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As unlikely as it seemed at the time, the early-November announcement of an all-state football player's suspension triggered a chain of events culminating in the school president's resignation. But that's what ultimately transpired at Canisius after it was disclosed linebacker/fullback Brad Zaffram was being benched for the postseason in what turned out to be the Crusaders' run to the first CHSAA state championship in the sport.
Within days of the announcement, Beck O'Connor, dean of students, was dismissed by higher-ups who felt he'd failed to follow procedures surrounding academic cheating allegations against Zaffram. By the end of February, Rev. Joseph Costantino had announced his intent to resign as school president at the conclusion of the school year.
Canisius trustees ultimately adopted more stringent admissions policies and put additional safeguards in place.
There was comparable turmoil in Groton in Section 4, where hazing allegations in September divided the community. Two teens pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment charges, Superintendent James Abrams resigned amidst criticism of how the district handled the incident, and the coaching staff was dismissed.
In Section 9, Eldred forfeited its season-ending game after a school investigation found multiple incidents of hazing by players, district administrators said. Two weeks earlier, Monroe-Woodbury canceled its two remaining JV football games because of alleged bullying incidents.
Elsewhere, racial tension reared its head at Mahopac for the second consecutive basketball season as Superintendent Brian Monahan acknowledged disciplining a player over "several instances of unsportsmanlike behavior."
Union Springs scrapped its boys varsity basketball season after a 1-6 start as school officials stared down a revolt by players and their parents against a coach who had the audacity to punish a player by holding him out of the first quarter of a game.
"Some of the kids gave up when their backs were against the wall," coach Jim Karcz said. "I gave a commitment and I went through with it. They just needed to come along for the ride with me on this one."
Too many tragedies
Two New York athletes died after being stricken during practices and a third succumbed to injuries from a collision during a football game.
In mid-March, New Paltz sophomore Kyle Brewer, 16, died after suffering two heart attacks. Brewer, who had an undetected heart condition, collapsed during track and field practice and had the second heart attack two days later while hospitalized.
On Sept. 1, Curtis High junior lineman Miles Kirkland-Thomas, 16, a third-year varsity player, collapsed after wind sprints during a Labor Day practice and later died at a Staten Island hospital. An autopsy revealed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which heart muscles thicken, making it harder for the organ to pump blood. His condition was exacerbated by Kirkland-Thomas being obese, weighing some 370 pounds, the medical examiner said.
Shoreham-Wading River football player Tom Cutinella, a 16-year-old junior guard and linebacker in his first varsity season, died Oct. 1 after he collided with an opponent and collapsed during a rare mid-week game. Authorities said Cutinella died from his head injury after undergoing surgery.
In a moving gesture, the U.S. Military Academy offered Cutinella a full athletic scholarship posthumously, accompanied by a jersey with Cutinella's No. 54. The scholarship offer was written by Army coach Jeff Monken, who addressed the letter to the teen and wrote, "I seek quality young men who uphold the values of Duty, Honor
