BALDWINSVILLE – What the Baldwinsville football team envisioned once given an opportunity to take the field in the spring of 2021, and what actually took place, ended up quite different.
Instead of six games, the Bees got just three, winning one of them. And in one instance (a 7-0 loss to Liverpool on April 22), it only got two days of practice beforehand.
All of this, said senior Patrick Pasho, helped him and his teammates gain a better perspective on football and all of its aspects, even the boring ones.
“You reflect a lot,” said Pasho. “It makes you appreciate the practices more. When we were sitting at home, we would have killed to go out and practice.”
This led to an intense off-season of work for B’ville’s large group that was returning for the fall, everything from outdoor workouts to intense weight-room sessions to even some rounds of tug-of-war that the players loved.
Now, with the Bees set to open its new season next Friday against West Genesee at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, it is focused on regaining its place as a top Class AA title contender.
If it does so, it will likely be propelled by a defense that returns nine starters, including its entire secondary. Amir Akins and Sam Mellinger are the cornerbacks, with Eagan Lehman and Nick Huhtala lined up at safety.
B’ville’s top tackler is back, too. Linebacker Dan Ewald managed 29 tackles, five for a loss, in those three games of spring, and could get even better leading a group that includes Vince Samoraj, Nick Foster and Caleb Paul.
On the defensive line, Pacho and Amari Akins are returning seniors, helped by a rotation led by Naseim Perez and Mike Madonna.
A strong defense would give the Bees’ offense ample time to establish itself, whether with its long-preferred ground game or through the air.
Pasho, at center, and Ethan Haust, at tackle, are returning starters. Adam Cuyler takes over the other tackle spot, with Dimitri Iannodis at guard. Together, their off-season work was particularly hard as assistant coach Bill Spicer said that all of them have bench-pressed at least 300 pounds.
And while there is plenty of depth at the skill positions, there’s still questions as to who will start, with Mellinger, Paul and Amir Akins all in the mix at tailback while Foster and Collin Stanley join Ewald at fullback.
Though Caden Cox started at quarterback in the spring, two others, junior Patrick Otts and sophomore Nick Wellman, are also taking snaps in practices. When they throw the ball, Lehman and Huhtala join Tucker Macknick at wide receiver, with Griffin Killian and Amari Akins at tight end.
Following the opener with West Genesee, B’ville enters a Class AA division with just eight teams. so it will face everyone else in the league in the regular season, including early tests at Liverpool on Sept. 17 and against reigning sectional champion Cicero-North Syracuse on Sept. 24.
Pasho said that the long, intense off-season work forged a bond between the Bees’ players that they hope will translate into victories that, at least in recent times, have proved more elusive, on and off the field, than anything B’ville fans are used to.
