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Time
to address unfinished business by Eric Keppeler
The Niagara-Wheatfield football Falcons made some great strides in 2006. Now it’s time to see if they can pick up where they left off and achieve every local high school football player’s dream – playing at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Falcons came up about a foot short of that goal last season in a 7-6 double-overtime loss to the Clarence Red Devils in the Section VI Class AA semifinals. That ended a successful season that saw N-W go 5-2 in the regular season and win the Class AA-North title for the first time since moving up with the big schools. But the home playoff defeat definitely left the Falcons with a bitter taste in their mouths – and a sense of unfinished business. Now, after a long off-season, they get another shot. “The only way to finish any business is one game at a time,” N-W coach Al Pogel said. “Especially now that all of the other teams work so hard during the off-season. We want to play with an attitude, but we have to stay focused.” Leading the way will be senior captains Kevin Ogiba, Elijah Printup and Tom Piciulo. Ogiba will play free safety and quarterback, while Printup will play linebacker and running back and Piciulo will be a wide receiver and a defensive back. Also returning are senior linemen Mark Kovach, Tom Lester, Jim Armpriester, Dan Velviso and Adam Mulholland – all of whom saw significant action last year. Senior tight end Ben Collins also is back. The Falcons are also loaded at the skill positions, even beyond their captains. Senior Emmett Printup can play tailback, receiver and linebacker, while junior Chris Gruarin returns to play tight end, receiver and defensive back. Senior receiver and linebacker Justin Gilmore also returns. Pogel also wants to work in junior quarterback Paul Smith. Sophomore lineman Jim Donner and sophomore running back and linebacker Angelo Malvestuto both move up from the junior varsity squad that went 7-0 last year. “We’re not going to forget what happened last year,” Pogel said. “But we all know that we have a lot to accomplish before we can look at the big picture. I know it’s a cliché, but it really is true – we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do.” A big reason for the team’s success last year was great depth, and Pogel is happy to have a very deep team again this year. The Falcons won’t rotate as much on offense, since they want to save some of the players on the field as much as possible, but they go maybe 17 or 18 deep on defense. Pogel has 107 players between the varsity and junior varsity, and that doesn’t even count the modified team. And the coach knows he has to find the best way to use all of them. “I think now we have a target on our backs,” Pogel said. “There won’t be any sneaking up on people now – that’s for sure. So we know we have to work with that understanding and play that much harder.” The Falcons open the season at 2 p.m. Saturday at Starpoint. The home opener is the following Saturday against division rival Williamsville North.
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