NYSPHSAA

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) has made a groundbreaking rule change ahead of the new school year.

Saturday was a light but important day on the high school gridiron in Section 2. Ten teams suited up for a warm day of football, featuring one ranked battle in Voorheesville. Plus, we have some unreported Friday night scores in the recap.

Eight high school football players were suspended on Tuesday for their role in a fight that occurred near the end of a game on Friday night. The details and video of the altercation left some school administrators in "disbelief." The actions of one of the eight players will lead to more than a one game suspension.

For a pitcher, throwing a no-hitter is very difficult. So many factors have to go your way. These pitching gems are rare in Major League baseball, a little more frequent in the college ranks and even more in high school. That said, no-hitters don't happen often and are very tough to accomplish. When you throw 3 no-hitters in a row, at any level, well, no that's something to talk about.

February is an awesome basketball month. High school teams are battling it out with their conference opponents to try to get the best seeding possible for their tournaments, starting in less than a few weeks. On the first day of the month there was 33 games on the schedule for the boys and 18 for girls basketball.

As high school basketball heads into the last weekend of January, coaches, players and fans begin to focus in on who may be in their school's way of a championship. This is the time of year when coaches try to make sure their best players aren't getting too worn down, while winning every game possible. Let's check out the top teams in each division in Section 2.

Last year, high school seniors in New York State played their final basketball games in mostly empty gyms with masks covering two thirds of their friends and coaches faces. The mask part won't be much different for now but full gyms are expected and even encouraged in 2022. That is a good thing for everyone involved, even if you still can't see the smile.

It was a cold Wednesday night in the Capital Region but some high school basketball teams brought their own heat to the Section II scoreboard. There were 10 match-ups in boys basketball on the schedule and 14 more for the girls. A big congratulations goes out to Tom Galvin the girls basketball coach at Bishop Maginn. Tom won his 400th game as a head coach on Tuesday with their decisive win over Loudonville Christian.

It was a busy schedule in Section II Friday night with 34 games on the schedule for boys basketball and another 29 match ups for the girls. A big shout out to everyone new that has included us in your score distributions this week. We greatly appreciate it.

With some NBA teams playing with playing with abbreviated rosters in limited capacity arenas, Section II high school student-athletes are doing the same thing. Tuesday night was no exception in the Capital Region. There were 27 scheduled match-ups in boys hoops and another 14 for the girls.

Each day, we watch the NBA and NHL shuffle another season of games. Canadian franchises are now playing in front of empty arenas. How will these stoppages effect the high schools and colleges in upstate New York? Will the expected surge of positive COVID 19 test results shut down games to fans or even worse cancel games?

As holiday shoppers were navigating for that perfect parking space, local boys and girls high school hoops teams were on the hardwood courts Tuesday. It is certainly an unsettling time for these young student-athletes, as they observe major league sports pausing games. Many of these high school players remember their older classmates competing in empty gyms, while others didn't play at all. Memories that we'd all like to forget. On Tuesday, it was great opportunity to get out there and enjoy some holiday season hoops.