The pain that Chittenango football players, coaches and fans felt during a 2-6 season in 2014 had several sources.
Some of it was due to the youth in the lineup. Some of it had to do with poor execution of the game plan. But Bears players that return for 2015 said a lot of it could be pinned on a lack of cohesion within the team, which makes it far more difficult to win.
To a man, they all say that team harmony is far better this year, ranging from increased work in the weight room (three days a week, every week in the off-season) and seven-on-seven camps to intense practice sessions away from the high school campus at Bolivar Elementary while the track at the main stadium is resurfaced.
There’s also more experience. Of the 32 players on the varsity roster, 15 are seniors, and Jack Hayes, starting his 12th year as head coach, said the combination of cohesion and seasoning might do wonders.
“Last year, we did not have much leadership between the lines,” said Hayes. “If you can get chemistry, it can go a long way.”
That track will get done in time for Friday night’s season opener between Chittenango and visiting Skaneateles. Whether a new and improved Bears squad is on display will remain an open question.
“We’ve got good athletes,” said senior Wyatt Myers. “We just need to get bigger, faster and stronger.”
Chittenango has more depth at the skill positions around quarterback Justin Gondeck. In fact, up to 10 players could see time at wide receiver, giving the Bears a wealth of options.
Gondeck gets it going, though. At 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, Gondeck has the combination of size and arm strength to open up the offense, and pushed himself hard in the off-season to work on mechanics and cut down on the turnovers that, in 2014, proved so costly.
The options at wide receiver included four returning starters – Myers, Akira Gatewood, Duncan Smith, who will line up at the slots, and tight end Hunter Hendrix, who at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds is very difficult to double-team.
Mike Addison, who ran for more than 800 yards last fall, leads a strong backfield that includes wrestling star Connor Fredericks and Christian Cerio, with Tony Cutrie, another standout wrestler, starting at fullback.
Between Cerio’s speed, Fredericks’ power and Addison’s combination of those traits, the Bears can deftly mix it up, especially with an offensive line that averages 250 pounds and has plenty of experience on hand, too.
Three starters – tackle Robert Hill, guards Dylan Hall and Brady Lewis (who moves from center) – return on that front line, with Brennan Buyea taking over at center and Sam Hill, Robert’s brother, at the other tackle.
At least six starters return on defense, but they’ll line up out of a 4-3 set, unlike the 3-5 alignment of seasons past. Hayes said the need was for more bodies up front, especially with a strong group of linebackers on hand.
Between Hendrix, Addison and fast-rising sophomore Brian Coe, Chittenango is set at linebacker, and also returns Cutrie and Myers as a fast, athletic pair of ends to flank Robert and Sam Hill, who are part of the tackle rotation.
Gatewood, at safety, and Smith, at cornerback, gives the Bears more experience in the secondary, with Jack Burgan, Tyrell Downer and Trevor Butler all joining the rotation.
Again, the Class B West division lineup changed. Phoenix moved down to Class C, but Syracuse’s Institute of Technology Central moved up, and Cortland arrived from Class A.
Thus, eight teams are in the league, and every regular-season game is a league contest, with the top half of the standings making it to the Section III playoffs.
Chittenango knows that, with three home games at the start (Skaneateles, followed by ITC on Sept. 11 and Marcellus on Sept. 18), it needs to start fast if it wants to get back to the level it showed when it made back-to-back sectional finals earlier this decade and claimed a sectional title in 2011.
“It’s all about momentum, and (beating) Skaneateles is really important,” said Hayes. “These guys want to change their identity, but they’ll be put to the test. We need to get back to competing for championships.”
