A very big game in the regular season will be played in Section 4 football games at the end of the last week of the regular season. Again, Maine-Endwell is there as a participant.
The 12-0 Spartans will look to do the same to a third team when they travel to Owego Free Academy for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday and win the Division III championship and the right to be the top seed in the Section 4 Class B playoffs.
Maine-Endwell is 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the division and is ranked No. 1 in the state in Class B by the New York State Sports Writers Association. Owego is 10th and 7-0 overall and 4-0 in division; Their crosstown foe Johnson City forfeited to them.
Both games were played last year and in none of them could the teams consider themselves great rivals. M-E-Man scored a big 69-0 victory over Owego in the regular season and later beat Owego with a score of 69-21 to clinch a third straight section championship.
Only, it gave no such justification this time that would help forecast a similar outcome. The next closest game for Owego has been 35-14 beating Horseheads who are a powerhouse team at 6-2 in section 4.
This game is going to be set with two of the the most prolific offense in the state. Owego offense scores 45 points per game and Maine-Endwell scores 46 points per game.
Winner is scheduled to take on the yet to be determined fourth seed out of the division in a Class B semifinal next week. Loser is at home against the No 3 seed. The title game comes in the weekend of Nov. 15-16 at Johnson City High School.
A look at other playoff scenarios:
Class AA
Corning has top seed clinched and will host the championship game at 6 p.m. Nov. 15. The final, which is ELAC and the first team to qualify for the championship will take place at 6 p.m. November 8 against Ithaca.
Class A
Horseheads will qualify for the higher seed in the Class A semifinals by having their record in Division II games or Section 4 point.
The Blue Raiders, who attempt to go unbeaten in division games at 3-0 on Friday against Union-Endicott, will be hosts to Binghamton in the semifinal next week. The other semifinal match up will be Union-Endicott against Vestal, the home squad. The team with the highest seed is the host at the championship game.
Class C
The Division V title and defending state champion Waverly, and Division VI title have been clinched by Chenango Forks. The other two positions in the Class C semifinals will be viewed to the second place teams.
The winner of Friday night’s game between Windsor and Susquehanna Valley moves into Division IV where the team gets a semifinal at Waverly.
Lansing can assure itself a second place in Division V by beating Dryden; however Dryden had to surrender the match they won on the field to Whitney Point, Oct. 4 by forfeit. Dryden can still make the playoffs with a win against Lansing and a Whitney Point loss to Waverly.
Class D
Delhi is Division VI champion and Spencer-Van Etten/Candor is locked into the second playoff position from the division.
Current three-time defending state champion is Tioga Central in Division VII, and they have a let up game with the Green Gulf station that also has a shot at clinching the division title. Deposit-Hancock is post-season bound if it wins the game against Newark Valley.
The semifinals are to be held next weekend at Susquehanna Valley.
Eight-man
The semifinals will be played in Binghamton Alumni Stadium next weekend. Moravia, which secured the division title, will take on Groton in the final while Trumansburg will square off against Thomas A. Edison.
November 1
Sidney (2-6) at Chenango Forks (7-1), canceled (Forks wins by forfeit)
Ithaca (2-6) at Oneonta (3-5), 6 p.m.
Maine-Endwell (8-0) at Owego (7-0), 7 p.m.
Union-Endicott (1-7) at Horseheads (6-2), 7 p.m.
Vestal (4-4) at Corning (5-2), 7 p.m.
Elmira (3-4) at Binghamton (1-6), 7 p.m.
Chenango Valley (3-5) at Norwich (5-3), 7 p.m.
Windsor (6-2) at Susquehanna Valley (3-4), 7 p.m.
Whitney Point (4-4) at Waverly (7-1), 7 p.m.
Dryden (3-5) at Lansing (5-3), 7 p.m.
Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour (2-5) at Spencer-Van Etten/Candor (4-4), 7 p.m.
Newark Valley (1-7) at Deposit-Hancock (7-1), 7 p.m.
Tioga (5-3) at Bainbridge-Guilford (6-2), 7 p.m.
Thomas A. Edison (4-3) at Allegany-Limestone (2-4), 7 p.m.
Unatego/Franklin/Unadilla Valley/GMU (6-2) at Trumansburg (5-1), 7 p.m.
November 2
Walton (3-5) at Harpursville/Afton (0-7), noon
Groton (4-4) at Newfield (1-6), noon
Oxford (1-7) at Delhi (6-2), 1:30 p.m.
Greene (2-5) at Moravia (5-1), 7 p.m.
