Patrick Newell

The first big wrestling tournament of the 2010-2011 season begins tonight at Oxford with the 49th Annual Clyde Cole Tournament. Last year, just like every other year, the final results were a pretty good indicator of future success at sectionals. A total of 13 wrestlers at last year’s Clyde Cole tournament – all of whom finished among the top three in their respective weight class – qualified for the Section IV finals. Returning champions are Joe Nelson, Oxford; Tyler Ponte, Wyoming Seminary; Evan Botwin, Wyoming Seminary; Dom Malone, Wyoming Seminary; Connor Sutton, LaSalle Institute; Eric Morris, Wyoming Seminary; Matt Lashway, Queensbury; and Kyle Stanton, Greene.

It’s hard to believe we’re entering the 15th year of the Tom Schwan Memorial Basketball Tournament. I had just a few months to glean as much knowledge from Tom as possible before his untimely passing in January of 1996. The lessons I learned have shaped the way I have written articles for 16-plus years…. Oxford and Norwich remain as longtime participants of the tourney, while Sidney and Greene are new editions this year. Before it was named the Schwan Tournament, the NHS-hosted tourney was an annual season tip-off tournament that Schwan regularly covered for us. My first year at the newspaper was also the lone year I was able to trek north to Sherburne-Earlville for its boys’ basketball tournament. Tom was expertly handling things in Norwich. S-E’s tourney runs concurrently with Norwich’s, and this weekend’s tourney is the 29th annual invitational hosted by the Marauders. Also participating in the S-E tournament is Unadilla Valley. If you’re the slightest bit curious about the prospects for this year’s local basketball teams, I invite you to click on the sports link on our home page. Today we have brief capsules of each area basketball team. For the girls, check out Thursday’s articles.

Follow Patrick Newell on Twitter @evesunpat

Patrick Newell

The canvas that is my computer screen remained empty after multiple phone calls. I titled my story file earlier today, “Syracuse Reaction.” I had the grand idea of writing an editorial/comment piece in which I asked local residents with Syracuse University ties to step away from the watercooler talk, and express their thoughts on the recent firing of Bernie Fine.
If you’ve had your head in the sand the past few days, three people have come forward and alleged that Fine – an assistant men’s basketball coach at SU for 3 1/2 decades – sexually molested them. Every person I spoke to on Monday declined to comment.
One prominent local citizen quickly answered no when asked if he wanted to speak about the Fine incident on the record. When I asked if he could provide any names of Syracuse graduates, he said he would get back to me.
He didn’t.
Another prominent local businessmen said he “didn’t want to touch that,” when asked to comment about Fine. Knowing I would not divulge his name, this businessman did say the entire situation was “disappointing,” and an “embarrassment.”
Thanks to the media spotlight, police in Onondaga County are now giving the allegations levied against Fine their full attention. When Bobby Davis, one of Fine’s accusers, initially brought his accusations to the legal system – and Syracuse University – he was dismissed by SU, who said they found no one to corroborate Davis’ story. The Syracuse-area police also have no record of Davis reporting a crime.
Now, with evidence mounting and the court of public opinion demanding action, SU fired Fine this past weekend. Meanwhile, the investigation of Fine by Onondaga County police is plowing forward.
Let’s be clear: The probe into Fine’s alleged misdeeds is in the embryonic stage. Down in Pennsylvania, it was a three-year investigation process before former Penn State assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, was arrested. Do not expect anything different in this instance, either.
In reality, the atrocities brought to light at Penn State, in the scheme of things, were nothing more than a “flavor of the month.” It was only a matter of time before the next flavor of the month was revealed. To the shock over every Central New York sports fan, the next headline-grabber has a local flavor.

Follow Patrick Newell on Twitter @evesunpat

Patrick Newell

Earlier this week, Alfred State College announced its athletes of the week. Oxford graduate Haley Witchella, a freshman on the women’s basketball team, scored 48 total points, grabbed 26 rebounds, and blocked 10 total shots in a pair of Pioneers wins. Witchella won the first of what will likely be many awards as ASC’s athlete of the week.
A six-foot freshman forward, Witchella hit a game-winning three-pointer in a victory over Cayuga Community College. Heading into this weekend’s games, ASC was unbeaten at 6-0. “Haley, is our one of our post players who can shoot the three and finish in the paint, she has amazing hands and catches the ball in traffic with a strong post presence,” said Alfred State women’s basketball coach, Gina Boyd. “She is a major contributor to the team with her athletic capabilities to handle the ball in the open court and knock down a 20-footer.  She is making a difference on our success as a team, she is a spark plug who is always pushing everyone to do better.  We are lucky she is a part of our Alfred State team.”
Unfortunately for Witchella – and Alfred State – she will miss at least the next three weeks of games after fracturing her foot during a physical education class. “We will make adjustments, but she will be missed,” Boyd said.

