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Western Team's Preview with Andrew Legare · Cover IV Podcast

• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Cover Four.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: If you're a Sector Four football fan, you're in the right place.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: This is your podcast.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Coach Smith, and I'll be your host.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: Buckle up.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Cover Four Podcast preseason team preview of the Western teams.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: I'm joined by Elmira Sports Hall of Famer, Andrew Laguerre.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome, Andrew.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: Take it away.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks, Coach.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: Glad to be back.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_02: Well, let's get started with uh defending Section 4 Class A champion Horseheads coming off a 9-3 record last season.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: They actually got going with a week zero game last week and beat Troy, New York 26-8, put up more than 500 yards of offense.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_02: Bryce Thomas ran for more than 200 yards.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of you might know his brother Eli Thomas, who was one of the best players I've ever covered in Elmira.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_02: Mostly new offensive line of horse, but uh Thomas Jackson Burchard, Patrick Laney, uh give the Raiders a lot of returning talent at the skill positions.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_02: Good quarterback play as well.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Keegan Zeller, nice target at receiver.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_02: Defense has Elijah Miller, Kyle Ernst back, both really tough kids.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_02: Uh played very well for them last season.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: You know, in that toughness, uh Blue Raiders 16 and 7 over the last two seasons.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_02: And I most of those losses have come to teams that won sectional championships either within section four or outside of section four.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: So uh they've been really good, and I think they're gonna be really good again.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_02: One thing that I've noticed is uh, you know, horseheads are displaying that physical nature of football these days that we see Maine Enwell and Shenango Forks, and so they've elevated to that type of program, and uh, you know, it's uh been good things at Horseheads, and I uh we'll probably see more good things this season.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_02: Excuse me.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so from one sectional champion to another, uh Almira football team uh has won the last two Section 4 AA championships.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_02: They had a week zero game last last week as well.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_02: Uh not a good one.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh they lost 52-7 to Shenango to I'm sorry, to Rush Henrietta from Section 5, played at Alfred University.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_02: Uh those week zero games, sometimes you can't put too much stock in them because it's sort of an in-between scrimmage slash regular season game.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um and the Express notably has come on strong late in the season the last two years.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_02: Some of that is injuries, but I think a lot of it is just Jimmy McCauley and his staff, you know, getting the bet the most they can out of those kids uh and getting better week by week.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um one one player they got back is uh senior quarterback Zach Conklin.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_02: A couple years ago, because of injuries, he started a few games at quarterback when he was a sophomore.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: He was a full-time guy last season for Almira.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_02: Strong arm, quick feet, good decision making, really impressive player.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, one of my favorite kids to watch has been both basketball and football is uh Deshaun Dash Harris, as he is known around Elmira.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_02: Tough as they come at fullback.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_02: Julian Cologne is a speedy wing back for Elmira and was really huge in the sectional championship game against Corning last year for them.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, you know, one thing we've seen from Elmira, you know, the first decade or so of Elmira Express football, strictly a double wing offense, and they've evolved it into a more multi-faceted offense in recent years, throwing the ball more, and then this year look for more option out of them, uh, with Jimmy McCauley and staff sort of uh you know tinkering with things and fitting the offense around the personnel there.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Corning Football uh has become one of those teams that you always expect to be there at the end of the season playing when it gets cold.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: Didn't win the Section Four title last year, lost to Elmire in the championship game, but then they went and dominated Minor Woodbury in a state quarterfinal slash regional final because we last year Section 4 was the at-large in that.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_02: So it gave the sectional, a Section 4 team a chance to not have to face some of those powers from Section 3.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, we saw that Section 4 Corning is a little bit better than maybe people think at the state level, just because they've been running into those section three powers year after year.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um interesting thing about corning last year, state semifinals, corning was the lone public school, three private schools in the in the double A final four.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of kids graduated from that team, but Clayton Smith should be one of the more exciting backs in section four this season.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, head coach Mike Johnson Jr., a very good experienced coaching staff.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_02: They've been able to maximize talent in Corning over the last few years.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_02: Some good kids up front, Braden Zimmerman, Mickey Place, Dylan Brewster, uh, give them a nice strong returning trio.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_02: That's the foundation of the double wing offense used by Johnston.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_02: And he's been running that offense for 20 plus years at Corning West.