Separated by less than a mile, Westhill and Bishop Ludden have not often met on the football field, but that will change on the first Friday night in October.
When the Gaelic Knights host the Warriors, it will come near the end of a 2018 regular season where the two neighbors will have to fight hard for their places in the Class B West division hierarchy.
Not only did Ludden get pulled up two classes after reaching last fall’s Section III Class D final, the league also welcomed Skaneateles, the reigning state Class C champions, adding to the difficulty.
With Ludden, the unusual two-class promotion was a byproduct of on-field success and the addition of players from nearby Syracuse Academy of Science.
This creates a larger roster – 26, well up from the 18 the Gaelic Knights had two years ago. While some of these players are new to football, at least head coach Mike Rogers can have practices where his assistants don’t have to participate in 22-man drills.
According to Rogers, this group has proven easy to coach and manage. The biggest challenge, he said, was making sure the Ludden and SAS players meshed well and then learned the system.
The move to Class B coincided with Ludden seeing its potent pass combination of Sh’ikem Lee to Joe Connor graduate. There’s still an open competition to see who replaces Lee at quarterback and starts on Friday night against Cortland.
But while there’s a question mark under center, the Gaelic Knights are far more settled elsewhere. Top running back Tamir Rowser returns, aided by Zavion Derby, who moves from wide receiver, and Andy Cervantes.
Derby can do so because the Gaelic Knights have good options at wideout, from seniors Terrance Blatche to Vincent Reale to Antwan McMullen, a newcomer who could prove quite a spark.
Also, Ludden’s line should be strong, anchored at center by senior Dan Cacchione, with fellow seniors Jack Reale and Sire Jones, plus junior Jake Duffy, all with two years’ starting experience. They’re joined by junior Tony Brady.
Though just 160 pounds, Cervantes could have quite an impact at linebacker, working behind a proven defensive line that includes Blatche, Jones and Cacchione. Derby is likely to see time at linebacker, too, when he’s not working alongside McMullen in the secondary.
Not far away, at Westhill, a decision was made not to have junior varsity football this fall, with the school putting together a modified team for seventh, eighth and ninth graders.
The rest go to the Warriors’ varsity, which now has more than 30 players, plus new faces on the sidelines. Former Chittenango head coach Jack Hayes is now on Adam Griffo’s staff, as is Bill Cloonan, ironically a former assistant coach at Ludden.
They all look to improve on Westhill’s rough 2017 season, where it went 3-6. Just like Ludden, there’s a battle at quarterback, with Gavin Kinney and McGill Monic getting equal looks as Friday’s opener with Institute of Technology Central looms.
At the outset, the Warriors could prove run-oriented thanks to proven backs in Riley McNitt and Marcus Welch. But a potent passing game is quite possible thanks to the addition of basketball star Zechariah Brown.
Brown, at tight end, could have a Casey Rogers-like impact, opening it up for speedy wide receiver Tom Howard and for Wyatt Lavigne while also causing havoc at linebacker.
Four starters are back on Westhill’s offensive line – tackles Ben Helfeld and Ryan Walker, along with guards Evan Ballard and Brandon Milham, who will rotate with Gino Valerino next to center Shawn Petrie.
Senior Liam Berrios joins a solid group of linebackers that already included McNitt, Welch and Trevor O’Hearn. Ballard, Walker and Helfeld join Abdullah Abraham and Todd Sanford on the defensive line, while Dan Roesch and Dimitri Ascioti factor into the secondary.
Five games will take place before Westhill makes its shortest road trip of the season to Ludden. Depending on how September goes, far more than neighborhood bragging rights might ride on it, since a full round-robin league schedule means four wins are needed to get into the sectional playoffs.
