Capital District High School Football 2013 Season Preview

7/30/2019 Capital District High School Football 2013 Season Preview

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HIGH

SCHOOLFOOTBALL

Get to know

the teamsFrom Albany

Academy to

Watervliet,

Section II team

previews:

Pages 4-35, 38-71

No love lost

When these

teams meet, the

heat gets turned

up. Read about

the best rivalries

in the section:

Pages 36-37

Follow along all

year on Twitter:

@SaratogaSports

@TroyRecordSport

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The Record www.troyrecord.com2 - Thursday, September 5, 2013


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The Record www.troyrecord.com/THE SARATOGIAN www.saratogian.com Thursday, September 5, 2013 - 3

By LAURA AMATO

[email protected]/LauraAmato

TROY Anthony Walker needs thisseason to be perfect.

The Lansingburgh running back, whofinished last season with 194 total points,has certainly proven himself in the past.After all, the multi-year starter has beennamed to dozens of all-star and all-stateteams over the past few seasons.

But, as he prepares for his senior sea-

son with the Knights, Walker knows thathis football future hinges on what hesable to do this year.

Its really like my final statement, hesaid. Iknow I cameoutandmade a namefor myself young.

But I feel like this is the year that I canreally come out and make it better thaneverythingelse. I hopefully cangive myselfa better chance for college with this.

Walker certainly has goals in mind forthis year, and it all started inthe offseason.

The Burgh standout, who was named aFirst-Team Class B All-State player lastyear, attended dozens of football campsthroughout the summer, meeting withcoaches and players at all levels and tak-ing in every bit of advice he could toimprove his rushing game.

I take my offseason really seriously,Walker said. I just use every little bit Ican get. I take advice from every coach Isee, any players in my position. I take anyadvice I can.

Of course, Walker knows that it will bedifficult to improve upon his performancefrom last year. As a junior, he averagedjust more than 178 rushing yards a gameand, in nine games last season found theendzone 29 times.

With those kind of stats behind him,Walker is well aware that teams are goingto stackthe box against him this season inan attempt to slow him down.

Not that it bothers him all that much.

I actually look for that in most games,Walker said. I like to see what they try tobring, new defenses and blitzes and stuff.They always try to go head-hunting for me.But I look at that as motivation. It makesme want to be better.

Part of the problem that opposingdefenses face when they go up againstWalker is just how patient he is at the line.

Walker isnt the kind of running back topush his way past his blockers only tomake it 5 yards down the field. Hes one ofthe most thoughtful backs in Section II,letting theplayunfold before he makes hismove.

He never tries to do too much, Burghcoach Jeff Pasinella said. Of course, healways ends up doing too much though.He just waits for the blocking schemes todevelop.

After last seasons disappointing loss toSchuylerville in the first round of section-als, Walker is more determined than everto see Lansingburgh take a dominant holdof Class B this season.

That season ended not as we hadplanned, Walker said. That kind of givesus motivation to come in and exceed thatgame. We want to have our season be justas good, but we want it to end better.

While the expectations for Walker arepractically through the roof this season,he has no problem stepping up as aleader. Hes planning for it.

As he looks t o improve his chan ces fora top college offer, Walker is ready to dowhatever it takes to get there and hellsprint all the way to the end zone if hehas to.

By DAVID M. JOHNSON

[email protected]/davidmichael10

GREENWICH In the modern worldof sports-specific athletes, John Barnesis a throwback. The 6-foot-2, 195-poundsenior is notonly a three-sport letterman,but a major contributor to the football,basketball and baseball programs atGreenwich.

Entering the senior year of a careerthat has included numerous individual

awards at the league, section and statelevel, there is one accomplishmentBarnes still has his sights on a SectionII title. He was called up to the basketballteam that won sectionals as a freshmanbut didnt play any minutes in that game.

Thats definitely a goal of mine in allthree sports, to go out with a bang,Barnes said of winning sectionals. Idlike to help the school get sectional andstate titles in one sport if not all three. Iknow thats easier said than done.

Its been 16 years since Greenwich wonits last Class D title a 20-14 win overCambridge. But with seven returnersfrom a very good 6-2 squad in 2012,Barnes is among those Witches playerswho thinks this could be the year.

Well be tough to stop again this year,Barnes said. Weve got a couple goodyounger kids filling in on the offensiveline. We have a new quarterback (LukasWhitehouse), and hes very athletic. Hellbe just fine.

Hisoffensive stats in 2012 over an eight-game regular season were staggering.Barnes, a running back, rumbled for 1,481yards and 23 touchdowns en route to aFirst-Team Class D All-State selection. Infact, his statistics accounted for about 70percent of the Witches offensive produc-tion an impressive stat considering theteam averaged 38 points per game.

Hes a total package, Greenwichcoach Brandon Linnett said of Barnes.

He runs with power, hes also a slasher.Every carry can go to the house for atouchdown. He doesnt give up on anyrun. Hes probably the best offensiveplayer Ive coached in seven years.

As good as he was last year, Barneshas spent the time between baseball sea-son and the start of training camp gettingstronger.

Ive gotten a lot stronger since lastyear, he said. I felt last year all thosecarries and playing defense tired me outin the fourth quarter. I feel like coach hasus doing more conditioning and its help-ing out a lot.

Barnes ability is not going to surpriseany Class D coaches this season espe-cially Cambridge Coach Doug Luke. Inlast years Greenwich-Cambridge rivalrygame, Barnes carried the ball 46 timesfor 377 yards and three touchdowns. Theheroics turned out to be in a losing effort,but that doesnt mean Luke isnt aware ofthe challenge his defense faces when therivalry resumes in Week 1 this season.

He's 200 pounds and he runs fasterthan anyone we have, Luke said. Hes abig, strong kid. He scares us a lot.

Having Barnes in the backfield shouldtake some of the pressure offWhitehouse. The sophomore has twoquality receivers to throw to in JeremyMessina and Glen Taylor and a solid coreof linemen to protect him. Still, the threat

of handing the ball to Barnes is the onethat will make defenses react.He sets up everything else for us

our play action pass game, our other run-ning backs, Linnett said. You mightspend a lot of your week preparing forhim and you might miss some of theother stuff we have. Were not all JohnBarnes, but it starts with him.

John Barnes determined to getGreenwich a sectional title

Anthony Walker ready to writefinal statement with Knights

ERIC JENKS/The Saratogian

Greenwichs John Barnes is determinedto bring the Witches back to the playoffsthis season after failing to capture aberth last year despite a 6-2 record.

J.S. CARRAS/The Record

Lansingburghs Anthony Walker rushedfor 1,603 yards last season. As a seniorthis year, hes hoping to top that andclinch a championship for the Knights.

Cover photo of Anthony Walker by J.S.

Carras. Photo of John Barnes by Eric Jenks.

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By ANDREW SANTILLO

[email protected]/Andrew Santillo

ALBANY As the 2012season wore on, TonyFruscio saw that his teamwas getting beat up.

Albany Academy playedsome of its biggest oppo-nents, in terms of schoolsize, in the last few games.

The Cadets finished the

year with three straightlosses to Queensbury,Lansingburgh and in theplayoffs to Glens Falls, allschools that were Class Aor had been recently.

Already playing above itsenrollment as a privateschool, Academy woredown, limping to a 4-4finish.

Not this season.The Cadets took to the

weight room in the offsea-son, lifting throughout thesummer to make sure thatwouldnt happen again.

We see the resultsalready, Fruscio said. Wethink were going to be bet-ter up front. Were going tobe faster and were going tobe a little stronger.

There were morethan20kids who spent their sum-mer mornings, Mondaythrough Thursday, from 7-8:30 a.m., working out inhopes to be in better shapecome football season.

We came here ready toplay from day one, said

senior Austen Zeh. Evenon the first day of practice,we were all going hard.

The offseason additionof strength and speed hasthe Albany Academy play-ers believing big thingsare possible.

This year, our youngerkids are as strong as us,said senior Ahil Dawoodani.So even during practice itmakes us better becausewere going full speed.

Dawoodani, who playson theoffensive anddefen-sive line, will serve as acaptain, along with quar-terback Eric Woods.

We get everyone set,

ready and we need to geteveryone out on time,said Woods, who will runthe offense for the secondstraight season. We needto lead by example.

Woods feels comfortableleading the offense andbeing the guy with the ballin his hands on each snap.

You own the game, youcant crack under pressureand you have to make sureeveryone else is focusedbefore you are, he said.

With strong senior lead-ership, this team should beable to overcome many ofthe hurdles it ran into lastseason.

We have the two bestcaptains, Id say, to keepleading us, Zeh said.They keep getting every-body pumped up.

The varsity team alsohas plenty of depth to getit through the season.

Our depth is prettygood, Fruscio said. Wehave guys competingevery day for positions.Were pretty much two-deep across the board.

Class B will be tough asusual and the last time theCadets won the Section IItitle was in 2006, when cur-rent NFL running backDion Lewis helped

Academy get all the way tothe state championshipgame.

Its definitely a difficultClass, Fruscio said. Itsdifficult just to win yourdivision because theresmore than one good teamon each side.

T wo yea rs ag o, theCadets reached the ClassB Super Bowl but lost inheartbreaking fashion toSchalmont.

Thats our goal toget back, Dawoodani said.We have a lot of seniors,and all the seniors that wehave played in that game.Its still an open wound. Ithasnt healed yet.

The Record www.troyrecord.com/THE SARATOGIAN www.saratogian.com

MIKE McMAHON/The Record

Albany Academys (from left) Austen Zeh, Eric Woods and Ahil Dawoodani return tothe field in 2013 with the the sole intention of lifting the Cadets to the Class B SuperBowl for the first time since 2011.

A CLOSER LOOK

Coming off a season inwhich he rushed for 912yards, Austen Zeh waspretty pleased with thestatistics.

However, if opponentsthink that Albany

Academys senior runningback sat back all summerand rested on what he didin 2012, let this be theirwarning.

Zeh was in the weightroom four days a week,lifting for 90 minutes a daywith his teammates, withthe goal of having an evenbetter year in his final highschool season.

I want to do a lot betterthan I did last year a lotbetter, he said. Last yearwas a good year, but Iwant to step it up.

Zeh was a first-teamReinfurt Division All-Starlast season as a junior. Herushed for 249 yards in avictory over IchabodCrane, where he added acouple of touchdowns.

While the stats wereimpressive, Zeh wasntcontent with just coastingon the numbers.

In addition to liftingweights in the offseason,Zeh had help from a run-ning trainer and anotherweightlifting trainer in hisspare ti me, to helpincrease the work on hisfeet and his overall speed.

