Stallions add owners, players

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June 17, 2010

Two former Star Players of the Year on roster

By Dean Russin Sports Editor The Daily Star Thu Jun 17, 2010, 03:30 AM EDT

ONEONTA _ The New York Stallions are trying to prove that three heads are better than one.

Del Anthony announced Tuesday he recently sold equal shares of his local adult football team to fellow Oneonta residents Tom Terry and Angela Eardley in forming a three-person ownership group that will run the Stallions for the foreseeable future.

"It got to the point that it took too much effort for one person to handle," said Anthony, who bought the Stallions last June from former owner Penny Gray after her husband, team founder Don Stanton Sr., was arrested as a fugitive and extradited to face felony theft charges in Harrison, Ark.

Anthony scrambled to keep the team together, secure a home field at Fortin Park in the Town of Oneonta and open its first season in the Regional American Football League last July as scheduled.

Although Anthony pulled it off with help from the community, his undermanned Stallions suffered through an 0-10 season in which they were outscored, 529-18.

"Anything we do this year is going to be better than last year," Eardley said Tuesday, when she and Anthony visited The Daily Star to announce the change in ownership. "Everything this year should be a step up."

If this year's field is any indication, the Stallions are headed in the right direction. Anthony announced in April his team would play four home games in the Empire Football League at Hartwick College's Wright Stadium.

Anthony said that "worked wonders" for the team's reputation, which took a major hit with Stanton's arrest in May 2009.

"I believe we're going to be more exciting this year," said Anthony, who changed the team's name from the Oneonta Stallions to the New York Stallions last season in an attempt to change its tarnished image. "We're going to bring family fun back to Oneonta."

Anthony said the Stallions' board voted not to disclose the financial terms of his deals with Terry and Eardley. All three said they serve on the board, along with Schenevus resident Kevin Barrows, Adam Cornell of Stamford and Oneonta residents Dave Bellinger and Katie Pawlowski.

Glens Falls native Terry, employed by Bassett Hospital for the last two years, will double as the Stallions head coach.

"I poked around, went to a game last year, got interested and went to a board meeting," said Terry, who added he has experience as an adult-league football player and coach but had no formal ties to the Stallions before this past February. "It was very clear we needed to have more business and community support and a better business structure. ... It's a miracle (Anthony) survived, but through his dedication and hard work, they did _ barely."

Terry added his mission is to build the Stallions into a competitive, community-oriented football team "from scratch." That included welcoming back some of the former Stallions who left to create the Leatherstocking Indians in November. The Indians officially folded Tuesday, leaving several players without a team a month before the start of the summer season.

Eardley, whose son Anthony is a wide receiver, said the Stallions' roster grew from 35 to 48 players last Wednesday as some of the former Indians participated in a New York practice.

"We revised ownership and the board, we changed to a much more travel-conscious, competitive league and we've come to an agreement with the Indians and are forming into one local football team," Terry said. "I'm not in it for the money, not even a little bit. Anybody who gets in it to make money is crazy. We're not paying players, and people have families. This is more or less a hobby, and making money is not the reason anybody starts a hobby."

Along those lines, Eardley said there is no charge to become part of the Stallions' roster, although players must have their own equipment and insurance to participate.

"If you want to be part of the Stallions, all you have to do is come and join us," said Eardley, who added that New York's numbers increased after the Indians and another local team _ the Delaware County Rattlers _ disbanded.

Among the notables to recently join the Stallions are former local high school football standouts Noble Champen and Wisey Askerzadah, Anthony said. The Daily Star named former Oneonta High wide receiver Champen its Player of the Year in 1999, five seasons before Askerzadah won the award as a Walton running back.

Eardley also said uniforms are free thanks to the team's numerous sponsors, which will help offset the $6,000 it will cost to play under the lights at Hartwick this summer. She added that tickets will cost around $5 each, although children ages 12 and under will be admitted for free.

The Stallions open their season at 7:30 p.m. July 10 at Union-Endicott High against the Broome County Dragons. Their home opener follows at 7:30 p.m. July 17 against the Amsterdam Zephyrs.

New York, which will play five road games, also will host Vermont on Aug. 14, Plattsburgh on Aug. 28 and the Dragons on Sept. 18.

"We are stronger than last year and we have better numbers, so that's an advantage," Terry said. "Our quality of players is enhanced and we're playing in a league that features less travel and the right level of competition. I think we can be a competitive football team this year. We'll be a far more interesting team to support and follow."

Dean Russin can be reached at drussin@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 215.