In a state with more than 650 school districts, as well as dozens of private schools, it’s amazing that it doesn’t happen more often. Maybe it’s because New York is regarded as more of a basketball and lacrosse state than a football state.
In fact, there are typically two or three schools per section at which soccer reigns as king over football.
So, when a football coach is essentially overthrown by parents and players it comes as a jolt. But that’s what happened Tuesday in Lansing, where Bob Brantner resigned after a difficult one-plus seasons in charge.
Brantner declined to say why he announced he had stepped down on Tuesday during a meeting with his players, but that didn’t stop others. And speculation quickly turned to confirmation from insiders: Players and parents unhappy with the way the coach operated voiced their opinions to the administration. Once the word got back to Brantner he knew his position was untenable and it was time to go.
"It's a sad reaction because he's a head coach and he puts time into the program and he's the football coach and you never want to see anybody leave," assistant coach Tom Policay told The Ithaca Journal. "But under the circumstances, I think with the community and the players and so forth, he had a coaching philosophy and a style of coaching we're not used to at Lansing and that's coming from parents and a number of people. We've been here under the regime of the former coaches for the past nine or 10 years and were used to their style, and the kids were used to their style and their play on the field."
Longtime coach and athletic director Ed Redmond went 17-3 over his final two seasons at Lansing and then left for nearby Ithaca High School, where he went 0-9 a year ago but has the Little Red off to a 4-0 start in 2009. That undoubtedly didn’t sit well with Bobcats boosters who remember better days in Lansing, but perhaps their memories are short: Lansing went 1-8 as recently as the 2004 season.
"I tried to bend and go with what was going on and get my insight in," Policay, who will serve as interim head coach, told the newspaper. "It was tough to see the kids frustrated and of course when you have parents knocking on your door and making phone calls. We tried to make things work. And it took 1 1/2 years and it got to the point where it just didn't work."
And is this week’s change a surefire way to return Lansing to glory on the gridiron? Hardly. The Bobcats’ list of achievements consists of a mere three Section IV championships, won in 1983, 1993 and 2002.
All in all, it would seem Brantner was entitled to more time.
A record-setting performance
* Marcellus senior quarterback Will Fiacchi went 24-for-41 for 519 yards in a 41-27 victory over South Jefferson last weekend. That puts him at No. 3 on the state list for single-game yardage. Current Syracuse University quarterback Greg Paulus holds the state and Section III marks of 543 yards.
* Canton thought it had snapped a losing streak spanning 101 weeks on the calendar when it scored a 26-6 victory against St. Lawrence over the weekend. The thrill of victory, which the Golden Bears hadn't experienced since Oct. 12, 2007, didn't last long. Running back Kyle Nason, who rushed for 91 yards and scored a touchdown in the win, was declared ineligible on Monday, requiring Canton to forfeit. Nason's ineligibility stemmed from his transfer from St. Lawrence before the season without a corresponding change of address, The Daily Times in Watertown reported.
* Hornell coach Gene Mastin can win his 206th game to tie Don Santini on the all-time Section V list this weekend. The Red Raiders are home vs. LeRoy.
Cross country: McQuaid Invitational
* We’ll assume the average reader of this column is too young to remember the TV series "The Fugitive." But it’s a good guess many have seen the 1993 movie of the same name, starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. It made for a terrific thriller on the big screen or on DVD, but imagine the letdown if Deputy Sam Gerard’s relentless pursuit failed and he never caught up with Dr. Richard Kimble for the dramatic finish.
Grasp that and you might understand how the girls cross country team from Saugus (Calif.) High might be feeling this weekend. Saugus is flying across the country to run in the huge McQuaid Invitational in Rochester, but the anticipated showdown with Fayetteville-Manlius won’t take place.
F-M, which defeated Saugus last December in the Nike Cross Nationals for its third straight national championship, is passing up McQuaid after winning handily there a year ago. So the showdown between the top two teams in Marc Bloom’s national rankings will have to wait for this year’s Nike meet.
Nevertheless, a strong roster of competing schools is on board: Boys teams from Baldwinsville, Liverpool, Jamesville-DeWitt, Jordan-Elbridge and Tully will make the trip from Section III to join the likes of Rush-Henrietta, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, McQuaid, East Aurora, Honeoye Falls-Lima and Somers. Among the girls, R-H, Pittsford Mendon, Burnt Hills, East Aurora, Tully, HF-L and Newark Valley are among the top New York contenders. As always, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and the province of Ontario will be well represented as approximately 7,500 runners compete in 25 races.
* Cornwall's Aisling Cuffe posted the No. 2 time ever at Bowdoin Park — home of the Federation meet as well as past Nike Cross National qualifiers — with a 17:38.2 performance at the Bowdoin Invitational.
* Monroe-Woodbury sprang a surprise on a deep girls field in the Adirondack Classic at Queensbury. Megan Patrignelli, the state 1,500-meter champion last spring, won in 18:02.6 to lead the Crusaders to team honors with 38 points, topping Queensbury (50) and Shenendehowa (59), which ran minus an ill Lizzie Predmore.
The boys large-school team race was a good tussle as Baldwinsville (59) fought off Burnt Hills (76), Ithaca (93) and Jamesville-DeWitt (96). Burnt Hills senior Scott Maughan took individual honors in 15:02.14. The small-school race came down to a tie-breaker, with Holland Patent winning on sixth-man scoring (44-66) after finishing even with Jordan-Elbridge at 88.
Boys soccer: Brentwood toppled
* Jack Miller scored off a cross from Adam Tamburello with 10:21 left to spark Commack to a 2-1 victory over Brentwood late last week, snapping the Indians' 78-game league unbeaten streak since 2002.
Brentwood, the defending New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA champion, was ranked No. 1 in the nation by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and No. 1 in the state by the New York State Sportswriters Association.
Brentwood played without four players, including standout Andrew Jean-Baptiste, who did not arrive for classes in time to be eligible to suit up.
* Syracuse Corcoran beat Liverpool 1-0 for its first victory over the Warriors since 1984. Freshman Roylston Melville scored in the first half and goalie Jon Boehm made five saves for the Cougars (7-1).
* Star forward Stephen Baker scored all the goals as McQuaid beat Aquinas 3-0. Baker is already up to 15 goals this season for the Knights (7-0-1).
Girls soccer: Davenport keeps the momentum
* Jackie Gilley's goal midway through the second half sparked Davenport to a 4-1 victory over Downsville, extending its unbeaten streak to 30 games. Gilley also finished with two assists. The Wildcats went 20-0-1 last season, dropping a shootout to Edmeston after the tied Section IV Class D final for the right to advance to the state tournament. They are 9-0 this fall.
* Leo Sammon earned his 300th coaching victory as Lowville downed Altmar-Parish-Williamstown 3-0. Taylor Haenlin, Nicole Dittl and Courtlyn Morse scored as Lowville improved to 5-1-1.
Field hockey: ER’
s streaks continue
* Defending NYSPHSAA Class C champion East Rochester had a rare close call en route to a 1-0 victory against Fairport. Taryn Schawillie scored a minute into overtime as the Bombers ran their winning streak against Section V opponents to 101 games. ER is 7-0 this fall, outscoring opponents by a 37-0 margin. Schawillie has scored 17 times.
* Lancaster senior track star Melissa Kurzdorfer collected a hat trick in a 3-1 victory over West Seneca East. Kurzdorfer, who already has 11 goals this fall, is a multi-time state champion in the shot put and discus and is being recruited heavily in that sport.
