I have to be honest; I can’t wait until Saturday.
This weekend marks the culmination of the Section I football season, as teams from Class AA to Class D will vie for the sectional crown up at Mahopac High School.
While several of the teams whose championship hopes are still alive are no strangers to competing in the title game—schools like Haldane, Tuckahoe and New Rochelle—there are a few newcomers to the mix this year, most notably my alma mater, Scarsdale High School.
On Nov. 5, Scarsdale will be competing in the Class AA finals for the first time since the state playoff system was introduced in 1993, which is no small matter in my hometown, as evidenced by the bombardment of alumni email blasts I received just moments after the Raiders clinched their berth with a 41-7 win over Arlington in the semifinals last Saturday night.
Over the last few years, Scarsdale has had a resurgence on the gridiron, but this is truly uncharted territory for the Raiders. Guys I played with—and people who played before me—are understandably amped about the possibility of Scarsdale hoisting the Section I plaque on Saturday afternoon, if only because this sort of thing just doesn’t happen at a school like Scarsdale, which is more known for sports like soccer or tennis.
But for all my former teammates that have been hitting me up recently asking about Scarsdale’s chances this week, I can’t say I have much hope.
I don’t think this is the Raiders’ year.
Sure, Scarsdale has been playing well over the last few weeks. But their signature win—the trouncing of Arlington—saw them beat an Admirals’ team missing its star quarterback. The last time I saw them on the field, in a 6-0 rain-soaked slop fest against Mamaroneck, they didn’t seem to have the swagger one would expect from a championship contender.
And as for their title game opponent? It’s a juggernaut New Rochelle team that beat them 34-0 when the two teams met in September and hasn’t allowed an offensive touchdown in the postseason.
I feel like I’ve got to side with the favorites on this one.
None of this is to say, definitively, that the Raiders can’t win, or won’t. I’m just saying that if they can keep the game respectable, Scarsdale fans should probably count their blessings.
After all, it’s November and the Raiders are still in the title hunt.
It hasn’t been that way for a long, long time.
