By P.J. Harmer
Staff Writer
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Don't let Mother Nature fool you.
Despite recent 90-degree weather in the area, high school football season is set to begin with four games involving area teams at 7 tonight.
"We've had a lot of water breaks," said 35th-year Walton coach Jim Hoover, whose team opens at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at home against Sidney. "The drills where we don't need shoulder pads and helmets, we have (the players) take them off. And lots of fluids. Even with that and a lot of breaks, it's hard to concentrate as coaches when you're out there in 90-something-degree weather."
Conditions should cool considerably by kickoff, though, as tonight's forecast calls for temperatures around 75. Saturday is supposed to be even more mild, with temperatures expected to peak in the mid-60s and a 30 percent chance of showers.
No matter what the weather, local teams have been looking forward to this weekend for the last three weeks.
"It doesn't get old," said Hoover, whose team returns to Class D this season. "I think the kids are excited to play a game."
Sidney at Walton is the lone Saturday game featuring area high school teams. The rest will start under the lights tonight.
Oneonta, which finished 5-4 last season and reached the Section Four Class B playoffs for the first time since 2002, opens on the road at Class C Greene. The Yellowjackets lost a strong core of players to graduation and should look to senior quarterback Keegan Trombley early.
Junior running back Bryce Wooden returns in the backfield for OHS, which also brings back senior receiver Michael Gilmore. Gilmore led area receivers last season in yards (607), catches (31) and touchdown receptions (7).
Led by 2009 Daily Star co-Coach of the Year Adam Hoover, Oneonta will compete for the Section Four Football Conference's Division III title with Chenango Valley, Norwich, Susquehanna Valley and Windsor.
Also tonight, Delhi travels to Unatego; Bainbridge-Guilford visits Unadilla Valley/Edmeston; and, in Section Three, Cooperstown travels to Mohawk.
"We have a thin team, but we're excited about the season," said Cooperstown coach Steve Pugliese, whose team reached the Section Three Class C semifinals last year. The Redskins have dropped to Class D this season.
"It's a new adventure," he continued. "We dropped down a class and we feel we can compete in the class. ... If we stay injury-free, we should do very well."
Though the Redskins graduated several players from last year's 8-1 team, they return Daily Star Player of the Year Alec Silvera. He rushed for 1,203 yards and 17 touchdowns as a junior last fall. Cooperstown also has a new quarterback in Coley Graham, who transferred from Hamilton. Graham started the last three seasons at Hamilton, which didn't field a team this season.
Graham is an option quarterback, so he'll also be a threat to run the ball as well, Pugliese said.
"(Alec) is our main weapon," Pugliese said. "We have a young line, so it's going to be harder there. ... Graham is a great option quarterback. It gives us a whole new weapon. He can throw the football and we have some good receivers. We should be exciting to watch."
Cooperstown won its first eight games last season before losing to Cazenovia, 31-6, in a Section Three Class C semifinal. The Redskins beat Mohawk last season, 30-0.
"We know it will be tough," Pugliese said of tonight's opener, which will take place on a new field at Mohawk. "We think we can go down there and upset them. We think we're the underdogs with them having a new field. It's a tough place to play as it is."
New Unatego coach Frank Microni gets to open the season at home tonight, but his Spartans begin against a program that reached the Section Four Class D final last year. Microni, a longtime assistant at Unatego, officially took over the Spartans on the first day of practice Aug. 16. He replaced Art Rigas, who left the team after three years to take an assistant football position at Hartwick College.
The Spartans, who finished 2-7 last season, will compete in Division V of the Section Four Football Conference against Chenango Forks, Greene, Sidney and Unadilla Valley/Edmeston.
Delhi went 9-1 in 2009 under Dave Kelly, who begins his 45th year as head coach of the Bulldogs. Delhi has one of the area's top players back in fullback/linebacker Jack Fletcher, who rushed for 1,187 yards and 12 touchdowns last year.
Bainbridge-Guilford, which is seeking its third straight playoff appearance under 2009 Daily Star co-Coach of the Year Tim Mattingly, opens at Unadilla Valley/Edmeston, which is looking to snap an 18-game skid.
UV/E also has a new coach in Stan Foulds, who will work with one of the program's largest rosters in recent years.
B-G lost standout Justin Pepper to graduation but has a strong returning backfield in senior running backs Daren Terpstra and Dakota Vandermark and junior fullback Billy Holden. The trio combined to rush for 1,487 yards last season.
Walton reached the Section Four Class C final last year but will play in Class D this year. Walton beat Sidney last season, 44-37, despite allowing quarterback Dylan Umbra to rush for 160 yards. He returns for his senior season this year.
Jim Hoover said he saw Sidney scrimmage Maine-Endwell and Windsor this preseason.
"Those are two pretty good football teams and (Sidney) did well," Hoover said. "They have a lot of raw talent an a lot of speed. It will be a challenge."
Walton lost the bulk of its backfield to graduation and will start sophomore quarterback Dalton Kaminsky. Christian Howe and Nick Shiels will start at running back and Dylan Hornbeck will be at fullback.
"We'll know more after Saturday," Hoover said. "They looked good scrimmaging and practicing. It's what will they do against other teams now?"
P.J. Harmer can be reached at pharmer@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 229.
