Well I made it back, but not after stopping at a Roy Rogers to complete a weekend of eating totally unhealty. That Rogers sure does make a mean fried chicken though.

Thanks to my predecessor Dan Kiernan for weighing in on the blogs. Dan did a great job of setting me up with some great teams and it was exciting to get to watch three of them make it all the way to the finals and two winning it all (Thanks Haldane as well for waiting for me to come along so that now I can claim to be the real x-factor that put you over the top!)

Hope everyone else had a safe trip home as well. Goodnight!

The teams are gone, the floor has been wripped up and the stories have been filed. Time to leave lovely Glens Falls and return home.

It’s been a great weekend though. Section 1 having all three of its teams make the finals was impressive and Hen Hud and Haldane’s state titles give the section its first year of having multiple winners since 1999.

I’m glad to see the congratulations coming in. All three teams deserve it for having tremendous seasons. Remember as always to read more in tomorrow’s paper from both Dan Marra and myself and keep those comments/reactions coming!

Time to hit the road!

Haldane just defeated Section 6’s Randolph 3-1 to capture the New York State Class D championship. The Blue Devils had lost to the Cardinals in the final match the previous three years.

The Blue Devils (22-0) lost game one 25-22, but responded with scores of 25-18, 25-21 and 25-18 to close out their first state title since 1998.

Westlake didn’t fare so well, falling in straight games to another Section 6 power, Eden.

Overall though, a pretty good day for Section 1, which won multiple state titles for the first time since 1999.

Hen Hud just closed out Section 2’s Burnt Hills 25-12 in the fourth game to win 3-1 and claim the Class A state title for a second straight year.

What an amazing performance. This match was expected to be tight, but Hen Hud completely dominated other than game three.

It’s a pretty amazing accomplishment to win back-to-back state titles, but it’s even more impressive considering Hen Hud lost five of their six starters from last year’s squad.

Hen Hud crushed Section 2’s Burnt Hills in game one 25-5. The Sailors then took game two 25-17, but just lost game three 25-15.

The Sailors looked so dominant in the first two games it would have been tough to imagine them losing, but now they find themselves in a battle. Stay tuned…

I’m about to take off (it’s been nearly 12 hours in this freezing arena) so I figured I’d put up a quick wrapup before I left the lovely Glens Falls Civic Center.

Hen Hud (Class A), Westlake (Class C) and Haldane (Class D) all survived pool play to advance to tomorrow’s championship matches.

Hen Hud and Haldane will each face familiar foes. The Sailors will try to defeat Burnt Hills for a second straight title, while the Blue Devils will try to get over the hump against a Randolph team that has ended its season in the final the past two years.

Hen Hud split with Burnt Hills in their meeting today and Haldane steamrolled through Randolph. But what does that mean? Not much because they’ll start from scratch again tomorrow.

Westlake continued its magical run, but will have its work cut out for it against Section 6’s Eden, which won a state title in Class B last year before dropping down to Class C to beat up more on even smaller schools. The Raiders swept the Wildcats to finish pool play a perfect 6-0.

What a great day for Section 1, which has a chance at having multiple champions for the first time since 1999! Read more about all of today’s matchups in tomorrow’s Journal News. Dan Marra and I will have all three matches covered with plenty of reaction so check it out. I know my mom will…

Here’s tomorrow’s schedule for the three remaining Section 1 teams:

noon: (Class A) Hen Hud vs. Section 2’s Burnt Hills
2 p.m.: (Class C) Westlake vs. Section 6’s Eden; (Class D) Haldane vs. Section 6’s Randolph

That’s all for now. Time to get some dinner! I think I saw an Olive Garden not too far down the road. Now if they have the never-ending pasta bowl I will be all set…

Haldane and Westlake have officially joined Hen Hud in making it to their respective state championship games.

Haldane finished the day with a perfect 6-0 record after defeating Section 6’s Randolph, the team it has lost to in the finals the past two years, 25-14 and 25-12. It was an impressive ending to an impressive day for the Blue Devils who really weren’t challenged with an average margin of victory of over 15 points per game!

Meanwhile, Westlake was nearly as dominant before squaring off with Section 6’s Eden. The Wildcats were swept but will have a chance at redemption in tomorrow’s championship match. It’s going to take a pretty special effort though to beat the Raiders, who won a state title in Class B last year.

Haldane and Westlake both cruised in their second pool play matches. Haldane beat Section 11’s Shelter Island and Westlake defeated Section 11’s Center Moriches. It was a tough day for Suffolk County…

Neither match was competitive, particularly Haldane’s, which ended with scores of 25-10 and 25-6.

Now the real tests. Both teams have locked up spots in the final but now will play the teams they will face tomorrow. Westlake will be taking on Section 6’s Eden and Haldane will play the two-time defending champs in Class D, Section 6’s Randolph.

Westlake just posted an impressive win of its own in its opening match of pool play in class C. The Wildcats defeated Section 2’s Voorheesville (another tough one to spell) 25-15, 25-12.

Both Westlake and Haldane will now have a break before coming back to play back-to-back matches to close out their respective days. Needless to say, sweeping your first match, is always a good start.

The top two teams in each class will advance to tomorrow’s finals, which will both be at 2 p.m.

Haldane just crushed Section 10’s Chateaugay (had to check the spelling on that a couple times) 25-8, 25-7 in their opening match of pool play in Class D.

Randolph, the two-time defending champs, rolled as well with a 25-11, 25-9 win over Section 11’s Shelter Island.

It’s tough to imagine any team getting in between these two meeting in the finals for a third straight year.