So it all comes down, in Section III football, to five championship games at the Carrier Dome, each of them rich with character and contrast, with plots and subplots tasty enough to feast on in the time leading up to Friday night.
And it kicks off with Class D, the smallest in terms of enrollment - but if past history is any indicator, the largest in terms of having a shot at state championships. West Canada Valley, Dolgeville, Onondaga and Weedsport have all gone to the late-November summit.
Weedsport is back in '09 for another try, but must get past an Everest-sized challenge in state no. 1-ranked Westmoreland.
Simple as it may sound, this duel of 9-0 opponents may hinge on which side imposes its physical will. Both sides like to run, a lot, behind great and effective lines. Justin Becker does the Bulldogs' heavy lifting, while Brian Quigley fills the same role for the Warriors.
Neither side has spent much time playing from behind this season, so getting the early lead will be more important than usual. Westmoreland's biggest edge is that it went through the Dome pressure-cooker a year ago and succeeded. Still, if Weedsport can overcome those early nerves, this will be a close one.
A long time - 16 years, to be precise - has passed since neighbors New Hartford and Whitesboro met with a sectional title at stake. Now it happens again in what could be a Class A final for the ages.
The first meeting, in front of thousands Oct. 16, ended 42-28 in the Spartans' favor, but the defending champs trailed the Warriors until the third quarter and needed every bit of its spread-offense mastery to get through.
Now comes the sequel, with the same dilemma for Whitesboro - who do you try to stop? If Anthony Acevedo isn't speeding to the end zone, then Joe Carcone is running over tacklers and doing the same. Plus, that Spartan offensive line bulldozes defenders.
At the same time, though, Whitesboro has its own big-play runner in Nick Mauro, whose long runs in the fourth quarter sank Fulton. It's paramount that the Warriors control possession and stay patient, for no one has been able to contain the Spartan attack. As with Westmoreland, New Hartford having been on the Dome stage might make a key difference.
Then we get to Saturday. At 11 a.m., two more unbeatens settle the Class C championship as General Brown clashes with Cazenovia.
With the Lions, we knew they could dominate. But we didn't know about their heart until the fourth-quarter comeback against Bishop Ludden in the semifinals. Sure, Jared Flath scores a lot, but there's no superstar in the tried-and-true Steve Fisher system, just a lot of good players working together to win.
At Caz, it starts with defense. Lots of it. You really can't throw on the Lakers, and running against Cody Foster, Liam Ryan and company is just as difficult. Plus, there's just enough balance between Jeff Hopsicker at quarterback, and the Chad Dorrance-led running game to keep opponents guessing. As a coach, Tom Neidl and his veteran staff are every bit the equal of Fisher.
It has the looks of a complete toss-up, but the wild card could be special teams. GB doesn't like to kick much. Caz has Chris Rogers, who has range up to 50 yards. That could really matter if it's close.
As if the Class AA final between Baldwinsville and CBA were not intriguing enough, the Bees will have to make do without quarterback Niko Manning, who injured his rib in the semifinal against Corcoran.
Casey Colligan gets his first-ever varsity start in a high-pressure setting. Having Malik Burks eases that pressure quite a bit, though, and as long as Burks is running wild behind the behemoths on the B'ville line, Colligan can relax.
To prevent the Bees from its first sectional title in 20 years, CBA has to keep Burks from those big numbers. As starting QB's go, Tyler Hamblin and Jared DePalma have a huge edge in experience under center, and the Brothers have more offensive balance than in the pass-happy Paulus years. That 30-28 defeat on Sept. 18 nearly veered CBA's season off course. B'ville hopes the sequel has the same outcome.
On that same Sept. 18, Westhill scored in the late going to rally past Marcellus 13-10. Nearly two months later, the rematch will decide the Class B championship.
Never beore has the Mustangs played for a sectional title, though it did open the season in the Dome, beating Chittenango in the Kickoff Classic. By contrast, this is the Warriors' sixth final in seven years, though it has lost each of the last three title games.
For all the hype that Will Fiacchi will get, and all the attention the Jeff Law-to-Dan Ross passing combo will receive, this game might hinge on who runs the ball better.
Since Westhill doesn't want Fiacchi to light them up, and since Marcellus will put every conceivable defensive back on Ross to make sure he doesn't dominate, much will depend on Tyler Nigolian in blue and Ricky Alfreds in green. Both can put up huge numbers on the ground. Whoever does it here will alter the defensive strategies - and allow the passing game to flourish.
Every one of these five championship games has classic potential. Thus, the odds are good that one of them will actually match the anticipation....
CATEGORY: Football (American)
TAGS: Section III, football, championship games, preview
