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HARRISON, N.Y. Harrison plans on doing to defending Section 1 Class A football champion Poughkeepsie what the Pioneers did to the Huskies in 2011 end their season.
Top-seeded and undefeated Harrison will host fourth-seeded Poughkeepsie at 6 p.m. Thursday in a quarterfinal-round game in the Section 1 Class A Football Championships.
The winner advances to meet the winner of undefeated Somers-Hendrick Hudson in a semifinal Tuesday at the home field of the higher seed. The championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 4, at Mahopac High School.
Coach made a good point that we got to settle the score this year with John Jay and Rye, two teams that beat us last year, senior quarterback Vinnie Nicita said. Now we have the chance to settle it with Poughkeepsie.
Poughkeepsie eliminated Harrison a first-round game last year.
Last year when we played them, we were affected by the weather and, as a result, we had too many fumbles and missed opportunities, Nicita said.
Both teams enter the game off of wins, with Harrison beating archrival Rye and Poughkeepsie (6-1) manhandling Nyack, 42-7. Nicita said the Huskies returned to practice on Monday focused on Poughkeepsie.
We were excited about Rye and know that we will always have that to hang on, but now we have the chance to go even further and do something special, he said.
Nicita said that when it comes to playing Poughkeepsie, you must slow the Pioneers down.
We have to contain their speed, particularly their quarterback, Nicita said. Overall, the key for us will be executing on big downs and containing them on defense. If we control the ball and keep our offense on the field, we will control the game.
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