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NEW ERA BEGINS AT OTTO-ELDRED WITH OLD LOOK |
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Information for the following preview information for Otto-Eldred was found in the Aug. 12 on-line edition of the Olean Times Herald written by Jim Melaro. Please visit the Times Herald website at www.oleantimesherald.com DUKE CENTER – With a new head coach for the 2002 season, Otto-Eldred hopes that a new era in Terror football will come with it. And with that new era, hopefully some wins will follow. Otto-Eldred has not won a game since 1999. Last season the Terrors went 0-9 and had to suffer through the resignation of their head coach midway through the season. Another winless season would mark the first time since 1932 that a senior class has graduated without winning a game. This season, Kerry Snow, who led Otto-Eldred to back-to-back winning seasons in 1972 and 1973 as the Terrors starting quarterback takes over as head coach. "You would think that thought (possibly no wins for the seniors) alone would motivate these kids to win," Snow told Melaro. "I think we have a group of kids who will respond to the challenge. I’ve been around most of these kids as their coach in youth football and baseball since they were eight or nine years old." Snow would like to see the program return to the competitiveness it had when Gene Fazio coached it for 17 years from 1967-83. Fazio went 83-61-7 with 11 winning seasons and was 7-9-1 against Smethport. Since then the Terrors are 35-127 with only three winning seasons and an 0-19 record against Smethport. "Our primary goal this year is to return some respect to the program," Snow told Melaro. "The kind we had when Gene coached here. I really picked Gene’s brain. Some of the stuff we will be doing with the team this year is what I learned from Gene." Although Snow has picked Fazio’s brain, he believes he will be a "Heinz-57" coach. "I’d like to show our opponents a bunch of different things both offensively and defensively," Snow told Melaro. "Now I’m saying that knowing full well how difficult it is to make wholesale changes." Snow said the two keys to turning the program around will be to get the proper leadership out of the seniors and to be unselfish. "I have made it very clear to these kids if they are going to play football for Otto-Eldred this year, they will put program first, team second and ‘Me’ last," Snow told Melaro. "And knowing these kids as well as I do many of them will do what I ask them." Snow’s job will be made a little easier with eight returning starters including Joey Drake at quarterback, Luke Breese at running back, Eric MacPherson at fullback, Josh Barnish at receiver, Keith Barrett at tight end, Tyler Schimp (5-8, 180) at guard, Chris App (5-10, 225) and Lee Windsor (6-0, 183) at center. Other quarterbacks on the depth chart include senior Brian Freer and sophomore Josh Messler. Additional running backs include senior Jacob Pessia and sophomores Virgil Graham and Scott Filer. Chris Jones, a junior will join sophomore Tyler Ferguson at tight end, while juniors Zach Good (5-10, 185) and Chris Schwab (5-6, 240) will be at the guards. The other tackles include senior Don Calhoun (5-10, 230) and junior Shane Easton (5-10, 210). Additional returning lettermen include junior Buck Jackson, junior Matt Price and junior Kelly Snow. On defense, the Terrors will look to Windsor, Ferguson, Jones and junior Adam Fair at defensive end. The down linemen should be Schimp, Easton and juniors Justin Burkett and Harry Williams (5-10, 300). The linebacker will be Barrett, MacPherson, App, Drake, Jackson and junior Devon Frame. The defensive backs will be Barnish, Breese, Pessia, Snow, Graham, junior Josh Halliday and sophomore Ryan Little. Barrett, Breese and Windsor will handle the kicking duties. Otto-Eldred starts its season at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 30 when it hosts Ridgway. |