TROY -- It's going to be a year of major changes for the Lansingburgh High School football team.

The Knights are moving back up to Class A after spending 2009 in Class B. Lansingburgh reached the Super Bowl a season ago, but lost to Schalmont on a windy day at Schenectady High School.

A new quarterback, Carlos Grillo, will take the reins in 2010. With just one game of junior varsity experience under center, Grillo has impressed the coaching staff during the Capitaland football camp and at Cohoes' 7-on-7 Tiger Shootout.

The Knights will also turn to transfer student Anthony Fogarty, who excelled on both sides of the ball at Cohoes High School for the last two years.

 Lansingburgh High School players Chad Laustrup and Carlos Grillo, sitting back-to-back, right, take a break during the first day of practice. (Photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

Still, some things never change. Lansingburgh is going to be a run-first team and that starts with the linemen up front.

Running the football has been a Lansingburgh tradition ever since Pete Porcelli took the head coaching post in 2001. So has the lineman bargaining with the running backs about getting some sort of prize for their efforts in the trenches.

"Remember the deal with Tyrone (Nichols) last year?" asked senior offensive lineman and linebacker Jake Luce. "He said for every 200-yard rushing game he would buy us pizza.

"He didn’t get us any," Luce laughed.

That's just fine with the lineman if they don't get the credit, because they know their teammates appreciate the effort.

The players are also apprecitive to have energitic coaches. Head coach Al McNall called Monday's practice "probably one of the best first days we’ve had here in a long time."

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"It definitely starts with the coaches," said senior two-way lineman Mark Tracey. "It was a good first day I think because the coaches were in it just as much as the kids were. They were excited for it too. The coaches were ready. They were in our face and they had us ready to go."

The players said they don't anticipate too many differences between Class B and Class A, but they're aware of the caliber of opponent they're going to see Week One in Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.

"The only factor is we have Burnt Hills week one and that’s really going to be tough," Tracey said. "Burnt Hills week one, obviously it’s going to be a game. This is the first step to the first week, so if you’re not taking a step here, you’re that much further back when you put pads on. The first game is going to be that much harder."

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Lansingburgh, 2009 game-by-game results
Hudson Falls, W 35-0
Schalmont, W 42-29
COHOES, W 51-19
HUDSON, W 56-6
Albany Academy, W 42-32
BROADALBIN-PERTH, L 23-20
RAVENA, W 28-25
BROADALBIN-PERTH, W 35-0*
HUDSON FALLS, W 52-35!
SCHALMONT, L 35-20@
*Section II Class B quarterfinal
!Section II Class B semifinal
@Section II Class B Super Bowl
Home games in CAPS

Lansingburgh, 2009 stats review
Rushing, Att, Yds., Avg., TDs
Tyrone Nichols, 131, 1314, 10.0, 15
Zaquawn Gordon, 99, 482, 4.9, 5
Passing, Comp., Att., Yds., Avg., TDs
T.J. McLaughlin, 50, 96, 1045, 20.9, 16
Receiving, No., Yds., Avg., TDs
Terrance Kemp, 12, 389, 32.4, 6
Tyrone Nichols, 12, 192, 16.0, 3
Scoring, TD, 2-pt, PAT, FG, Tot.
Tyrone Nichols, 19, 1, 0, 0, 116

Lansingburgh, 2010 schedule
Friday Sept. 3, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake at Lansingburgh, 7 p.m.
Saturday Sept. 11, Lansingburgh at Gloversville, 1:30 p.m.
Saturday Sept. 18, Lansingburgh at Cohoes, 1:30 p.m.
Friday Sept. 24, Scotia-Glenville at Lansingburgh, 7 p.m.
Friday Oct. 1, Lansingburgh at Averill Park, 7 p.m.
Friday Oct. 8, Lansingburgh at Mohonasen, 7 p.m.
Friday Oct. 15, Bishop Maginn at Lansingburgh, 7 p.m.

Lansingburgh’s three keys to the season
1, Gel together as a team. "We lost some leaders last year and the kids that are seniors this year have stepped up," said head coach Al McNall.
2, Transition from B to A. "You don’t just physically have to overcome things, you have to mentally overcome things," said McNall.
3, One team, one goal. That’s the Knights’ motto for 2010. That goal? Reach a Section II Super Bowl, something Lansingburgh has done seven times since 2002.

Lansingburgh High School lineman work on their three-point stance during the first practice of the season Monday, August 16.

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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.

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