Wanamaker Photography

The second part of our mini series covers an incredible football game between Minisink Valley and Newburgh Free Academy for the Section IX Football title.

Unlike Friday night, Saturday was a bit colder once the sun had dipped below the horizon. As we made the hour and a half long journey up to Dietz Stadium in Kingston New York, we talked about how we were going to cover what was sure to be an exciting game between two very strong High School teams.

The last matchup between Minisink and Newburgh was a very close game. Coming down to the final minutes in the fourth quarter and only a few points between them, Minisink held on strong to defeat them for the third time in nearly a year. However, Saturday night was going to shape up a little differently …

Both teams played very strong in the first half, only moving the ball a few yards during their posession. By the time halftime came around, Minisink was ahead by a little more than two touchdowns. As I followed them into the locker room for some “behind the scenes” shots, I completely forgot how cold it was outside and just how warm and humid the locker room actually was. When I finally cleared my lenses of the fog … I snapped some shots of the team as they prepared for the second half of this tough game.

As the final minutes of the game ticked away, Newburgh found some extra strength within and put up a strong fight for the title. With just thirty-five seconds left in the game, Newburgh tied everything … sending the game into overtime. Unfortunately, it was already 10:30PM and with an hour and a half drive ahead of us and an early morning wedding on Sunday, we made the tough decision and left the game just as the overtime matchup got underway.

As we headed home, friends from the sidelines provided us with up-to-the-second updates as the game progressed. With each team scoring another touchdown, they entered double overtime …

In a stunning upset for Minisink Valley, Newburgh was the first to score and won the Section IX Football title. While Minisink may have lost, everyone on the team played an incredible game! Even though they lost, here are some “highlight” shots from the game …

Last night, Loretta and I were out at the Minisink versus Warwick game … continuing our coverage of the 2008 Minisink Valley Football season. It was work as usual except for one image that could be considered a “lucky shot”

Midway through the game, as Warwick had the ball and was making a drive for the endzone, I decided to position myself just past the endzone marker hoping to capture some shots of Minisink stopping Warwick. However, I captured something that I wasn’t expecting.

Warwick snapped the ball and the QB passed it off to Brian White (#12) who was headed straight for me near the Minisink sideline. I held my position for as long as possible until the players (who could easily crush me) got too close for comfort. I quickly set my camera settings, stood up and started to back away - keeping my finger down on the shutter button the entire time. Brian dove for the goal line and this is what I captured …

Dragging the shutter just a bit and keeping everything center focused, I was able to get a clear shot of the player and the ball in mid-dive!

In the end, Minisink won the game by a touchdown and field goal … stretching their lead to 3-0 for the season. If things keep up, we’ll be following them to Dietz Stadium again this year!

Last night was the first regular season game for Minisink Valley Football against Port Jervis, a long time rival.

After leaving the Junior Varsity game at Minisink Valley High School a little early, we headed down to Port Jervis to capture the early moments as the teams took to the field and began their warm-ups. Just ahead of the rain from Hanna, the skies were perfect and the sun settled behind the trees as their routines came to an end.

We also captured a few head shots of the Senior Cheerleaders as well as this group shot of the entire squad …

As the night progressed, Minisink Valley pulled a strong lead over Port Jervis. With a few interesting plays and a couple mess-ups, Minisink Valley won the game thirty to nothing! Here are a couple shots from the game …