Good Morning! With the Border Country Sports Blog, I’m Keith Harrington.
Well, it is finally here. One of the days I used to live for during my coaching career. Today high school winter sports teams on the New York side of the Border Country Sports area begin practice for the 2021-2022 season. It sure will be nice to see practice starting on time after so much uncertainty a year ago.
During my two varsity basketball coaching stints at Hartford and one at Poultney I lived for this day. It was my favorite day of the year. It was my Christmas sort of speak. I used to watch the movie “Hoosiers” the night before the first day of hoops tryouts, just for a little motivation, as if I needed any. Ironically, “Hoosiers” was also on last night. Maybe someone knew?
Good luck to all of the winter sports teams in the Border Country Sports Region. I can’t wait to see you in the gyms.
My Favorite Fall Sports Season Moments
As we get ready to welcome a new winter sports season, I thought I would take a look back at some of my favorite fall sports season moments. I am sure you may have some different moments that stick out in your mind, but please remember, these are just from games I attended or teams that I followed closely. So here we go with some of the high school sports moments that stick out in my mind from this fall.
--The single game that was the most exciting one I attended this fall was the Hoosick Falls at Granville field hockey game. The Panthers came in unbeaten. Granville had one loss to Hoosick Falls themselves. Granville held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 before falling behind 3-2. The Golden Horde tied the contest at 3-3 to force OT before Hoosick Falls scored to earn the 4-3 win. Hoosick Falls ended up advancing all the way to the Class C state championship game. The success of the Panthers validates just what a high level the Granville program is at.
-Another great moment also involves Granville field hockey. The Golden Horde defeated Salem-Cambridge in dramatic fashion in overtime to advance to the sectional semifinals. After the game finished regulation time tied at 1-1 Granville got a goal from Haylie Barber off an assist from Reagan Swain 19 seconds in to OT to earn the win.
--Logan Reynolds of Hartford certainly provided me with some great memories. Reynolds helped put the Tanagers cross country team on the map. The senior won the first ever home cross country race hosted by the Tanagers. He also finished second in the Adirondack League Championship meet. Oh, by the way. In the week Reynolds won Hartford’s first ever home race, he also scored a hat trick in the Tanagers’ boys soccer win over Granville.
--The Fair Haven field hockey team must be one of the great stories of the fall sports season. The Slaters had one of the best seasons in program history. Fair Haven won their first playoff game in 14 years and advanced to the state semifinals. The Slaters also collected a signature win when they beat eventual state champion Windsor during the season. The Yellowjackets are a multiple time state champion.
--Speaking of state champions, how about the Proctor girls’ soccer team? The Phantoms won their third consecutive state championship last weekend at Applejack Field in Manchester. Maggie McKearin of the Phantoms also had a milestone moment as she eclipsed the 100-goal mark during the season.
--The Poultney girls soccer team had their best season in recent memory. Even though they lost to Rivendell in the playoffs, the Raptors had to go to penalty kicks to eliminate the Blue Devils. The PK round which I watched on video was one of the most dramatic moments of the season.
--The North Warren girls’ soccer team had a year they won’t soon forget. The Cougars just began their soccer program during the Falls II Season, but they showed the potential that they have. North Warren won their first ever game, their first home win, and then went on to collect their first sectional win in program history.
--The Granville boys soccer team welcomed back their former coach Jay Condon to the helm this fall, and quickly gave him a big win. The Golden Horde rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat Hartford 3-2, ruining Hartford’s “Lights Game.” It was the first time the Golden Horde had defeated the Tanagers in program history.
--While I’m on the subject of Granville of boys soccer, Connor Farrell etched his name in the Golden Horde record books. Farrell broke the school record for both career goals and goals in a season.
--One of the biggest moments of the fall sports season came when the Fort Ann girls’ soccer team defeated Lake George to end the Warriors’ 58 game Adirondack League winning streak. The Warriors bounced back to start a new streak and win the ADK title. As young as Lake George is another streak seems to be possible.
--Even thought they lost in the Section II Class D final, the Lake George volleyball team had a tremendous year. Featuring a roster that was essentially brand new, the Warriors went unbeaten in the regular season. With most of the roster returning that is bad news for the rest of the ADK.
--Finally, even though they fell a little bit short in the Division I playoffs, the Rutland girls’ soccer team provided us with one of the great moments of the fall season when they went on a nine-game winning streak.
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With the Border Country Sports Blog, I'm Keith Harrington.
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