In the world of high school competition, the pressure just doesn’t get any greater than this.

Two Big 30 teams - the Belfast boys’ soccer squad and the Randolph football team - play in New York State semifinal games this weekend.

After having edged Section 6 champion North Collins, 2-1, in the Far West Regionals last weekend, Belfast (18-2-1), the Section 5 entry in the state’s Class D tournament, will meet Section 2 representative Northville on Saturday (1 p.m.) at the Soccer Hall of Fame complex in Oneonta.

Randolph, meanwhile, takes a 10-1 record into tonight’s Western Regional matchup against Groton, also 10-1, of Section 4, in a Western Region game that will decide one of two berths in next week’s title game at the Carrier Dome.

At stake for each is a berth in the New York State championship round.

Should Belfast win on Saturday, coach Mark Sullivan’s charges will meet either Hamilton (Sec. 3) or Chazy (Sec. 7) for the state crown on Sunday.

A win by Randolph would lift the Cardinals into next weekend’s championship game against either Eldred (Sec. 9, 10-1) or Moriah (Sec. 7, 7-2).

Coach Pat Slater led the Cardinals to the state Class D crown in 2005 when Randolph capped a 13-0 season by defeating Cambridge of Section 2, 35-6.

SOCCER

NEW YORK STATE, CLASS D

Semifinal Round

Belfast (Sec. 5, 18-2-1) vs. Northville (Sec. 2, 19-1-0)

Hall of Fame Complex, Oneonta

Saturday, 1 p.m.

When asked what he knows about his team’s opposition, Sullivan offered one simple response.

“Nothing.”

That’s the approach he’s decided to take as the Bulldogs attempt to reach the state championship round for the first time in three trips to the Final Four,

“They were here in 1981 and again in 1996,” said Sullivan, whose father, Rich, was on the Belfast sidelines on both of those occasions. “And in both of those trips to the semifinals, they lost 2-1.

“My boys have gone on the Internet and read everything they can get their hands on about Northville. As far as I’m concerned, all we need to do is go out there and stay focused on what we do best.

“I believe in the system that we have in place,” said Sullivan. “So why change things?

“I’ve told my guys that they are one of the last four teams in Class D to be playing this year. I’ve told them that his is a one-time opportunity and they need to go after it.

“There’s one thing that I’m sure of. We need to play 80 minutes of good soccer. Playing one half will not be enough.”

FOOTBALL

NEW YORK STATE, CLASS D

Western Semifinal

Randolph (Sec. 6, 10-1) vs. Groton (Sec. 4, 10-1)

Marina Auto Stadium, Rochester

Today, 5 p.m.

A week ago, Slater’s offense never put the ball in the air when 53 running plays helped the Cardinals dispatch previously undefeated Dundee, 14-6, in the West Regional.

Fans attending tonight’s game at Marina Auto Stadium can expect more of the same.

“That (running game) seems to e the formula that works,” said Slater. “We’ve seen Groton play. They have a pretty good running game. I’m not sure if their one back is as fast as the Webb kid from Dundee, but he’s got some speed.

“They have a kid that is their blocking back and plays middle linebacker who is an absolute animal. It’s them who we have to contend with.

“But don’t expect us to change what we do in order to stop them,” he said. “We’ve gotten this far by doing what we do. I’m not going to do anything different. We’re going in to say, ‘Hey, this is what do. Stop us.’”

DISTRICT 9, CLASS A

Curwensville (9-2) vs. Coudersport (8-2)

Saturday, 6 p.m., at Brockway

When these two teams met back in Week 3, Coudersport defeated Curwensville, 23-6.

Second-year Falcons coach Brendan Hathaway expects this game to be much closer.

“Based on the films we’ve seen, Curwensville is a heck of a lot better now than they were earlier this year,” he said. “But then again, we’ve improved as well.

“We just need to be able to run our offense. They’re pretty big and physical.

“The first time we played, my guys came out ready to play,” said Hathaway. “We need to duplicate that effort, set the tone and run the ball effectively.

“Defensively, we need to be able to bend and not break.”

Cameron County (10-1) vs. Clarion (8-3)

Saturday, 1 p.m., at Brockway

Cameron County will get the opportunity to see some new faces.

After playing a pair of rematch games against their last two opponents, the Red Raiders face a different foe in Clarion.

Two weeks ago, coach John Fragale’s team met Curwensville in the Allegheny Mountain League title game. After it defeated the Golden Tide, 19-18, in overtime way back on Sept. 25, Cameron lost the rematch, 6-0.

Last Friday, the Red Raiders met up with Port Allegany, a team it had beaten, 14-7 just four weeks earlier. This time, the Red Raiders were able to complete a season sweep with a 29-22 win.

In Clarion, Fragale hopes his players will get fired up.

“From the standpoint that Clarion is a team we haven’t face this year, I hope my guys get excited,” he said. “Then again, I’ve been saying this a lot this year, Clarion is very similar to us in the fact that they run the ball extremely well and they can throw when they need to put the ball in the air.

“It’s no secret that we’re a much better team defending the run than we are against the pass. We’re good, but we’ve given up some big pass plays this year.

“One thing that concerns me is the fact that we’ve been battling some flu in school this week. But the later in the week we go, the more healthy we’re looking. But I’m worried that the flu may have taken a toll on our endurance factor.”

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