The picks are on the record.
Now the results are, too.
Coach I finished Week 3 at 17-4. The official ledger includes two correct selections decided by forfeits; the record in the 19 games played was 15-4.
That moves the full-season ledger to 58-24 (.707).
The weekly ledger
Week 0: 11-11
Week 1: 13-7
Week 2: 17-2
Week 3: 17-4
Season: 58-24 (.707)
Thursday: 1-1
- Miss: Spackenkill over Rondout Valley — Rondout Valley won 21-20. I said before kickoff that this felt like a game that could come down to one touchdown or less. That part was right. The side was wrong.
- Millbrook over Onteora — Millbrook won 52-46. Onteora made it every bit as dangerous as expected, but Millbrook survived the shootout and stayed unbeaten.
Friday: 9-3
- Saugerties over New Paltz — Saugerties won 36-14 after the game was tied 14-14 at halftime.
- Newburgh over Cornwall — Newburgh won 31-0 and ended the Cornwall series drought dating to 2009.
- Valley Central over FDR — Valley Central won 34-7.
- Washingtonville over Pine Bush — Washingtonville won 42-28.
- Beacon over Marlboro — Beacon won 12-6 and moved to 4-0.
- Dover over Chester Academy — Dover won 18-13 on a late touchdown pass.
- Miss: Eldred over Sullivan West — Sullivan West won 34-6.
- Miss: Highland over Burke Catholic — Burke won 52-6.
- Miss: Monroe-Woodbury over Minisink Valley — Minisink won 21-6.
- Our Lady of Lourdes over Kingston — Lourdes won 31-20.
- Ellenville over Pine Plains/Rhinebeck — Ellenville won 44-30.
- Wallkill over Monticello — Wallkill won 33-0.
Saturday: 7-0
- Middletown over Port Jervis — Middletown won 28-7 and reclaimed the Erie Bell.
- Pawling over Corinth/Hadley-Luzerne — Pawling won 42-16.
- James I. O’Neill over Poughkeepsie — O’Neill received the forfeit win. The game was not played.
- Rockland Central over Hoosic Valley — Rockland Central received the forfeit win. The game was not played.
- Tri-Valley over Fallsburg — Tri-Valley won 26-8.
- Goshen over Warwick — Goshen won 12-6 and kept the Spirit Trophy.
- Red Hook over Liberty — Red Hook won 40-0.
The four misses
Spackenkill at Rondout Valley
This was the closest miss of the week.
I expected a one-score game. Rondout won by one.
The lesson is not complicated: when two teams are that close, one possession, one turnover or one finish can flip the entire pick. Rondout made the last difference.
Sullivan West at Eldred
This was the miss I got the most wrong.
I gave the defending 8-Man champion the benefit of the doubt until somebody took it away.
Sullivan West took it away emphatically, 34-6.
That result has to change the way the 8-Man board is viewed entering Week 4.
Burke Catholic at Highland
I wanted Burke to prove it against a team that could offer real resistance.
They did more than prove it.
Burke turned a 3-0 versus 3-0 matchup into a 52-6 statement.
I picked Highland. Burke answered the question. That result has to matter when the rankings are refreshed.
Monroe-Woodbury at Minisink Valley
I stayed with the defending Class AA champions because I expected the program to respond after the Cornwall loss, even without Ethan Maldonado.
Minisink won 21-6.
Monroe-Woodbury is now 0-4. At this point, the ranking cannot be based on what the Crusaders were last year. Week 4 has to be judged on what the 2026 team has actually put on the field.
The best calls
Newburgh over Cornwall was the boldest pick on the card. The Goldbacks did not just break the drought — they won 31-0.
Dover over Chester also hit despite Chester owning the recent series. Dover found the late answer and moved to 3-0.
Beacon over Marlboro held up in exactly the kind of ugly, physical game I thought would test the Bulldogs. Beacon survived it and moved to 4-0.
And on Saturday, the rivalry calls held: Middletown got the Bell back and Goshen kept the Spirit Trophy.
What the ledger says now
Week 0 was 11-11.
Week 1 improved to 13-7.
Week 2 went 17-2.
Week 3 went 17-4.
The season ledger is now 58-24 (.707).
The point of this column is still the same: put the reasoning on the record before kickoff, own every miss afterward, and let the full season show whether the process holds up.
Next comes the harder part.
The Week 4 rankings and picks are now on the record. Burke’s win over Highland and Rondout’s win over Spackenkill changed the class conversation; those were two of the misses this ledger has to account for, not results to explain away.
Read the Week 4 class rankings → Read all 21 Week 4 picks →
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