p.m.

Well, one team was ready to go and the other wasn't. Lansingburgh outscored Ichabod 17-1 in the first quarter en route to the 56-38 victory. According to Lansingburgh Athletic Director Michael Harkin, it will be the Knights' first-ever trip to a sectional championship game in school history.

Sajae Pryor scored a game-high 17 points for Lansingburgh, grabbing 10 of his 11 rebounds on the defensive end. He, especially, appreciated DiBacco's insistence on getting to Glens Falls early.

Lansingburgh vs. Ichabod highlights and a clip from an interview with Sajae Pryor.



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It's been quite the journey for the Lansingburgh team this year. They started the season with limited expectations, losing seven of the top nine players from last season to graduation. That equates to 59 of the 65 points they averaged per game and the 36 of the 40 rebounds they snared per contest during the 2008-09 season.

"You know guys mature and other guys step up, but when you look at the stat sheet and you're returning six points and four rebounds a game, what do you do?," asked DiBacco.

"They surprised me right from the get-to," he continued. "We got a big lead over Catholic Central and managed to hang on. We started slowly against Albany Academy, but we rallied and had a chance late in that game. The guys kept grinding and they kept listening."

The Knights split a pair of games in Catholic Central's season-opening tournament over the Thanksgiving Weekend, beating CCHS in the opener and losing to Academy the next day. A regular season loss to a then-winless Ravena team in early February, however, opened the team's eyes.

"It told us we could be beat. We're not God," Pryor said. "We're not better than everybody. We could be beat by anybody."

They'll take that lesson to heart Sunday, when they face No. 7 seed Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake in the Section II Class A championship game. The Spartans have shut down No. 2 South Glens Falls and No. 6 Gloversville in consecutive games, playing some inspired defense.

How will the Lansingburgh defense respond? Check back for capsules previewing the upcoming Section II championship games in the coming days. And to read the full story on the Lansingburgh vs. Ichabod Crane game, check out Friday's edition of The Record.

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Here are some video highlights from Hoosick Falls' victory over Voorheesville from Wednesday night:

Here are some video highlights from Maple Hill's victory over Schoharie from Wednesday night:

Thanks for reading. To view a replay, click on the play button below.
'Burgh blog post coming later tonight....hopefully some video from the last few days as well.

Maple Hill's Chris Despart slices his way through the Ichabod Crane defenders en route to scoring a game-high 17 points for the Wildcats in a 51-39 victory over the Riders. Maple Hill are now tied atop the Patroon Conference standings with identical 13-1 records. (Photos by Tom Killips - The Record).

The crowd at Maple Hill High School Saturday night cannot be underestimated. Fans stood, packed shoulder-to-shoulder like sardines inside the lobby, unable to find a seat on the jam-packed bleachers. Many fans just went to hang out in the cafeteria and never saw more than a glimpse of the action through the windows on the gymnasium doors.

The noise and the sea of fans rattled the Maple Hill girls early on in their game against Ichabod Crane, but the Wildcats rallied for a 42-35 victory over the Lady Riders.

The boys, however, were bouyed by the noise, elevating for a 51-39 victory, moving into a first place tie with Ichabod in the Patroon Conference standings.

It's one of Section II's terrific rivalries, but it's one that could likely disappear next season. Ichaobd Crane is moving to the Colonial Council. While the move will open up a pair of non-league games for all of the schools in the Patroon, it's still unclear whether the neighbors, set 10 miles apart, will be able to meet during the 2010-11 season. Crane, a Class A school, would likely try to schedule non-league games at the Class A level or above, if at all possible.

"Next year we’ll have two non-league games available," said Maple Hill head coach Mark Bubniak. "I was talking to Cori (Ichabod Crane head coach Cori Drummond) before the game and we’d like to play at least one game. We’d like to keep it going. You look out here and it’s great that these schools are 10 miles apart. It’s great for school spirit and we’d love to do it, if we can, we’ll do it again."

Senior forward Jake Jasiewicz played a great game for the Maple Hill boys, making a stunning diving steal attempt that bounced off an Ichabod player and gave the Wildcats possession. They scored on the ensuing possession and never looked back.

As one of the seniors playing out the rivalry, he would surely be sad to see it go, but certainly made the last one memorable should the teams miss out on a chance for future non-league games.

"It was fantastic," Jasiewicz said. "It was one of the best games I’m ever going to play in my life. The crowd, the atmosphere…they couldn’t fit everybody in the gym. Just that and the support from the community was amazing. On both ends."

