I really want to see a Downsville-Milford final in the Section Four Class D girls soccer tournament.

Really, really, really, really, really, really ... really.

Nothing against the other nine area teams in the Class D sectionals, but isn’t this what we all really want to see?

It would be a classic No. 1-2 final, with undefeated Delaware League champion Downsville in one corner and once-beaten Tri-Valley League winner Milford in another.

And at least one coach has already come out swinging.

"I don’t think the Tri-Valley gets any credit," said Milford coach Lorin Campbell, who looked like he won a Te[an error occurred while processing this directive]xas Hold ’Em hand on the river card — low crouch, left arm pumping, eyes squinting, ear-to-ear grin — when Maria Arnot scored in the first half of Saturday’s 1-0 T-V championship victory over Edmeston.

"I think the Tri-Valley this year is comparable — if not better than — the Delaware League," he continued. "The Tri-Valley has better teams this year. Sure, you’ve got Downsville in the Delaware League, but the schedule they’ve played doesn’t make them any stronger."

At first glance, Campbell, a Downsville graduate, seems to have a point.

The Eagles did have a couple creampuff victories over Sullivan West (2-9-1 as of Oct. 18), Liberty (4-9-1) and Tri-Valley (which actually was .500 at one point after a 9-0 loss to Downsville). Throw-in league games against winless Andes and almost winless Windham, and it doesn’t seem like Downsville’s all that.

Of course, the Eagles did beat T-V affiliates Cherry Valley-Springfield (4-1), Gilbertsville-Mount Upton (6-0) and Morris (4-1) this season, along with No. 3 seed South Kortright (8-1), which is ranked eighth in the state with a 15-2 record.

Incidentally, the Rams beat Schenevus (2-0), Laurens (3-2) and Worcester (2-1 OT) of the T-V. As far as the T-V goes, G-MU, Schenevus and Worcester all can be considered in the upper-tier, especially the Wolverines, who are responsible for Milford’s loss this season.

Milford’s only cross-league victory that can be considered semi-impressive is a 2-1 defeat of Margaretville. And Downsville pounded the Blue Devils, 7-2 during the regular season and 6-0 in Saturday’s Delaware League championship. Roxbury (3-13) and Windham (2-16), which Milford beat by a combined score of 19-0, do nothing to suggest the Wildcats’ schedule was any stronger than Downsville’s this season. Nor does a 10-0 thumping of the Family School, which is 0-14-2.

And exactly like Downsville, Milford has one victory over a state-ranked team this season. The Wildcats beat New Lebanon, 5-4, to win their division at The Daily Star Hall of Fame Cup. New Lebanon is ranked seventh, one spot ahead of South Kortright, at 13-4.

That said, we should get a little indication as to which league is better in the quarterfinals. Downsville plays host to Worcester or G-MU — both T-V affiliates — on Friday, when Milford could meet Jefferson of the DL (if the Jayhawks get past Schenevus).

It’s safe to say no area team has as many premier offensive players as Downsville (Alexa Henderson, Courtney Hoyt, Macy Davis) or Milford (Arnot, Brenna Campbell, Logan Campbell). Both goalies are upper-echelon underclassmen, too, with Downsville junior Monica Nuzzo going up against Milford sophomore Chynna Pitlock.

Downsville coach Burt Reed kept his girls away from Saturday’s T-V final, which started about two hours before the DL championship at the Wright National Soccer Campus. That could be interpreted as careless or cocky, but Reed explained.

"I told the girls they’re not allowed to watch the other game," said Reed, who appeared to be having the time of his life while his team jumped to a 4-0 halftime lead Saturday. "I just don’t think it’s a good thing to watch an opponent. You might think they’re way better than you or not as good as you.

"I went and watched," he continued. "They’re a highly skilled team with real nice foot skills. ... (But) We’ve got to get there first."

I can’t wait to see what happens. ... Really.

HOW ABOUT THIS? There’s a first time for everything.

Maybe.

Oneonta High could be looking at its first losing season in the 32-year history of the girls soccer program. The Yellowjackets enter the Section Four Class A Tournament with a 7-8-1 record, meaning they have to win two games to ensure a .500 finish this fall.

Oneonta’s season will end with its first sectional or state-tournament loss (or a state final victory), as is the case for every other area team, so two triumphs will secure at worst a 9-9-1 season.

OHS should have little trouble evening its record at 1 p.m. today, when the fourth-seeded Jackets are scheduled to meet No. 5 Elmira Southside (1-14) on Union-Endicott’s turf field. The quarterfinal was rescheduled from Tuesday and moved from Johnson City Middle School because of heavy rain and snow.

Should Oneonta’s Jekyll-and-Hyde act win today, it will visit top-seeded Maine-Endwell (12-2-1) at 3:30 p.m. Friday. There’s no telling what will happen in the rubber match between the Jackets and Spartans. Oneonta fell, 1-0, at M-E on Sept. 12, then beat the Spartans at home, 2-1, in overtime Oct. 12.

Additionally, Oneonta’s last five games this season started with a 2-1 overtime loss to Seton — the state’s top-ranked Class B team — and included a 1-0 victory over winless Norwich and the 2-1 overtime defeat of M-E. Its other two games during that stretch were a 4-2 loss at Class A second seed Johnson City and a 2-0 season-finale home loss to Owego, which is Class A’s sixth and final seed.

Oneonta’s worst record came in its first season, a 5-5-3 mark in 1974 under Helen Sandford. She retired before the start of the 2004 season with a state record of 440 victories (440-121-25 all-time), 16 sectional titles and 12 league championships.

Sandford’s replacement, former assistant Jerry Mackey, led OHS to a 16-4-3 record and its second straight state-championship appearance last season.

PLAYER TO WATCH: She has no goals and no assists this season, but it’s awfully hard not to keep an eye on Unatego senior reserve Sharlyn Plows.

"She’s just a great kid," said Spartans coach Sue Herodes, whose team is seeded 11th and plays No. 6 Elmira Notre Dame in a Class B sectional opener at B.C. United Field at 3:30 p.m. today. The game was rescheduled from Tuesday because of bad weather.

"She’s into whatever it is we do and whoever’s doing it," Herodes continued. "She’s very intense and when she gets in there, she plays her heart out. She’s a doll."

Plows is easy to target during a game, whether she’s on or off the field. On the sidelines, she’s loud and mobile, playing the role of head cheerleader on a one-girl squad. Plows is officially in the game when she drops her sports goggles over her headband and races onto the field. The defender and backup goalie then does her best impression of a bloodhound on a sugar buzz, making opponents think twice about keeping possession for longer than a few seconds.

"A lot of the girls don’t like to play when we go offense-on-defense (in practice) because she is so intense," Herodes said. "She’s one of those kids that I don’t think had the opportunity as a young kid to get some touch and get some real controlled skill, but she’d run through a brick wall for me."