College football signing day is an event every February that celebrates the choices players make in taking their game to the next level.  This year, six Marcellus football players gathered in the high school library to declare their intent to play for a college team this fall.

 

Leading the group was Mustang quarterback, Will Fiacchi, who inked his letter of intent to attend University of Albany while his parents, coaches and friends looked on.  The Mustang standout will become an Albany Great Dane in the fall for head coach Bob Ford.  Check out the University of Albany’s 2010 recruiting video that has Fiacchi the second player showcased   Click here. 

 

Also headed to play at the next level were Mustangs Niko Wagner (Hamilton College), Brendan Carey (SUNY Maritime), Kevin Daily (SUNY Brockport), Dan Rudy (St. Lawrence) , Jason Howard (undecided).  And while a couple of the players are still finalizing their school selection, all will suit up again as college freshmen. 

 

Congratulations to each one of these fine young men and best of luck as they hit the college gridiron.  The hard work and commitment they made to excel in this sport has paid off for them in earning a roster spot at the college level.  Their example should inspire more Mustang players to dream big, prepare hard and expect to take their game beyond high school.  The opportunities are there but they must be earned in the work that players do now; the habits they form, the choices they make, the desire they show to be extraordinary student-athletes.  If you want to play college football, the question is not, are there opportunities to do so, but rather, how badly do you want them? 

 

Who will be celebrating next year’s signing day success?  What Mustangs are set to follow in the footsteps of the many players who have decided that they want that football experience to continue into their college years?  Work for it.  Dream about it.  Prepare now.  The future is just around the corner. 

 

Good luck to Will, Niko, Brendan, Kevin, Dan and Jason! 

Surrounded by the Fiacchi family, Will signs his Letter of Intent to play for University of Albany this fall.


Mustangs finest !!  Six Marcellus players (Brendan Carey, Will Fiacchi, Niko Wagner, Dan Rudy, Kevin Daily and Jason Howard gather to be recognized for their intent to play college football. 



     

  







4 Mustangs Earn All-State Honors

Four Marcellus Mustangs were named by the New York State Sports Writer's Association to the 2009 ALL-STATE roster !! 

For the link, click here. 

QB Will Fiacchi was named 1st Team, the only quarterback selected for 1st team honors.


Will Fiacchi's career passing stats and hallmarks include 6,971 yards through the air which is third in New York State history; and a single game total of 519 yards passing in the last minute come from behind win over South Jefferson, a record that is also third in New York State history.  In his career, he threw for 70 TDs and rushed for 8 more, had a 58 percent completion rate and twice earned his team's Ice Man Award.


PK Brendan Carey was named 1st Team, the only place kicker selected.


If there was a most improved award, Carey would have earned it.  The work, commitment and persistence that it takes to excel as a kicker goes unnoticed most of the time.  That is, until a team needs a field goal or a PAT to win the game.  Carey kicked 5 field goals including a school record tieing 42 yard boot.  He added 26 PATs for a total of 41 points on the season.  His kickoffs often went inside the 10 and gave opponents a long field.  Carey becomes the first Marcellus kicker to earn all-state honors.


WR Dan Rudy was named 2nd Team


Dan Rudy shattered school receiving records with his 986 yards on 47 catches for a staggering average of 21 yards per grab.  He took it to the House 10 times and was the receiver every team knew they had to stop.  Not many did.  But Rudy's biggest contribution was as a leader in the huddle and on the sideline.  Voted by his peers for the team's Stallion Award, Rudy was respected as much for his leadership as his hands.



OL Niko Wagner was named 2nd Team


They do not keep stats for offensive linemen but as the team's center Niko was the captain of the trenches.  His size made him a force but it was his quick-thinking and sound judgement that made him an on field leader.  Consistent in his snaps the pressure is always on the center when a team runs shotgun as much as Marcellus did.  Niko was nearly perfect.  Voted by his peers for the team's Iron Man Award, Wagner led by example and gave everything on every snap.


Congratulations to these outstanding young men on being selected to the most elite football roster in New York State.  Their hard work, performance and commitment has placed them among the best high school football athletes in the state. 

Congratulations also to their teammates.  In the ultimate team sport that football is, recognition for one is validation of all.  These 4 players represent the collective excellence of the entire team that together created the opportunities to achieve.  Praise for one is praise for all so every player can be proud of this accomplishment.




Last, but certainly not least, congratulations go out to the Marcellus coaching staff.  Eleven players from Section 3 were on one of the four all-state teams and our school had four of those eleven players.  Six of those eleven were 1st or 2nd team selections and 4 of those 6 were Mustangs! 