Congratulations to the Liberatore family. Three of them, mother and two daughters, recently completed the Boston half marathon together. Sophie, the mom, ran the 13.1 miles in 2 hours, 33 minutes to place sixth in her age group. Tricia Liberatore of Holcomb, Raleigh, N.C. ran the fastest time, a 1 hour, 58 minutes, 28 seconds clocking, and Jill Liberatore of Cambridge, Mass., completed her first half marathon timing 2 hours, 6 minutes, and 13 seconds. A total of 5,192 runners crossed the finish line in the early-October race. All three plan to run more half marathons together in the near future. Tricia Liberatore is a 1996 graduate of Sherburne-Earlville, and Jill Liberatore graduated from S-E in 2001.

Follow Patrick Newell on Twitter @evesunpat

Patrick Newell

- Last year, Greene’s field hockey season came to an end in what was essentially a skills competition. Playing Mamaroneck of Section I in the state semifinals, neither team gave up a goal in regulation or overtime. According to state playoff rules, after the overtime periods are exhausted, a penalty stroke shootout – five strokes for each side – determines the winner. It’s a one-on-one opportunity for a player to shoot from a designated spot in front of the goalie. Greene made just one of its attempts to Mamaroneck’s three. It wasn’t the first time in Greene head coach Sue Carlin’s tenure that penalty strokes determined a winner of a game she coached. But is there a better way to determine a team’s playoff fate? “We used to do penalty corners, but that ended up taking way too long,” Carlin said, who suggested something similar to hockey. The NHL uses a penalty shot where an individual player carries the puck in from center ice for a one-on-one shot against the goalie. Perhaps for field hockey, the player would dribble the ball in from just outside the penalty circle for a shot attempt. Each side would get five attempts, just like the penalty stroke format. Another alternative suggested by a former area coach was to start an additional sudden-victory 7-on-7 overtime period with seven players, but remove one player from the field every two minutes (save the goalie) until a team scores. In any event, who wouldn’t want to see a game end under more typical playing conditions rather than a shootout?

- Sue Carlin said her team has used food as a means of creating team bonding moments. At different times this season, parents and coaches have hosted team-wide meals. In preparation for Saturday’s state playoff game, Carlin assumed the chef’s hat with pasta as the entree. Asked about her culinary skills, Carlin was reticent to compare herself to Emeril Lagasse. “Definitely not,” Carlin answered if she would try to dress up the meal for her players. “They’ll eat anything.”

- I have never been a big fan of Penn State football. As a burgeoning football fan in the late 1970s, the Nittany Lions rolled over my Syracuse Orange year after year. Paterno’s troops were a model of consistency and excellence. Yes, I was indeed envious of that success. Paterno, an intelligent, educated man, expected his players to comport themselves with class, to study, and to graduate. It was a football program so clean, it squeaked. And the team was winning year after year. Over the years, you couldn’t help but respect the values that Paterno stood for, and his charitable generosity was admirable. Now, at 84, Paterno’s reputation, built over 60 years of coaching football, is spiraling down the toilet. Paterno has always favored a strong running game, and he handed off again – responsibility to someone higher on the chain of command. ESPN analyst Lou Holtz, who coached college and pro football for decades, made an excellent point earlier this week. If given this type of information by a graduate assistant or staff member, he would dig deep with question after question. Instead of tapping into human curiosity, Paterno passed the buck and didn’t follow up. It’s astonishing that anyone, knowing something like this was happening under his watch, would not seek justice.

