Saratoga Catholic football coach Phonsey Lambert took time at every practice trying to convince his team that it could win at Lake George. Something must have stuck.

The young men that make up Schalmont’s varsity football team will experience the raw emotion that comes with playoff football tonight. The Sabres are either going to exult in a history-making performance, or walk off their home field in disappointment, pondering what might have been.

When coach Paul Sander lost his wife to cancer last week, the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake boys' soccer team dedicated the remainder of their season to the coach and his family.

Saratoga Central Catholic ended a 19-year hiatus from the Section II varsity football scene with a smattering of positives last fall. The Saints nudged their foot in the door, and they’ve widened it this year. A significant breakthrough may not be too far away.

With two touchdowns and a pair of clutch defensive stops in the fourth quarter, Scotia-Glenville’s football season took a positive turn last Friday night. It could get a whole lot better for the Tartans, who thrust themselves into the Section II Class A playoff picture with their 39-32 Southeast Division victory over Bishop Maginn.

Great things can happen to those who persevere. Guilderland High School’s young football team proved that at Christian Brothers Academy last week, plugging away, never relenting and coming out on top in a wild Class AA Empire Division opener for both teams.

Try to hold a team to three touchdowns or less. Score some points. Keep the penalties to a minumum. Maybe win a game.
Remember those days at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons? Remember when moral victories were about the only kind the Golden Knights could attain on the football field? It wasn’t too long ago.

Ryan Alden is a modest Warrior. “The rushing touchdowns, there’s no way I would have gotten near the end zone without the guys up front,” the Niskayuna senior said of his performance in Saturday’s 22-14 season-opening win at Glens Falls. “And the ball I threw, the guy made a great catch.”

Matt Shell has never been one to yell a lot during football practice or in game situations. He’s well known for his calm and cool demeanor.

A couple of months, ago the New York State Public High School Athletic Association’s executive committee approved a state tournament for boys’ volleyball, beginning in the fall of 2010. Right now, Section II is on the outside looking in.

They still refer to themselves as a “Band of Brothers,” and their desire to win a Section II football championship hasn’t changed.

Schenectady football players are giving the high school’s newly installed synthetic turf at Larry Mulvaney Field a thumbs-up.