  

  


We had some very good athletes on our team but they don't give honors for potential, only talent.  And talent is what this coaching staff developed.  The school and the community can be proud of the men who give countless hours year-round to build a program of this caliber.  From modified, through junior varsity, to varsity, we have the right men in place to groom champions! 

The bar has been set high by these exceptional athletes.  It will be up to the 2010 team to take this level of excellence and push it higher.  Work hard.  Train smart.  And be very, very proud to be part of the Green Herd !!

It is a great time to be a Mustang! 













2010 SEASON STARTS WITH MINI-CAMP!

The 2010 Marcellus Mustangs football season has officially begun!  More than 40 young men turned out at the Ultimate Goal over Christmas break for 2 days of mini-camp.  The workouts were a chance for both varsity and JV players to work on fundamentals, run drills and start to build that chemistry and work ethic that will take them back to the Dome this fall.  It was a great 2 days of football that set a tone that winning in September starts with working out in January (or December!). 


 

 

You can tell a lot about the health of a program by training events like this one.  When that many young men will turn out on vacation to put in some early snaps and drills it is a reflection of the enthusiasm that surrounds Mustang football.  This is a team that plays in front of more fans every Friday night in the fall than all other Marcellus sports combined, a team that has gone to the playoffs four years in a row, played on TV several times and challenged for the section finals in the Dome last year; who would not want to be part of that kind of athletic experience.  It is just awesome! 

 

Another great sign is the number of young men reporting in to the weight room each week to do some serious lifting and agility work.  Now that we have a weight facility worthy of a championship program, and with adult coaches in there to guide their lifting routines, there is a real momentum with our players to add the physical conditioning necessary to be champions.  Our first two captains for next season, Ricky Alfreds and Zach Wiley, are certainly ideal examples of players who are taking their conditioning to the next level and setting the bar high for their teammates.

 

Still another great sign of how high our program has risen is the adults that turn out to coach, teach, mentor and train these young men.  Marcellus football excels because it has a core of committed men who year after year enthusiastically give their time and expertise to the program.  While this was the first mini-camp without coach Goss, he would be proud to know that the event did not skip a beat because every one of the other coaches turned out to get down to business.

 

Coach Fiacchi, along with Coach Belvito, led the mini-camp and let the players know that while Coach Goss was enjoying a much earned retirement from the gridiron that the players could rest assured that the entire cadre of coaches and volunteers who had built the program’s success would ensure the program continued to develop going forward.  And that it started with this December mini-camp.

 

Marcellus is very, very fortunate to have the dedication of its current coaching staff and it would be a shame to upset the incredible chemistry and cohesion that this staff has built over the years.  Mustang football is in good hands now and with the entire football staff in unanimous agreement on a transition plan it is just left to the administrators to appreciate the internal strength of this program and the votes of confidence the coaches and volunteers have collectively voiced.  A lot is riding on making the right call and making it quickly so the team can focus on maintaining our momentum.

 

A big part of December mini-camp is getting a look at new players or ones who will be coming up to varsity next year.  This early exposure gives the coaches an idea of skill levels, speed, conditioning and coachability for players that they may not have seen a lot of yet.  One thing for certain is that there is a lot to like about the 2010 Mustangs already. 

 

And it starts upfront.  The offensive line for Marcellus is going to be impressive.  With the exception of losing Niko Wagner at center, this is an experienced group returning with even more size and strength.  Any coach will tell you that a dominating offensive line is one of the biggest advantages a team can have and by all accounts Marcellus is going to enjoy one of the best O-Lines in the league.  And that is a good thing to have when you can field a running back like Ricky Alfreds who had a breakout year last year with 1100 yards rushing but could have an even bigger year in 2010.  It was also good to see Allie Ragovin back after a pre-season injury sidelined him last year.  Allie and Ricky are both power backs who will be play-makers for Marcellus in the fall.

 

But that is just a taste of the roster highlights that fans will find this year.  There are a lot more and we will focus on them in coming pieces.  For now, fans can be excited that all signs point to even greater success ahead.  The experience of having played in the sectional finals last year will pay dividends because it not only makes players hungry to get back there and win but also takes away the newness of the road there.  There is a core of players for next year’s team that knows what it takes and what it feels like to make it to the championship game and those players will feed that energy to this team. 

It all builds.  It all matters.  One season on the next, our progress is steady, deliberate and unmistakable.  There is a lot of time between now and August camp, a lot of work to do, but it is awesome to see the excitement already there among the players and coaches for another run at a championship.

 

It is a great time to be a Mustang!

 

 

 

 

 

HEAD COACH JOE GOSS STEPS DOWN

Joe Goss has decided to pass the head coaching torch, ending an era of Marcellus football that has seen his leadership in the program as an assistant or head coach for a quarter of a century.  Joe’s impact has been enormous and to say that he will be missed at the helm of the Green Herd is an incredible understatement.

