Simply exceptional

Posted 8/21/12

NEWBURGH, NY—Imagine the joy of playing your last high school football game among the elite players of Section IX, having been selected as an Exceptional Senior All-Star, and to compete in a game …

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Simply exceptional

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NEWBURGH, NY—Imagine the joy of playing your last high school football game among the elite players of Section IX, having been selected as an Exceptional Senior All-Star, and to compete in a game you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Such was the privilege of 17 Sullivan County seniors who were selected by coaches to play in the third annual Section IX Exceptional Senior Game on November 23 at NFA’s Academy Field.

With the exception of Roscoe/Downsville’s Josiah Steele, who played for the victorious Team National, the others that included Liberty’s Stephen Johnson, Patrick Fitzpatrick, and Michael Burke, Livingston Manor’s Jordan Heintz and Matt McRell, Monticello’s Nick Brown, Tyrell Poole, Isaiah Mathis, Brian Stickle and Semaj Prince and Sullivan West’s Richard Shevak, Andrew Stabbert, Sean Hart, Anthony Rydell and Tyler Davis, all were part of the Team American. Team National eked out a 12-10 win. Last year it was Team American that was victorious by the score of 27-0. In 2012, the first year of the resurrected game, which had formerly been played from 1977-1982, it was Team National that emerged victorious by the score of 24-11. For these young men, the joy of participating in this game and getting to play with and against many of the elite players of the section was an unforgettable experience. During this past week, the players traveled to Newburgh for practice sessions that featured a cadre of coaches, each handling a specified aspect of the game. It was a great learning experience and a chance to form new friendships, oftentimes with players who were former adversaries. One day earlier, this writer/photographer was already immersing himself in the nascent stages of the winter season, attending an eight-team boys basketball multi-scrimmage at Monticello High School. Players from the host Panthers, S.S. Seward, Washingtonville, Warwick, Wallkill, Eldred, Port Jervis and Sullivan West got a chance to immerse themselves in live competition, an invaluable tool to assess a team’s strengths and areas of concern that need to be addressed before the season gets underway within the next week or so. In addition, standout basketball gurus Ryan and Dustin VanLieu of Gym Ratz provided valuable skill sessions between games that all players would be privy to by day’s end. Referencing football one last time, this year marked the first time that Section IX had all five classes represented in the state semifinals. That included Class D Chester, which is on its way to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse to vie for a state title for the third time in the past four years. They will face Randolph again, the team that bested them last year. Class AA Newburgh also advances to the state final after a dramatic one-point overtime victory over Shenendehowa. Class B Marlboro, Class C Millbrook and Class A Cornwall all fell in their semifinal tilts. Albums of photos from the Exceptional Senior Game as well as from the Monticello boys basketball scrimmage are among the archives of countless sporting events to be found at www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com.

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