Come Young, Come Old

Most football teams seem like they have an identity of youth or of experience. They can be good or bad – they can be young and talented or they can be so green that they get intimidated and boxed around….or they can be veterans who are sharper than a two-edged sword or they can be infected with senior-itus. Most obviously aren’t completely one way or the other…..seems like usually they have one bent, and they are supported by some from the other group. I thought last year’s team for example was a bit “older”….yes, Fletcher was a junior, but guys like Cole, Ennist, Newkerk, Darling, Shaw, Beale, Neumann, and others seemed to give more of a senior feel to the team. Add in the fact that Fletcher was a 3^rd year player, and I think the point is made further.

This year is tough to hammer down in that respect. Fletcher first and foremost gives it a senior, experienced feel, and add to him guys like Salerno, Sackett, Thomas, O’Connell, and a couple others. Friday’s game really brought some young guys to the limelight though….certainly Telian and Ellis are the first to come to mind. Add to this group a few others like Crandell and Cairns, who were on varsity as non-starters last year, and this team doesn’t seem to have a real age identity.

The numbers seem to agree….of Friday’s starters, the offense had 3 returning starters, 4 guys who were on JV last year, and 4 guys who were on varsity last year but didn’t start on offense. For defense, it was 4 returners, 4 ex-JV’ers (including a 9^th grader), and 3 varsity non-starters.

So what does all this mean? I don’t know. Probably nothing. Haha. One thing it means is that I think we’re a bit harder to peg down in terms of what our personality will be. However, the one thing I’ve noticed in the scrimmage and in week 1 is that the former JV kids seem to look right at home in the varsity game, and that is a VERY good thing. They bring some very good skill to the field, and coupled with some good composure and mental capabilities, that is a very strong positive for our team. Of all the points scored last season, we return only Fletcher and Salerno from 9 kids who scored them, and Salerno had 2 points on PAT kicks. Who’d’ve thunk that kids from the JV’s would come in and score 28 of our 42 points on opening night? That is very encouraging. I like how DK really put the game onto them with the number of carries they got. I can guarantee that, at least for a couple weeks, Fletcher will definitely not be the only thing on the scouts’ minds.

If you can get away this Friday night, you might want to head down to Bainbridge to check out Walton vs. BG. I was quite down on Walton this year before week 1…they lost big to our JV’s 2 years ago, and tied them last year early in the season before we got hot. Losses seemed to come easier and easier for them in recent years (’07 and ’08 notwithstanding), and they suffered very heavy graduation losses. I really thought there could be a chance at their first losing season since I don’t know when. I’m definitely off of that kick, even if they did lose to Sidney. Their line was fast and powerful, and the backs (especially Howe and Hornbeck) were very quick and hard charging. Walton will lose to Forks, but they will be right in the thick of the division race. BG looked very good on paper, with all 3 running backs returning to go with very strong numbers (37 on varsity). Their score didn’t look great last weekend against UVE (a 22-13 win), but that really may not mean a whole lot for a variety of reasons. This Walton/BG matchup will start to set the pecking order in the division for sure, and both of these squads will be tough outs to say the least.

My picks didn’t go so great this week…I was a not so good 15-8 (0.652)…hey, in college that would have been between a C and a B, so it’s tough to complain, especially during week 1 of what I feel is a difficult season to nail down. I have a feeling this week may be slightly better, but probably not a whole lot, as some of these are pretty tough to pick, especially from class B on down…..Oneonta over Sidney, T-Burg over Dryden, Greene over Lansing, Groton over Candor, Tioga over Odessa, Sus Valley over SVE, Notre Dame over Moravia, Walton over BG, Oxford over Seton, Unatego over Newark Valley, Owego over Horseheads, Towanda over Southside, UVE over Deposit/Hancock, Edison over Newfield, Corning over EFA, Johnson City over Chenango Valley, ME over Waverly (Waverly playing Vestal last week and ME this week, tough schedule!), Forks over Norwich, Whitney Point over Windsor, Ithaca over Massena (is AA showing signs of life?), MW over UE, Binghamton over Vestal….DK Field, 1:30 Saturday, be there or be square….