Now, hes hoping that itall translates into an evenbigger season on the fieldthis fall.

Hes a freak in theweight room, AlbanyAcademy coach TonyFruscio said. He can liftas much as we put on thesquat rack, as much aswe put on the bench and

he has high expectationsfor himself.With all of the hard work

put in the offseason, Zehseems primed and readyto go.

We need him to have abig year for this team towin, said Fruscio.

Bench-pressing their way to a Class B title

2012 RESULTS

Sept. 1 Green Tech W 48-8

Sept. 8 Cohoes W 35-26

Sept. 15 Hudson W 49-6

Sept. 21 Ravena L 20-7

Sept. 28 Ichabod Crane W 32-6

Oct. 6 Queensbury L 35-0

Oct. 13 Lansingburgh L 53-50

Oct. 20 Glens Fal ls @ L 36-0

@- playoffs

COACHS CORNER

Tony Fruscio6th Season

Career record53 - 37

HUDDLE UP

Nickname: Cadets

2011 Record: 4-4

Offense: Wing-T

Defense: 3-5

Starters Returning: 5 offense;

5 defense

Last Playoff Game: 2012

Last Section II Title: 2006

Division: Class B, Reinfurt

ROSTER2 A. Soldini 11 RB/LB3 W. Bennett 9 QB/LB4 K. Hartigan 11 TE/DE5/15 E. Woods 12 QB/DB7 V. DiCa terin o 10 QB/LB9 Z. Thomas 11 RB/LB10 M. Balter 12 QB/DB12 A. Martin 9 WR/DB1 4 J . Ho yt e- Ki ng 1 2 W R/ DB21 A. Zeh 12 RB/DB30 C. Morgan 11 RB/LB31 M. Thomas 10 RB/LB32 L. Gueye 10 RB/LB34 J. D'Iorio 11 WR/DB36 C.Fiore 10 RB/LB41 E. Guloc 11 TE/DE40 Q. Epetein 12 RB/LB

45 Z. Saifi 12 RB/LB53 M. Bohl 11 OL/LB56 R. Anderson 1 2 OL/DL6 0 A. D awo od an i 1 2 O L/D L64 W. Pausley 11 OL/DL68 D. Burgess 12 OL/DL70 S . M cE ldow ney 11 O L/ DL71 E. Mextorf 12 OL/DL74 N. Anyaegdunam 10 OL/DL7 5 R. K lim ke wic z 1 0 OL /D L79 J. Duffy 11 OL/LB80 M. Ortiz 12 WR/DB81 R. Gleason 10 RB/DB88 B. Cherk 10 WR/DB

Visit www.troyrecord.com orwww.saratogian.com to watch avideo about your team!

ALBANY ACADEMY CADETS

4 - Thursday, September 5, 2013

The Record Th d S t b 5 2013 5


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The Record www.troyrecord.com/ THE SARATOGIAN www.saratogian.com

Sept. 7 vs. Green Tech 1 p.m.

Sept. 13 at Cohoes 3:30 p.m.

Sept. 20 at Hudson 7 p.m.Sept. 28 vs. Ravena 1 p.m.

Oct. 5 vs. Ichabod Crane 1 p.m.

Oct. 11 at Jamesville-Dewitt 7 p.m.

Oct. 18 at Lansingburgh 7 p.m.

Oct. 25-26 Playoffs TBA

Nov. 1-2 Super Bowl TBA

2013 ALBANY ACADEMY SCHEDULE


Photos by Mike McMahon/The Record

Above, Academy head coach Tony Fruscio discusses aplay with his team during a recent morning practice.Right top, Eric Woods looks for running room. Rightbottom, lineman Ahil Dawoodni runs through drills inpreparation for the Cadets season opener againstGreen Tech.

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The Record d / THE SARATOGIAN i6 Thursday September 5 2013


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By ANDREW SANTILLO

[email protected]/AndrewSantillo

ALBANY There isreason for optimismaround the Albany Highfootball program.

Following four straightwinless seasons, theFalcons were staring atanother 0-9 finish in 2012.

Then, in the second to

last game of the seasonthey picked up a 24-0 victo-ry against South GlensF al ls i n a c ro sso ve r matchup.

That one game, albeitjust one victory, gives thisyears team confidenceheading into the 2013 sea-son.

Practice has beengoing very well, said sen-

ior Christopher Wolcott.Weve all been workingvery hard. Weve beenpushing each other to thelimit and doing whateverwe can to get a winningseason.

The players havealready noticed a differ-ence between this presea-son camp and the start toother years.

These are some of thebest practices weve everseen, said junior Tysheem Morris. Peopleare ready to work and ded-icate themselves to theteam and football.

The last time AlbanyHigh posted a winning

season was in 2005 (5-4).Being at a Falcons prac-tice, you would have noidea that the team hasstruggled so much inrecent years, as this teamhas a positive vibe head-ing into 2013.

These are some of thebest practices weve had,as a program, in a longtime, said coach JonMcClement, who entershis fourth season at thehelm. The practices havebeen very business-likeand thats a big positive.

McClement wants tosee continued improve-

ment from his bunchevery day. There are cer-

tainly season goals, but hejust wants his team tokeep progressing for-ward.

The goal is always towin against the competi-tion thats in front of you,he said. I want to wine ve ry g am e w e p la y.Hopefully were instillingthat in the kids, that yougo out there to win everygame you play.

The team has upped itsconditioning and they arepushing each other towork hard in the presea-son, knowing that thoseextra reps will eventually

get them to where theywant to be.

It will pay off, Morrissays he tells himself andhis teammates duringpractice.

After getting a taste ofvictor y last year, theFalcons are pushingharder to keep the winscoming.

We dont like to lose,Morris said. Now, wereworking harder becausewe want more Ws.

The players are taking itone game at a time, butthey also have some biggoals they d like toachieve.

My goal is to at least

make the playoffs, Morrissaid. Im trying to workharder than anybody else,so we can be a solid team.

Im really trying to gett o t he p os ts ea son ,echoed Wolcott. I see thework ethic that these guyshave, and I think its some-thing we could reach thisseason.

While things are off to agood start, there is cer-tainly a long way to gobefore this team achievesits goal of getting the pro-gram back on the righttrack.

It s a l on g s ea sonbecause of the physicalnature, McClement said.You want to be there atthe end.



Albany High football players Christopher Wolcott (left) and Tysheem Morris (right) arefeeling confident heading into this year after the Falcons won their last game in 2012.

A CLOSER LOOK

Christopher Wolcottknows that time is of theessence.

The Albany High sen-ior has been leaving it allout on the field duringpractices this preseason,

knowing that this is hisfinal year on the gridiron.

Since this is my lastyear, Im going to put it allout there and hopefullysomething special hap-pens this season, hesaid.

Wolcott is a three-yearvarsity player and one ofthe gu ys coach JonMcClement is relying on,

to get things going in theright direction for theentire Albany program.

Those are the guyswho r eall y r egul at ethings, guys who showthe younger guys theway, McClement said.We always expect themto lead by example andshow commitment anddedication to what it iswere doing.

The Falcons lost 17seniors from last seasonand h ad a small JVsquad in 2012, so thisyear, the team is a bityounger than it has beenrecently.

Because of the teamsyouth, the veteran play-ers are crucial in the effortto strive in creating a win-ning culture.

We have some seniorsreturning who have quitea bit of game experiencefrom last year and thatsalwa ys a p lu s, saidMcClement.

Wolcott is one of thosekey guys and hes hopingthat if he can be a positiveinfluence, and even a rolemodel on and off the field,the team will continue toget better with every sin-gle practice.

I feel like if I lead byexample, theyll followme, he said. I try to setthe best example I can.

One victory sparks Falcons 2013 season

2012 RESULTS COACHS CORNERJon McClement

4th Season

Career record1 - 26

HUDDLE UP

Nickname: Falcons

2012 Record: 1-8

Offense: Multiple

Defense: Multiple

Starters Returning: 10 total



Division: Class AA, Empire

ROSTER1 C. W ol co tt 1 2 QB /D B 5 -1 0 1 70

6 J. Wil lard 11 R B/DB 5-7 140

7 J . G ri st sa va ge 1 2 R B/ DB 6 16 0

9 K. Morton-Johnson 11 RB/DB 5-7 150

10 T . Mo rri s 1 1 RB /D B 5 -9 15 0

12 N. So rce 1 1 QB /D B 5 -8 15 0

1 5 J . Stu rd iv an t 1 1 RB/DB 5 -6 1 40

22 L. C anc er 1 2 R B/ DB 5- 8 16 5

23 A. Emi 11 R B/LB 5-5 165

25 J. R ob er ts 1 2 R B/ LB 5- 7 18 0

32 S . Men tor 1 1 RB /D B 5 -9 13 0

34 D. Washington 11 RB/LB 5-10 180

35 M . M ick le 1 1 R B/ LB 5- 8 16 0

40 D . K eyes 1 1 R B/ LB 5- 8 18 0

4 4 P. Britt-Bus le r 1 1 RB/LB 5 -9 1 7 0

51 J . R obe rt s 1 2 R B/ LB 5- 7 21 0

5 2 D . U kp er e 1 2 O L/ DL 5 -1 1 1 95

54 S. South 11 OL/DL 5-8 285

55 W. Cooperrider 11 OL/DL 5-9 185

5 6 I . S tu rd iv an t 1 2 O L/ DL 5 -6 2 20

61 C. Osbourne-Caesar 11 OL/LB 5-6 190

63 J . T orr es 1 1 O L/ DL 5- 8 23 5

6 4 C . K ip pi ns 1 2 O L/ DL 5 -1 0 1 90

6 5 S . C on ne rs 1 1 O L/ DL 6 -3 18 5

7 4 J . J on so n 1 1 O L/ DL 5 -1 1 3 10

7 7 S . J oh ns on 1 2 O L/ DL 6 -2 28 0

80 J . T urn er 1 1 RB /D B 5 -6 14 0

8 2 M . C ar te r 1 1 R B/ DB 5 -1 0 1 45

8 8 S. Arthu rton 1 1 RB/DB 5-10 1 50


ALBANY FALCONS

Aug. 31 Shenendehowa L 58-6

Sept. 7 CBA L 46-6Sept. 14 Saratoga L 47-25

Sept. 22 Bethlehem L 43-6

S ept. 28 B al lston S pa L 47- 14

Oct. 5 Scotia L 25-0

Oct. 13 Guilderland L 43-15

Oct. 20 South Glens Falls W 24-0

Oct. 25 Lansingburgh L 35-14

6- Thursday, September 5, 2013

The Record t d /THE SARATOGIAN t i Thursday September 5 2013 - 7


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Sept. 6 vs. Saratoga 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 at Guilderland 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 vs. CBA 7 p.m.Sept. 27 at Shenendehowa 7 p.m.