Follow Patrick Newell on Twitter @evesunpat

Patrick Newell

Greene’s football players will likely deal with the sting of a 39-0 loss to Waverly for quite a while. But let’s be clear: The Trojans’ victory hopes were probably extinguished midway through the third quarter when it fell behind 27-0. Head coach Tim Paske was asked what was more surprising – giving up 39 points or his offense scoring none. “Not scoring,” Paske said. “Yeah, I didn’t think (39-0) would happen. “If you don’t bring your ‘A’ game and you don’t play for four quarters, this is what can happen.”
Greene has also made a healthy living this year bringing blitzing linebackers and defensive backs. This past Saturday, Waverly quarterback Zach Cooney either identified open receivers quickly, or had enough pass protection to get off a clean release. In one instance, Waverly receiver Jeff Mastrantuono was lined up in the slot with Greene linebacker Mike Beckwith defending in man-to-man coverage. At the snap, Beckwith slanted inside on a blitz. Mastrantuono was momentarily wide open, and Cooney delivered a quick pass parallel to the line of scrimmage. The Greene defense was a step slow to react, and Mastrantuono grabbed the “bubble screen” pass taking it 18 yards for a first down. Two other times in the first half, Waverly exploited Greene’s attacking defense. The first and third TDs of the game – 66- and 87-yard TD passes – came in situations where Cooney had his best receiver, Ryan Hewitt, locked up one on one with a Greene defensive back. Cooney tried Hewitt several times in the game, and those two big hookups paid big dividends leading to a 20-0 halftime lead.
“We brought pressure, and sometimes you get lucky with that,” Paske said. “We wanted to maybe give up one of those home runs, but we gave up a few more. That makes a big difference. We figured they would probably be able to score, but they’re a good team and they executed.”

Chenango Valley head football coach, Jay Hope, taught and coached briefly at Greene High School in the late 1990s before heading to CV. Hope assumed the head coaching duties from longtime Warriors coach Bob Zanot, and it took a few years before Hope and his coaching staff developed a consistent winning system. Now, with two straight Class B titles, CV is a fixture among the elite teams in the section.
Over the first month of this season, however; CV was anything but a playoff contender. It lost its opening game, had a week off due to flood damage across the Southern Tier, then lost two more, the latter contest a 35-31 division game against Oneonta. “When we were 0-3 at the beginning of the season, in terms of that, we could have folded up shop,” Hope said. “We told the kids after the fourth week that we were in the playoffs now, and we can’t lose. We came back versus Waverly, who is a sectional finalist, and had to come out and basically play playoff football. If we lost, we would be out. Our goal was to get to the playoffs and see what happens.”

On Monday, Greene’s Paske, with the benefit of hindsight and review of game film, talked about his team’s unfortunate sectional finals loss. “We started the game fine on defense,” Paske said. “We held them to a three-and-out, and even on their second series, they had a third-and-long before completing that long pass. If we get a knockdown or make a play, we would have had two three-and-outs on defense, and you never know what happens.”
Early in the second quarter and trailing 12-0, Greene moved from its 34 down to the Waverly 14. A Jeff Carlin run inside the 10 was negated due to a 10-yard block in the back penalty, and the Trojans never recovered from that mistake. Waverly took over on downs, and quickly raised the lead to 20-0 with an 87-yard TD strike. “We score and make it 12-7, it’s a big difference in how the game goes,” Paske said. “We hurt ourselves with some mental errors, but Waverly is a really good football team. Their defense was definitely the quickest we faced this year.”

Riding three straight playoff appearances, Norwich’s football future looks bright. A strong junior varsity team lost just one game and swept all of its league opponents. Yet, that junior varsity squad could have been even better. Six sophomores made the jump to the varsity level this year, and all played major roles on either offense or defense this season. “We have some great seniors that we’ll lose, but we were very young,” said Norwich coach John Martinson. “The program is looking up.”

Follow Patrick Newell on Twitter @evesunpat

Patrick Newell

Norwich football coach John Martinson made some small tactical changes on offense against Johnson City last Saturday, avoiding plays that were not likely to work. “We knew we weren’t going to get anything outside running the ball or with bootlegs,” Martinson said. “We stayed patient with our game plan (running inside) and our running backs followed their blocks.” Defensively, Norwich was in attack mode from the start recovering one of JC’s five lost fumbles on that initial possession. “We came after them and we didn’t stop,” Martinson said of a Tornado defense that forced six turnovers. “We were hungry on the defensive side of the ball, and to shut out a team like Johnson City that ran it so well against us two weeks ago, that says a lot about these kids.”

