ALLEGANY — When assessing the list of players he was given for
Saturday’s Don Raabe Charities Classic, Frank Brown was sure of two
things.
He knew what worked for his Wellsville Central School football
team last year when the Lions ended a six-year streak of losing
seasons AND captured the program’s first postseason victory — 33-14
over powerful Rochester Bishop Kearney — since 1996.
What he didn’t know was how best to split up the 44 players the
game committee handed him.
“WHEN I first got the roster from the committee,” said Brown, “I
took into consideration the positions they suggested might be best
for the players.
“The second thing I did was look at the recommendation from each
of their coaches and contacted some of them to determine what side
of the ball — offense or defense— their kids would would better
serve our needs. Finally, I looked at their heights and weights and
tried to figure how they might fit into our system at
Wellsville.
“When we started practice a week, I realized that I wasn’t too
far off on where I had penciled the kids in,” said Brown, the Big
30 Coach of the Year after guiding Wellsville to a 6-3 mark in 2009
and is 10-9 in two seasons on the Lions’ sidelines. “For one thing,
we had four players who were quarterbacks for their teams a year
ago and only two of them can play that position in the game.
“The second thing is that, besides asking two the QBs to switch
positions, I only had to move two other kids, switching them from
one side of the ball to the other.”
OF THE four signal-callers on the New York roster, Brown’s own
QB from Wellsville, Zac Roberts, and Olean High’s Kevin Stevens,
the Big 30 Offensive Player of the Year following his junior year
when he set numerous passing records for the Huskies, will play
behind center on Saturday night.
The two others — Hinsdale’s Brian MacNeal and
Allegany-Limestone’s Connor King — will play fullback and tight
end, respectively.
“I told my guys, ‘I have four quarterbacks and only two of you
can play there,’” said Brown. “They understood.
“And right from there, I’ve seen these kids band together. I
would not have expected to see that happen with so many kids from
different schools.
“But these guys have really come together.”
TWENTY-TWO players will line up on each side of the ball.
Offensively, besides the four players noted above, New York will
have Justin Taylor (Portville) at fullback and Cuba-Rushford’s Evan
Smith at tight end.
Also in the New York backfield will be wingbacks Jesse Newman
(Cattaraugus-Little Valley) and Chris LeBlanc (Salamanca) and
tailbacks Carmen Papa (Salamanca) and Ben Boberg (West Valley).
Splitting time at center will be Avery Chase (Ellicottville) and
Andrew Ray (Bolivar-Richburg).
Cody Gustin (Wellsville), Jon Krueger (Pioneer), Nate Woodin
(Franklinville) and Zach Winship (Salamanca) will play guard and
Brodey Linderman (Allegany-Limestone), Bruce Doyle (Cuba-Rushford),
Simon Brooks (Ellicottville) and Tyler Wass (Salamanca) will line
up at tackle.
Split end duties will be shared by Ryan Carney (Olean High) and
Pat Folland (Ellicottville – Hinsdale).
DAN SHUTT, who played quarterback at Wellsville under former
head coach and current defensive coordinator Bob McMorris, will act
as the offensive coordinator for New York.
“What was interesting, when we started to list kids by position,
was the fact that we had no feel for their speed,” said Shutt, an
Alfred University graduate who has been an assistant coach at
Wellsville the last six years. “That was one unknown. We had no
game films on them and really weren’t that familiar with them.”
That’s not surprising as Wellsville plays in Livingston County’s
Division II league. Besides the Lions’ traditional rivalry game
against Bolivar-Richburg, Brown and his staff would have very
little knowledge about the remainder of the players on the
roster.
“Even at that,” said Shutt, “these are the best players from the
area and they are all on the one roster. Still, you’re taking kids
form different teams and trying to get them to learn your scheme in
just two weeks.”
After Monday’s workout at Allegany-Limstone, Shutt noted, “I
like what I see out there.
“Everybody is picking up our system quickly. This week, our goal
is to polish what we have.
“For the majority of these players, this will be the last
football game they ever play and they would like to end their
careers with a win.”
(THURSDAY: Pennsylvania defense)
10 – Ryan Carney, Olean High
11 – Zac Roberts, Wellsville
32 – Evan Smith, Cuba-Rushford
33 – Justin Taylor, Portville
47 – Ben Bobert, West Valley
58 – Jon Krueger, Pioneer
73 – Nate Woodin, Franklinville
74 – Zach Winship, Salamanca
75 – Andrew Ray, Bolivar-Richburg
84 – Pat Folland, Ellicottville