Oct. 4 vs. Syracuse Fowler 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 at Bethlehem 7 p.m.

Oct. 18 vs. Ballston Spa 7 p.m.



2013 ALBANY HIGH SCHEDULE


Photos by J.S. Carras/The Record

Above, Albany High players put in the work at practice.The Falcons hope to improve on last seasons 1-8overall record.

Right, Falcons head coach Jon McClement keeps awatchful eye on a recent practice.



The Record www troyrecord com/THE SARATOGIAN www saratogian com8 - Thursday September 5 2013


8/71


By LAURA [email protected]

Twitter.com/LauraAmato

AVERILL PARK Theplayers on theAverill Parkfootball team all have onething in common this sea-son.

Theyve all spent yearson the gridiron together,growing as football play-ers, as athletes, but per-haps most importantly, as

friends.Its that kind of relation-

ship, knowing each otheras players and as friendsthat the Warriors are hop-ing will lift them to a sea-son of success in 2013.

As a team weve playedtogether for a long timenow, senior defensive endMax Tessitore said. Weexpect to win this year.

That kind of comraderyhas been apparentthroughout the offseasonas the Warriors haveworked to increase theirskill and their strengthmonths before the seasonopener againstAmsterdam.

Weve been workinghard all offseason, juniorcenter Pat Wellingtonsaid. Were just hoping itall pays off.

While Averill Park washit by some losses to grad-uation in the offseason, forthe most part the Warriorsreturn experienced play-

ers this fall, even if thoseplayers might be changingposition on the field.

There is some shiftingas far as starting spots forAverill Park this year, buthaving players committedto an offseason programthat was unlike anythingthe team had gonethrough before gives theWarriors a solid bit of con-fidence.

A lot of guys workedreally hard this offseasonso I think were going to bein pretty good shape, sen-ior quarterback ChrisArnold said. We had ourwhole roster pretty muchin the weight room.Everyones training hard

and working hard.While theyve spent

years together, these past

few months have donemore for the unity of AverillPark than anything before.Its that transition that theteam is hoping will trans-late onto the field.

When you know guys,you can work better, sen-ior linebacker Jack Ansleysaid. You can push guys towork harder because youknow what they need.Thats what I really likeabout these guys theypush you to get better.

Seeing that kind of dedi-cation from their team-mates day in and day outhas only gone to strength-

en the bond betweeneveryone on the AverillPark squad and it is has

them anxious to competein an incredible difficultClass A schedule.

I think as coaches werealways a little apprehensivegoing into the season, untilwe get a couple of gamesunder our belt, coach ZachGobel said. To see theseguys willing to work makesme proud of them. I think itgoes to show the characterof the kids.

After dropping out of thesectional tournament lastyear thanks to a first-roundloss to Amsterdam, theWarriors are not only look-ing for a little revenge this

season but also going far-ther than ever before.

Thanks to a solid core ofplayers that know exactlywhat they need to do inorder to play off each other,Averill Park is activelyseeking the programs first-ever Section II title. Forthese players, it isnt aboutthe individual glory, its allabout becoming one team.

Were just going to playtogether, Tessitore said.Its not about individualroles really. Were reallyexcited.

FRANCINE GRINNELL/The Record

Jack Ainsley, Chris Arnold, Logan Fahrenkopf and Matt Ainsley are hoping that the Warriorsrelationship off-the-field will help lift the Averill Park football team to success in 2013.

A CLOSER LOOK

Chris Arnold isnt all toonervous about takingover the starting quarter-back spot in his senioryear.

Although hes takingover for graduated QB

Taylor Hotaling, whosparked the Warriors witha solid combination ofarm and leg strength lastseaon, Arnold is feelingpretty certain of what hecan do.

After all, he does havegame-time experience,seeing plenty of action onthe field as the Warriorsfree safety in 2012. But

what truly has Arnoldconfident in his ability tolead his teams offensethis season is the rela-t ionship hes alreadyformed with Averill Parksreturning center, PatWellington.

Although they haventeven taken the field forthe season opener yet,the pair have already

started working towardsf in ding a r hyth m a ndmaking sure theyre pre-pared for this years com-peititon.

Wellington in particularhas been working to finda sense of leadership onthe offense and creatinga rhythm with Andersonis a crucial part of thatgoal.

Pat s a two- yearsta rt er , coa ch Z achGobel said. Theyvegotten a ton of reps herein the offseason, justworking on thosesnaps.

Thanks to a preseasonworkout routine, bothArnold and Wellingtonhave formed a solid rela-tionship that theyre hop-ing w il l b e a b ui ld in gblock for the entire AverillPark offense.

Its pretty exciting,Wellington said. I have agood relationship withhim, so it should be agood year.

A t e a m o n a n d o f f t h e f o o t b a l l f i e l d

2012 RESULTS

Aug. 31 Amsterdam W 30-24

Sept. 7 Queensbury L 26-12

Sept. 14 Mohonasen W 34-20

Sept. 21 Scotia L 34-22

Sept. 28 Bishop Maginn W 22-6

Oct. 5 Troy L 14-6

Oct. 12 Glens Falls L 30-20

Oct. 19 Amsterdam @ L 58-14

@ - playoffs

COACHS CORNERZach Goebel

4th Season


HUDDLE UP

Nickname: Warriors

2012 Record: 3-5

Offense: Multiple

Defense: Multiple 4-3


4 defense


Last Section II Title: Never

Division: Class A, Southwest

ROSTER2 T. Kiely 12 WR/DB 5-10 1 75

3 M . Ai ns ley 12 R B/ DB 5 -6 1 50

4 J . M cP ar tl in 1 1 W R/ DB 5 -7 1 65

7 T . Ve rm iy la 10 Q B/ DB 6 -2 16 0

12 S . S hoemaker 11 W R/DB 6-1 160

15 C . Arn ol d 12 Q B/ DB 5- 10 17 0

16 D. P asquar iello 11 RB /DB 5-7 145

17 C. Radzyminski 12 W R/DB 6-3 195

21 B . Rice 12 R B/DB 5-10 159

22 B. Kirk 12 WR/DL 6-4 1 95

23 J . Mo sh er 12 R B/ DB 5 -6 14 0

24 N . Haase 11 R B/DB 5-7 150

25 J . Le ttk o 11 R B/ DB 5- 10 16 0

27 G . Ryan 11 R B/DL 5-9 235

32 G. Ackner 11 RB/LB 6 1 70

34 M . Ai ns ley 11 R B/ LB 5 -7 16 5

35 T . Kane 11 WR/DL 5-10 165

40 I . Moak 10 RB/LB 5-10 1 65

41 C . Ferra 11 WR/LB 5-9 150

44 J . Ai ns le y 12 R B/ LB 5 -6 17 548 D . La mi ca 12 R B/ LB 5 -8 16 0

50 K. Sears 12 OL/DL 6-3 2 50

5 2 J . L an zi ll a 1 0 O L /D L 5 -1 0 2 3 0

5 5 M . T es si to re 1 2 O L/ DL 6 -1 2 00

56 T. Yetto 12 O L/DL 6-1 2 00

60 N . Horton 12 OL/LB 5-6 176

6 2 D . R oc kw el l 1 1 O L /D L 6 -1 2 65

64 N . Pl um ley 11 O L/ DL 5 -8 25 5

65 M. Car dinoza 11 OL/DL 5-10 225

66 K. ONeil 11 O L/DL 6 205

70 S. White 10 OL/DL 5-9 2 35

7 4 J . A rs en au lt 1 1 O L/ DL 6 -3 2 50

75 P . W ellington 11 OL/DL 5-10 220

77 B . Wea ver 12 O L/ DL 5 -8 17 5

81 L. F ahrenkopf 12 W R/DB 6-2 175

86 R. F ahrekopf 11 WR/DB 5-9 130

88 R . Wa rne r 11 WR/ DL 5 -7 16 0

89 R . Mo sa ll 12 WR/ DL 6 -1 18 0INJ C. Butterfield 11

INJ D. Sanchez 11


AVERILL PARK WARRIORS


The Record www troyrecord com/THE SARATOGIAN www saratogian com Thursday, September 5, 2013 - 9


9/71


Sept. 6 vs. Amsterdam 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 at South Glens Falls 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 at Bishop Maginn 7 p.m.Sept. 27 vs. Cohoes 7 p.m.

Oct. 4 at Mohonasen 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 vs. Troy 7 p.m.

Oct. 18 at Burnt Hills 7 p.m.



2013 AVERILL PARK SCHEDULE

Thursday, September 5, 2013 9


Above, Averill Park head coach Zach Gobel works withhis team on blocking drills.

Right, Warriors players go through calisthenics duringa recent practice session.



The Record www.troyrecord.com/THE SARATOGIAN www.saratogian.com10 - Thursday, September 5, 2013


10/71

By STAN [email protected]

Twitter.com/StanHudy

B AL LS TON S PA First-year varsity coachDave Murello rememberslast year too well; fourlosses in the span of lessthan two minutes madethe Scotties also-rans ver-sus contenders.

This year the differencewill come from his upper

classmen, the Scottiessense of teamwork andfrom his quarterbacks.

We have to have lead-ership, senior linemanJake Toomey said. I feltthat last year there wereonly a few kids last yearwith leadership. I feel thisyear that there are moreseniors and we can relyon them.

His offensive linemateswill be a key to theflexbone offense beingsuccessful and scoringlate.

We have to move peo-ple off the ball and getthings done, do every-thing right, Toomey said.We have to know theplaybook, not mess up theplays.

Senior wide receiverKyle Novak is seeingmore reps in practice.

Im seeing definitelymore pass opportunities,and we have the tight endsets that are incorporated

into the offense, Novaksaid. Were seeing more

passes to the split ends inteam set more.

If successful, Novakand the receiving corpscould make for longer filmsessions for the opposi-tion.

We were a one-dimen-sional team, but nowadding the pass dimen-sion ... if its successful,its going to be harder to

defend, Novak said.On the defensive side,

as a linebacker, Novak isconfident.

Were going to have alot of returning guys whoknow what we are doing,not much different fromlast year, Novak said. Gu ys k no w w ha t w ehave to do, where theyhave to be and (Murello)

has been working on thatsince day one of prac-tice.

M ur el lo a ls o h as apleasant dilemma thispreseason, deciding whowill run the flexbone.

