Upstate Football Weekly - New York State Sportswriters Association

Team ReportsWestern New York2012F O C U S O NAction Jackson Sparks CHCleve Hill was in danger of losingto Fredonia again.The Golden Eagles had lost theirlast 3 games to Fredonia and theytrailed the Class C championshipgame 14-6 at the half.Not only that, the Eagles wereplaying tentatively and were notaggressive.“All week wetalked aboutbeatingFredonia,” CleveHill coach GlenGraham said.“We talked abouthow aggressivewe needed tobe.”When theEagles reachedthe locker roomat the half,Grahamaddressed hisplayers directlyand firmly.“That’s notsomething Imake a point ofdoing veryoften,” Grahamsaid. “but sometimesyou haveto remind yourplayers why they played the game.”Junior Aaron Jackson apparentlytook Graham’s words to heart. Hetook the second-half kickoff andreturned it 74 yards for a TD.“That was a huge play,” Grahamsaid. “It was a nice spark that we reallyneeded. The momentum switchwas immediate.”Jackson had actually made goodon a boast he made to Cleve HillAssistant coach Tom Bester.“Tom told Aaron to get us somegood field position,” Graham said.“Aaron looked at him and said, ‘I’mtaking this all the way for a touchdown.’Aaron really does not lack forconfidence.”Graham said he did not knowabout the exchange between his playerand his assistant.“There were an awful lot of congratulationsgoing on between them,”Graham said with a laugh. “They werelaughing prettyhard on the sidelines.I didn’t findout about thisuntil a day later.”Jackson is nota full time starterfor Cleve Hill. Inaddition toreturning kicks,he will play DBand WR dependingon differentformations andpackages.“He was thestarting quarterbackon our JVteam the last twoyears,” Grahamsaid. “In fact,Photo by Mark AdairCleve Hill junior Aaron jackson returned the2nd half kickoff 74 yards for a TD.24Aaron was 16-0as a starter.”Jackson wasnot going tounseat seniorJacob Radlich this fall.“He’s an athletic kid and very confidant,”Graham said. “Right now, heplays a lot of different roles for us. Buthe most likely will be the candidate tostart at quarterback next year.”Graham is pleased that he is ableto put someone of Jackson’s talent onthe special teams unit.“That has been big for us thisyear,” he said. “We have enoughdepth to put some pretty good kids onthe kicking unit. We should win agame or two on what we can do withthe kicking game.”AkronTigersThe Tigers had a solidseason as they finishedwith a record of 6-3 and won theClass C Chuck Funke Tournament...QB Austin Mietz had a tremendousseason as he rushed for 1,136 yardsand 13 TDs. Mietzalso completed 81 of144 passes for 1,232yards and 19 TDs...Austen Lauricellaran 66 times for 382yards and a teamhigh15 TDs. He alsocaught 25 passes for482 yards... SturgisSundown caught 24 passes for 302yards and 4 TDs... CJ Longwellcaught 13 passes for 135 yards and 4TDs. He also intercepted 2 passes...Connor Ladd kicked 4 FGs this season,including his longest effort from42 yards... Garrett Schultz rushed 71times for 258 yards...2012 ScheduleFri., Aug. 31........ Medina................W 34-22Fri., Sept. 7......... U Prep.................W 50-12Fri., Sept. 14....... Cleve Hill........ L 32-34 otFri., Sept. 21....... JFK.......................L 22-26Fri., Sept. 28....... @ Wilson...................7:00Fri., Oct. 5.......... Fredonia.................... 7:00Fri., Oct. 12........ @ Gowanda.............. 7:30Oct. 19................. Falconer.................... 7:00Oct. 26/27............ Playoffs.....................TBA2012 NumbersRushing: Mietz 112-1136, Lauricella 66-382,Schultz 71-258, Szlapak 6-44, Longwell 9-43,Grande 6-21, Berghorn 2-0 .Receiving: Lauricella 25-482, SSundown 24-302,Longwell 13-135, Ladd 8-149, Eckerson 8-126,Hill 2-12, Blueye 1-29, Szlapak 1-17,Henley 1-0.TDs: Lauricella 15, Meitz 13, SSundown 4,Ladd 4, Longwell 4, Schultz 2, Szlapak.Passing: Mietz 81-144-1232, Longwell 2-9-20.TD Passes: Mietz 19, Longwell 2.Austin MietzInterceptions: Longwell 2, Sarow, Abrams,Mietz, Hill, Lauricella, Ladd.Fumbles: Ladd 3, SSundown 2, Meitz 2,Sarow, Schultz, Hubbard, Clapp, James,Lauricella.