The Record Blogs: Off the Record: High school football notebook, August 20

Hoosic Valley doing some last-minute recruiting; Academy gets a home night game; scrimmage schedule

William Montgomery
The Record

SCHAGHTICOKE — It’s never too late to recruit a few players for the football team. That is exactly what head coach Jay Garvey and the players on his Hoosic Valley High School football team are doing a week into practice.

“Almost half of kids have never played football before, which is pretty remarkable,” said Garvey, who had about two dozen players trickling in at practice Friday evening. “A lot of them are kids I have seen in school, seen in gym class, and have been lucky enough to convince to come out to play."

The players have been doing their part, roping some of their friends who would otherwise be sitting around at home doing nothing into joining the team.

“We get new guys every day. I think we got three new people today, a couple of new people yesterday and hopefully more when school starts,” said junior middle linebacker and wingback Korey LePage.

Garvey said that he had two players who had defected to the soccer team this fall and others who decided to give up the sport entirely.

“It’s kind of frustrating, because if we get a couple of new kids, we have to go back and re-do what we did the past couple of days and go over it again so they know what to do,” LePage said.

Hoosic Valley sophomore Jacob Shave joined the Indians' football team in the middle of this week after head coach Jay Garvey saw him running around the track at the high school. (Photos by Will Montgomery - The Record).

Hoosic Valley, which is in its fifth year on the varsity level, has never finished with a winning record or qualified for the postseason.

“It’s kind of overwhelming, because when I play sandlot football, people and just telling you to go straight, go right, go left,” said sophomore Jacob Shave, who was recruited for the team when Garvey saw him jogging around the high school track earlier this week. “They’re not really shouting out plays. It’s a lot more difficult to play out with your fiends on the football team than it is on the sandlot.”

Academy gets a home night game…at UAlbany
The Albany Academy football team will get a chance to play a home game at night this season.

The Cadets’ Class B Reinfurt Division game against Hudson High School in Week Three has been moved to the University at Albany’s University Field on Thursday, Sept. 16. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Junior quarterback Hunter McCarthy is all smiles after running a conditioning sprint at the end of practice Friday at Albany Academy.

Academy typically plays Saturday afternoon home games on campus, which is a plus for the coaches but a bit of a bummer for the players that crave the Friday night lights.

“Having Saturday home games is an advantage because we’re preparing five days all the time,” said Academy head coach Tony Fruscio. “It gives us an extra true day of practice every week. I don’t mind Saturdays because it gives us a chance to focus for an extra day. I think for the teams playing all Fridays, it’s a different routine, so it hurts them to play Saturdays. They’re not as conditioned.”

“It would be nice to have a Friday night home game once in a while, but our games are on Saturdays and it’s good,” said junior quarterback Hunter McCarthy. “Everybody comes out and it gives us an extra day of prep and an extra day of rest. The games are rough and we need that rest.”

Albany Academy head coach Tony Fruscio surveys his players as they line up for conditioning drills following Friday's practice.

Scrimmage Saturday Schedule
August 28 is Scrimmage Saturday for local high school football teams. Here is a list of participants, sites and starting times, courtesy www.Section2football.com

Whitehall, Mechanicville and Taconic Hills at Corinth, 9 a.m.

Glens Falls, Hudson and Niskayuna at Saratoga Springs, 9:30 a.m.

Queensbury, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake and Kingston (IX) at Guilderland, 10 a.m.

Cambridge, Greenwich and Ticonderoga (VII) at Granville, 10 a.m.

Beekmantown (VII) and Coxsackie-Athens at Hudson Falls, 10 a.m.

South Glens Falls at Columbia, 10 a.m.

Fort Edward and Tamarac at Salem, 10 a.m.

Averill Park and Colonie at Bethlehem, 10 a.m.

Johnstown at Cohoes, 10 a.m.

Schenectady at Amsterdam, 10 a.m.

Scotia-Glenville at Shaker, 10 a.m.

Rensselaer and Voorheesville at Albany Academy, 10:30 a.m.

Union Endicott (IV) at Shenendehowa, Noon

Catholic Central at Bishop Gibbons, 1:00 p.m.

Troy at Newburgh, 3:30 p.m.

Hoosick Falls, Fonda-Fultonville, Broadalbin-Perth and Burr & Burton (VT) at Schuylerville, 6 p.m.

Warrensburg, Stillwater and Moriah (7) at Lake George, 7 p.m.

Off The Record places third in 2009-10 NYSAPA blogging awards
Off The Record finished third in the blogging category for newspapers with circulations of under 25,000 in the New York State Associated Press Association awards. Click here to see a full list of NYSAPA winners.

Thanks to all of you for reading. Of course, a big thanks goes to all of the players and coaches that have given me such great stories to document this past year. Here's to bigger and better things in 2010-11.

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Keep checking back on the blog for a training camp report posted every day between now and opening day of the high school football season on Thursday, Sept. 2. The schools will be posted in no particular order, so please be patient if you don't see your school right away.

Also keep your eyes open for our 48-page preview section - Kickoff 2010 - which hits the newsstands inside The Record on Thursday, Sept. 2.