It will be at least a month before most teams from throughout the Hudson Valley/Long Island/Connecticut region have a good idea how their schedules for the 2011 season will look.

Right now, teams are working on scheduling out-of-region games. We are keeping an eye on some rivalry games that may be in danger.

Since the league alignments are now set throughout the region, expect the league schedules to be finalized first.

Suffolk has released its schedule for league games. You can access them on the pull-down menu at sectionxi.org.

Yorktown’s non-section schedule is still tentative, but close to being complete. It features these games: Chaminade, St Anthony’s and Smithtown West at home and Ridgefield, Wilton, Darien and Shenendahowa on the road.

But that’s not the headline here.

You may notice one team conspicuous by its absence: Ward Melville.

Yorktown and Ward Melville have met for more than 30 straight seasons. It’s become one of the nation’s most tradition-rich rivalries.

But because of budget cutbacks the last few years, the game has been in jeopardy (Ward Melville’s parents have privately financed the bus ride to Yorktown the last two meetings at Murphy Field), and that was reason Ward Melville cited for not scheduling the game this season. The two teams have combined for 13 state titles.

To fill the missing spot in the schedule, Yorktown scheduled a two-year home-and-home series with a very talented and deep Smithtown West team led by Duke-bound senior attackman Kyle Keenan, Cornell-bound senior defenseman Jordan Stevens, Army-bound seniors Brendan Madarasz (defenseman) and Mike Perrettine (midfield) and Virginia-bound attackman James Pannell, who is one of the nation’s top-ranked juniors.

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Posted In: Section 1, Section 11

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20 Responses to “Tradition-rich Yorktown, Ward Melville rivalry put on hold”

  1. LI Guy says:

    Too bad about WM-Town. WM would have no reason to drop Town other than the budget. I think theyve won like 8 of 9 vs Town.

    • north says:

      I hear JJ is having trouble getting quality opponents. No one want to play jj they are to strong and will win states easilly.

      • Indian J says:

        I doubt very much that John Jay is having trouble scheduling quality opponents because other teams are afraid to play them. Their record was great last year and they have many good players coming back, but they lost to Niskayuna and got walloped by Manhasset 12-3. I could see either Schurr having some difficulties because he is does not work for the school and might not be known by as many of the other coaches, or the school board and disgruntled town residents are complaining about the budget. The town has been having some difficulty lately because of taxes and teachers, extra curricular programs, etc. are all under an exceedingly powerful microscope. It’s ironic, because that kind of thing actually lowers property value usually. I hope that they can still keep some of those powerhouses of the schedule for 2011.

        • Laxer says:

          Too bad about WM-Town but sometimes change is good and a home and home Town-Smithtown West series will be awesome. I dont think they have ever played before.

        • who whaa says:

          Word is John Jay will be coming down to Long Island to play Massapequa.

  2. Sad at WM says:

    The home parents buy the lunch, the visiting parents pay for the bus. This is/was a great high school rivalry. Smithtown West takes the number-two seed in Suffolk away, now jumps on this game. Bring back Joe Cuozzo.

  3. BlackRock Lax says:

    It is sad because it’s a great rivalry born out of mutual respect started by Jim Turnbull and Joe Cuozzo. Of course nothing lasts forever but it would be nice if this is just a temporary hiatus in what Joe so accurately described as one of the top HS lax rivalries in the nation.

  4. Islander Lax says:

    Smithtown West is loaded. Suffolk overall will have more parity than ever.

  5. GreenWhite says:

    Ward Melville did dominate the series but it was still Yorktown’s most anticipated game out of the section each year. Lots of respect between the programs and lots of great memories.

  6. Lax Novice says:

    Kudos to Coach Marr for making lemonade out of lemons by adding Smithtown West when faced with the loss of Ward Melville due to fiscal issues rather than competitive ones. Yorktown plays the most competitive non-league schedule in Section 1 and that philosophy remains in place, to their credit.

    • rLaxFamily says:

      I agree – Coach Marr is making the best of a situation that all of the schools are faced with in one way or another.

  7. Murphy's Law says:

    Hate to see WM off the schedule but going out and getting SW is definitely a great move.

  8. Gonzo says:

    Joe, what are the final league alignments now? I know you posted most of them. But the last post from you on the topic that I could find was Oct 14, and as of that time there were a dozen teams not yet assigned to a league. Where are Croton, Ossining, Pleasantville, Briarcliff, Sleepy Hollow, Irvington, Ardsley, Hastings, Roosevelt, New Rochelle, Westlake and Edgemont?

  9. Patriot Nation says:

    All good things come to an end unfortunately. Here’s remembering lots of good memories and hoping the rivalry will be restored sooner rather than later.

  10. New Bridge Lax says:

    Hope they restore this great rivalry soon,

  11. Pat Lax says:

    Agreed. It is likely going to be off for both ’11 and ’12 bc of the way home and homes are scheduled, but lets get Yorktown back on for 2013 and beyond.

  12. HV Lax says:

    Agreed. Hope this rivalry is restored ASAP

  13. Observer Lax says:

    Yeah because of home and home scheduling it’s off for ’11 so it’s off for ’12. Let’s home they get it back on in ’13.

  14. WM lax fan says:

    Hey Joe can you try to find out why this game is not being played in 2011. I am 100% positive that the current Ward melville parents will foot the travel bill ( as they have done every year ). Please try to find out the real reason and let the Ward Melville fans know. We love this game and hate to see it end for basically no reason. Any information you have is appreciaited.

  15. Doid23 says:

    This must change. Maybe I’m just a sentimental old man, but I can’t believe that this game won’t happen. If it doesn’t, it will be a shame. It’s like Ohio State not playing Michigan.

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