ONONDAGA COUNTY – When Skaneateles needed a new varsity football coach following Joe Sindoni’s departure, it turned to a long-time figure in the Lakers’ program – the Cazenovia Lakers’ program, that is.
Jay Steinhorst spent more than three decades coaching in Cazenovia, first as an assistant to Tom Neidl, then five years as a head coach with a 39-5 record and the state Class B championship in 2015.
Now Steinhorst is charged with trying to duplicate recent Skaneateles success that included last year’s Section III Class C title – and Friday’s season opener at Hyatt Stadium just happens to be against Cazenovia, adding to the drama.
Steinhorst said that he and his assistant coaches– Vince Romano, Dan Alexander and Mike Palerino – are blending the system he used at Cazenovia with the one that worked so well for Skaenateles in recent years.
‘The tricky part is managing the two systems,” said Steinhorst. “It will be some feat when we put it together.”
A new quarterback, Patrick Herr, takes over for James Musso, who last season threw for 2,216 yards and 28 touchdowns.
Herr moves over from wide receiver, where he was second on the team in catches to Cody Nesbitt. It’s up to Nate Chaddock, Torin Bennett, Jake Sweeney and Nico Decker to account for that same production.
But Grayson Brunelle is back to run the ball, having gained 1,200 yards on the ground in 2021 and scored 20 TD’s. He runs behind a line anchored by highly touted 345-pound junior Will Feeney, who is joined by returning starter P.J. Kennedy along with Louis Richards, Colton McDonald and Jake Williams.
Brunelle and Decker lead a strong group of linebackers joined by Dom Caraccio and Cole Barney. Feeney, Alexander and Richards start on the line, with Herr and Chaddock at safety flanked by freshman Hugh Carroll, plus Sweeney and Bennett at cornerback.
Marcellus still has Nick Patterson as head coach, but now it has joined Skaneateles in Class C, renewing the rivalry there along with Solvay, whom it faces Friday as the Tom Anthony Silver Cup is up for grabs.
Wanting that trophy back (it even put the slogan “Bring the Cup Back” on T-shirts before the season), the Mustangs return Patrick Lauer at quarterback after he threw for 1,275 yards and 13 TD’s a season ago. Top receiver Ryder Donahue (35 catches, 618 yards) is back, too, joined by Doryn LeClair, Ryan Orr and Mitch Donegan.
Jacob Kermes, who gained 544 yards in 2021, runs behind a line led by Kayden Streiff and Dominic Cataldi, with Matt Thrope and freshman Bo Lawrence also part of the rotation.
Chris Loveless and Scott Hall give the Mustangs depth on the defensive line , with Jonas Kaczor and Brady Ellis flanking Donahue at linebacker as another freshman, Chris Doshna, joins LeClair, Orr and Kermes in the secondary.
Another Class C side, Bishop Ludden, welcomes Jim Ryan as head coach after Mike Rogers’ retirement.
Ryan inherits a Gaelic Knights side that reached the sectional Class C semifnals a season ago and returns most of its roster, one that is combined with Syracuse Academy of Science. That includes Eric Phillips, who ran and received for a combined 657 yards and nine TD’s last fall.
However, Ludden will need to find a replacement for Nazier Kinsey, who threw for 649 yards, ran for another 640 and recorded 13 TD’s in 2021. Zavion Streiff, younger brother of basketball star Amarah Streiff, is in line to start Friday’s opener against Clinton.
Over at Jordan-Elbridge, Joe Fiacchi’s departure led to the return of T.J. Hawkins to the coaching sidelines.
Hawkins led the Eagles in the early 2010s. Now he helms a J-E squad that remains in the Independent division and, in his own words, is “building from the ground up”.
Quarterback Nick Loperfido said “everything changed’ in the off-season and that a renewed commitment to conditioning and the weight room, along with a need to take responsibility for one’s own actions, can lead to a revival.
More than half the Eagles’ roster is filled with sophomores and freshmen, and many of them will start next Thursday when J-E opens at Oswego.