Derek Chandler wasup on varsity with us lastyear, he learned a lot, howthings go, Murello said.The game has slowed

down for him a little bitnow, so he is making real-l y good r eads , g oodstrides.

Luke Ka va na ug hbroke his leg last year onJV, s o h e s h av in g t o

make up for that, but hesvery coach able, a realhard worker. They bothhave a day where onedoes better than anotherand the next day the otherhas a better day.

Murello said the deci-sion will come down to thescrimmages before nam-

ing a starter.It could be great, espe-

cially in something likethis, Murello said. Theyare in a high collisionposition, so its great.They are both juniors, so

they are both going to becompeting this year; theyare both going to be com-peting next year.

We never role into anew season with pre-determined starters. Wewant competitiv eness, notcombativeness and thecompetition is making

both of them better.The first preseason has

b ro ug ht n ot hi ng b utsmiles to Murello and hisstaff.

I feel energized afterhaving the same role for

four years, I have newenergy because of them,Murello said. We have alot of really hard workerswho want to learn how to

play the game the rightway.

Each day we are get-ting a little bit better, justone guy away from havingall 11 guys doing the samething.

y g

STAN HUDY/The Saratogian

Ballston Spa returners WR/LB Kyle Novak and OL/DLJake Toomey are looking to make new head coach DaveMurellos first season memorable with the Scotties.

A CLOSER LOOK

Two head coaches mayprove to be better thanone at Ballston Spa thisyear after first-year coachDave Murello added for-mer Schuylerville headcoach Greg OConnor to

his staff.They both said i ts a

perfect fit.Weve had our team

camp with Schuylervillefor the past f ive years,so I ve seen him,M u re l lo s a id . W e s e ehis kids when they areout here for PopW a rn e r; w e r e a l wa y sg o in g t o e a ch o th e r s

games.Ive had a good rela-

t ionship with them, wer un t he s am e o ff en se ,weve shared differentideas. When I found outhe was available and thath e w as s ti ll l oo ki ng t ocoach, we jumped righton that right away.

For OConnor, having areduced role was a per-

fect f it for the Bal lstonSpa resident and formerSchuylerville head coach.

I ve b ee n t hr ou ghe ve ry th in g t ha t h e i sg oi ng t o g o t hr ou gh ,OConnor said. Whetherit is talking to the groundscrew, talking to reporters,little things that unlessy ou ve b ee n a h eadcoach, you dont really

know.T ab be d a s t he e ld er

statesman for theScotties, Murello expectsto lean on his new assis-tant.

We have a realy o un g s t af f ; h e s t h eolder guy on staff, hesbeen around this longera nd h e s b ee n a h ea dc oa ch f or t he p as t 1 0y e ar s , M u re l lo s ai d .For al l of our enthusi-asm, hes the one to says lo w i t d ow n, h er e swhat weve done in thatpast. I think that he hasb ee n e a ti ng i t u p t ha tthis is his role now.

Scotties boast improved leadership from 12

2012 RESULTSAug. 31 Bethlehem L 19-18

Sept. 7 Schenectady L 34-27Sept. 14 Guilderland L 21-20Sept. 21 Shenendehowa L 49-7Sept. 28 Albany W 47-14Oct. 5 CBA L 12-6Oct. 12 SaratogaSprings W 34-0Oct. 19 Shaker @ L 28-0Oct. 25 vs. Scotia-Glenville L 32-21@- playoffs

COACHS CORNERDave Murello

1st Season

Career record0 - 0

HUDDLE UP

Nickname: Scotties

2012 Record: 2-7

Offense: Flexbone

Defense: 4-3



Last Section II Title: Never

Division: Class AA, Empire

ROSTER

2 Ma tt Ho mm el RB/ LB 1 1 1 84

3 Sa m G ro ve s R B/ DB 1 2 1 48

5 R yan Broe WR/DB 12 1 69

6 S hane W inkl e R B/ DB 11 158

8 C hr is Ve si c W R/ LB 12 1 73

13 B ri an B er ni er R B/ DL 12 203

16 Derek Chandler QB/DB 11 158

17 Luke Kavanaugh QB/DB 11 165

20 Logan Virkler WR/DB 12 161

21 Andrew Van Avery RB/DB 11 159

23 K iernan M ack R B/ DB 12 150

24 Derek Kolberg RB/LB 12 168

3 0 Ky le Ba st a S E/ DB 11 1 45

3 1 J oe V uk as W R/ DB 12 1 97

3 2 Ta ylo r Gr ay RB/ LB 1 1 1 91

33 Jar ri d Lynet t R B/ LB 10 162

34 Taylor Kelsey RB/DB 12 14937 Jam es S cott W R/ DB 11 123

40 Anthony Monaco WR/DB 12 153

41 John Augustin RB/LB 12 N/A

52 James Overocker OL/LB 11 186

54 Mike Curcurito OL/LB 11 166

55 F red Lohaus O L/ DL 12 160

56 Will Oate s OL/DL 12 2 22

59 Nate VanPatten OL/DL 12 271

6 1 No ah M are k OL /DL 1 1 1 79

62 R ober t S ands O L/ DL 11 223

6 3 Na te W el sh OL /DL 1 2 1 80

64 Jake T oomey O L/ DL 12 240

6 5 Ry an Ke ef e OL /DL 1 2 1 98

7 1 Na te T in ne y OL /L B 12 1 88

72 C hr is S tedr y O L/ DL 11 26573 S cott S parks O L/ DL 12 238

74 Jasper Graves OL/DL 11 278

75 Jake Lohaus O L/ DL 11 230

76 Scott Boyland OL/DL 12 258

81 Chris Northrop WR/DB 11 111

82 D im et ri O tt o W R/ DB SR 134

8 3 Ky le N ov ak W R/ DB 1 2 1 68


BALLSTON SPA SCOTTIES



11/71

y

Sept. 6 vs. Guilderland 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 at Saratoga 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 vs. Shenendehowa 7 p.m.Sept. 27 at Bethlehem 7 p.m.

Oct. 4 vs. CBA 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 at Niskayuna 7 p.m.

Oct. 18 at Albany 7 p.m.



2013 BALLSTON SPA SCHEDULE

Photos by Stan Hudy/The Saratogian

Above, a Ballston Spa player practices long snapping during a recent practice.

Left, Ballston Spa players particpate in a line drill in preparation for the teamsseason opener against Guilderland.



12/71

By ANDREW [email protected]

Twitter.com/AndrewSantillo

DELMAR Rick Leachdoesnt like to set season-long goals for his footballteam, but dont tell that tohis players who havealready established theirinitial goal for 2013 make the playoffs.

Entering his fourth sea-son as the Bethlehem

High head coach, Leach ismore concerned with day-to-day improvement andgetting better as a team.

We dont worry aboutresults, he said. I thinkthats helped us, in thepast, stay afloat whenweve struggled at times.

Leachs players arentlooking past the presea-son, but they know what

they want to achieve.We want to make the

playoffs since Bethlehemhas not been able to thatthe past few years, saidsenior Jason Clas. Wevecome up short.

Last year, the Eaglesfinished the regular-sea-son 3-4, but they won theirlast regular season gameand two crossover games

to give them momentum.Be thl eh em h as n t

reached the playoffs since2009, falling in a quarterfi-nal to Ballston Spa, 21-14.The players believe thiscould be the year the pro-

gram returns to the post-season.

Thats goal No. 1, saidsenior Mike Graves.

Despite losing 10starters on defense andfour offensive linemen,there is optimism circlingthe Eagles nest.

Were more confidentt ha n i n mo st y ear s, Graves said. Practice hasbeen the most competitivesince Ive been on varsity.

Graves was a workhorselast year, rushing for 1,157yards, which placed him11th in Section II. He alsorushed for 11 touchdownsand recorded more than200 yards in two of the final

three games of the year.But, Graves believes he

can have a better year inhis final high school sea-son.

I have a lot of confi-dence under my belt, hesaid.

The preseason has beensolid as the team is work-ing hard.

Practices have beengoing great, Leach said.We have a really good

group of kids. Theyre veryexperienced and its beenvery smooth.

The Eagles have spilt uptheir practice time intothree portions, working onoffense in the morning and

defense and special teamsafter lunch.

Were going to have afew two-way starters thisyear, so we have to focuson doing our job and know-ing our positions on thefield, said Graves.

Its something thatBethlehem has been doingthe past few years withsuccess.

We have so many guyswho are in the mix both

ways, so we like to focus onone thing at a time, saidLeach.

Although they didntqualify for the playoffs in2012, Leach felt that by theend of the season, they

were a playoff-caliber club.Our seniors had a very

good freshman season, awinning record last seasonas juniors, and our juniorswere 7-2 on JV, Leachsaid. Theyve done somewinning. Its a pretty confi-dent group of kids.

Bethlehem has posted a4-5 record in six of the lastnine seasons and the play-

ersare focused on a break-out season.

The momentum fromlast year is helping us,Clas said. Its confidence.Were ready to do evenbetter this year.


Bethlehems Mike Graves and Jason Clas are hoping that end-of-the-seasonsuccess last year will help spark the Eagles season and lead the team to a playoffberth this fall.

A CLOSER LOOK

If teams are hoping toslow down the Bethlehemrushing attack in 2013,they better be ready towork.

The Eagles will have astable of running backs

coming at the oppositionthis season and they areall pretty talented.

We have a lot moreoptions than in past yearswith the run game, whichis going to help us, saidsenior Jason Clas. Youcant just zero in on anyone guy.

Mik e G raves, w horushed for more than

1,100 yards in 2012, willbe the No. 1 option.

But there are otherslike Clas, and the teamhas a new back, a playerwho rushed for more than1,500 yards on the JVteam last year.

Coa ch Rick L ea chhas nt c ha nged h isoffense too much, but heknows that he must fig-

ure out how to get his tal-ented backs the ball,with a chance to make aplay.

We have to get our-selves in an offense thattakes advantage of whatthose kids we can do, hesaid.

Bethlehem lost fouroffensive linemen to grad-uation, but the Eagles are

still relying on the rushinggame to jumpstart theiroffensive attack.

Itll probably be ourstrong part of theoffense, Clas said. Eventhough the line is all new,theyve really been com-ing together well.

With what they have attheir disposal, the Eaglesseem to have an early legup on the field, when itcomes to running the foot-ball.

Thats our bread andbutter, Graves said. Wewant to establish the run-ning game, but still keepthe defense on their toes.

