Posted by Steve Infanti - This is my 8th year covering the Section III football playoffs for NewsChannel 9.  I can't remember a more exciting championship weekend.  Four of the five games this weekend were decided by 10 points or less.  The only game that wasn't featured the winning team rallying from a 20-point first half deficit to win by 11.

In case you missed it, here's a brief recap:

Class D:
The weekend started with a Friday evening affair between top-ranked Onondaga Central and Dolgeville.  The Blue Devils have more sectional titles (14) than any other Central New York school.  But could they stop Latavius Murray? That was the big question.  They did a nice job containing him (40 yards on 12 carries in the first half), but I'm not sure there's a team in the state (in any class) that can "stop" him.  Dolgeville made the most of a couple OCS turnovers to take a 21-14 lead into the fourth quarter.  But when the game was on the line, Murray carried his team to victory.  He scored on an 8-yard run and on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter to will the Tigers to their second straight sectional crown 28-21.

Class A:
Speaking of carrying his team to victory, that's exactly what Carthage tailback Robert Grimm did during the nightcap on Friday.  Grimm rushed for 243 yards on 41 attempts including two touchdowns as the Comets held on to beat New Hartford 21-14.  The Spartans were coming off back-to-back upsets.  They beat ES-M in the opening round, then Whitesboro the week after.  Carthage is one of three unbeatens remaining in Section III (Onondaga and Cazenovia being the other two).

Class C:
Saturday's action started bright and early at 11am with a shoot-out.  Bishop Ludden started slowly falling behind to unbeaten Mount Markham 20-0.  But the Gaelic Knights rallied behind their big playmakers Daquan Grobsmith and Wendall Williams.  Grobsmith ran for 156 yards and four touchdowns, while Williams caught five passes for 107 yards and a touchdown.  It's Ludden's first sectional crown in football since 2000.

Class AA:
This was maybe the best game of the year.  This game featured two lead changes in the final minute.  C-NS took the lead on a Laquan James touchdown run with 54 seconds to play.  West Genesee then marched right back down the field and got a game-winning 23-yard field goal from Luke Cometti with one second remaining.  It's West Genny's first sectional football crown in almost two decades and the first for head coach Steve Bush (former SU assistant under Paul Pasqualoni).

Class B:
If West Genesee-C-NS was the best game, Westhill-Cazenovia was the most-hyped game.  Both teams came into this one unbeaten and ranked among the top four teams in the most recent state poll.  Westhill's Dale Ross was once again fantastic.  The senor tailback rushed for 227 yards after his record setting 569-yard performance last week against Marcellus in the sectional semis.  Cazenovia's starting defensive unit had allowed a total of three touchdowns over the course of the last two years before Westhill found the endzone five times (once on special teams).  The Cazenovia offense though had enough fire-power to win the game 44-34.  Next up for the Lakers is a rematch with Chenango Forks -- the same team that edged Caz by a field goal in last year's state regionals.

So who do you think has the best shot now of winning a state title this season? If you go strictly by the rankings, the three remaining unbeatens have the best chances at a state title.  But let's not forget what happened last year when Auburn went from not being into the playoffs, to being the lone state champion from Central New York.  Will we see another unlikely champion this season?  The kids from Camillus certainly hope so.