Players on the Cicero-North Syracuse football team said they never saw it coming.
Back in April, with the Northstars fresh off a return to the Section III Class AA playoffs and eager to improve on last fall’s 4-5 record, news came out that Joe Sindoni was out after just two seasons as head coach.
The steady improvement made in Sindoni’s pair of campaigns was now in peril – or so it seemed.
Recovering quickly, C-NS managed to hire Dave Kline as Sindoni’s replacement. Kline had spent the previous 26 years at Henninger, 12 of them as head coach, where he led the Black Knights to a pair of sectional titles and a 2014 trip to the state semifinals.
Kline said he was seeking a new challenge, but he didn’t abandon his Henninger roots upon his move to C-NS. He brought along several long-time assistants, including Mike Meola, who will serve as defensive coordinator, and he coaxed his former boss at Henninger, Bob Campese, to run the offense.
Now, with 56 varsity players on hand for the Northstars, the effort has started to continue upon the foundation Sindoni built, with the season opening Thursday night against Kingston in the Kickoff Classic at the Carrier Dome.
“They expect us to work hard, which is good for the team,” said lineman Tyler Mosher. “You can see that everyone is giving 110 percent.”
Despite all of the older talent on hand, the quarterback’s job falls on a freshman, Conner Hayes, but he’s not new to the team, having seen some game time as an eighth-grader last fall.
At 5-foot-10, Hayes is still growing, but Kline has he already has the mental toughness needed for the position, along with plenty of athleticism to make plays with his arm or legs. Having Campese around to mentor him helps a lot, too.
The job of protecting Hayes falls on an offensive line that lost All-Central New York center Jake McArdell. But Mosher (305 pounds) is back at tackle, along with guards Tyler Ford (285 pounds) and Jordan Cunningham (260 pounds), while Elijah Weiss, a former tight end, bulked up to 330 pounds to grab the other tackle spot. Jake Erickson could replace McArdell at center.
C-NS is more set at the skill positions. In receivers Josh Ramirez and Keegan Wright, Kline has a pair of 6-foot-3, 220-pound targets for Hayes to find, with help from Tyler Days and Landry Rogers. Drew Flack and Ryan Cummings gives the Northstars more experience at tailback, running behind Vinny Pitonzo and Kyle Cody at fullback.
On defense, everything will revolve around Pitonzo at middle linebacker. A relentless playmaker, Pitonzo will draw lots of attention, which should allow fellow linebackers Cummings and Cameron Ambriotti to flourish.
Up front, Erickson and 6-foot-6, 235-pound Lorenzo Thompson are ends in the Northstars’ 4-3 alignment, with Ford and Mosher joining Tristan Yarborough in the tackle rotation. Rogers and Wright are the safeties in a secondary where Matt McAndrew returns at cornerback and Days joins him.
Given the bulk C-NS has on the offensive line, Kline said he wants to make sure they don’t have to see too much field time on the other side of the ball.
“Our goal is to wear teams down in the second half,” he said.
The schedule is favorable, with just two true road games. Right after the Dome opener with Kingston, C-NS will host rival Liverpool in the ‘Star Wars’ Cup game on Sept. 11 at Bragman Stadium. The Warriors beat the Northstars twice last season, including the sectional playoffs.
Three more home games follow, against Utica Proctor (Sept. 18), Auburn (Sept. 25) and Baldwinsville (Oct. 16), and one of the road games is a trip to Sunnycrest Field on Oct. 2, where Kline reunites with the Henninger side he led for so long.
Pitonzo said that, regardless of who is coaching them, it’s up to the players to bring the Northstars further along.
“It’s got to be our choice,” he said. “Every single player has to look at themselves and see if they want this. It won’t be easy, but it will be rewarding.”
