A tradition unlike any other

South Kortright senior Townsend has 40 goals and 12 assists this season, and Davenport senior Toombs is one of the better athletes on an unbeaten Wildcats squad.

They should share quite a bit space once the championship starts at 1:15 p.m. at the Wright National Soccer Campus.

Townsend's scoring has helped the Rams (13-2-2) to their first appearance in the crossover since 2003, when SK shared the title with Windham after a 2-2 tie.

Davenport (17-0) has relied on Toombs and a host of other seniors in a season that included a season-ending injury to Brandon Butts during a 4-2 victory at South Kortright on Sept. 18.

"He's quick and has good ball skills," Davenport coach Jenn Henderson said of Townsend. "He's aggressive, a good athlete and someone we have to keep an eye on. Dan Toombs guarded him the first game and did a good job. It'll be two good soccer players going against each other."

Butts, who suffered a broken leg after colliding shins with SK's Adam Burns, scored all four of Davenport's goals against the Rams in the teams' first meeting. Townsend had both of the SK's goals.

The Wildcats are back in the final after losing last year's crossover to Downsville, 2-1. They were co-champions with Roxbury the year before, when the teams played to a 1-all tie.

The last time a crossover didn't feature Davenport or South Kortright was 1998, when Jefferson beat Hunter-Tannersville, 3-1.

"Davenport-South Kortright has always been a big matchup," Henderson said. "They have a really good coach. Any time Bobby (VanValkenburgh) coaches, you know they'll be competitive. He has a well-disciplined team and good athletes."

Brian Komosinski, Josh Palmatier and Ryan Dorosky have scored eight goals apiece for the Rams this season.

"Justin's a great goal scorer and we're going to draw Toombs on him, so that takes away one of their better ballplayers as well," VanValkenburgh said. "We know they're going to guard him tight."

But VanValkenburgh said he's more concerned with how his defense will match up against Davenport.

"They've done a great job since Brandon (Butts) went down," VanValkenburgh said. "The (Nate) Lorber kid is very good. The goalie (Brandon) Cuddy, the sweeper (Joe) Ballard and Toombs in the middle are all good kids. Travis Mole is another good athlete. They've been there in all the sports.

"I like the kids I have, too," he continued. "I think it will be a good ballgame."

Lorber leads a balanced offense for the Wildcats with 12 goals, and several others have "a handful of goals," Henderson said.

"We have a lot of different players who are scoring at key times," Henderson said. "I don't have one key player, which makes us an open, versatile team. We've had a lot of guys step up, and I hope that makes us harder to defend."

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Rob Centorani can be reached at rcentorani@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 209.

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