Turmoil in the Class A football playoffs: LaSalle out, Troy in

 On Friday, LaSalle defeated Bethlehem to clinch its 3rd straight playoff berth in Class A.

Less than 48 hours later, that berth was gone, due to a heretofore relatively obscure rule, and the Cadets now will prepare to play Albany this weekend.

The Section II Executive Committee, prior to officially releasing the playoff brackets on Sunday, announced that LaSalle was, in effect, disqualified due to a JV player being allowed to play a varsity game without a mandatory 2 day rest period. Coach John Audino and LaSalle school principal Steve Sgambelluri, the former basketball coach, admitted mistakes were made, and, when interviewed by WRGB Sunday night, Sgambelluri admitted his school misinterpreted the rule. As noted, LaSalle will play Albany this weekend, and their seniors, including star running back Matt Bott, are eligible for all-star games.

With LaSalle out of the playoffs, Bethlehem moves into 2nd place, followed by Columbia, and last place Troy, which leap-frogs into the postseason despite no wins. This is due to 5th place Amsterdam not having enough healthy players to safely play a post-season game after getting trounced by Columbia on Friday. The Rams' season is over, while Troy travels to Niskayuna on Friday.

Meanwhile, LaSalle's women's soccer team, in its 2nd varsity season, was left out of the Class C sectionals due to having ineligible players for the 2nd straight season. LaSalle defeated Stillwater in the 1st round of the 2022 tournament, but that was before Section II discovered there was an ineligible player on the roster. As bad as LaSalle has been in women's soccer, they still had ineligible players this season, and thus were not included in the playoff tournament when it started last week.

The revised Class A football schedule for Friday:

South Glens Falls @ Averill Park.

Troy @ Niskayuna.

Queensbury @ Bethlehem.

Columbia @ Burnt Hills.

LaSalle wanted to self-discipline, but Section II chose to send a clear message. To borrow from a song from way back in the day, little things do mean a lot.