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_02: Then at Elmira, they won uh I think when he was there three or four section, four titles and scored big time points.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_02: And now with the Corning Hawks, they're still doing that thing.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_02: You know, one interesting player they got is Mike Lutton, all-state lacrosse player last season.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_02: Big kid, tough kid making his return to football this year, and Mike Johnson expecting a big impact from him.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_02: Uh in Almire Heights, Thomas Edison football coming off its first winning season since twenty seven at five-and-four.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_02: First playoff burst since 2005 under head coach Kyle Erickson, now in his eighth season.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_02: And I had a chance to chat with Greg Golden in the preseason.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_02: Uh he's an honorable mention, Allstate last year running back.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_02: And uh his enthusiasm for the game was striking.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_02: Really loved talking to that kid.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_02: Really enjoyed watching him play last year, too.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_02: Had a fantastic season at running back, has a physical running style combined with a lot of athleticism.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_02: He's gonna be player to watch for them.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_02: You know, the one thing question for Edison, the entire offensive line gone to graduation.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_02: So they were working hard to, you know, get that group gelling in the preseason, and you know, we'll see what they have uh on opening weekend for them.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Jace Schiller was all over the place on offense last year doing big things for them.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_02: He'll be a quarterback for the Spartans this year.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_02: You know, one thing to look for, you know, Addison is interesting.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_02: They've had six head coaches all time, which dates back to I think 1931.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_02: One of those coaches was a uh great Chuck Brady, who passed away in November of last year.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: So look for the Spartans to honor him in multiple ways, you know, with helmets and uh on shirts.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so you'll see that this year from them.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_02: And it's a classy thing to do given what Brady has done for what Brady did for that program in that school.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_02: Uh my half half alma mater, Odessa Montor.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we got Watkins Glenn, Odessa Montor.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_02: Now been 10 years since the mergers of Watkins, Glenn, and OM.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_02: That makes it this the 11th season of Watkins-Glenn OM football, or Skylar Storm, if you prefer.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_02: They use both.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: So um they played a week zero game last week against Newark Valley, lost 19-14 after scoring the first two touchdowns.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_02: Offense did some good things.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_02: Quarterback led by Cup quarterback Hunter Maury.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_02: Daniel Colston is a threat at running back, and one interesting position switch.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_02: Jared Watson has gone from center to running back, and he ran for more than more than 90 yards in the uh week zero game.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_02: This is another case where you know, Trevor Holland, a Watkins gun alum, looking for the line to step up.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, over the years we've seen that the program has had success.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they've run into state champions like Sus Valley or Shenango Forks in playoff time, but they've had quite a bit of success, and usually the offense moves the ball really well there.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_02: And uh, welcome back, Elmira Notre Dame.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_02: I guess that's that's our other school down here.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_02: It's been since 2021, since we've had varsity football at Notre Dame.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_02: Still some tight numbers in terms of roster size and you know, still figuring things out a little bit, but they're ready to open this weekend.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_02: Players in the school really excited to have football back after playing a modified schedule last season.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_02: You know, Mike Deluiso, Joel Stevens, so many others helped make that program one of the best in Section Four for four decades.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_02: You know, Mike Johnson Sr., very energetic, 79 years old, is the head coach for the Crusaders.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_02: And few people, if any, have met meant as much to that school and that program uh as Mike, who you know played there when they got started in the early 60s and was an all-American at Alfred University uh after that.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_02: So excited to see what's uh in store at Notre Dame this year.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: All right, Andrew, you summed up uh the Southern tier very well.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: Appreciate what you're doing.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: Keep doing the good things and uh keeping everybody uh informed of what's going on, not only with Section 4 football, but with everything else.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: And that's uh that's no joke that you were recognized here recently, I think a year or two ago, as one of the outstanding uh sports writers uh in in this area.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: So keep doing what you're doing.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: We appreciate it.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: Take care.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_02: All right, thanks, Tim.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_02: Good to talk to you.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 10:01
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• 10:05
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• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: Your inputs are never out of bounds.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: In football and life, it's not where we line up, it's where we wind up.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening to the Cover Four Podcast.