Bainbridge-Guilford’s volleyball team did not get off to a good start losing three of its first four matches in September. Head coach Pam Tompkins had an extremely green crew of players, and was just hoping to develop skills. By season’s end, the Bobcats were one of the best teams in the Midstate Athletic Conference, and finished with 10 wins. Tompkins credited the extra work of B-G athletics director, Greg Warren, and the team’s boosters for their efforts this season. Warren made some schedule additions in which the Bobcats were able to play in high-level tournaments at Johnson City and Union-Endicott. Meanwhile, the boosters bought a training aid, a “Spike-It,” a device to help her front line develop their hits. “Our AD really worked hard for us this year,” Tompkins said. “He got us into those tournaments against bigger schools, and it was hard. Those teams kicked our butts, but playing against better competition made a big difference. (Our players) learned a lot more than if they just played in our league.”

Elmira Notre Dame eliminated the Greene girls’ varsity team in the quarterfinals last weekend. It was the second straight year the Crusaders ousted the Trojans, but this game was much more competitive. END scored with 10 minutes left in regulation, and tacked on an insurance goal in the late stages of the second half after the Trojans had pushed up their formation in an effort to tie the game. Trojans sophomore, Paige Wilcox, entered the game with 39 goals, likely a Chenango County single-season record for girls. Already with 60-plus career goals, Wilcox failed to find the net, and it wasn’t due to any special attention the END paid toward the speedy Trojans striker. “It didn’t matter where we put her on the field, the ball just wasn’t coming to her that much,” said Greene coach Brandy Stone. “It was just the nature of the game. She did have a couple crosses that she almost finished, but in general, she didn’t get as many touches.” Wilcox is on pace for around 130 goals for her career, a total that would shatter her school record, and likely break every career scoring mark in Chenango County soccer history.

Anyone who has wandered in the vicinity of my cubicle the past 16 years knows I am not in love with the task of typing in local bowling scores. I have fairly decent typing skills, but my ability to type 60 to 65 words a minute takes a hit when a good percentage of your keystrokes includes voluminous numerical entries. From my first week on the job in 1995, a stack of papers with Norwich bowling results arrived at my desk. That is, until this past year. The only scores I received last year came by e-mail from Del Law, secretary of the Tuesday PM Mixed League. As of this fall, Del is still the only person submitting league results. As long as Norwich has had bowling alleys, the league standings and high scores have been published in The Evening Sun. Even though typing in umpteen league results is not my most enjoyable task, it is local sports news with a long affiliation with our paper. I encourage any league secretaries with a desire to publish their league’s results to contact me at my work e-mail at
pnewell@evesun.com. Even if you don’t type 60 to 65 words a minute, the five to 10 minutes it takes to shoot off a message to me will put you in good stead with league members and sponsors.

Follow Patrick Newell on Twitter @evesunpat

Patrick Newell

The World Series heads back to St. Louis for game six on Wednesday night. In any other year, I would have have already discussed the current series with Bob McNitt a couple of times. In addition to our normal e-mail communication with his weekly column, we would exchange banter on the sports headlines of the day. Although he was a Yankees fan, I think Bob would have enjoyed seeing “new blood” such as Texas in position to win a world championship. Our easy flow of communication was just one of many memories of Bob that I will miss. He was the type of guy that when you came across an interesting news or sports item, you wanted to share it with him to get his take. And I did that countless times. So many little things cross my mind every day that remind me of Bob, and whenever I make an outdoors jaunt in the future, I think (or hope), Bob’s spirit will guide me through my little journey safely

So what is in the water at Greene? For a relatively small school, it sure is enjoying a great deal of success throughout its athletics programs. I have already documented their achievements earlier this season, and I asked head football coach Tim Paske why he believed the sports are so successful in the fall for the Trojans. “I would say around 70 percent of the kids (in high school) are playing sports on some level,” Paske said, who added that 70 percent may be a conservative number. “Obviously the kids are willing to do it, and it all starts with the community and the families. The kids are brought up with (sports), and if you look across the board, the coaching staffs have been there for a lot of years. There is a stability in the program, and the kids know the philosophies and expectations of the coaches.” Among the current varsity coaches at Greene, only varsity soccer coach Brandy Stone has less than 10 years of coaching experience at Greene. Stone, though, has been a part of two Greene MAC championships, her first as an assistant to Randy Smith, and the second coming last year as head coach.

