Glory, shame, turnover and constant upheaval have marked the recent history of the Skaneateles football program, but for the 2014 season, what’s new is old.
The Lakers are back in Class B after three tumultuous season spent in the Class C ranks, where it earned its first Section III championship in 20 years a year after seeing another possible title run cut short for events off the field.
Skaneateles last played in Class B in 2010, during Tim Green’s first season as head coach. A year later, moved down to Class C due to enrollment standards set by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, the Lakers enjoyed an undefeated regular season.
But that season ended when Section III ruled that some players in the program may have been illegally brought in from other districts. The recruiting allegations, and the section’s ruling, were challenged in court, but the Lakers’ season ended before it could play in the sectional final against Herkimer, and Green resigned.
With Joe Sindoni now at the helm, the Lakers sped through the 2012 season much as it did in 2011, again winning Class C West, again reaching the sectional final – and this time playing in it and winning, 33-16, over Herkimer, ending a championship drought that dated back to 1992.
When Sindoni left to take the head coaching job at Cicero-North Syracuse, Skaneateles again had to find a new man in charge – and got it with Mike Olley. The Lakers didn’t fall too far, going 5-2 in the 2013 regular season, but it lost 49-7 to Watertown IHC in the opening round of the sectional playoffs.
Now, Olley returns for his second season – and Skaneateles finds itself, due to revised enrollment standards, returned to the Class B ranks, and to the West division it was part of for so long.
That means renewals of plenty of great rivalries, including its Sept. 12 clash with Marcellus and a Sept. 18 game with Westhill that Time Warner Cable Sports will telecast.
Practices for all Skaneateles fall sports teams begins Aug. 18. The football Lakers will scrimmage Altmar-Parish-Williamstown on Aug. 30 and then open the season against Chittenango on Sept. 5 at Hyatt Stadium. Skaneateles has just two other home games, against Solvay (Sept. 26) and Homer (Oct. 3), before closing the regular season at Phoenix and New Hartford.
Sectional finals are again at the Carrier Dome, held Nov. 7 and 9 in between Syracuse’s football game against Duke on Nov. 8. The state finals are also at the Dome on Nov. 28 and 30.
