While it was quite nice for the Liverpool football team to end its 16-year drought and return to a Section III Class AA championship game a season ago, no one in orange and blue was satisfied.
Henninger’s second-half blitz in the Carrier Dome that produced a 40-8 defeat still hurts for the Warriors, who enter 2015 with a prime target and a general feeling that anything short of a long-awaited sectional title is a disappointment.
“Everyone feels like we left something on the table,” said senior offensive lineman David Carnie. “It’s definitely making us want it (a sectional championship) more.”
Carnie’s teammate, Connor Thiel said his team’s off-season work was extensive. More than 30 players regularly worked in the weight room, the numbers only trimmed by the fact that so many of them played other sports, too.
For Liverpool’s head coach, Dave Mancuso, the run to the sectional final created a concrete target for his players to go after.
“There was a lot more uncertainty last year about what we could do,” said Mancuso. “This year, our goals are much more realistic.”
And it’s a fairly nice reality since, on offense, Liverpool has little to worry about as long as senior tailback Jaydakis Scott stays on the field. In eight games a season ago, Scott ran for more than 1,300 yards and scored 21 touchdowns.
“He is so entertaining to watch,” said Mancuso, who added that, unlike many other star runners, Scott is unselfish enough to limit his own carries and “never says that he needs the ball.”
To make sure Scott doesn’t get worn out, the Warriors will employ the likes of Dietrick Roberson and Will Clayton to get some carries, plus give the ball to dynamic 5-foot-8, 150-pound fullback Audey Ashkar, who is also a wrestling standout. Mancuso said that Ashkar is “pound for pound, one of the toughest guys I ever coached.”
The talent at running back gave Liverpool plenty of time to figure who would start at quarterback after Ricky Sisto graduated, and while several are in the mix, senior Rashon Crenshaw, who started at tailback when Scott missed two games in 2014, has emerged as a possible starter.
Many different transfers are expected to make immediate contributions, starting with Riley Dixon, a Liverpool native who came back from CBA and will line up at wide receiver with Joe Scro and Zach Khatib, flanking tight end Naz Johnson, a 6-3, 205-pound future star who is the lone sophomore on the varsity roster. Mike Cutrone gives the Warriors another option at tight end.
Mancuso said his offensive line, which returns four starters, is not the biggest he’s ever employed, but is the most athletic, starting with Carnie (another wrestling standout) at tackle and continuing with guards Jeremiah Ferrante and Zach Mentel, plus center Ben Widas. Cam Goodson joins Carnie as the Warriors’ other tackle.
Defensively, the impact of transfers is even greater. Merrill Whitehead, moving from Syracuse’s Institute of Technology Central, joins Alex Donegal at tackle, with Clayton, Johnson and Jamie Gadaleta working at end. Meanwhile, Donovan Card, moving from Bishop Ludden, could start at outside linebacker, joining Roberson and Michael Wright.
Few teams in Section III might have a better duo of linebackers than Scro and Jarod Thiel. Scro, a three-year starter, “does everything right”, according to Mancuso, and Thiel, despite his modest (5-foot-9, 150-pound) frame, continually makes big plays. Khatib returns at safety, with Jack Hogan and Jonah Harder set to start at cornerback.
A narrow 7-6 win over Corcoran set the tone for Liverpool in last year’s season opener, and the Warriors again open with the Cougars before confronting archrival Cicero-North Syracuse in the “Star Wars Cup” game a week later. Liverpool plays just three times at LHS Stadium in the regular season, though one of them is an Oct. 2 showdown with CBA.
With all of the large expectations thrust on the Warriors this fall, Mancuso said it’s pivotal for them to not look ahead, to maintain the “one-game-at-a-time” mantra.
“These kids work hard, and they practice the way they should,” said Mancuso. “But we can’t think about the finish line, just the next game.”
