Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015: NYSSWA all-state football team - Classes B, C, D

   Leading off today: Two Section 4 seniors are among four athletes selected football players of the year for the 2014 season, the New York State Sportswriters Association announced Wednesday.

   Maine-Endwell running back/defensive back Adam Gallagher was selected the player of the year in Class B, and running back/linebacker Ryan Bronson of Chenango Forks was named player of the year in Class C. The Class D player of the year award is shared by Randolph seniors Bryce Morrison, a quarterback/defensive back, and Michael Bowers, an offensive lineman.

   The announcement coincides with the release of the all-state team for Classes B, C and D.

   Gallagher is joined on the Class B first team by a pair of teammates from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship team -- defensive back Michael Palmer and defensive lineman Jake Felice.

   Chenango Forks' three other first-teamers are offensive lineman John Hardy, linebacker Hunter Luybli and defensive back Jack Sherwood.

   The Randolph selections are joined on the first team by teammates Devyn Nelsen, a running back; Jeff Andrews, a defensive lineman; and Tyler Stahley, a defensive back.

   A few links related to the all-state football team announcement:

• 2014 Class B all-state team
• 2014 Class C all-state team
• 2014 Class D all-state team
• Recent NYSSWA players of the year
• All-state teams, 2000-13
• Final 2014 B-C-D state rankings

   The Class AA and A all-star teams will be announced next week.

   Red Jacket coach resigns: Marc Vitticore, 27-4 in three seasons with a pair of trips to the NYSPHSAA Class D quarterfinals, has resigned as football coach at Red Jacket.

   Vitticore, 35, a teacher in the Fairport district, cited a desire to spend more time closer to home. He has a 17-month-old son.

   "I'm ready to commit more time here," Vitticore told the Democrat and Chronicle.

   Vitticore should have no trouble landing another position as head coach once he's ready to return. Observers in Section 5 frequently cite him as a guy who would be high on the wish list of numerous Monroe County and Finger Lakes schools. His Fairport connection makes his a logical candidate to eventually succeed Dave Whitcomb there.

   As good as anticipated: Tuesday's game between two boys basketball teams ranked No. 1 in the state lived up to the hype. Waterville and New York Mills, from Class C and D, respectively played a nail-biter before Waterville prevailed 58-54.

   The result snapped New York Mills' 22-game winning streak.

   "We needed this," Waterville senior center Hunter Williams told The Observer-Dispatch after finishing with 17 points, including a three-point play that gave the Indians (9-0) the lead for good with 3:18 to play. "This was kind of a wake-up call for us -- that we've still got some work to do."

   Williams also had 12 rebounds, and Zach Sawyer added 18 points and eight rebounds for Waterville, which trailed after one quarter for the first time this season but held New York Mills scoreless for the final 3:32 of the fourth quarter.

   Junior Terrence Nichols led New York Mills (6-1) with 17 points. The teams will meet again Feb. 12 at New York Mills to conclude the regular season.

   "I really can't complain," Marauders coach Mike Adey told the paper. "This is their home court, and they had three people for every one of ours. ... We just made a few mistakes that hurt us."

   More boys basketball: Syracuse Henninger, ranked 19th in Class AA, fought off Utica Proctor 78-73 in double

overtime on the road to avoid a two-game losing streak after having fallen to Syracuse CBA last week.

   Romero Collier finished with 25 points and Shiaitique Blatche added 24 in the win. Jalen Hawkins scored 25 for Proctor.

   Girls basketball: Shayna Lee scored a team-high 11 points, including nine in the final quarter to lift Susquehanna Valley to a 56-46 victory over previously unbeaten Binghamton Seton Catholic in a Class B contest. Seton Catholic is ranked seventh and Susquehanna Valley 11th in the state this week.

   Courtney Knapp added 10 points for SV, which led 29-19 at the half. Lauren Miller had 20 points for Seton Catholic.

   Marcellus topped Syracuse CBA, ranked 18th in Class A, 48-45, as Liz White (14), Morgan DeLand (11) and Erica Balman (10) scored in double figures.

   Behind the scenes: Vincent Mercogliano of The Journal News did a good piece over the weekend on assistant coaches, the unheralded worker bees of high schools sports.

   "It's very hard to put into words just how valuable your assistant coaches are to your program," said Suffern wrestling head coach Chris Matteotti, whose staff was devastated last week when veteran assistant Mickey DeSimone died suddenly. "Some are paid next to nothing and others are truly just volunteering their time for the kids and love of the sport."

   The small stipends (often between $1,500 and $3,000 per season) paid to assistants -- many work strictly on a voluntary basis -- is a reminder that for coaches it's often merely about love of the game. Said North Rockland football and wrestling assistant John Hoke: "If you're coaching at the high school level to get rich, it's not going to happen.

   And then, of course, there's football in the south.

   Duncanville (Texas) named Reggie Samples as its new coach Tuesday, plucking him from the Skyline High team in Dallas he built into a perennial power. Samples, a head coach for 25 years in the Dallas district, will make nearly 20 percent more than his prior $90,000 a year salary, USA Today reported.

   Extra points: The Eastern States Classic, featuring as many as 64 wrestlers per class, begins Friday morning at SUNY Sullivan in Loch Sheldrake.