CAZENOVIA – Past, present and future all collide for the Cazenovia football team on its first Friday night of the 2022 season.
A trip to Skaneateles carried enough weight, given that the two Lakers sides collided in a classic Section III Class C semifinal that Cazenovia led 16-14 going to the fourth quarter – but Skaneateles won with 16 late unanswered points on the way to the sectional title.
Even bigger, though, is the fact that Skaneateles is now coached by Jay Steinhorst – who spent decades with the Cazenovia program and, after succeeding Tom Neidl, went 39-5 as a head coach, including the team’s 2015 run to the state Class B championship.
It all adds up to a weighty season opener, the kind that could derail Cazenovia’s plans – or launch it toward the type of special success to which it has long grown accustomed.
“This group is attentive,” said head coach Kyle Martin. “They’re not as vocal (as past Cazenovia teams), but they can get themselves internally motivated.”
There’s plenty of reason to believe 2022 could be special, starting with the return of senior quarterback J.P. Hoak. All Hoak did in 2021 was throw for 1,313 yards and 12 touchdowns, while also rushing for 494 yards and six more scores.
Martin said that Hoak spent large portions of the off-season improving his arm and attending a string of camps across the Northeast, hoping, among other things, to improve the timing and technique of his throws.
Tavin Reilley returns at wide receiver, joined by two other veterans – Christian Schug, who moves from running back, and Brayden Weismore. Jack Donlin, a baseball standout who returns to football for his senior year. takes over at running back after Peter McCole’s graduation.
Even more intriguing is the appearance of another senior baseball star, Jack Byrnes, who will play at wide receiver and defensive back while, for at least the first part of the season, also leading Cazenovia’s boys golf team, a rare instance of an athlete playing two sports in the same season.
Jedrick Olkowski is back at left tackle to protect Hoak’s blind side as Jack Macro takes over at right tackle. Joey Rightmyre starts at guad and Miles Weller starts at center as Braden Enders and Aiden Bailey add further depth to the line.
By far, the biggest departure from 2021 was A.J. Rothfeld, an All-State selection and two-way superstar. Good as he was on offense (952 combined rushing and receiving yards, 13 TD’s), he was even better on defense, racking up 135 tackles, two forced fumbles, two interceptions and two sacks.
Defensively, said Martin, Rothfeld covered up for a lot of mistakes with his sheer ability to make plays.“We funneled everything to him,” he said. “This year, we are more balanced.”
In Hoak’s own words, “we can’t just rely on one player (to replace Rothfeld). We all have to step up.” And Donlin is one of those linebackers expected to pick up Rothfeld’s slack, joined by Brad Gagnon and Connor Adams.
It helps that Olkowski is up front, coming off a 2021 where he recorded six sacks and 69.5 tackles. His ability to dominate the line of scrimmage allows Rightmyre, Macro, Evan Rice and Connor Wilcox to rotate into the line.
Reilley and Schug gives the Lakers a strong foundation in the secondary, helped by Weismore, Byrnes and Alex Cooper.
A tough, deep Class C-1 division offers little respite to Cazenovia, who after the trip to Skaneateles has its home opener against Bishop Ludden Sept. 17 and has only two other home games – Oct. 1 against Clinton and Oct. 22 against Canastota.
The mix of proven players and intriguing newcomers means that, at the very least, these Lakers will prove a fascinating watch, Cazenovia hoping that the results are just as interesting, in a good way.
