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Everything you need to know about Section 1 football heading into the 2023 season

eugene rapay, rockland/westchester journal news
·5 min read

The football season is rapidly approaching. Here's a look at some changes and things to watch for the 2023 season, including new coaches and new-look classes and league alignments.

Classification shakeups

Although football won't be implementing a sixth class the way other high school team sports are, there are still several key changes to the football landscape in Section 1 this season.

Rye has dropped down to Class B, where it previously won state titles in 2005, 2007 and 2008. Lakeland, Nyack and Sleepy Hollow are also moving to Class B from Class A.

Rye will return to Class B for the first time in more than a decade. The Garnets previously won state titles in Class B in 2005, 2007 and 2008.
Rye will return to Class B for the first time in more than a decade. The Garnets previously won state titles in Class B in 2005, 2007 and 2008.

Rye Neck is moving up to Class B from Class C, while Bronxville returns to Class C after spending the last few seasons in Class B.

Horace Greeley (Class A), Hastings and Edgemont (Class B) return to a traditional Section 1 football format, after previously going independent and playing in the Hudson Valley Football League.

Class B underwent the most change and has swelled up to a 17-team division.

High school football: Here are the Section 1 schedules for the upcoming season

League alignments

Class AA

League A: Arlington, Ketcham, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Scarsdale, Suffern, Yonkers Brave

League B: Carmel, John Jay-East Fishkill, Mamaroneck, North Rockland, Ossining, White Plains, Yonkers Force

Carmel defeated Mamaroneck 31-28 to win the Section 1 Class AA championship game at Mahopac High School Nov. 12, 2022.
Carmel defeated Mamaroneck 31-28 to win the Section 1 Class AA championship game at Mahopac High School Nov. 12, 2022.

Class A

League A: Brewster, Fox Lane, John Jay-Cross River, Mahopac, Somers, Yorktown

League B: Clarkstown North, Clarkstown South, Eastchester, Harrison, Horace Greeley, Pelham

Class B

All Class B teams will play in one combined league

Ardsley, Briarcliff, Byram Hills, Croton-Harmon, Edgemont, Hastings, Hen Hud, Irvington, Lakeland, Nanuet, Nyack, Pearl River, Pleasantville, Putnam Valley, Rye, Rye Neck, Sleepy Hollow

Class C/D

Haldane and Tuckahoe are the only Class D teams in Section 1, and there will be one league combining Class C and D teams.

Albertus Magnus, Blind Brook, Bronxville, Dobbs Ferry, Haldane, Tuckahoe, Valhalla, Westlake, Woodlands

Hudson Valley Football League

Panas, Peekskill, Port Chester, Poughkeepsie, Ramapo, Spring Valley, Tappan Zee

New head coaches

There are four head coaching changes throughout the section and several homecomings.

Longtime football coach John Catano is returning to Croton-Harmon, after spending the last few years at his alma mater Hen Hud. He'll try to restore the Tigers back to former glory.

After spending the last few years coaching at his alma mater, John Catano is returning to Croton-Harmon, where he previously led the Tigers to three Section 1 titles and two state finals appearances.
After spending the last few years coaching at his alma mater, John Catano is returning to Croton-Harmon, where he previously led the Tigers to three Section 1 titles and two state finals appearances.

He previously coached at Croton for 18 years, which includes a four-year golden era in which they went a combined 39-6 and won three Section 1 titles and made two state finals appearances from 2008-11. Catano also had a two-year stint at Section 9 school James I. O'Neill, before going to Hen Hud.

Meanwhile, at Hen Hud, Cole Coyle will be making his head varsity coaching debut.

Coyle takes over for Catano, whose Sailors went 1-7 last season. A Pearl River native and SUNY Cortland alumnus, Coyle first garnered coaching and teaching experience at Success Academy in Harlem, where he taught and coached basketball for five years.

Over the last two years, he moved to Ardsley, and was a member of the football, basketball and baseball coaching staffs. He'll look to apply the lessons learned as he lays down his own foundation at Hen Hud.

Coyle will be making his debut against his predecessor, as Hen Hud and Croton-Harmon face off on Sept. 9.

In Rockland, Albertus Magnus welcomes new head coach Anthony DiMarsico. A former all-state player at Suffern, DiMarsico was an All-American standout at William Paterson University, before graduating in 2016.

Before taking over the Falcons' program, he also coached at Paramus Catholic in New Jersey and in Denmark for the Sollard Gold Diggers. He also spent some time closer to home as an assistant for North Rockland.

The final coaching change takes place in Poughkeepsie. JayQuan Floyd, who served as a varsity assistant for the past eight seasons, has been promoted to the head coaching position after Mark Bianco stepped down to spend more time with his family.

Floyd is a longtime teacher and administrator in the Poughkeepsie school district, amassing more than two decades of experience.

He previously managed the offensive and defensive lines, but will take on greater responsibility as he leads the Pioneers' rebuild. Poughkeepsie went 0-7 last fall.

Turf fields take over Rockland

There's been a surge in local high schools transitioning to artificial playing surfaces over the last decade.

As North Rockland High School nears completion of its brand new field, the 2023 season will mark the first time that all Rockland County school districts will be hosting home football games on turf fields.

North Rockland was also the last Class AA or A school to play a home football game on grass, when it hosted Carmel on Oct. 17, 2022.

The new field is expected to be finished in late October, but the Red Raiders will play home games in the new Haverstraw Sports Complex in the meantime.

The multipurpose turf recreation fields were officially opened to the public last December.

Across the Hudson River, artificial playing surfaces are commonplace in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess, but there are still some football teams playing on grass, including Dobbs Ferry, Pleasantville, Ardsley, Hastings, Rye Neck and Croton-Harmon.

The playoff hunt

The season hasn't kicked off yet, but everyone aims to reach the top. Here's how to qualify for the postseason in each class:

Class AA: The top four teams in each league qualify, and they will cross over in an eight-team playoff bracket. For example, the No. 1 team in League A would face the No. 4 team in League B to start.

Class A: The top four teams in each league qualify, and they will cross over in an eight-team playoff bracket.

Class B: The top eight teams in Class B will make the postseason.

Class C: The top four teams in Class C will make the postseason.

Class D: Since Tuckahoe and Haldane are the only Class D teams in Section 1, they will meet in the decisive championship game.

Hudson Valley Football League: Teams will play for their own Hudson Valley Football title, but are not eligible for the Section 1 playoffs.

Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay. 

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Section 1 football: Everything to know heading into the 2023 season