Leading off today: A curious drama came to a conclusion Thursday night when the Tuckahoe school board re-appointed John D’Arco Sr., his son John Jr., and fellow assistant Pat Gallo Jr. as football coaches for the upcoming season.
President Dr. Julio Urbino made the announcement after the school board met in executive session for an hour, The Journal News reported. Urbino said there had been an unspecified investigation in progress this summer that held up the appointments. The coaches reportedly met separately with administrators on Wednesday.
With the coaches’ future in limbo, offseason workouts were canceled the last three weeks.
“It was pretty stressful the last couple of weeks,” D’Arco Sr. told the paper. “Of course, I’m looking forward to getting back and going in a positive direction.”
D'Arco has rolled up eight Section 1 titles, four trips to state finals and two NYSPHSAA championships at Tuckahoe.
Appeal successful: Somers JFK may play any Section 1 teams in the coming school year, a New York State Public High School Athletic Association appeals panel has ruled in overturning a decision stemming from alleged recruiting violations.
In its decision released until Thursday, the three-member panel ruled Section 1 did not have the power to ban play against Kennedy, since the school has left Section 1 to join the Catholic High School Athletic Association and is a “member in good standing” of the CHSAA, The Journal News reported.
All CHSAA schools are eligible to play with all NYSPHSAA schools, the decision notes, terming the ban as “unenforceable.”
Jennifer Simmons, the section's executive director, said it would be up to individual schools to decide whether they want to play Kennedy. JFK officials are hoping to fill out non-league schedules in several sports, including girls lacrosse or field hockey since the CHSAA does not offer those sports.
Nickname being discussed: School district officials in Lancaster have become the latest to consider doing away with the "Redskins" nickname. Cooperstown ditched the name earlier this year, and a change is also under consideration at Canisteo-Greenwood.
Lancaster students have begun protesting in social media sites in hopes of keeping the name, The Buffalo News reported, with one writing that “You will never take our name, our history or our legacy.”
District officials have asked coaches at the school which jerseys feature the name, as any change would require spending money on new uniforms. They have also begun to form a committee to formally explore the measure throughout the upcoming school year, the paper reported.
Plans for gym OK'd: Plans for a $3 million gymnasium project at Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart will move ahead after approval Tuesday night by Amherst leaders who heard opposition from some neighbors.
The town’s Historic Preservation Commission said Tuesday a garage that needs to be demolished for the gym was not historic, apparently knocking down the final hurdle to the project.
Raymond Volpe, a neighbor who proposed a historic designation on the Sacred Heart property, withdrew his opposition. “They were originally going to put up a tin barn,” Volpe told The Buffalo News. “The design now is in keeping with the rest of the campus and enhances the whole campus. We succeeded in getting what we were looking for.”
School officials are hoping to be able to begin construction soon and play basketball games in the new facility next season.
Format switch: With large numbers of schools playing boys golf in both the fall and spring, Section 3 is revising its class structure in the sport.
Two team champions will be crowned in the fall and six in the spring. Twenty fall schools will be divided into large and small divisions. In the spring, three geographic regions will also be split into large and small divisions.
The Post-Standard reported schools will still compete in league play, and that standards for the sectional qualifier in May will remain comparable to what they have been. The sectional tournament will determine the nine representatives for the state tournament in June.
On the move: Middletown center Hasahn French, regarded as an up-and-coming prospect following his freshman year, is leaving to play at Commonwealth