Building off momentum en route to success

2012 RESULTS COACHS CORNERRick Leach

4th Season


HUDDLE UP

Nickname: Eagles

2012 Record: 5-4Offense: Multiple

Defense: Multiple


2 defense



Division: Class AA, Empire Division

ROSTER2 D . R obeson 12 Q B/ LB 5-7 170

6 S. Ferrigan 12 P 6 -5 17-07 N . C ri sori o 11 Q B/ S 5- 10 1359 R. Giglio 12 WR/S 5-6 14 011 D. Comber 11 TE/DE 6-2 19012 J.Fredette 11 QB/DE 6-1 19015 B . B et ti nger 11 R B/ LB 6 17018 A . H er rm an 12 W R/ S 6-2 1751 9 J . C la s 1 2 RB /D E 6 -2 2 1520 B . Z onca 11 R B/ LB 5- 10 18021 T. Ganley 11 WR/CB 5-10 16022 R. Shade 12 WR/CB 5-10 14524 B. Rhatigan 12 RB/DT 5-4 17825 M . G raves 12 R B/ CB 5-7 16026 Z. Davis 12 TE/L B 6 18 028 Z.Mendleson 11 WR/CB 5-8 15533 V . F er rara 12 R B/ LB 5-7 1703 6 C .Ta ng ora 1 1 T E/L B 6 2 0538 J. Barens 11 TE/DE 5-11 18044 T . R usso 11 W R/ S 5- 11 155

45 S . S ontz 12 W R/ LB 5-6 1355 0 A . Co mto is 1 1 O L/L B 6 2 0552 T. Barrett 11 OL/LB 5-10 18053 J. Hoffman 11 OL/DL 5-10 21555 C. Lukacs 11 OL/LB 5-11 17056 M. Latter 12 OL/DL 5 20 558 K . S tarr 11 O L/ DL 5-11 19061 J. D ietz 12 O L/ DL 5-10 26063 J. LaC lair 11 O L/ LB 6-1 21566 M . B ur man 12 O L/ DL 5-9 19070 P . D em er s 11 O L/ DE 6-1 20071 R. Wildermuth 11 OL/DE 6-2 1907 3 D . Vi ck ery 1 2 O L/D T 6 2 657 6 M . W ht ne y 1 2 O L/D L 6 2 1577 J. Groesbeck12 OL/DL 6-3 23579 T. Verstandig11 OL/DL 6 20582 B. Stempsey 12 WR/LB 6 18088 P. Rarick 12 WR/DB 5-11 155


BETHLEHEM EAGLES

Aug. 31 Ballston Spa W 19-18

Sept. 7 Saratoga L 21-13Sept. 14 Shenendehowa L 57-0

Sept. 22 A lbany High W 43- 6

Sept. 28 CBA L 61-26

Oct. 5 Guilderland L 25-21

Oct. 12 Colonie W 26-7

Oct. 19 Niskayuna W 25-24

Oct. 26 La Salle W 34-3


13/71



14/71

By BRIEN [email protected]

Twitter.com/SaratogaSports

S CH EN EC TA DY The official name of thef ootb all tea m J ohnBarber is coaching thisfall is the Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons/SaratogaCentral Catholic SaintedKnights. Barber is hopingthe merger of the twosma ll sch ools goes

smoother than actuallysaying the full name.

Its certainly a mouth-ful, Barber said. Weretaking the first steps towhat we hope leads us tobuilding a successful, sta-ble football program.

Bishop Gibbons went 0-8 on the gridiron in 2012.The Golden Knights wereoutscored 253-80 and had

to forfeit a game becauseof a lack of healthy play-ers. Meanwhile, SaratogaCatholic was unable tofield a team at all becauseof a numbers shortage.

It made sense to see ifSection II would allow usto merge the programsbecause otherwise nei-ther school would havelikely been able to field a

team this season, saidBarber, who played atHudson Valley Community College andhas coached on the highschool level atSchuylerville andGreenwich. Weve got 15kids from Gibbons andseven from Spa Catholicand were doing our bestto make this work.

The Sainted Knightswill compete on the ClassD level this season. Theyare slated to play twohome games inSchenectady and two atEast Side Rec in SaratogaSprings, including the

home opener Sept. 14 vs.Lake George. They openthe season Sept. 7 againstSchoburg.

Weve certainly got achallenging road ahead ofus, but the good thing isthese kids are dedicated

to football. Theyre mak-ing the best of this uniquesituation and theyre get-ting better each day,Barber said. Weve put abig emphasis on buildingteam chemistry and play-ing good fundamentalfootball. I see quite a bit ofpromise in this group.

Barber, an assistantc oa ch a t R en ss el ae r

Polytechnic Institutefrom 2005-2010, says theS ai nt ed K ni gh ts w il lempl oy ma ny of t heaspects of the spreadoffense that has been soeffective at RPI through-out the years.

I think our skill play-ers will really benefitfrom our style of play,Barber said. We want aq ui ck t em po a nd w ewa nt to dic ta te theaction. The biggest keywil l be tak ing car e of thefootball.

Barber said he is rely-

ing on returning Gibbonsplayers such as juniorDavid Haskell, sopho-more Kevin Mooney, sen-ior Zach Burt and juniorBrendan Maloney to bekey contributors to theoffense. He added that

Saratoga Catholics ZachBell, Mike Niles and JakeVan Patten will play keyr ol es a nd h av e b ee nimpressive so far in prac-tice.

Defensively, theSainted Knights will run a4-3 scheme, with formerRPI assistant Will

Headen making the calls.Its great to have a guy

like Will as an assistanthead coach and runningthe defense, Barber said.I think we work welltogether and were look-ing to be very aggressive

on that side of the ball.Barber hopes the merg-

er is a lasting one andthat this season establish-es a foundation for futuresuccess.

To have a truly suc-cessful program you have

to build through the modi-fied and junior varsity lev-els and right now werel ac kin g t ha t b as e,Barber said. With hardwork and dedicated kids, Ithink we can steadilybuild something here thateverybody will be proud tobe associated with.

The kids we have thisyear know that it all star ts

with them. Well certainlyhave our growing pains,but I think you will alsosee steady progress withthis group and we havenowhere to go but up.Were looking forward toa fun season.

BISHOP GIBBONS-SARATOGA CATHOLIC SAINTED KNIGHTS

ERICA MILLER/The Saratogian

From left, David Haskell, Zach Burt and Brendan Maloney (from Bishop Gibbons), and Zach Bell, Jake Van Pattenand Mike Niles (from Saratoga Catholic) will be counted on to help the Sainted Knights in their first year.

Merger between two schools produces Sainted Knights

2012 RESULTSNone

COACHS CORNERJohn Barber1st Season

Careerrecord0 - 0

HUDDLE UP

Nickname: Sainted Knights

2012 Record: N/A

Offense: Spread

Defense: 4-3

Starters Returning: N/A

Last Playoff Game: N/A

Last Section II Title: N/A

Division: Class D, South

ROSTER1 J. Dobkowski 12 K/DB 5-7 148

7 D . B havsar 12 FB /LB 5-9 1909 J. V anPatt en 11 R B/ DB 6 1751 1 M . N ile s 1 2 Q B/ DE 6 -3 2 2012 K. Mooney 10 WR/LB 6-1 1651 7 P. Clare 11 WR/LB 6 17021 R. Rikprashad 12 RB/DB 5-7 13022 B. Maloney 11 TE/DE 6-2 17524 S. Berard 11 WR/DB 5-11 13525 B . M ur fy 11 W R/ DB 5-5 13029 A. Coppola 10 WR/DB 5-9 14834 D. Haskell 11 RB/DB 5-10 1754 2 A . Cr aa n 9 W R/ DB 5 -4 1 4048 W. Tymeson 8 RB/DB 5-5 14055 M . C ahil l 11 O L/ LB 5-6 19561 M. Tatlock 11 OL/DE 5-11 16660 L. M al oney 8 OL/D L 6-2 20162 A . T at lock 12 O L/ DL 5-9 15771 E. Blanchard 11 TE/DE 6 180

76 Z. Burt 12 OL/DL 6 2 2588 R. DallArmelliba 12 WR/DB 6 170

Visit www.troyrecord.com orwww.saratogian.com towatch a video about yourteam!

It made sense to see if Section II would

allow us to merge the programs because

otherwise neither school would have likely

been able to field a team this season.

John Barber

Sainted Knights coach



15/71

Sept. 7 vs. Schoburg 1 p.m.

Sept. 13 vs. Lake George 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 at Rensselaer 7 p.m.Sept. 27 at Canajoharie 7 p.m.

Oct. 5 at Cambridge 1 p.m.

Oct. 12 at Schoburg 1 p.m.

Oct. 20 vs. Hoosic Valley 7 p.m.



BISHOP GIBBONS-SARATOGA CATHOLIC SCHEDULE

Photos by Ed Burke/The Saratogian

Above, Bishop Gibbons-Saratoga Catholic offensiveline coach Willie Headen looks on during practice onAug. 28.

Right, Brandon Murray runs the ball during practice asthe Sainted Knights prepare for their season openeragainst Schoburg.





16/71



ALBANY AndresColon is ready to put the2012 season behind him.

The Bishop Maginnsenior runningback/defensive end knowsthat his team didnt haveas much success as hedlike last year. This timearound, hes determined

to make sure the Griffinsachieve what theyrecapable of.

Were very excited,Colon said. This team islooking better than lastyear. We have a lot of guysworking hard here.

The Griffins finished 1-8,losing their final sixgames, but were in a fewclose battles.

You can be competi-tive, but its hard to winagainst senior-ladenteams, said coach JoeGrasso. Experience wasan issue. Physical maturi-ty was an issue.

This years team is stillyoung, mostly comprisedof sophomore and juniors,but the experience gainedlast year will help them

greatly.You can tell their expe-

rience level is different,Grasso said. Their physi-cal contact is certainlymuch more aggressive.

In 2012, the Griffins

started three freshmen,seven sophomores andonly had five seniors.

Last year, we were ayoung team, said juniorJeremy Nixon. Were allgrowing as a team thisyear and I think well dowell.

Last season, the Griffinshung aroundin games,buthad trouble closing thedeal. They lost threegames by seven points orless and lost another by

two scores.Last year we were just

so young, said Grasso.Bishop Maginn returns

seven kids on both sides ofthe ball. While that doesntnecessarily mean they will

be better, Grasso knowsthat year of experiencewill benefit his club.

The goal is to get backto the playoffs andrebound from the worstseason in recent history.

Playoffs are always theexpectation, Colon said.Were just going to take itgame-by-game and seehow it goes.

Winning games andmaking it back to the post-season is the feeling

throughout the teamheading into this year.

We should have a waybetter season than lastyear, said Nixon.

