The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Red Devils working to return to postseason
Red Devils working hard in preseason
Vernon-Verona-Sherrill seniors are looking to make the most out of their final year on the gridiron.
VERONA, N.Y. » The Vernon-VeronaSherrill football team has had mixed results over the past couple of seasons, reaching the Section III Class B final two years ago before falling short of the postseason last fall.
The Red Devils, especially the seniors, are hoping their 2017 campaignmore closely resembles 2015.
“Wewant tomake it back to sectionals,” said Nate Palmer at Tuesday’s practice. “If we get back to sectionals anything can happen from there.”
He knows fromexperience. The senior was part of VVS’ run to the Carrier Dome in 2015 as was junior Alex Oliver and the playmaking pair is part of a core group of returners for the Red Devils this season. Also back for veteran head coachGaryOliver areAustinGrow, Luke Stoltz, Brandon Tiller, T.J. Horodnick, Jake Engler and Ricky Shawl.
“Everybody’s working hard. Everybody’s learning everything. We’re playing together right now so hopefully we can keep it up,”
said Horodnick. “We have a lot of good, quick skill players and if our line plays up to their potential then I think we’ll be good.”
VVS also has several players who were on the roster last year and are expected to see an increase in playing time in 2017. Zach Nell, Alex Kipp, Tyler Rotach and A.J. Farina will all step into bigger roles this year, aswill Matt Ciotti who comes up from JV.
As the Red Devils rev up for their Sept. 2 opener at Utica Notre Dame at 2 p.m., coach Oliver and company have begun to implement offensive and defensive strategies in the second week of practice.
“At this point they know how to line up and they know the basics,” he said. “Now it’s more the strategic part of the game and they whys of what they’re doing.”
VVS is preparing for life in the always competitive Class B East, a league that got even tougher with the addition of New Hartford. Players like Palmer and Horodnick know the time is now to put together one last run together.
“I hate it,” said Palmer of having just one season left. “I love football and I don’t know what’s going to happen at the next level so I’m just going to enjoy it while I can.”