ONONDAGA COUNTY – More than ever, area high school football teams are working from different sets of slates led by different sets of coaches, old and new.
Three of them play opening games on Labor Day weekend, while the others get started the following week, including Skaneateles and its new head coach, Jay Steinhorst, facing Cazenovia, where Steinhorst coached for decades, including leading those other Lakers to the 2015 state Class B championship.
Solvay, the 2019 sectional Class B champions, begins this Friday against visiting Mexico (the Independent division champions last fall) as it looks to return to winning form under first-year head coach Mike Acchione.
An assistant under Dan Salisbury last year, Acchione inherits a Bearcats squad that went a season ago, but returns most of its starters on both sides of the ball.
For example, Jordan Dippold and Jeff Sharpe are back at wide receiver, as are four starters on the offensive line – Cam Beecher, Jayden Jones, Dylan Mumford and Anthony McCormick, with Javion McLaurin-Piper filling out the line.
Jayden King moves to tight end, while Jaysin Bliss starts at running back. All of this gives junior Luis Mojica a lot to work with as he takes over at quarterback for Jordan Ellsworth.
Defensively, Luke Butler joins King, Jones and Mumford on the front line as Mojica will go full-time at linebacker, joining Dippold on the outside as Bliss starts in the middle. Sergio Rivera, at cornerback, leads the secondary.
Westhill managed to bring long-time head coach Joe Fiacchi on board as offensive coordinator after Fiacchi stepped down at Jordan-Elbridge, where T.J. Hawkins returns after he coached the Eagles in the early 2010s.
Fiacchi joins defensive coordinator Jack Hayes (former head coach at Chittenango) to give the Warriors an experienced staff that will get its first test this Friday when Westhill hosts Oswego.
One big difference, though, is that, other than Institute of Technology Central, Westhill does not have a traditional rival in its own league, having seen Marcellus join Solvay, Skaneateles and Bishop Ludden in the Class C ranks.
Over at West Genesee, Joe Corley remains in charge, but the challenges are twofold.
First, the Wildcats graduated a large group of seniors from 2021, where it went 5-3 and reached the sectional Class A semifinals before falling to Indian River.
Second, WG is replacing its turf at Mike Messere Field, so it will play its first four games (including Friday’s opener at Whitesboro) on the road before four home games on its grass-field stadium that it will share with boys and girls soccer.
“All we can do is control the things we can control – our effort, our attitude and integrity,” said Corley.
Senior Vincent Firenze takes over at quarterback, replacing River Oudemool, who threw for 1,100 yards and 15 touchdowns a season ago.
Top rusher Francisco Cross (624 yards, 6 TD’s) is back, as is top wide receiver Dom Burris, joined by Sam Snyder, while Carson Pagan and Landon Spencer are at tight end, trying to replace the duo of Marcus Hudgins and Ben Chamberlain. Derek Dishaw and Gavin Farino gives WG a pair of experienced offensive linemen.
Bigger challenges await the Wildcats on defense. All four line starters, including Hudgins and TaiQuawn McGriff, graduated, as did linebackers Colin McAvan and Kenneth Davis. Farino, McGriff and Spencer are all part of a revamped front seven, while Burris and Firenze lead the secondary.
The key to the season, said Firenze, is taking the energy and work ethic of practices and translating it into four quarters on gameday – something the Wildcats didn’t always do a season ago.