Preseason camp hasbeen positive and the

team is just hoping tocarry that over into thefirst game against South

Glens Falls.Ive been pret ty

impressed with the workethic of our kids, Grassosaid. Theyve workedhard every day. Our goal isto get better as an individ-ual and as a team everyday in practice and thatswhat were trying to do.

Bishop Maginn hasthree of its top four

receivers back as well aspretty good depth in thebackfield with Colon,sophomore JaushirrWeaver and freshmanK y Er e Til le ry . TheGriffins also have junior

Neiko Bianchino at quar-terback.

Hes going to get methe ball, said Nixon, a 6-foot-2 wideout, of Bianchino. He has ag oo d a rm , i s a s ma rtquarterback and I think

hes going to win a fewgames for us.

Grasso feels good abouthis talent at the skill posi-tions in his split back veeroffense, and is just hopinghis offensive and defen-sive lines can cometogether.

It all comes down toline play, he said.

Grasso is entering his

37th year at the helm forBishop Maginn and heknows at this time of year,things can be mixed.

I see a lot of positivesand I see a lot of room forimprovement, he said.

BISHOP MAGINN GRIFFINS

FRANCINE GRINNELL/The Record

Jeremy Nixon, Neiko Bianchino, Andres Colon and Kamal Patterson are ready to help BishopMaginn bounce this season after a disappointing performance in 2012.

A CLOSER LOOK

Small roster sizes arealways an issue for theprivate schools.

T his year s Bisho pMaginn football team isdealing with that problemagain.

The Griffins currentlyhave only 23 players andthe school wont field a JVsqua d f or t he f ou rt hstraight season.

Thats a challengeevery day, said coachJoe Grasso.

The Bishop Maginnplayers know they have tobe in much better shapebecause they wont get

many breaks during agame.

Ironman football, saidsenior Andres Colon. Wehave to play both ways.

The hope is more play-ers will come out for theteam, once the schoolyear begins, as has hap-pened over the past sev-eral years.

The beginning of the

season is a l it tle b ittough, said Grasso.

While his players getmore reps, the toughestpart is trying to get livematchups in the presea-son.

It m ake s it h ard, Grasso said. The hardestpart of having small num-bers is trying to get agood look in practice,

when you get to the teamperiod.

The increased condi-tioning and never stop-p in g du ring p ra ct iceshould have the Griffinsready for the start of theseason.

As they look to bounceback after a disappointing2012 season, the Maginnsquad is confident that

theyll be able to hold theirown on the field.

We run hard in practiceso that wont be a prob-lem, said junior JeremyNixon. You can see thedifference between a cou-ple weeks ago and today.

Young squad still has plenty of heart

2012 RESULTS COACHS CORNER

Joe Grasso

37th Season

Career record195 - 142 - 5

HUDDLE UP

Nickname: Griffins

2012 Record: 1-8Offense: Split Back Veer

Defense: 5-2

Starters Returning: 7 o ffense ;

7 defense


Last Section II: 1983

Division: Class A, Southeast

ROSTER2 A. D uc ke tt 11 QB /S 6 -1 1 75

4 A. Colon 12 RB/DE 6 1757 P. Duell 1 1 RB/LB 5-7 1 808 I. Anderson 11 WR/CB 6-1 1609 D . S torm 10 W R/ FB 5-11 16511 N. Bianchino 11 QB/S 5-10 16520 J. W eaver 10 R B/ CB 5-8 1602 1 J . Ni xo n 1 1 W R/ S 6 -1 1 6522 N . F oster 11 R B/ DB 5-8 19025 M . F ri end 9 W R/ DB 5-8 16542 P .Jenki ns 10 H B/ LB 5-9 1804 4 K. T ill er y 9 R B/ DB 5 -9 1 6556 C. P-Holmberg12 G/LB 5-10 21060 T. Le 12 OG/NG 5-7 1 9066 G . S ar ri on 11 O T/ DT 6-2 21570 K . T ur ner 10 C /D E 5-10 18073 S. Graham 10 OT/DE 6-3 21575 O . Johnson 11 O T/ G 5-9 25077 A. Bourne 10 OT/DT 5-10 320

79 K. Patterson 12 C/G 5-11 3208 0 J . J on es 1 2 T E/ DE 6 -1 2 1081 T. Vastion 10 WR/CB 5-9 15587 E . S ar ri on 12 T E/ DE 6-3 220


Aug. 31 Gloversvi lle L 44- 20

Sept. 7 South Glens Falls L 12-8Sept. 14 Green Tech W 25-6

Sept. 21 Troy L 40-14

Sept. 28 Averill Park L 22-6

Oct. 5 Mohonasen L 28-7

Oct. 13 Scotia L 42-23

Oct. 18 Cohoes L 33-27

Oct. 25 Hudson Fal ls L 33- 26



17/71

Sept. 6 at South Glens Falls 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 at Queensbury 1 p.m.

Sept. 20 vs. Averill Park 7 p.m.

Sept. 27 at Troy 7 p.m.

Oct. 4 at Gloversville 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 at Mohonasen 7 p.m.

Oct. 18 at Niskayuna 7 p.m.



2013 BISHOP MAGINN SCHEDULE


Above, head coach Joe Grasso runs a recent practice.The Griffins will kick off their 2013 season Friday nightat South Glens Falls.

Right top, Andrea Colon and Jeremy Nixon leadteammates through laps before practice.

Right bottom, Joe Grasso gives instructs players on thefiner points of the game. Grasso, who has compiled acareer record of 195-142-5, is hoping to lead theGriffins back to the Class A playoffs for the first timesince the 2011 season.


S C



18/71

By STAN [email protected]

Twitter.com/StanHudy

BURNT HILLS Forthe Burnt Hills-BallstonLake football squad, captur-ing a New York state ClassA title last year was the cul-mination of hard work anddedication combined with agroup of gifted athletes.

But that was last year.It was a great season

lastyear, but noone isgoingto hand us anything basedon what we did last year,Burnt Hills coach MattShell said. These kids arethe same; theyre not rely-ing on last year.

They are working realhard, have a great attitudeand are excited to get theseason started with thenewthings that come along with

a new season.Shell rarely refers to the

previous season, doesntuse the term repeatingchampions, and stressesthat it is about today.

To be good at this gameyou have to be willing towork hard and have adegree of talent and have tobe willing to be good at thelittle things, the fundamen-

tals, something we focus onall the time, Shell said. Idont think its any differentwith this group.

Part of this years groupwill be the absence of run-ning back Dan Porter who

tore his ACL in June. In his

place, DaveNewell will takeover once again and DanMaynard will move fromrunner to signal caller inthe Spartans Wing-Toffense.

Its his senior year, I feelworse for him than any-thing else, Shell said. Thereality is that we have to getmore kids ready to play tomake sure we are competi-

tive week one. By movingsome kids around and repe-tition, I think well be OK.

Newell understands therole he needs to fill.

When I first found out Iknew I was going to play

both sides of the ball, and I

started going into the gymevery day looking to get myendurance up to play bothsides, Newell said. I wentthrough the motions lastyear, Ive done it before, itsnot all brand new, and itsmore endurance that Ifocused on.

Its not like we have onesuperstar player, we have awhole team. When (Porter)

went down (last year vs.Queensbury), we found away through it and well begood.

Newell understandsPorters role in last yearstitle run.

You cant repl ace

Porter, and Im just going todo the best I can, but alsoits still the guys becauseyou have the offensive line,who is a major part of it,Newell said. We have(Josh Quesada) and ourpeople standing up at wingand wide receivers; its notlike its a one-person thing,so that helps a lot.

While the pressure may

be on Newell to replace oneof the areas top backs,Maynard is following in linewith a group of historicSpartan quarterbacks.

Paul Layton, hes punt-ing at Temple; Phil

Neumann is at Ithaca,Keaton Flint is playingDivision I baseball, RyanMcDonald is punting andkicking at Ithaca, statechampion, with two appear-a nces at t he Car rier Dome, Maynard said. Ihave big shoes to fill.

All these guys thatplayed quarterback beforeme, its finally my turn. Ivebeen waiting since I was ineighth grade, and as a jun-ior I finally start takingsnaps.

BURNT HILLS-BALLSTON LAKE SPARTANS

STAN HUDY/The Saratogian

Burnt Hills senior Dave Newell (44) and junior Danny Maynard (11) will have to leadthe Spartan offense in the absence of returning senior starter Dan Porter, who torehis ACL in June, if the squad hopes to return to the Carrier Dome.

A CLOSER LOOK

W he n B ur nt H il ls -Ballston Lake runningback Dan Porter tore hisACL in June, the Spartanfaithful held their collec-tive breaths for oneminute and then they

remembered that this isthe Spartan squad thatseems to reload everyyear.

I was at the YMCA play-ing basketball with a cou-ple of buddies and we do itall the time, just somethingwe do in the summer, DanPorter said. I did a jumpstop on a layup and landedwrong and it tore.

It was weird, it felt like apop. Tearing my ACL wasone of my biggest fears myentire life, the first thingthat came to mind.

Porter is still at everyBurnt Hills practice, findinga way to help his class-mates and teammates.

Im missing my senioryear and it sucks, thats allthere is to it, Porter said.

If it didnt happen then,whos to say it wouldnthappen today. It was des-tined to happen, I guess.

This isnt the first timethat the Spartans werewithout Porter.

I g ot h ur t l as t y ea rwith my ankle and Danny(Maynard) filled in for methen, Porter said. Hesplaying quarterback, and

Dave Newell is going tofill in for me and they areawesome. Dave could bebetter than I would bethis year, and they areg oi ng t o c om e o ut t oplay.

Porters reflection of hisstate title has changed ashe reflects from the side-lines.

When I did it, practice

was a grind and I was likeLets get through i t, Porter said. Now its likethis is an awesome thingthey have going on and Imgoing to try to make surethey enjoy every second ofit.

