The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Wildcats trying to turn season around
New semi-pro team to take field in Oneida on Saturday
The CNY Wildcats are off to a tumultuous start in the World Football Federation, getting shut out in their first two games and losing their owner, head coach and home field.
Now, general manager Tina McNulty is looking “forward and upward” for the new semi-pro squad.
The team returns to the field Saturday after consecutive bye weeks with a new coach in Jacob Smith and a new home field in Oneida’s Veteran’s Field as it looks to rebound from the shaky start.
“We’ve had some bad publicity and bad actions on the part of our team, some people that are no longer with us,” said McNulty. “Basically everything you don’t want. So we’re veering away from the negative publicity and we’re trying to go forward and upward.
“We have a lot of really good people that are putting in their time, energy. A lot of people deep-rooted in the community.”
The team came together early this year and recruited players in Chittenango at events like Oz- Stravaganza and the local farmer’s market as well as by word of mouth. The Wildcats joined the World Football Federation’s North Division with the Albany Metro Mallers, Valley
Valley Bucs and Syracuse Strong with an agreement to play home games at East Syracuse-Minoa.
Their tenure at the Spartans’ stadium, however, was short-lived. McNulty said ES-M fairly ended the agreement after a fist fight between two Wildcats as well as a 15-yard penalty on the previous owner marred the team’s first home game.
After consecutive bye weeks, during which McNulty took over as owner and Jacob Smith as head coach, the team is looking for improvement on the field and in the community. The Wildcats are back in action on Saturday when they host the Bucs at Oneida’s Veterans’ Field at 7 p.m.
“He’s implemented a lot of changes on the field with communications, calls and everything,” said McNulty of Smith.
The new head coach brings a winning pedigree from Canastota, where he serves as an assistant coach at the high school. Smith has been working on putting players in their best positions, as well as focusing on stability.
“It’s a new challenge as well as an opportunity to see something local come to fruition,” he said. “I simply want these guys to know the plan, to know the direction in which we’re trying to go so that we can all kind of go in the same direction. It seems like before I got here a lot of people were trying to make their own directions.”
Smith added he’s already seen improvement in his players’ skills, noting that putting players in positions that fit their skill sets has helped as well.
He has a roster of approximately 40 players to work with, ranging in age from 19 to 39 and most in their early to mid-20s.
Josh Downer, a center and defensive tackle for the Wildcats from Kirkville, played football for Chittenango and Henninger in school before a 17-year break from the game. The 33-year-old was recruited during Oz- Stravaganza and decided to return to the field for the fledgling team, joking he wanted to put some of his size to use.
“It’s been rough. It’s been real rough. New team, all new players playing together, it’s going to take some time,” he said. “We’re sticking together, we’re trying to regroup and hopefully this game against Hudson Valley will be a little bit better.”
Robert Raynore also played high school football locally, suiting up for Oneida in the early 2000s, and has stayed active in the city’s f lag football leagues before joining the Wildcats. He learned of the team through Facebook and said his lifelong passion for the game brought him to the team.
He said the season has been a struggle due to poor attitudes on the team but also noted some positive changes since the team’s last game.
“Jacob? Awesome,” Raynore said. “It was the biggest step in the right direction I think this team’s had so far.”
Now the team will look to show that improvement on the field, starting Saturday. The Wildcats have home games on Aug. 12, Aug. 19 and Sept. 23, each starting at 7 p.m. with gates opening at 6. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for seniors, veterans and children ages 10-18 and kids under 10 are free.
Each home game will also be dedicated to a charity, including first responders this weekend and Aadon’s Peace Fund on Aug. 19, and McNulty hopes people will see the strides the team is making.
“We look forward to the community giving us a chance.”