Fall high school sports season off and running with 8 Port Chester teams starting 1st practice
August 29, 2024 at 2:00 a.m.
Summer is almost over, fall is right around the corner, the National Football League pro football season is about to begin, Major League Baseball teams are making their closing drives to the playoffs and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships started Monday (8/26) in Queens—the same day sports came back to school.
Which is to say as the pro sports calendar starts to heat up, so does the local scholastic sports schedule.
The first official Section 1 practices started Monday (8/26) at Port Chester High School with eight teams off and running towards the start of the fall season on various dates beginning in early September.
Left midfielder Brandon Flores Alvarez, a junior, attempts to dribble past senior defender Jonathan Mendieta during boys’ soccer 3 v 2 drills at Port Chester High School on Tuesday, Aug. 27.By Joseph DeCarlo
The eight teams getting ready in a hurry include football, boys’ and girls’ soccer, girls’ swimming, cross country, girls’ tennis, cheerleading and boys’ and girls’ volleyball—the boys’ VB team (a Port Chester first) coming about in response to popular demand.
Nearly 400 sign up
Approximately 360 Ram and Lady Ram student athletes registered for the various high school sports teams with that number expected to increase to more than 400 by the time registration closes.
"We are excited to begin another fall season for all sports here in Port Chester," said James Ryan, Director of Physical Education, Health and Athletics. "Coaches are working hard to make sure every student has opportunities to improve in their sports and enjoy a valuable life experience."
He spoke shortly before the first practices began, those sessions kicking off with double sessions starting at 8 a.m. when the Rams football team and Lady Rams soccer team started working out on various parts of the high school field and continuing at various times throughout the day with the soccer Rams hitting the field at 3 p.m. and the Vballers taking over the gym at 6 p.m.
The changes on tap
Before the student athletes hit the various playing fields, Ryan, in his capacity as athletic director, discussed some of the changes afoot before the fall season ever started.
Santos Avila, a teacher in the Port Chester School District, will be taking over as head coach of the Lady Rams tennis team, replacing former local educational and coaching legend Manny Martinez, who retired after more than 38 years, going out with a last hurrah that included leading the tennis Lady Rams to an undefeated season in its independent developmental league.
Jhonattan Cortez will be leading the boys’ volleyball team through its ups and downs as it makes its debut as a new varsity sport in Port Chester.
"We have been running a volleyball club at Port Chester High School for the past three years during the spring with the program run by our Physical Education teachers," Ryan said. "The turnout has increased annually with over 100 students participating in the program this past spring. It has been split almost evenly amongst both male and female students in participation. Over this time, groups of male students have inquired with interest in creating a competitive team. At Port Chester we utilize data to make informed decisions, and the data has suggested that our male students are interested in participating at a competitive level in boys’ volleyball, which has led me to make the decision to incorporate a new team/program this fall."
Senior captain Bridget Morocho defends against senior Daniela Lopez during girls’ soccer team practice Tuesday, Aug. 27 on the Port Chester High School field.By Joseph DeCarlo
The Big 3 prospects
That isn't all that's new. Port Chester's Big 3 fall season teams—Rams and Lady Rams soccer and Rams football—are starting virtually from scratch because they were all hit hard by graduation. Rams soccer, for example, lost 18 players from their roster including Ramaul Morgan (All-League and All-Section) and Nicholas Tellez (All-League and All-Section Honorable Mention) and All-League selections Christian Antunez, Jonathan Bautista and Julian Lopez.
"We are going to be very young this season," Head Coach John Cafaldo said as he surveyed the approximately 90 student athletes who turned out for the first official practice. "I'm looking to see who the next group of our players are going to be. And I have no clear insight on who we will have on the team just yet."
But certain things are always clear with the Rams—they have the greatest number of student athletes trying out for the team, and Cafaldo, their veteran coach, will almost certainly have them ready to make a run deep into the playoffs as is his custom—in fact, he remains the only Ram coach to bring his team within one goal of winning the school's first state championship (his Steven Hernandez-led 2012 team lost 2-1 in the state championship final to the Long Island defending state champion in Albany).
The Rams open their soccer season Tuesday (9/3) with a home scrimmage against Rye Neck at 4:30 p.m., play their first regular fall season game Wednesday at New Rochelle at 4:30 p.m. and go up against Roy C. Ketcham in their first home game next Monday (9/9), also at 4:30 p.m.
Getting their kicks
Lady Rams head soccer coach Danny Alvarado's team runs a not-so-close second in the number of student athletes trying out with 61 candidates for the varsity and JV. He knows he must replace eight graduating seniors including All-League standout Valeria Novoa and All-League Honorable Mentions Samantha (Sam) Munoz, the school's most outstanding female athlete, and Taby Sanchez, who lettered in three varsity sports.
So Alvarado is counting on his two senior co-captains, Gioella Pastena and Bridget Morocho, to help him get the team ready for their first scrimmage at home Wednesday (9/4) against Peekskill at 4:30 p.m., with their season home opener Thursday (9/5) at 4:30 p.m. against Spring Valley.
Rams head football coach Chris Halstead was also hard hit by graduation with the equivalent of a starting team graduation. The 11 graduated players included his three co-captains: running back and defensive ace John Delcid, best offensive and defensive lineman Jaden Barbour and outstanding lineman Alejandro Velasquez. The hardworking Halstead is trying to rebuild a losing Rams grid culture and has a strong nucleus on this year's team with fullback John Pauletti and quarterback Alexis Morel shaping up as a strong one-two punch running a team expected to revolve around wide receivers Jeremy Noel, Scott Sullivan and Xavier Tapia, with Brian Escobar at middle linebacker, Alber Puroj anchoring the line and Jefferson Castaneda as perhaps their most versatile player at corner back, outside linebacker and backup quarterback on offense.
Sophomore midfielder Ivan Gracia shoots during a boys’ soccer 3 v 2 drill at Port Chester High School on Tuesday, Aug. 27.By Joseph DeCarlo
But with approximately 30 players on the field at the first practice, the Rams could be hurting for backups once the season starts next Friday (9/6) away against Greeley at 6 p.m. The first home game is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 14, at 1:30 p.m. against Albertus Magnus.
The different story lines
And so it goes up and down the Rams lineup, from cross country coach Cindy Reyes Martinez having 24 runners signing up for her squad before their first workout at Crawford Park (that number including All-League x-country runner Santiago Marquez and Lady Rams distance running talents such as Alexa Aguiriano and Abigail Pesantez) to Lady Rams swim team coach Colleen Cahill who has to be concerned that Marquez, already the best swimmer in Port Chester history, is thinking about switching to Track and Field full-time to enhance his college athletic scholarship potential rather than splashing around at the Carver Center pool with the school's ever-improving swim team.
So various story lines are unfolding before the fall season begins.
But, no matter what, it promises to be an even more intriguing high school fall season now that sports have returned to school with the playing fields as their classroom and the student athletes looking to score as high there as they do in the schoolroom. And, as the ex-Yankee sage used to say: "You can observe a lot by just watching." There's lots of good watching ahead for local sports aficionados because fall practice has officially started, and the new season is right around the corner.
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