Sectional Championships

Hello ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls from all over.  Thank you for tuning into my latest blog on Life of a Student Athlete.  Today we're going to look over what happened this past weekend with the Section VI Football Championships, as well as the beginning of the Monsignor Martin playoffs.  Over the weekend was the biggest event in local high school football, and many kids' dreams.  The Championships for every class in Western New York.   At Ralph Wilson Stadium.  That's right, 'The Ralph' or 'Rich Stadium', the stadium where the Buffalo Bills play, the professional football team for those of you who don't know.  Six games were played from Friday night, all the way through Saturday night.  Really a surreal experience for everyone involved in the entire thing.  Especially the players.  I know for me, a player on the Alden football team, winner of the three straight sectional titles, the experience is amazing.  First just getting there is unbelievable.  I'm lucky enough to go to live in a town where everyone is close.  We have the best fans and get a lot of support from a lot of people.  Earlier this year we had 3,500 people at our playoff game against Depew.  That's unbelievable, and unheard of in Class B.  That's pushing most of the Class A games.  But anyways, back to the arrival at the Ralph, we have a bunch of our fans tailgating there a couple hours before the game!  And that's really what this is all about.  How a tiny town like Alden can come together every fall, and be happy because of the football teams' success.  I know that sounds a little biased because I'm on the team, but it's the truth.  And a lot of people would agree with that.  You should see what the town looks like!  People, if you're ever bored and have nothing to do, take a stroll through the Village of Alden and then you'll see what I'm talking about.  It is a pretty neat thing that goes on over here.  And when we pull in to the parking lot at the stadium, they come over to the railing and they go crazy and it's nuts.  It's just an awesome thing and I feel like I can almost guarantee that no other school gets the support we do, and have no better fans than we do during football season.  Anyways, enough of my town and my school, let's get to some highlights.  Friday night brought two games to kick off the weekend, the Class D, and Class A Championships would be decided.  Maple Grove and Randolph squared off in Class D, and this is a big rivalry that has become stronger and stronger every year.  It seems like these guys meet here every year.  Maple Grove came in undefeated, and Randolph came in with two losses, one of which came against Maple Grove in Week 3.  This time though the result would be different.  Randolph was able to avenge their loss from earlier this year and has moved on into the State Playoffs, at the Far West Regional at All High Stadium on Friday night at 5 PM, Randolph will square off against Avon from Section V.  The game after that will be the game between two undefeated squads in the Class A State Quaterfinals, Sweet Home and Eastridge will battle it out, both 10 and 0 on the season.  This is a compelling match up, and since I'm finishing this blog late, I can update you on the score, in the 3rd quarter Eastridge leads the Panthers 21 to 7.  First time Sweet Home has trailed all season, I wonder what they will be able to do near the end.  On Saturday there are three games to see who will move on to the semis. Class C, Class B, and Class AA will all decide their winners.  Cleveland Hill will take on Section V powerhouse Hornell in the first game of the day, Alden will square off against East Rochester/Ganada.  Alden is looking to make it to the State Semifinals for the first time in school history.  And the big game of the weekend, is what a lot of people have been dreaming of seeing the past couple years, the Class AA game between the Orchard Park Quakers and the Aquinas 'Lil Irish.  These are two storied programs that have built some dynasties in the past couple years.  This is a huge game and a lot of people are looking forward to it.  Good luck to all teams this weekend and get it done out there.  Leave it all on the field.