2023 football season kicks off across Mohawk Valley, New York State: Here's your preview
New York's 2023 high school football season begins Friday with Week Zero games involving several area schools that have opted for the eighth regular-season game over the traditional Saturday scrimmage ahead of their first live contest.
There are also scrimmages on the schedule for Saturday with the base seven-game schedule starting with full participation next weekend.
Across the Mohawk Valley, Adirondack, Canastota, Central Valley Academy, Little Falls, Mt. Markham, Vernon-Verona-Sherrill and Waterville have home games to start the season Friday while West Canada Valley and Westmoreland/Oriskany will play at home Saturday afternoon.
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The Week Zero format frees teams to venture outside their league schedules and even Section III to find opponents. Herkimer and New Hartford travel east Friday for games in Section II against a merged Warrensburg/Lake George/Bolton team and Scotia-Glenville, respectively, while Central Valley Academy hosts Section II Gloversville. On Saturday, Whitesboro meets Section II Shaker at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, Sauquoit Valley plays at Unadilla Valley in Section IV, Westmoreland/Oriskany meets Harpursville/Afton from Section IV, and West Canada Valley opens at home against Section VII Ticonderoga.
There are also games with matchups closer to home, including Utica's Notre Dame Jugglers playing at Mt. Markham Friday in a meeting of teams who competed in the same league last fall, and Rome Free Academy making a short trip west to play at East Syracuse-Minoa.
Here are a few notable games.
New Hartford at Scotia-Glenville (Friday, 5 p.m.)
New Hartford is moving back from Class A to Class B where it was a Section III finalist two years ago and begins the transition with a non-league game on the road Friday at Scotia-Glenville where the Tartans are coming off a 6-4 season that ended with a one-point loss.
New Hartford's Spartans were also 6-4 last season and were beaten by the No. 1 seed in the sectional semifinals. They won their first nine games the previous fall.
Herkimer vs. Warrensburg/Lake George/Bolton at Lake George (Friday, 6 p.m.)
Class D Herkimer begins the season with a stiff challenge on the road: Warrensburg/Lake George/Bolton won a Section II title in its first season as a combined program and won 12 games before a loss to the eventual state champion in the Class C semifinals.
Skaneateles at Little Falls (Friday, 6 p.m.)
Little Falls is moving back up from Class D to Class C after a 7-3 season.
The Mounties are opening up at home against Skaneateles which went 3-5 last fall in Section III's western C-1 division. The Lakers were sectional champions in 2021 when Little Falls started 4-1 before losing its final two games in Class C.
Utica-Notre Dame at Mt. Markham (Friday, 6 p.m.)
Notre Dame and Mt. Markham played a crossover game in Proctor Park last fall. This year, they meet in Winfield.
Mt. Markham is coming off a seven-win season and a trip to the sectional semifinals - one of the wins was against Notre Dame - and Notre Dame is looking to build on a two-win season that ended a lengthy losing streak; the Jugglers had last won a game in the 2018 sectional playoffs.
Gloversville at Central Valley Academy (Friday, 6:30 p.m.)
Central Valley Academy opens up at home against Gloversville in a game featuring Class B semifinalists from sections III and II.
Central Valley Academy won four of five games during one stretch in 2022 and finished a 5-5 season with a playoff win on the road. Gloversville won its first five games last fall before each of its final four ended with shutouts.
Camden at Adirondack (Friday, 7 p.m.)
Adirondack aims to continue its recent success and starts with a game at home against Class B Camden.
Adirondack's Wildcats were Class D sectional finalists two years ago when they won their first nine games and were beaten in the playoffs. They moved up to Class C in 2022 and went 8-0 before losing in the sectional semifinals.
Camden finished 7-2 last fall with a loss in the sectional semifinals.
Chittenango at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill (Friday, 7 p.m.)
Vernon-Verona-Sherrill went 4-5 last season and moves back from Class C to Class B where Chittenango finished 3-5 and earned a spot in the Section III playoffs.
Vernon-Verona-Sherrill won five games when it was last in Class B in 2021 and had a game canceled against Chittenango's Bears.
Holland Patent at Canastota (Friday, 7 p.m.)
Class C East meets Class C West when Holland Patent hosts Canastota for a Friday crossover.
Holland Patent finished 8-3 and played in the sectional championship game last fall while Canastota started the season with two wins and finished 4-5.
Holland Patent won the teams' last meeting at Canastota two years ago.
Harpursville/Afton at Westmoreland/Oriskany (Saturday, 1 p.m.)
The combined Westmoreland/Oriskany Bulldogs start a new season at home Saturday against Harpursville/Afton from Section IV.
Westmoreland/Afton won once in 2022 and begins the new season with a new coach.
Harpursville/Afton is coming off a one-win season.
Sauquoit Valley at Unadilla Valley (Saturday, 1 p.m.)
The 2023 season is starting much like 2022 ended for Sauquoit Valley and Unadilla Valley.
Sauquoit Valley defeated Section IV's Unadilla Valley 44-6 at home to end the 2022 season with its first victory.
Unadilla Valley won two games last fall and gets the home field for the Saturday afternoon rematch.
Ticonderoga at West Canada Valley (Saturday, 2 p.m.)
West Canada Valley, the school making its home in the Kuyahoora Valley, opens its season against Ticonderoga, a Section VII team making the trip from the Kuyahoora Valley.
While West Canada Valley has experienced success and embraced eight-player football in recent years, having won a Section III championship in 2021 and played its way back to the semifinals last fall, Ticonderoga is playing the game for the first time this fall as its participation numbers have fallen.
Rome Free Academy at East Syracuse-Minoa (Saturday, 4 p.m.)
Rome Free Academy plays at East Syracuse-Minoa to start the season Saturday afternoon.
Each team won one game last year, Rome Free Academy in Class AA and East Syracuse-Minoa in Class A.
Whitesboro vs. Shaker at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Saturday, 6:30 p.m.)
Class A Whitesboro travels east to Troy on Saturday for its season-opening game against Shaker, a Class AA semifinalist in Section II last fall.
Whitesboro is coming off a 7-3 season and a run to the semifinals in Section III.
Shaker finished 6-4.
Sherburne-Earlville vs. Bainbridge-Guilford at Colgate University (Saturday, 8 p.m.)
Sherburne-Earlville heads back to its Section IV roots for a season-opening game against Bainbridge-Guilford on the turf at Colgate University.
Sherburne-Earlville is coming off a 2-7 season in Class D as it moves up to Class C in Section III. Bainbridge-Gulford was 2-6 one year ago.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Matchups set for first week of high school football in NY Section III