For more on how Jasiewicz would run through a brick wall for Maple Hill head coach Scott Hanrahan, be sure to check out Sunday's edition of The Record.

Maple Hill's Sean Danaher takes a shot over the outstretched arms of Ichabod Crane's Chris Larm during Saturday's Patroon Conference victory. Danaher finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Maple Hill (13-1, 13-1), the No. 6 ranked Class C team in New York, certainly scored a major victory over Ichabod Crane (13-1, 13-1), the No. 15 ranked Class A team in the Empire State.

Familiar with the huge crowds they saw at Hudson Valley Community College and the Glens Falls Civic Center during their run to the 2008-09 New York State Class C championship game, the Wildcats thrived on the mass of fans Saturday night, using runs of 10-2 and 9-2 to bury the Riders in the first quarter. Crane clawed its way back to within four points in the third quarter, but Jasiewicz's diving tip play helped the Wildcats surge ahead for good.

"I’ve tried not to harp on last year too much with these guys because this is a new group and a new team," said Maple Hill head coach Scott Hanrahan. "Although there are six guys back from that squad, it’s a new season. It’s a new team. I think the fact that we’ve dealt with these kinds of crowds before that these guys feed off that. We talked about that in our pregame. And we had help out there tonight. They did a great job and they do feed off of it. When we can get our fast break going, at the end of the first quarter we made a nice little run, and the crowd got fired up. Our guys just get that look on their faces, that little look and that little swagger. It’s just fun to watch them."

Including three CYO games prior to the varsity action Saturday, the Castleton teams won all five games they played against their opponents from Valatie.

Maple Hill junior center Katie Roth scored 27 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and made six blocks for Maple Hill in a come-from-behind victory over Ichabod Crane. It was also Maple Hill's 60th consecutive Patroon Conference victory.

The Maple Hill girls were perhaps spooked by the crowd in the first quarter, allowing Ichabod to build a seven point lead in the first few minutes. But the Wildcats calmed down and settled into their halfcourt offense, feeding Katie Roth the ball on the inside and taking trips to the foul line to earn the victory.

Maple Hill made just 14 of 31 free throw attempts, but that proved to be the difference in a 42-35 victory over the Riders (11-3, 11-3).

Maple Hill, the No. 1 ranked Class C team in New York State, improved to 14-0 this season in the Patroon Conference. The Wildcats last lost a league game on Nov. 30, 2006, dropping a 43-40 decision to Hudson. In the 165 weeks and 1,157 days since, the Wildcats have won a pair of Section II Class C title and played 60 Patroon Conference games without losing a single one.

"Everyone works hard all the time," Roth said. "You don’t get that far and get that kind of a record without working hard. We always want to win, especially on our home floor in front of our home fans. It’s a big accomplishment anyway. I’m glad to be a part of it and I’m sure everyone on my team is as well."

Maple Hill's Jessica Dailey (30) drives past Ichabod Crane's Chrissy James during Saturday's Patroon Conference game. Dailey made two assists, two steals and added one point from the free throw line in the victory.

The Castleton Crazies certainly made themselves heard Saturday night and we'll soon see if they're packing Hudson Valley and Glens Falls in the weeks to come.

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Check back here Sunday, as I hope to be live blogging and Tweeting from the Siena College ARC for the four Coaches vs. Cancer Challenge games, beginning at Noon with a Colonial Council clash between Lansingburgh and Cohoes.

Maple Hill's Ashley Cross (16) scored a goal for the Wildcats, but it wasn't enough in Monday's 3-1 defeat to Ichabod Crane in a Patroon Conference girls soccer match. (Photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

Maple Hill's Taylor Czajkowski (2) looks to move the ball against the Ichabod Crane defenders during Monday's game.

CASTLETON - The Maple Hill High School girls soccer team could have all but wrapped up the 2009 Patroon Conference regular season title with a victory over Ichabod Crane Monday afternoon, but the Riders had other ideas.
Mariela Jacome scored two goals and Alex Armstrong added another as Ichabod Crane topped the Wildcats 3-1 at Maple Hill Middle School on the final day of Maple Hill’s 2009 Fall Sports Weekend.
Ichabod Crane (10-1-1) now holds a one-half game lead over Maple Hill (9-1-2) with four games to play in the regular season. The teams had played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 18.
Ashley Cross scored an unassisted goal for the Wildcats. Maple Hill’s Anna Racz made six saves in goal.
Jessica Mink added an assist for the Riders, while netminder Alicia Mink stopped six shots.