SULLIVAN COUNTY — After hot summer days and long summer nights, the fall season is finally here. For weeks teams have been conditioning, drilling and learning new plays and offensive and defensive schemes. All of that will culminate over the next 8-10 weeks as Football is finally back.

The 11-man teams in the county, Liberty and Monticello, it will be a chance to build on the successes from last season. Fallsburg, who has re-entered the 11-man fray, will similarly look to build off of their playoff run last year, which included a thrilling last-minute win over Tri-Valley and a heart-breaking last minute loss to Sullivan West.

The remaining 8-man teams in Sullivan County will be scrimmaging this weekend, getting one final tune-up before getting their seasons underway.

Football has been gone for a while, let’s take a look back at last year to see what we can glean ahead of this weekend’s slate of games.

Friday Night Lights

Liberty at Fallsburg, 6 p.m.

The Redhawks finished just three points short of a playoff appearance last season, losing 12-9 against Beacon in a win-and-in regular season game. With wins over New Paltz and Dover, the Liberty squad will look to give Fallsburg a warm welcome back to the 11-man array tonight on the road.

Fallsburg, on the other hand, found a ton of success in 8-man last year. Flashy playmakers left their mark on the season as the Comets finished with an impressive 5-3 (3-1) record. With enrollment numbers increasing, the team made the decision to leave the 8-man field and give 11-man a shot. Tonight’s matchup will be interesting as the team will likely need to deploy a different play style with the additional six players on the field.

The Saturday Slate

Monticello at Saugerties, 1 p.m.

Monticello is headed to Saugerties tomorrow afternoon to face off against the Sawyers. Saugerties finished 7-3 last year, good for second place in Class B. The Panthers had a much different season last year, finishing 1-9 as they struggled to get their offense going. Monticello will have a tough task ahead of them tomorrow as they look to hit the ground running and kick the 2024-25 fall season off on the right note.

Sullivan West Scrimmage, 11 a.m.

The Bulldogs invited a few 8-man squads to Lake Huntington for a Saturday afternoon scrimmage. The defending champs will be hosting Livingston Manor, Ellenville and Millbrook in the pre-season tune-up.

Pawling Scrimmage, 6 p.m.

The Section IX 8-Man runner ups, the Pawling Tigers, are hosting a scrimmage of their own on Saturday evening. Onteora, Pine Plains and the Tri-Valley Bears will make their way to the brand new football field to get some game action before the 8-Man season starts next week.