Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013: Kelly retires after 48 seasons at Delhi

   Kelly, who has coached Delhi varsity football for that long and won a NYSPHSAA championship in 2001, submitted his resignation Wednesday to Superintendent Jason Thomson, AD Jeff Ferrara told The Daily Star. He leaves with 272 victories, seventh in state history (see full list here). Delhi was 4-4 this fall.

   "After somebody provides a service to your district, your kids and your community for that long, we were kind of speechless. We didn't say anything," Ferrara told the paper. "My immediate thought was how do you thank a man for that many years of service? I don't know how to at this point."

   Kelly was coaching Delhi's boys JV basketball team Wednesday and unavailable for comment.

   "I can't imagine talking about Delhi football without talking about Dave Kelly," said Walton coach Jim Hoover, who has won 298 games. "From my first year here, it's Coach Kelly in Delhi -- that's the team you've got to beat. If you only win one game per year, that's the game you've got to win."

   Also leaving: Saturday's loss to Flushing was the farewell for New Dorp football coach Chris App, who had already signaled his retirement a year ago so as to coincide with the senior season of his quarterback son Charlie. He coached eight seasons as Lafayette and then 18 at New Dorp.

   It's expected that longtime offensive coordinator Brian Murphy will take over, with Chris App Jr. serving as his top assistant.

   New Dorp was 8-3 this season.

   Massive stats: With at least one game to go and perhaps two. Marlboro quarterback Ryan Cary is in the midst of one of the most monstrous statistical seasons in state history.

   Cary has already thrown for 2,102 yards and has 1,976 on the ground in his senior season, his first at the position. He can complete the 2K double Saturday vs. Schalmont in the NYSPHSAA Class B football semifinals. He's already accounted for 35 TDs rushing (160 carries, 25 TDs) or through the air (87-for-133, 10 TDs and four interceptions).

   Cary, who played running back and defensive back for two seasons but missed last year's semifinal loss to Glens Falls with mononucleosis, has had four games this fall with at least 150 yards through the air and 150 on the ground.

   "Ryan leads our team," Iron Dukes coach Rich Ward told the Times Herald-Record. "He has taken the quarterback position and made it his own. Ryan has a good line to protect him, good skill players -- it's a team effort. What makes him such a good leader is that he is physical and so tough."

   Inspiring story: The father of Schalmont junior reserve lineman Aaron Smith died Nov. 12. Dan Smith was only 45 years old.

   "My dad was my best friend," Aaron Smith told The Times Union. "I could really go to him with anything. He was always someone I admired and looked up to. He was a hard-working guy."

   Football was a big part of their bond, and Aaron was determined to play in the state Class B quarterfinal Saturday just hours after the funeral.

   "The first thing he said to me is, 'I have to be there for this

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football game.' Knowing that is what his father wanted is what got him there," coach Joe Whipple told the paper. "He needed to be around the guys, which allowed him to focus on them and the game -- instead of the awful events of the day."

   Sure enough, Aaron arrived at the start of the second quarter as Schalmont was starting to roll up a 54-0 lead. He got onto the field for a chunk of the second half, when suddenly an opportunity presented itself in the fourth quarter. A reserve ball carrier went down with an injury near the goal line, and Whipple asked Aaron if he wanted to go in at running back.

   "I asked Aaron if he wanted the ball and he said, 'No, that's OK, coach,'" Whipple recalled. "That's Aaron. He said, 'I'll just do my job.' We told him, 'You're getting the ball, and you are going to score.'"

   One play and two yards later, that's what happened.

   Said junior Nick Gallo: "The look on his face was priceless. You couldn't stage that smile. What a great feeling."

   Welcome back, Ryan: One of the most prolific scorers in New York basketball history is back at his alma mater, having been appointed the JV basketball coach.

   Al Edwards retired as varsity coach last spring after 34 seasons at Greenport, and Ev Corwin was named to replace him after 14 seasons as the JV coach. That opened the JV spot for Ryan Creighton, whose 2,799 points are second to Lance Stephenson on the state's career list.

   Edwards was a legendary player himself before getting into coaching, and Corwin often attended Suffolk County coaches meetings with him.

   "We went and I walk in, and as usual, I'm invisible because when Al walks in the room, it's like Michael Jordan walks in the room," Corwin told the Suffolk Times. "Everybody's, 'Hey, Al! Al! Al! Al!'"

   Corwin suspected things might different this month when he attended the coaches meeting, this time

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   Corwin suspected things might different this month when he attended the coaches meeting, this time with Creighton riding shotgun.

   "I'm the new coach of Greenport, man," Corwin said. "I got my chest out a little bit, and all of a sudden: 'Ryan! Hey, Ryan!'"

   "First Al Edwards, now Ryan Creighton, man," he said, laughing.

   Creighton's purple No. 34 jersey hangs next to Edwards' white No. 33 on a wall in the Greenport gym.