A good case can be made that the East Syracuse Minoa football team has proven the strongest in the Section III Class A ranks this decade – but only if the regular season counted.
Year after year, the Spartans have risen to the top of the league standings, yet a sectional title has remained elusive since 2011. Four times in the ensuing five years, ESM has got to at least the semifinal round, only to get stopped short of the main prize.
The 2016 campaign may have proved most frustrating of all. After a perfect 7-0 regular season, the Spartans won a wild first-round playoff game over Watertown, only to fall again in the semifinals, this time to Indian River.
Nothing less than a championship will satisfy ESM this fall. It has reason to think that way since all five starting offensive linemen return from a season ago, along with a powerful running back tandem in Ny’Zhier Jefferson and Gabe Holloman.
Head coach Kevin DeParde, beginning his 22nd season at the Spartans’ helm, said that his young team grew plenty a season ago because of the good and bad experiences they went through.
“They got a taste of being successful, and then they saw the other half of it,” said DeParde. “They are highly motivated.”
This is an ESM side predicated on power. Up front, five juniors all started as sophomores, with Rob Nicholson (240 pounds) and Devon Harrigan (245 pounds) at tackle, E.J. Buck (325 pounds) and Tony Russo (265 pounds) at guard and Jordan Peach (210 pounds) at center.
“Physically, they can overpower people and take over games,” said DeParde, noting that, often in 2016, ESM would get off to slow starts, but then dominate in the second half because its line wore defenders down.
It could happen again, especially with opponents trying to tackle Jefferson and Holloman. With Jefferson at 260 pounds and Holloman at 265 pounds, the Spartans can always give the ball to someone who combines pure strength with nimble feet, a perfect formula for a power back.
ESM also has a unique situation at quarterback, with two equally good juniors, Dan Garris and Dante Coccagnia, ready to go. DeParde said both of them will rotate into the game because Garris also starts at defensive end, so they don’t want to wear him out.
The pair contrast in physical appearance – Garris is 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, Coccagnia is 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds. Still, their tasks are the same – namely, running the offense and throwing to a variety of targets, led by returning wide receivers Carter Smith and Nolan Penoyer. Adam Caramanna is here, too, along with H-backs Justin Cerasini and David Agans.
However much he works under center, Garris is sure to be a centerpiece on ESM’s defensive line, where Sal Stassi also starts at end, flanking Buck, Holloman and Joe Copp at the tackle spots. Jefferson, like Holloman, is a two-way starter, joining Josh Gilkey at linebacker.
Malachi Underwood returns at safety, as does Cerasini, with Penoyer and Trent McKivin at cornerback. Casey Hinton, a sophomore, is charged with the kicking duties
With Class A down to eight teams thanks to New Hartford’s move to Class B, Section III decided to expand the regular season to eight games.
Thus, ESM will not only face familiar regular-season opponents like Jamesville-DeWitt and Fulton, but also sides it might not have seen until the playoffs in years past, like Whitesboro, Indian River and Carthage. This also means that four teams will play off for the sectional title, adding importance to each regular-season game.
DeParde said the longer schedule can only benefit ESM because of the ability to face all possible playoff foes, in some cases more than once since the Spartans also scrimmaged Whitesboro last Saturday. He added that a different mindset is required, too, since it will take at least four league wins to get to the post-season.
The Spartans go to the Carrier Dome Saturday to face Brighton (Section V) in the Kickoff Classic, hoping that, two months later, it’s back in the Dome again battling for a title.
