Daily Sports Digest: Pearl River Football 2012 Schedule Features Only One Rockland Opponent

Section 1 released its 2012 football schedules this week.

One notable change for Pearl River will be the lack of opponents from Rockland County. The Section 1 football committee used the same system as 2011 to put the schedules together, but that process does not take geographical proximity of the schools into account. 

Spring Valley and Nyack are gone from Pearl River's 2012 schedule. Tappan Zee, which is also in Class A, is absent from Pearl River’s slate as well.

Pearl River will play the Little Brown Jug game at Nanuet the third week of the season, but the Pirates’ other six opponents are from outside the county.

“That is why they have the one crossover game,” Pearl River Director of Athletics Todd Santabarbara said. “The committee honors the first choice where possible. For example, us and Nanuet. That tradition, that game trumps the Tappan Zee Orange Bowl.”

The full schedule is as follows, with the distance between the two schools and a link to driving directions with each:

• Rye - 24.5 miles
• At Yonkers - 32.4 miles
• At Nanuet - 3.4 miles
• Beacon - 39.3 miles
• At Harrison - 23.5 miles
• At John Jay - 37 miles
• Hen Hud - 29.9 miles

“Geography is not a factor,” Santabarbara said. “It comes down to trying to create ability-based schedules so you have competitive schedules each week.

“Is the system perfect? I’m sure it’s not, but the football committee is working to get it where it needs to be.”

The schedule is put together based on rankings created by the Section 1 committee. Pearl River was ranked No. 11 out of 29 teams. The rankings are based on factors including the team's record from the previous season, if they made the playoffs or not, returning starters, returning all-section players, recent junior varsity performance and any movement up or down in class.

Santabarbara said there is more of a focus on making sure teams play opponents at a similar competitive level in collision sports such as football, hockey and boys lacrosse.

"Hockey is similar. We travel a lot for hockey," Santabarbara said. "Safety is a consideration, so you try to create ability-based schedules."

Schedule Update

Pearl River's home baseball game against Tappan Zee, which was rained out April 23, was rescheduled for May 18 at 4 p.m.

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Wednesday's Results

Sport: Baseball

Game: Nyack vs. Albertus Magnus

Score: Nyack won, 3-1

Highlights: Paul Giardina struck out eight in six innings of work to lead Nyack to victory, he also went 2-3 with a triple, run and RBI from the plate. James Gizzi scored the lone run for the Falcons.

Sport: Softball

Game: Albertus Magnus vs. Nyack

Score: Nyack Won 9-3

Highlights: Michaela Contreras picked up the win as she struck out three in her seven innings of work. Contreras, Alex Bacalan, Jenna Lane and Tiffany Salcito each knocked in two RBI for Nyack in the win.

Today’s Schedule:

In softball, Pearl River will host Clarkstown North at 4 p.m.

In boys golf, Pearl River will play East Ramapo 3:30 p.m. at Blue Hill Golf Course in Pearl River. 

In boys tennis, Pearl River will play at Albertus Magnus at 4 p.m. That is a make-up of a match that was postponed Monday.

In girls lacrosse, Albertus Magnus heads to Nyack at 4:15 p.m.

In softball, Nanuet heads to Albertus Magnus at 4 p.m.

College Sports Notebook

Spartans on the run

The St. Thomas Aquinas College men’s and women’s track and field teams, coming off a strong showing at the two-day CTC Championships at Desales University in Lehigh County, PA, return to the Keystone State to compete at the Penn Relays, scheduled Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

The prestigious meet is a prelude to the Spartans’ final competition of the season at the ECC-CACC Team Challenge, hosted by Georgian Court University in Lakewood, NJ, on May 4.

Mike Galonski of Newton, NJ, was second in the 10,000-meter run while Mike Abelard of Spring Valley was a double winner in the 100 and 200 at the CTC Championships, edging teammate George Erazo of North Babylon in both events. Erazo, however, bounced back to win the 400.

Other runners-up finishes were turned in by Garvency Nicolas of Brooklyn in the 800, and Joe Chegwidden of Hamburg, NJ, in the 3,000-meter steeplechase; and the 4x100 relay team of Frankie Colon of Suffern, Abelard, Erazo, and Rich Ricca of Pearl River, and the 4x400 team of Colon, Erazo, Abelard and Russell Ross of Bainbridge.

Keeley Bateman of Pearl River led the women’s team with a second-place showing in the 800, while Catherine Sandkuhl of North Babylon was third in the event.

Bateman also sparked the 4x400 relay team to victory, along with Sandkuhl, Ashley Stokkeland of Warwick and Chelsea Klinger of Owego.

Roemer, Lombardi Power Pace

Chris Roemer of Ardsley raised his average to .307 with a double, and Joe Lombardi of Briarcliff belted an RBI triple as the Pace University baseball team raised its record to an impressive 13-8 in the Northeast-10 with a 5-3 win over visiting Assumption College.

Roemer is second in batting for the Setters, and second in RBI with 22.

Junior Eddie Byrne of Yonkers tossed a scoreless inning in relief to improve to 4-3 after Brandon Martineson of Warwick blasted a two-run homer in the last of the ninth inning.

The Setters, who are in first place in the NE-10 Southwest Division with an 11-2 mark, defeated the University of New Haven in a division game at home, 3-2, to raise their mark to 23-16 overall. The rematch is scheduled today at 3:30 p.m. in New Haven, CT.

Mortarboard musings

• Midfielder Margaret Sharp of Suffern is second in points with 39 on the women’s lacrosse team at St. Thomas Aquinas College. Sharp has 35 goals for the Spartans, who visit Queens College on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. Stephanie Brown of Stony Point has 12 points on seven goals and five assists while Johannan Mitchell of Pearl River has four goals and seven assists. Kimberly Cunningham of Mahopac has played 11 games on defense, and defender Becky Torres of Nanuet has three goals and an assist. Samantha Lowney of Valley College has five goals and four assists, and Kelly Moresi of Suffern has made 10 starts at midfield.
• The Manhattan College softball team dropped a doubleheader to visiting Iona College, the two-time defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MACC) champions. The Jaspers (6-29, 1-7 MAAC) were able to muster just four hits in the two games, as the Gaels (25-20, 7-3 MAAC) posted 7-0 and 3-1 wins at Gaelic Park in Riverdale. Iona pitcher Sarah Jackson, the MAAC preseason player of the year, no-hit the Jaspers through six innings in the first game before Amanda Babcock of Haverstraw ripped a clean single to right leading off the bottom of the seventh. Jackson (12-9) allowed just two base runners, Babcock’s single and a walk to Jen Keller of Woodridge, NJ, in the second inning.
• Iona College freshman Damika Martinez was named the 2011-12 All-Met Division one Rookie of the Year by the Met Basketball Writers Association.

Weekly Sports Poll

The Knicks have gone through one of the more interesting seasons in recent history and finally they clinched a playoff birth.

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