Ever since returning to the Fayetteville-Manlius football sidelines in 2015, Paul Muench, along with his coaching staff, has dealt with all the usual adversity that anyone else would face trying to contend in the tough Class AA ranks.
During that time, the Hornets have enjoyed plenty of great moments, but have found a full season of success elusive.
That could change in 2018, as F-M finds itself with plenty of talent all over its 45-man roster, which is not new. What is different is the presence of so many veteran players.
“We finally have some experience,” said Muench. “There’s lot of seniors on the roster, and depth is important. We’ll be deep at every position.”
And nowhere are the Hornets deeper than at running back. Mitch Seabury, Zach Page and Trevor Fallon all return, and though each of them have big-play abilities, they approach it in different ways.
With Seabury, it comes from a burst of speed that can make him outrun defenders, while Fallon is more powerful and can go up the middle. Page mixes those two traits together.
“All three of them have home-run hitting ability,” said Muench.
Owen Neumann took over at quarterback in 2017 after an injury sidelined Mikey Porter, and he worked through the late portion of the season, including a narrow 24-17 first-round sectional playoff defeat to Baldwinsville.
The key for Neumann, said Muench, is that he has picked up greater knowledge of the offense, from reading defenses to footwork, which should make him a more dangerous all-around threat.
Neumann works behind an offensive line that returns just one starter, left tackle Charlie Gadsden. Preston Koester takes over at right tackle, while at guard Caleb Pulver steps in, as does Austin Schefter. At center, Ben Bleiler and Jake Fiorini are in the rotation.
Jack Hanna returns at wide receiver, joined by Jordan Leuze and 6-foot-5 tight end Trevor Porzucek. And if they’re not backing up the Hornets’ star running trio, Ethan Page and Evan Welling can catch passes, too.
On defense, the Hornets feature senior linebacker Tim Shaw. Named a team captain as a junior, Shaw’s skill and all-out approach to the game makes him as feared a defensive player as any in the local Class AA ranks.
“Tim brings absolute intensity and energy, he likes to hit and he’s always around the ball,” said Muench.
With teams having to account for Shaw at all times, other linebackers, such as Mike D’Ambrosio, Will Duncanson, Charlie Josephson and Jack Nucerino, could thrive in a deep starting rotation.
Up front, Porzucek and Schefter join Zak Conley, Noah Ewart and Ben Delmarsh, all of whom should be part of F-M’s four-man front. The brother tandem of Zach and Ethan Page lines up at safety next to Hanna and Brandon Heyman at cornerback. John Egnaczyk, blessed with a strong and accurate leg, is back to handle the Hornets’ kicking duties.
F-M moves to the Class AA-2 division with West Genesee and joins reigning sectional champion Cicero-North Syracuse, along with Baldwinsville and Utica Proctor.
Before that, though, the Hornets open by hosting Liverpool and going to CBA, non-league games against teams with the same talent level and ambitions. Those games will offer a strong hint about whether F-M’s ultimate results will finally match its high ambitions.