Defending state champs not resting on past

2012 RESULTSAug. 31 Troy L 17-7Sept. 7 Schalmont W 37-0

Sept. 14 South High W 62-0Sept. 21 Queensbury W 49-14Sept. 29 Gloversvi lle W 54-7Oct. 6 Amsterdam W 32-22Oct. 12 Columbia W 62-8Oct. 19 Mohonasen @ W 68-6Oct. 26 Queensbury@ W 36-20Nov. 3 A msterdam @ W 48-6Nov. 9 Potsdam @ W 42-0Nov. 16 Cor nwall @ W 28-13Nov. 23 Sweet Home @ W 40-20@- playoffs

COACHS CORNERMatt Shell

12th Season


HUDDLE UP

Nickname: Spartans

2012 Record: 12-1

Offense: Wing-T

Defense: 4-3




Division: Class A, Northwest

ROSTER2 Michael Civitello TE/DE 12 6-3 180

3 Garrett Snyder WR/DB 11 5-9 1604 Da n P or te r R B/ DB 1 2 6 - 2 2 105 Packy Brown W R/DB 11 6-3 1807 M ax Charlton RB/DB 11 6-0 1658 D yl an G uy R B/ DB 12 5 -1 0 1 609 Brian Dahlin TE/LB 11 5-11 15511 Danny Maynard QB/DB 11 5-10 18512 Joe Butler RB/DB 12 5-10 16016 AbdellahCampbell WR/DB 12 5-10 15517 Brendan VanAllen TE/LB 11 5-11 18518 Donovan Power TE/DE 11 6-1 16520 Tyler Dowdle RB/DB 11 6-0 18021 James Prezioso WR/DB 11 5-8 14024 Josh Quesada RB/DB 12 5-8 16531 Ethan Perregaux RB/DB 11 5-10 16532 Alex Roney RB/LB 11 5-10 17034 Anthony Pedone OL.DL 11 6-0 18037 David Nusbaum TE/LB 12 6-0 21539 Matt Sterlina RB/LB 12 5-11 1654 2 P au l L on gi O L/ DL 11 5 -9 1 6244 David Newell RB/LB 12 5-9 19049 SeamusMcCormick RB/DE 11 5-11 1805 0 A le x D od ge O L/ DL 11 5 -8 24 051 Austin Manhey OL/DL 11 5-11 22052 Roswell Warren OL/DL 5-10 24555 Sam Bartlett OL/DL 12 5-11 25056 Perry Ramsey OL/DL 12 5-9 18557 Jake Ashcraft C/DE 11 6-2 1705 8 J ef f To pe OL/ DL 12 6- 0 20 059 Andy Filimon OL/DL 11 5-10 17064 Joseph Messare OL/DL 10 5-9 20066 Taylor Russell OL/DL 11 5-6 19068 Jacob Ellinger OL/DL 11 5-8 21570 Nico Fragale OL/DL 12 5-10 24071 BrennanVanSchaick OL/DL 12 5-7 19074 Antonio Rodriquez OL/DL 5-8 19577 Josh Harrison OL/DL 5-10 21078 Zack Zim olka OL/DL 11 6-0 23080 Kevin Gabay RB/DB 12 5-11 160

81 Noah Klehn OL/DL 11 5-10 18088 M ike Foster W R/DB 12 6-1 16089 Paul Krowel TE/DE 12 6-3 185



2013 BURNT HILLS SCHEDULE



19/71

Sept. 6 vs. Lansingburgh 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 at Troy 7p.m.

Sept. 20 at Gloversville 7 p.m.

Sept. 28 at Queensbury 1 p.m.

Oct. 4 South Glens Falls 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 vs. Amsterdam 7 p.m.

Oct. 18 vs. Averill Park 7 p.m.

Oct. 25-26 Playoffs TBANov. 1-2 Super Bowl TBA

2013 BURNT HILLS SCHEDULE

Photos by Stan Hudy/The Saratogian

Above, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake players take part in arecent practice as the Spartans prep for the seasonopener against Lansingburgh on Sept. 6.

Right, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake coach Matt Shellinstructs players during practice. The Spartans arecoming off a season in which they won the New YorkState Class A title at the Carrier Dome.


CAMBRIDGE INDIANS A CLOSER LOOK



20/71

By DAVID M. [email protected]

Twitter.com/davidmichael10

CAMBRIDGE With acareer record of 139-24,head coach Doug Luke hasbuilt Cambridge footballinto one of the most domi-nant programs amongSection II small schools.

But while the veterancoach returns for his 16thyear in charge, the majori-

ty of his starters from ateam that went 8-1 lastyear do not.

Its really just differentplayers getting adjusted totheir new positions, saidjunior quarterback EthanEnglish, one of threereturners on offense.Cambridge football ingeneral has been doing thesame things for years now.

Other players are going tohave to fill big shoes.

Lukes team relied onone player senior run-ning back MattParmenter to handlethe majority of the carriesin 2012. This years squad,however, will spread theball around more. JuniorCaleb Rowland leads ahos t of p la yers t ha t

should see time in theCambridge backfield.

Its not just one personthat goes into the runningg am e, i t s t he w hol eteam, Rowland said. Itsbeen a couple interesting

weeks (in preseason), but

everyone is working reallyhard to try and get better.Thats all you can ask for.

English will pick up hisshare of carries from optionplays, and Luke hopes histhird-year quarterback willimprove on his passingstats from a year ago.

Ho pe fu ll y w e c anthrow the ball a little bitbetter this year, Luke

s ai d. It s n ot ca us e(English) couldnt do it.Its not cause he cantthrow the ball. Its causeour receivers couldnt getopen. Thats somethingwe have to work hard at.

The defense is another

area the veteran coachhopes his team canimprove especiallyagainst teams with powerrunning games. Cambridgegave up just six total pointsin its first four games of2012 (not including a forfeitwin over Bishop Gibbons),then allowed 34, 21, 21 and27 in its next four. InCambridges only loss of

the season, a 27-26 upset intheSection II Class D semi-finals, Salems Tyler Morrisand Isaac Isom combinedfor 342 rushing yards andfour touchdowns.

Luke hopes a defensive

line led by Kiel Kyer, one

of nine seniors on thesquad, will force oppo-nents into more long-yardag e passing situa-tions.

Ive got to be more of aleader, Kyer said of hisrole on the team. Ive gotto be able to push peoplebut lead by example too.Were just switching a lotof people in and seeing

where we fit in. Were stillfiguring it out.

For the firsttimein threeyears Cambridge will notstart the season as thedefending section champs.However, with 21 winning

seasons in the past 22years and 12 Section IItitles, the bar for success isset very high once again.

And while past perform-ance never guaranteesfuture results,Cambridges current play-ers are aware of theirschools title-winning tra-dition. Some even carrythat knowledge onto the

field with them.We realize what our

expectations are, Rowlandsaid. Werealizewe have toliveup tothatso I think thatgives everybody a boost towork harder.

CAMBRIDGE INDIANS

ERICA MILLER/The Saratogian

Cambridge players (from left) Austin Dean (safety/end), Ethan English(quarterback/safety) and Nate Winchester (lineman) will be counted on this season.

A CLOSER LOOK

Two of Cambridgessmallest players will be play-ing big roles on both sides ofthe ball in 2013.

Considered undersizedfor their respective positions,the play of quarterback

Ethan English and linemanKiel Kyer will go a long wayin determining Cambridgessuccess this season.

English, whos listed at 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds, isentering his junior season,while Kyer, a 5-foot-11 185-pounder, is a senior. Bothare three-year starters on anoffense coach Doug Lukethinks will live and die by the

way it runs the ball.Kyer is our smallest line-

man, but he may end upbeing our best, Luke said. "Ireally believe we'll go as ouroffensive line goes. If theydo the job they're capableof, we're going to score ourshare of points. If they don'tdo the job, I don't care howgood the running backs are,it's going to make things

tough."English is also a defen-

sive back, while Kyer playson the defensive line.

To combat his smallstature, Englishs gamerelies on a combination ofspeed and experience. Thisseason, however, Luke sayshis quarterback has addedan important element strength. An offseason

workout regimen hasEnglish poised to becomean even bigger part of therun game and may lead tomore pass attempts as well.

The biggest challenge forthe two veterans will be tobuild an understanding withan almost entirely newgroup of starters on offense,a process that has alreadybegun.

"Repetition just reallystressing the small stuff andmechanics, the junior quar-terback said of the secret tobuilding chemistry with anew group. Muscle memoryis the way we're going to getwhere we want to go.

Expectations remain high for Cambridge

2012 RESULTSSept. 1 Fort Edward W 41-0Sept. 8 Hoosic Valley W 48-0Sept. 15 Lake Geor ge W 51-6Sept. 22 Bishop Gibbons forfeit winSept. 29 Catholic Central W 47-0Oct. 5 Greenwich W42-34(OT)Oct. 12 Canajohar ie W 41- 21Oct. 20 Rensselaer W 27-21Oct. 26 Salem @ L 27-26@- playoffs

COACHS CORNERDoug Luke16th Season


HUDDLE UP

Nickname: Indians

2012 Record: 8-1Offense: I-Formation

Defense: 5-2




Division: Class D, South

ROSTER2 Brendon Holcomb QB 8 5-11 1866 An dy R oma ck RB 1 0 5 -6 1 21

7 Au st in De an W R 1 2 6 -0 1 6515 Ethan English QB/DB 11 5-7 15020 Caleb Rowland RB/DB 11 5-11 16023 Jared Sausville WR 11 5-9 13224 T odd G or man W R 11 6-0 1642 5 C ol e Bo gg an RB 9 5 -6 1 3326 Patrick Scheuer RB 12 6-0 18228 Ryan McLenithan RB 9 5-4 12529 N oah N ei mi er R B 9 5-11 16530 Zack Sherman RB 10 5-10 13932 Matthew Reedy RB 10 5-9 15440 N ick R ayhall R B 12 6-1 1764 1 Co lto n D ea n RB 8 6 -0 2 0742 C hr is W ar nke R B 11 6-3 21152 Kordell BensonOL/DL 10 5-10 16253 Christian Hunt OL/DL 9 5-8 15555 Lucas Motsiff OL/DL 11 5-8 19656 Tim Prive OL/DL 12 5-11 2205 7 J oh n Vo lin o RB 10 5 -6 1 80

58 James Morrison OL/DL 9 6-0 19659 Kiel Kyer OL/DL 12 5-11 18560 Zeb Lawhorn OL/DL 10 5-8 16162 Josh Haskell OL/DL 11 5-7 21165 Chris VanAlstyne OL/DL 9 5-11 22366 Ryan Telford OL/DL 10 5-9 15768 Evan Mattison OL/DL 11 6-0 30069 JacobHarrington OL/DL 9 6-2 22171 NathanWinchesterOL/DL 12 6-0 22973 Mason Mayo OL/DL 10 6-1 22074 Daniel Salzer OL/DL 9 5-11 20276 Noah Clifton OL/DL 11 5-10 19178 Mico ContrerasOL/DL 12 5-11 25079 LucasWinchesterOL/DL 9 5-10 16583 Shawn Lemieux WR 9 5-9 11285 S ean H er bi g R B 12 5- 9 13386 David Reedy RB 12 5-10 132



2013 CAMBRIDGE SCHEDULE



21/71

Sept. 7 vs. Greenwich 1 p.m.

