By Jim Stout
MaxPreps.com
Love 'em or hate 'em, everyone wants to see the New York Yankees in their ballpark during the baseball season, particularly the owners. The appearances mean additional fans and a lot more money. They mean the chance to compete against one of the best and maybe even beat one of the best.
That same reasoning, however, can't always be applied to the Niagara Falls boys basketball team, which has returned to the Niagara Frontier League in western New York after playing for the last two seasons as an independent.
Not only does Niagara Falls field one of the top programs in New York, the Wolverines are arguably competitive with many of the top teams in the country. If you only lose to Mount Vernon by four points - as Niagara did last March in the state Federation Class AA semifinals in Glens Falls - you can probably play with anyone.
Given the talent at Niagara and given the size of the school (enrollment 1,884, tops in the league), the Wolverines' return to the NFL for 2006-07 has become a matter of debate; not bitter debate but certainly open for discussion.
"It's good for the league," North Tonawanda coach Erik O'Bryane told the Niagara Falls Gazette. "We're AA anyway and would have to beat them in the (Section VI) playoffs, so why not play them twice a year."
Lewiston-Porter coach Pat Krawczyk offers a contrasting view:
"I feel (Niagara Falls) doesn't get anything out of playing us twice a year," said Krawczyk, whose school has an enrollment of 651. "Our kids get excited, but overall we aren't going to get anything out of it, either, because they are at a level way above us."
Lockport coach Wayne Ginty, whose team has lost to Niagara in sectionals the last four years, says he enjoys playing the Wolverines.
"I'm glad they're back," Ginty said. "Everybody sees it as if we're all playing for second place, but we have a long tradition with them and our kids will play them hard."
O'Bryan likes the fact that his North Tonawanda team will get the chance to face standout players such as Niagara's Johnny Flynn (a MaxPreps pre-season All-American pick) and Rahshon Tabb.
"I have a young team, so my young players can learn a lot from playing against guys like Johnny Flynn," the coach said.
Niagara Falls coach Giulio Colangelo, whose team went 19-5 last season before losing 57-53 to Mount Vernon at the Civic Center in Glens Falls, says he's anxious to return to the NFA, so as to resume old rivalries and begin new ones.
Opponents will make what they can out of it either way.
"It's a real good measure for how good you really are," said Ginty.
Holle, Christian Brothers top Bishop Maginn
In one of the first big games of the season in the Albany area, Christian Brothers Academy got 34 points from forward Greg Holle as it topped Big 10 rival Bishop Maginn, 72-64, before a crowd of 2,300 at the Washington Avenue Armory.
CBA is the three-time defending Class AA champ in Section II while Maginn is again considered a strong contender.
"There was so much hype because we had a few close games last year, so this is awesome," Holle told the Albany Times-Union.
"But it's so early in the year this game doesn't mean much. It seems like it does because so many people came out, but if we come back and lose a game next week, this win will be an afterthought."
CBA (4-0, 1-0 Big 10) held defending Section scoring leader Talor Battle to 16 points.
"We had about five defensive strategies for guarding Talor and most of them didn't work," CBA coach Dave Doemel said.
"Every time he gets the ball I get nervous. To me, he's dangerous every time down the floor. We went into our man-to-man defense and I told Joe (Zappone) he had to pull up his britches and give it a go (and guard him). Joe did a nice job tonight."
Peekskill Reloading Just Fine
Peekskill, the defending state Class A champions, has lost most of its team from the 2005-06 season.
But the Red Devils still have junior standout Mookie Jones, one of the top players in Section I, and they still know how to win.
Peekskill overcame a late-game deficit by scoring nine straight points in the final 2:36 and topped Port Chester, 58-55, in a rematch of last season's Section I title game.
"It's amazing to me that they were able to show this poise," Peekskill coach Lou Panzanaro told the Journal News. "They came back there in the final minute, made some smart plays, and I'm proud with how they defended at the end."
De'Von Beaufort hit two free throws with 40 seconds left to put Peekskill ahead 56-55. On the ensuing possession, Darnell Gordineer stripped a Port Chester player of the ball. Beaufort ran down the loose ball at mid-court and fed Pat Campbell, who went down for an easy lay-up.
Beaufort, a player Peekskill will be counting heavily upon this season, had a breakout performance. The 6-foot senior guard scored 19 points, nine of which came in the first quarter. He added four steals and four assists.
"He's our secret weapon," said Jones, who had 15 points, nine rebounds and five blocks. "We know what he can do and he showed it. And he's just getting started."
Port Chester received an outstanding performance from 6-9 forward Jordan Henriquez, who scored 20 points. He had 10 points alone in the third quarter off his domination of the offensive boards.
"(Henriquez) really came out to play today," Port Chester coach Derek Vincent said. "He wanted to show people he can play with the best and he did that today."
Kennedy Adjusting its Sights
Though Kennedy Catholic of Somers has dominated Class B in recent seasons in both Section I and the state, this season should prove to be different.
In addition to graduating nine seniors and losing a 6-7 transfer to Briarcliff, Kennedy has been bumped up a class - to Class A - by a new rule that's attempting to level the playing field among public and private schools.
The section and state Class A title is presently held by Peekskill.
"Yeah, the expectations have changed a little bit," senior Greg Kessler told the Journal News.
"A lot of our good talent went away. Yeah, it's going to be a lot tougher to repeat going up in class. It's a challenge we're going to face and we're going to love it, I think. We're going to have a lot of fun. We have a lot different team this year, so it should be fun trying to attack these other teams."
Kennedy has captured the last three Section I Class B titles and won the state championship in Glens Falls in 2004. The Gaels are 70-10 overall during that stretch.
Kennedy's departure from Class B leaves the door open in that particular class for hard-luck and talented Woodlands. However, Woodlands has already been upset once during the first week of the season.
Cronin, Henninger Too Much for Fairport
Fairport, the defending Section V Class AAA champs, nearly overcame a monster performance by Henninger 7-0 junior center Ben Cronin, only to fall by 58-56 in the Brooklyn Pickle Classic in Syracuse.
Fairport senior center Tyler Launer had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but his eight-foot baseline jump shot back-rimmed out as time expired.
Cronin finished with 22 points and 19 rebounds; 6-4 swingman David Simmons also hurt Fairport with 16 points and a few high-rising plays, including two first-half dunks.
Kyle Downey had 21 points and seven rebounds for Fairport. Senior guard Kevin Borden added 14 points, while the 6-6 Launer had five points and eight rebounds while attempting to keep Cronin away from the basket.
"Our fight was good; our execution was good," Fairport coach Scott Fitch told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
"We grew up tonight. That's why we play games like this. Once we finally got over the 'awe factor' of playing against a 7-footer, we were fine."
Jim Stout is the MaxPreps.com master photographer for the Massachusetts/Rhode Island region and a Northeast region columnist. He may be reached at j.stout@jmstout.org