The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Oneida to field small but talented team in ’17
Fuller lacks depth but has talent in second year at helm
ONEIDA, N.Y. » Oneida football head coach Jason Fuller knows he’ll have fewer players to work with when his team takes the field this fall with the program having a down year in terms of numbers.
Still, the second-year coach knows that doesn’t mean his team can’t be successful.
“We have some pieces butwe don’t have a ton of depth,” he said at Tuesday’s practice. “But we’ll play hard. In 2008 we didn’t have a lot of depth either but we played hard. So that’s what we’re looking at.”
While a run to the state title game is unlikely, there are plenty of reasons for Oneida to be optimistic that it can return to the Section III Class B playoffs. Seniors Gage Uhlig, Scott Potter and Henry Froass all saw action at running back andwide receiveras juniors last yearwhile classmates Jacob Lukacz, Trent Hammon and Jayson Isabelle had playing time on the offensive and defensive line. Fuller also has a key group of returning juniors that includes Lukas Albro, Vinny Leibl and Ryan Chevier.
“We’re smaller than we’re usually are but I feel like we’re much more athletic,” said Potter. “We have a lot more athletes which is good. It helps us run the new type of offense that we’re going to run, which is nice.”
AddedFroass, “Wegot a good defense, good offense. It should
be a good season.”
Newcomers to watch for Oneida include Steven Barrett and Nicholas Kimball on the line and Draedan Cochran-Garbry in the backfield and at linebacker.
Fuller said at this point in the preseason his players are trying to find a role, if not more.
“A lot of guys, we’re trying to find two roles,” he said. “Have a position and a backup position. Have a plan and a backup plan because our numbers aren’t very big this year.”
Two-time defending Section III Class B champion Cazenovia will once again provide a tough challenge for Oneida in Class B East play. The league also gets tougher with the addition of New Hartford, which makes the move from Class A to replace a South Jefferson squad that typically finished near the bottom of the league standings. Local rivals Vernon-Verona-Sherrill and Camden always provide a challenge with Utica Notre Dame, Central Valley Academy and Mexico rounding out the difficult division.
“We’re going to have to play our game, definitely,” said Froass. “That’s going to be the hardest part. We’ve got some good teams that we’ve got to face and making it back to playoffs is our main goal and after that, hopefully farther.”
Fuller agreed, saying his players needed to focus on what they do best to be successful.
“If we can avoid the injury bug and learn and evolve and play within our strengths and hide our weaknesses, I think that’s the secret.”
Oneida opens its season with a 7 p.m. game on Friday, Sept. 1 at Camden.