Sept. 14 vs. Warrensburg 1 p.m.

Sept. 21 vs. Canajoharie 1 p.m.Sept. 28 at Hoosic Valley 1 p.m.

Oct. 5 at Bishop Gibbons 1 p.m.

Oct. 11 at Rensselaer 7 p.m.

Oct. 19 vs. Schoburg 1 p.m.



2013 CAMBRIDGE SCHEDULE

Photos by Erica Miller/The Saratogian

Above, Camrbidge players go after a loose ball during adrill in practice on Aug. 27. The Indians open the seasonagainst rival Greenwich on Sept. 7.

Right, Cambridge players practice a handoff. TheIndians are looking to get back to the top of Class D thisseason after falling in the semifinals last year.




A CLOSER LOOKCATHOLIC CENTRAL CRUSADERS



22/71

By LAURA [email protected]

Twitter.com/LauraAmato

TROY Ryan Connellis very serious about hisposition on the CatholicCentral football team.

A four-y ear varsit yplayer for the Crusaders,Connell has already beennamed a captain for theupcoming season andhes determined to make

sure he lives up to thetitle.I think being a captain

is special, said Connell,who will play both way onthe line for CCHS. Theyounger kids, they look upto us, so I want to be aleader.

The Crusaders will needthat kind of leadership thisseason, with plentyof chal-

lenges facing the relativelyinexperienced squad.

Once again, CatholicCentral is facing dwindlingnumbers on the gridiron,with many players antici-pating being on thefield forpractically every snap.Even more than that,though, the Crusaders aretaking on a brand-newschedule in 2013 as they

move from Class D toClass C competition thisyear.

We just want to comeout in our first game andshow what were made of,Connell said.

Joining Connell in the

Catholic Central leader-

ship department is sec-ond-year starter MattCusson.

The linebacker andoffensive linemen is excit-ed about his new role onthe squad, after joining theteamwith basically no foot-ball experiencelast season.

A lot of my friendswere playing already ,Cusson said. They got me

into lifting and I got moreinto football. It worked outreally well for me.

Now, with a seasonunder his belt, Cusson isready to join Connell as thequasi leaders on and off thefield and theyve already

got a pretty good start.

The pair were in theweight room day in andday out throughout the off-season, lifting and puttingin the extra time to makesure that when they dotake the field this fall, theCrusaders will be moreprepared than theyveever been.

Im ecstatic, coachRay Gaston said of his

players preseason atti-tude. In order to have aprogram, you need to putin the offseason work.Youre going to get whatyou put in. Thats the onlyway youre going to getbetter.

Now, as they prepare for

their season openeragainst Mechanicville, theCrusaders are looking tobring the determinationthey found in the offseasoninto each game they play.

It isnt an easy task, butthe squad is ready for thechallenge.

We want to encouragethem, Connell said.Were really working to

make sure the guys stayon task.

While the Crusaders areanticipating a tough newschedule when they joinClass C this season, thebiggest challenge facingCatholic Central is keep-

ing players in the pro-gram.

Were trying to traink id s t ha t ha ve ne ve r played football before ontop of getting a team

rhythm, Gaston said. Itsbig-time crucial to haveguys who are consistentlyreturning to the team.

For this years Crusaderssquad, it isnt just aboutwinning every game.

Its about making surethat the team is ready tocompete and that the play-ers who have put in thetime can leave a legacy for

a program that is consis-tently challenged.

We want to show peo-ple that we can play, sen-ior Christian Virgigliosaid. We want theseyounger guys to continuewith the program.

MIKE McMAHON/The Record

Catholic Centrals (from left) Jiriem Tedder, Matt Cusson and Ryan Connell are readyfor a brand new set of challenges against a brand-new Class C schedule in 2013.

A CLOSER LOOK

Jiriem Tedder likes tothink of himself as an ath-lete.

The Catholic Centralsenior, who is also a stand-out basketball player, willonce again be starting

under cent er for theCrusaders on the footballfield this season and hesready to make it count.

This season means alot, Tedder said of theupcoming year. This is mysecond time playing and I

just want to get the teamright.

Tedder is one of a fewCatholic Central players

with experience playingfootball, and he knows thathis role as a leader is cru-cial if the team is hoping toimprove this season. ForTedder, its more than sim-ply being the quintessentialsenior quarterback; itsabout showing his team-mates how to play thegame.

Its really important, he

said of stepping up as aleader. We can show theyounger guys how thingsare going. It gives them allexperience, which is great.

After a 2012 season thatsaw the Crusaders win justone game and score 32points, with five scorelesslosses, Tedder is deter-mined to expand upon theteams offensive efforts and

hes got his sights set onsome fairly high goals.

Last year we didntscore a lot, Tedder said.So I want to score at leasttwo touchdowns a game;thats what Im looking for.

As they prepare for abrand-new scheduleagainst Class C competi-tion this season, Tedderand his Crusaders team-

mates are well aware of thechallenges they face. But,buoyed by a core group ofreturning players with plen-ty of personal and teamgoals in front of them, thisyears squad is determinedto prove themselves.

Crusaders ready to face new challenges

2012 RESULTS COACHS CORNERRay Gaston3rd Season

Career record4 - 12

HUDDLE UP

Nickname: Crusaders

2012 Record: 1-7Offense: Pro I, Spread

Defense: 4-4


10 defense

Last Playoff Game: 1989 (A)

Last Section II Title: None

Division: Class C, North

ROSTER2 D. LaFave 12 WR 6 1653 S. W elc h 1 2 RB /L B 5 -8 1 805 J. Engster 12 WR 6 1607 N . Ha ns en 9 W R/FS 5 -8 1 598 J. Rohrwasser 8 WR/FS 6-3 1859 N . G uynup 11 R B/ LB 5-10 1902 1 J . T ed de r 1 2 QB 5 -1 1 1 602 2 B. Br oo ks 1 1 W R/ CB 6 1 6523 G. W oodl ey10 W R/ CB 6 17529 D. Behunin 9 WR/CB 5-11 12033 D. Bennett 12 OL/DL 5-6 1903 4 J . C ro ss 8 RB /L B 5 -8 1 7 64 2 M . Hi ll 1 0 RB /L B 5-1 0 1 805 0 A. Da hl 1 1 OL /D L 5 -3 2 4551 R. Connell 12 OL/DL 5-8 20052 M. M at al a 9 O L/ DL 5-10 19054 M. Cusson 12 OL/DL 5-11 20063 D. C om bs 9 O L/ DL 5-11 2756 6 L . R ie th 1 1 O L/D L 5 -9 2 00

73 D. Jones 10 O L/ DL 6-2 28075 M. LaMay 12 C 6 2637 7 T. Mo or e 9 OL /D L 5 -8 1 9078 T. Buell 11 OL /DL 6 2 6079 C. Virgigl io 12 OL/DL 5-8 25084 R . M oore 12 W R/ CB 5-9 1508 8 D . Qu ell 9 RB /L B 5 -8 1 5 0


CATHOLIC CENTRAL CRUSADERS

Sept. 1 Salem L 40-0

Sept. 7 Whitehall L 34-14Sept. 15 Fort Edward L 34-0

Sept. 21 Greenwich L 54-0

Sept. 29 Cambridge L 47-0

Oct. 5 Canajoharie L 36-6

Oct. 12 Rensselaer L 33-0

Oct. 20 ND-Bishop Gibbons W 12-8


2013 CATHOLIC CENTRAL SCHEDULE



23/71

Sept. 6 vs. Mechanicville 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 vs. Stillwater 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 at Corinth 7 p.m.

Sept. 27 at Tamarac 7 p.m.

Oct. 4 at Granville 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 at Hoosick Falls 7 p.m.

Oct. 18 vs. Fonda 7 p.m.

Oct. 25-26 Playoffs TBANov. 1-2 Super Bowl TBA

2013 CATHOLIC CENTRAL SCHEDULE

PhotosbyMikeMcMahon/TheRecord

Left, Matt Susson, one ofthe captains of theCatholice Central footballteam, leads the teamthrough workouts.

Right, CCHS players runsprints during a recentpractice session.


A CLOSER LOOKCBA BROTHERS



24/71



COLONIE ElliottCroskey has spent five yearsin the Christian BrothersAcademy football program.Hes hoping his final one willbe thebest yet.

Croskey is a senior run-ning back and defensive endfor the Brothers, who won

their first six games of 2012but fell in the Class AA quar-terfinals.

It definitely crept up onme, he said of his final highschool season. Senior yearhas come up real fast, sohopefully I can do well andour team canwin this year.

CBA only had eight sen-iors last year,but they playedan integral role in theteams

success.Add to that the fact thatsenior Max Anthony will besidelined for the first fivegames and this team hassome question marks.

Every one of themplayed a huge role in ouroffense, defense and teamas a whole, said Anthony,whotore hismeniscusin theoffseason. Replacing those

guys is never easy.Still, coach Joe Burke

believes theteam hasa solidgroup of up-and-comers.

We feel we have a lot ofkids, at each position, espe-cially skill positions,that canplay for us, he said.

Four of the seniors werecaptainsandthelosses affect-ed somekey positions, includ-ing two running backs, theirquarterback, two linemen, awidereceiver and a defensiveback.

The loss of running backCameron Wynn will be espe-cially hard to replace. Wynnrushed for13touchdownsandfinished theyear by closing in

on 900rushing yards.We have guys here that

canfillthepositions, Croskeysaid. Hopefully, we can con-tinue todowhatweneed todoand win.

There are more than 100kids in the program this year,

which has made for betterpracticesanda better start totraining camp.

Its allowed forgreat prac-tices, Burke said. The kidsare working hard. Theyrecompetingagainsteachotherandtryingto wina spot.Whenyoure competing againstsomebody else, youre goingas hard as you can go and itraisesour level of practice.

In recent years, the teamhas had a solid front line, buthas been lean on backups,something that isnt the casethisseason.

Our competition at thevarsity level has been a realbonus forus, said Burke.

On defense, the Brotherswillhaveto fillthreeofthefoursecondary positions, butagain Burke feels confidentwith what hehas.

Whiletheyll be young andthey wont be game-tested,wefeel theyhave the ability toplay there, he said.

Burke has spent a lot ofcamp focusing on the littlethingsthatcan proveto bebig

once theseason begins.We focus on the funda-

mentals and thats critical forus, he said. Those are thethings that are going to wingames for us orbite usin thetail ifwe dont takecareof it.

Coming of

Capital District High School Football 2013 Season Preview

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