Woodard developing into ‘real deal’ for NT By Dave Ricci Chris Woodard remembered a talk he had with teammate Jacob Clare before the sophomore started his first varsity game at quarterback in the season opener against Sweet Home. “I was telling him I was a little nervous and everything,” Woodard said. “and he was in my shoes before at one time, too, because he’s a three-year starter. He started as a sophomore. He said to me you have the ability. We’re here for you. We’re going to support you and we’re going to go out there and do our best to win this game. And I think that really touched me. Saying that, from a senior to a sophomore, that was a lot of help especially right before a game. So,...

Ken East’s Smith dedicates performance to grandmother By Dave Ricci It was the game of his life. But Preston Smith didn’t just do it for his team, he did it for his grandmother. In Kenmore East’s 21-0 blanking of Niagara-Wheatfield on Sept.15 at Sparky Adams Field, Smith rushed for 95 yards, scored a TD and helped the Bulldogs to their first home game win since 2008. As he celebrated with his teammates, Smith’s thoughts were with his beloved grandmother, Mary Pasek, who passed away on Sept.1. “Everything is for her from now on,” Smith said after the game. Smith, who scored his first varsity touchdown when he bowled his way into the end zone with 28 seconds left to play in the half, said...

Holy Trinity pulls off improbable comeback to beat St. Francis By Mike Petro It was the perfect statement to make after a week one blowout loss. St. Francis had bounced back from a drubbing at the hands of the Section V power Aquinas the week prior by rolling to a 41-14 lead four minutes into the fourth quarter over another fellow state private school Holy Trinity of Long Island. The execution that wasn’t there against Aquinas couldn’t have been better on both sides of the ball to that point in the game. Alex Misterman was giving one of the finest performances of a running back at any level with almost 300 yards and scoring almost at will during a stretch in the second half. Meanwhile, the...

Recor steps in to lead injury-hampered Timon over South By Michael Straw It’s never easy replacing a key player. The roster gets thinner, the lineup changes more often than usual, and players are given bigger workloads, but when the time comes to do so, it’s the next player up. Bishop Timon-St. Jude senior running back JD Recor is trying to take full advantage of his opportunity to be the guy. Recor has been given the dubious task of replacing top returning running back, junior Adam Dimillo, who is out for a few weeks as he recovers from a broken arm. Recor helped his case to prove that he is capable of leading the offense with a stellar performance in the Tigers’ season-opening 21-14...