Last week, Harvard University announced that J.P. O’Connor would join the wrestling team as an assistant coach. O’Connor graduated from Harvard in 2010, and won a national championship his senior season. Before that, he won 238 matches at Oxford (believed a school record) capturing five Section IV titles and four state titles. Since his college graduation, O’Connor has moved forward with his next goal: A berth on the 2012 U.S. Olympic wrestling team. O’Connor said he was making nice progress, but an injury early this season sidelined him for several months. He is now back in training and preparing for an Olympic trials qualifier next month. O’Connor is confident he will earn a spot at the trials, and believes it is not an unrealistic goal to reach the Olympics. “I don’t think I would be chasing this goal if I didn’t think I was capable,” O’Connor said. “Most of the guys in my class I’ve wrestled and beaten at some point. The guys I have not been able to beat, it really is about wrestling my match, being healthy, and peaking in April (the Olympic trials). If I do that, I can be the guy to represent the United States.”

Follow Patrick Newell on Twitter @evesunpat

Patrick Newell

Sherburne-Earlville is preparing for its final two football games of the season. While the focus is on Ilion this Friday, the sting of a 6-0 loss to Canastota last Friday must remain. On paper, the Marauders wind up as co-champions of Section III’s Class C South Division, but again, they are on the outside of the playoffs mix. Despite a 5-2 record – tied for the best record in the division – the tie-breaking formula proved unfavorable.”It’s unfortunate the way things are, but the playoffs are not going to happen, and we need to prepare for our crossover games,” said S-E coach Mike Jasper. Playing at home and as the only team in control of its playoff destiny, the Marauders struggled with the muddy footing, and struggled even more to move the ball against Canastota’s defense. For the game, S-E had less than 90 yards of total offense, by far its lowest output over the past two seasons.

Speaking of playoff formulas, some numbers crunching will take place this weekend if Norwich’s football team is unable to win at Chenango Valley Saturday. Norwich is the lone team in Section IV’s Division III with an unblemished mark, and is in position to win its second outright division title in three seasons. In the event of a loss, it is possible that NHS, CV, and Oneonta would finish in a three-way tie for first place.

Congratulations to Otselic Valley’s girls. Tuesday afternoon, the Vikings edged Brookfield to clinch its first Section III postseason berth in at least 10 years – maybe longer. The Vikings have three games left this week – all against opponents where OV would likely enter the game as a favorite. If OV does indeed win those three contests, it would head to the postseason with a 10-6 mark. Those 10 victories would exceed the total wins over the previous four years combined. “I’ve been saying all along that this team had a good shot at 10 wins,” said OV coach Kevin Springer. “I still believe that, and if we can end the season on a four-game high, there is a good shot we’ll host a sectional playoff game.”

According to our statistics, Greene’s varsity soccer teams have the most prolific scorers in the area. Senior Alex Driscoll just became the boys’ all-time leading scorer last weekend against Oxford. His four goals against the Blackhawks pushes his season total to 30, and his career total to 104 – three better than 1999 graduate, Jordan McMullen. On the girls’ side, sophomore Paige Wilcox is on pace to become the school’s all-time leading scorer. She already has 37 tallies this season and better than 60 for her two-year varsity career. In two short seasons, Wilcox may already be the girls’ all-time leading goal scorer.

Follow Patrick Newell on Twitter @evesunpat

Patrick Newell

John Stewart served as master of ceremonies for an emotional remembrance and dedication Wednesday afternoon just outside the Norwich High School tennis courts. Stewart, who has coached 28 sports seasons in tennis and swimming, unveiled a memorial plaque in honor of former tennis player Krissie Collier, was passed away suddenly this past June. Collier played varsity tennis throughout her high school career, and was at the top of the doubles lineup for most of those years. Collier was situated on court four, and that court was renamed “Krissie’s Court.” It was heartening to see such a large contingent of family, friends, and most of Norwich’s sports teams attend the dedication. And, despite the forecast of rain, not a drop of the wet stuff appeared. Big kudos to Sarah Stewart, who organized the dedication, and to Norwich’s director of athletics, Steve Griffin. “Griff” has not taught in the classroom for a number of years, but he didn’t forget how to give a speech. His poignant recounting of experiences with Krissie moved many people in attendance to tears.

I don’t mention Afton sports that much, but the boys’ soccer team has made some small inroads toward respectability. For most of the program’s existence (at least six or seven years by my count), the Crimson Knights were almost penciled in as a win for the other team before the contest was ever played. Second-year head coach Todd Dancesia inherited a team last year that not only had little to no success the previous year, but little experience. Now in year two of Dancesia’s tenure, the Knights nearly upset Walton twice (Walton is among the top three teams in the MAC), lost six games by one goal, and earned its first-ever wins over Sidney and Oxford over the past week and a half. Afton could be a program to watch in the MAC within the next couple of years.