 

Within the coaching ranks at Marcellus, we knew this was coming months ago.  Joe shared his thoughts and wishes with us in confidence.  He forbid any of us even whispering the news ahead of the team banquet as he did not want even one moment of the attention to be on him instead of the players.  This was the player’s season; the player’s time to celebrate; the player’s honors and recognition.  That is the kind of leader Joe Goss is – a true player’s coach.  It was always about the kids. 

 

Marcellus is losing a man who gave the program countless hours and passionate commitment year after year; decade after decade.  Joe Goss cared.  He cared about the program.  He cared about the school’s reputation for sportsmanship and effort.  He cared about the fans who turned out rain or shine to cheer our team.  He cared about the coaches he worked with.  But above all else Joe Goss cared about the young men whose lives he became part of.  Joe was a coach, a mentor, a counselor, a disciplinarian, a shoulder and an example of what it meant to serve a purpose greater than yourself.  He represented the best of this sport, this team, this school and this community.

 

He is leaving after taking the 2009 Mustangs to the Sectional Finals for the first time in school history but Joe’s legacy will never be about the wins and losses; it will never be about the stats.  Those are artificial markers for a man who saw football not as a game but as a forge; a crucible where young men tested their mettle and emerged changed, stronger and with a deeper understanding of some of life’s greatest lessons.  Football was about team, about redefining your capabilities, about pushing yourself and your brothers to reach challenging goals.  It was about helping young men find out what they were made of and showing them the strength of team – the power that exists when you come together for a shared purpose and give everything you have to make that happen.

 

Joe’s legacy isn’t in his stats; that is far too shallow a measure of this coach.  It won’t be in any award he gets although he deserves many.  It won’t be in any recognition that well meaning people will shower on a well deserving man.  No, Joe Goss’s legacy is a living one carried by every Marcellus football player who ever played for him.  Those men are now Joe’s legacy.  Those men are the only measure a man of Joe’s caliber would accept of what he contributed to this program.  And it is a tremendous legacy.

 

You never forget your high school head football coach.  Never.  It is one of those rare relationships that stays with you a lifetime.  The intensity of the sport is reflected in that bond between player and head coach.  It is no coincidence that time and time again professional football players thank their high school head coaches when they are winning honors, being inducted in the Hall of Fame or giving interviews about people in their life who made a difference.  You never forget your head coach and no one who had the privilege to play for or work with Joe Goss will forget the impact he made on them.

 

For those of us who have had the honor of working side by side with Joe Goss, this news is bitter sweet.  We are glad he is making time to enjoy family and not have the year-round time commitment that football demands.  We know how much his family means to him so there are great times and memories ahead.  But he will be missed on the Marcellus gridiron. 


 

 

“WANTED:  HEAD FOOTBALL COACH TO REPLACE A MARCELLUS LEGEND.”

 

How do you replace someone of his stature and ability?  It is not easy but the good news for Marcellus fans is we have the transition in-house and ready to roll.

 

If common sense prevails, Marcellus’s football program will leave the hands of one master coach and land in the hands of another, someone who has been instrumental in the resurgence of the program and who has the total support of the entire staff.  Hopefully, the wait for an official announcement will be brief …

 

More on that later.  But this moment is about Joe Goss.

 

Any time a team transitions a head coach it is an important decision.  But that decision is even more critical when a program is on the rise and establishing itself as a force in the league again.  Marcellus has been on an unmistakable march to the top, rising from 5-4 in 2006, to 6-3 in 2007, to 7-2 in 2008 to the Section Finals this year and a ten game season at 7-3.  We are poised to breakthrough into that top echelon of teams that compete, and are expected to compete, every year for a championship.  That is an achievement to be proud of.  That is a reputation to value.  That is something that came about because we have good people in the right places doing the right things for this football program.

 

Joe Goss may be leaving the head coaching ranks at Marcellus but his footprints will be large and lasting in the program that he shaped for so many years. 

 

He is leaving a Marcellus football program that is healthy and vibrant; a program that has learned how to win and to compete for championships; a program that attracts our school’s best and brightest young men who want to be part of something very special; a program that has built a dedicated group of adults who are active in supporting the growth of this team; and a program that enjoys enormous student and community support and packs our beautiful facility with thousands of Mustang fans every Friday night in the fall to cheer this football team.  All other sports combined at this school do not draw the fan support that football does; that is how big this program has grown within our community. 

 

On his watch, all this has happened and it is testament to and a reflection of the tireless dedication Joe Goss poured into his work leading the Mustang football team.  Thank you, Joe Goss for your leadership and friendship and for making a difference in so many lives. 

 

We are all indeed fortunate and privileged to be part of that living legacy that you built.  Thank you, Joe.