High School Sports

With last weekend's sectional championships complete, the New York State Public High School football state quarterfinals field is set. The five Section II champions from last week will all compete. Burnt Hills, Ravena and Greenwich will play on Friday, while CBA and Schuylerville will compete on Saturday. The best of luck to all of our Section II teams competing from everyone at 104.5 The Team.

Ten of the top Section II high school football teams in their Classes faced off this weekend for their championships. Surprises are plenty this time of year. Regular season dominators, like undefeated Shaker High School, fell to red hot teams like Shenendehowa in the AA semi-finals. Then there were teams like Ravena that got pounded by Glens Falls 42-0 in the last week of the regular season, only to turn around the next week and see Ravena upset Glens Falls 35-28 in the semis. That's what happens in mid November in high school football. Friday and Saturday teams played for the crowns.

Congratulations to Rachel Love of Saratoga High School's varsity girl swimming team. Rachel has been selected as the 104.5 The Team Student Athlete of the Week. Thursday was a big day for our 104.5 The Team Student-Athlete of the week. The standout senior signed her National Letter of Intent to attend Texas A&M in the fall. Congratulations to Rachel for being able to continue her standout athletic career at the highest of collegiate levels.

Tuesday night, a new era of UAlbany men's basketball began. Dwayne Killings was named the Great Danes head coach in March. He was replacing 20 year head coach in Will Brown, who posted a 315-295 career record for the Danes with 5 trips to the NCAA tournament. When the university decided they wanted a fresh face at the helm of their men's basketball program, Athletic Director selected Killings, who was the associate head coach at Marquette University. The 40 year old from Amherst, Massachusetts packed up his family and headed to Western Ave. and the SEFCU Arena.

Nassau County on Long Island is full of powerful high school football programs. Section VIII features some programs that are way better than others. High school athletic directors in the area got together to do something about lopsided victories and the potential of coaches running up the score on teams. What if those same rules were applied to Section II games this year? How many Capital Region high school coaches would face discipline?

Friday Night Lights glamorized and dramatized high school football on TV. Different areas have various levels of enthusiasm for the gridiron. In the Capital Region, this is a huge weekend coming up that will draw the attention of thousands of local fans and students. Section II high school football enjoys it's brightest spotlight this week as the Section II football committee announced the Class AA, Class A, Class C and Class D championship times and locations on Sunday.

104.5 The Team wants to recognize the top high school athletes in Section II. This week, Bethlehem Central Girls Cross Country runner, Rylee Davis is this week's 104.5 The Team's Student-Athlete of the Week!

All across the state of New York, there is a shortage of referees at youth and high school games. We need to be better, because young athletes are suffering.

The Garden City High School football program is very good. Sometimes, in competition the talent differential between high schools or even colleges will result in lopsided scores. Last week, a high school in California beat another high school 106-0. That to me is criminal or as the losing coach said after that lopsided loss, "classless." Seriously, what are you teaching those student-athletes? That it's good to humiliate people when you can? Really?

Sadly it appears that, once again, poor adult oversight has adversely effected a large group of high school student-athletes. The details are vague and in most cases should remain that way for a multitude of reasons. According to an article by Lindsay Kramer of Syracuse.com, the athletic director of Utica-Notre Dame high school in Utica, NY, Martin Nemecek has been removed from his position. In addition, the school's football program will forfeit its entire 2021 season.

My perspective may be tainted from working in mid-major Division I college athletics for a long time. I do believe in free enterprise. However isn't high school, even more than college is about educating our youth enabling them to be better adults? Should we have a 14 year old thinking about making a profit on his or her basketball skills or using those abilities to help make their team better? I'm not sure there is a right or wrong answer with this one. I just know it begs a question.

A former high school standout-turned-NBA flame-out is one of 18 former players embroiled in a scam against the league, one that paid them thousands of dollars.