Sherburne-Earlville coach Mike Jasper said his team made a mistake at the start of last year when it used the wrong alignment in the backfield. Around the third game, Greg DuVall moved to tailback, and he became the downhill type of runner the team needed en route to a 6-3 season. Will Slentz became an effective runner as a wingback, and Cory Musician provided the tough inside yards at fullback. “We learned our lesson from last year,” Jasper said. During the preseason, the S-E coaching staff moved sophomore Austin Jasper from tight end to running back, even though Jasper had not played running back. Combined with Musician at fullback and the speedy Devven Ferris, the Marauders have perhaps the most balanced rushing attack in the area. “Austin is kind of an odd physical presence back there because he’s so tall,” Coach Jasper said of his nearly 6-foot-3 son. “We just didn’t have anybody to step into the role that Greg occupied last year. We have to get the ball into the hands of the kids that can do it for us.” Musician, Ferris, and Jasper are all on pace to eclipse 600 yards rushing this season, so the adjustments made at the start of the season are clearly working. So much so, S-E is a victory away from clinching its first Section III playoff berth.

Follow Patrick Newell on Twitter @evesunpat

Patrick Newell

When anyone dies at age 31, it’s always too soon. I learned of Krista Bartle’s sudden passing on Friday morning. It was just a day removed from the engagement announcement of her brother Jared that appeared in our newspaper – a most tragic contrast of news items in our paper. I didn’t know Krista Bartle outside of our field hockey communications, but I covered her as part of Oxford’s field hockey team during the late 1990s when the Blackhawks fielded some exceptional teams. After college, Krista came back to Oxford to work at her family’s business, while also helping out as a field hockey coach at various levels of play. Like so many of the Oxford field hockey alumni, Krista was forever tied to her alma mater’s field hockey program. With no other qualified applicants ready to step up, Krista was thrust into the varsity head coaching position a year ago. I could tell she wasn’t comfortable with the “media” responsibilities of her new position, but she saw a program in decline due to lack of participation, and she wanted to help. Krista kept the field hockey team moving forward, and her knowledge and enthusiasm for the game were impressed upon a small contingent of willing student/athletes. The continuation of the program this year was again touch and go, and ultimately the field hockey team survived. When I attended Oxford’s first week of practice in August, Krista was not at the helm. I wasn’t completely surprised since the Blackhawks have had five head coaches over the past 10 seasons. I saved all of my e-mail communication with Krista (yes, I am an e-mail pack rat), and looking back this past weekend, I noticed the increasing comfort and detail in her reporting of events. My lasting memory of Krista is strictly limited to my contact with her as a player and coach. I know she loved field hockey, and although she probably would have preferred to coach at the lower levels, she stepped up to a position for the betterment of young kids and the program as a whole.

Anyone doubt the value of Paul Wonka to the Oxford football team? Even when he isn’t churning out big yards, his presence on the field sets up the rest of the players. Harpursville stalled Wonka for much of last Friday’s game “limiting” him to 100 yards rushing on 29 carries. The Hornets’ effort to stack up the junior tailback backfired as Oxford threw the ball for a season-high 234 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-13 come-from-behind victory. Just a week earlier, Wonka ran for 158 yards against a state-ranked Bainbridge-Guilford defense geared up to stop Wonka. No individual back this season has had that type of success against B-G – not even Walton’s stable of star runners. For those not in the know, Walton has stood alone as the number one ranked Class D in the state for most of this season. B-G coach Tim Mattingly came away impressed after his team prevailed over the Blackhawks. “He’s one heck of a runner,” Mattingly said of Wonka. “He’s quick, physical, and tough to bring down. He’s able to pick his holes, and he does a great job with cutback runs. We knew he would carry their load and we made sure to stay after him, yet he still ran for 158 yards.”

Greene senior soccer player, Alex Driscoll is approaching a milestone. Averaging nearly two goals a game this season, Driscoll scored his 22nd goal of the season in the Trojans’ 2-1 MAC division-title-winning victory over Unatego last weekend. Driscoll has 96 career goals, and with three games this week, will likely become the first boys soccer player since Greene’s Jordan McMullen (1999) to reach 100 varsity goals.

Follow Patrick Newell on Twitter @evesunpat