Leading off today: Byron Abraham has resigned as football coach at Utica Notre Dame, the school announced on Thursday.
Abraham's future at the school had been in doubt since mid-season when he was suspended for a week by school officials following his decision to not use four players who had missed a week of practice due to a Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps obligations. Abraham had handled the situation similarly in past season, the Observer-Dispatch reported.
"Every good coach I know, every coach I've ever had -- they've all been relieved of duty at some point. I suspect that when the dust settles, that I'll be coaching somewhere," Abraham told the paper.
Abraham compiled a 55-37 record and coached the Jugglers into a pair of Section 3 championship games.
"This has been a tremendous experience for me," Abraham said. "I got to coach 10 years at my alma mater, and I couldn't have thought any better of it."
Leaving on a high note: Qadree Ollison's 85-yard touchdown run with 46 seconds left in the first half gave Canisius a three-TD lead en route to a 41-7 victory over St. Joe's for the Monsignor Martin Association football championship at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
The play highlighted a 20-carry, 240-yard effort with five touchdowns for the University of Pittsburgh recruit. He had 10 carries for 174 yards by the half, helping Canisius to a 300-87 yardage advantage for the game.
"It's a big win for us, it's a big win for our program, and it's a game that we'll talk about for the rest of our lives," Ollison told The Buffalo News. "I thought about it for a long time on the bus ride here to The Ralph. I kind of just told myself, this is going to be the last time you're going to put on the blue and gold, and what you do with that is your decision."
Keeping his options open: Rochester East football standout Justin Noye told Scout.com that he remains committed to UConn despite the midseason firing of head coach Paul Pasqualoni, but he nevertheless took an official visit to Old Dominion last weekend.
"It went well," Noye, who played QB at East but is being recruited as a receiver, told the website. "I had never been down to Virginia, so that was a plus. I got to see them play and meet the players and tour the campus and everything."
Old Dominion is making the conversion from the FCS to the FBS. Assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Ron Whitcomb, a former Section 5 star at East Rochester, has recruited upstate heavily in recent seasons.
UConn assistant Mike Foley continues to stay in touch with Noye, but there's only so much he can do while the school searches for Pasqualoni's permanent replacement.
"I have to weigh my options," the player said. "I'm very
