Friday, June 17, 2016: Cohoes drops varsity football for 2016

   Leading off today: Cohoes will not field a varsity football team this fall because of an anticipated low player turnout on the heels of an 0-9 season.

   "It has been on the table for a month, but became official (Thursday)," Section 2 football coordinator Bob Dorrance told The Times Union. "It is unfortunate, but I think it might be a necessary step for them to keep their football program. I don't think they can continue to take the beating with young kids at the varsity level."

   The Tigers join Bishop Maginn as Section 2 programs without varsity football in 2016. Cohoes plans to field both JV and modified squads this fall.

   More football: Granville's school board on Monday voted 5-4 to reappoint coach Mario Torres after hearing support from a dozen current and former players and community members.

   Board member Nekia Torres voted for her husband"s appointment.

   Mario Torres is 30-51 since being appointed in 2007, with a 1-8 record last fall.

   According to The Post-Star, the board initially was set to appoint Jay Condon, the varsity boys soccer coach, to the position. His name was listed on the resolution, but a motion to approve his appointment failed 5-4.

   A motion was then introduced to reappoint Torres, who did not attend the meeting because he did not want to be a distraction.

    • In Buffalo, St. Joe's promoted Derek Landri. The former pro lineman takes the reins from Dennis Gilbert, who stepped down this spring due to health reasons.

   "We will continue to build on the tradition of St. Joe's because they have a history of doing things the right way," Landri, 32, told The Buffalo News. "We're going to make sure we develop high-character young men that when they move on in life and into the community we can depend on them."

   Landri played defensive tackle and earned USA Today All-American honors at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif. The 2001 graduate of De La Salle went on to play for Notre Dame and was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2007.

   Mulheron retires: Ed Mulheron, 161-59 in 11 seasons with three sectional titles and one NYSPHSAA championship, has resigned as boys lacrosse coach at Canandaigua.

   "I'm pleased with the decision," the 1978 Canandaigua graduate told The Daily Messenger. "I still enjoy it ... but it's just time."

   For what it's worth, I've always regarded Mulheron's coaching in the 2009 state championship season as some of the best work by any Section 5 coach. Though the Braves possessed once-in-a-generation talent, they performed under a microscope in the form of professional video crews that followed them literally every step of the way for an online series associated with a New Balance contest the program won before the season. Mulheron kept them focused and motivated, all the way to a title game in nearby Rochester.

   "All of the stuff that went into that, it really made it incomparable in many regards," he said.

   If you never saw the documentary series, I think most if not all of the episodes are still available on YouTube. It's really some exceptional stuff.

   On the move, part 1: St. Bonaventure basketball player Miranda Drummond made her transfer official this week, announcing she will join the Syracuse University program. Drummond, the state co-player of the year in Class C as a Harpursville senior in 2014, will have two years of eligibility after sitting out the 2016-17 season.

   Drummond, who was also considering Virginia Tech and Seton Hall, averaged 12.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game -- second on the team in both categories -- as a Bonnies sophomore. Though her move was said to not be explicitly related to the coaching change, St. Bonaventure

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lost Jim Crowley to Providence College after the recent season.

   Syracuse went 30-8 last season, losing the NCAA Division I final to UConn.

   On the move, part 2: Though I despise nearly every aspect of the NCAA with respect to how it treats athletes, I've never for a moment liked one of the few advantages students have gained in recent years -- the ability (in many cases) to use their remaining eligibility immediately at a new school after earning their undergraduate degree.

   The NCAA-endorsed exception has created a market for mercenaries, more than a few of whom enroll in graduate programs that have little if anything to do with their original course of study.

   Every once in a while, however, an athlete does it right. And former Irvington basketball great Lexi Martins is a textbook example. As NYCHoops.net phrased it, "Martins just accepted a scholarship offer that exemplifies what it means to use basketball instead of letting basketball use you."

   Martins, a state high school player of the year in 2011, '12 and '13, just wrapped up her junior year at Lehigh -- a season in which she tied for the Division I lead with 24 double-doubles. Despite the time demands associated with college sports, she earned her degree and turned her attention to graduate school.

   When you have credentials like those Martins possesses -- averages of 15.2 points and 13.6 rebounds last season -- you can negotiate from a position of strength. With multiple offers in hand, she accepted a two-year scholarship -- remember, she only has one season of eligibility remaining -- from George Washington, which she deemed to be the best option for pursuit of her masters degree.

   "Lexi used basketball the right way, to get a free education," AAU coach John Reilly said.

   Extra points: Texas officials rejected a motion to become the ninth state to adopt a shot clock for high school basketball. The University Interscholastic League also tabled a proposed baseball pitch count.

   New York, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Washington use shot clocks for boys or girls basketball.