Leading off today: I have an eight-word follow-up to
yesterday's blog about MaxPreps' list of New York's 10 best high school sports products so far this century.
Mike Hart.
Mike Hart.
Mike Hart.
Mike Hart.
Pick any of his four seasons prior to heading off to the University of Michigan in the summer of 2004, and the Onondaga running back was nothing less than legendary. He finished with 11,045 rushing yards and 1,246 points scored on the strength of 204 touchdowns -- including 67 as a senior.
Hart was such a distant memory when I wrote about the MaxPreps list yesterday that I didn't recall that he played in the 21st Century, Obviously, the author of the article missed that, too.
Put aside concerns about Hart achieving his feats against small-school competition. His subsequent body of work at Michigan confirmed he would have been star material anywhere in New York.
• As long as I'm following up on that top-10 list, I had online discussions with two people regarding the absence of wrestlers on the list.
I believe we have had four five-time state champions thus far and another 10 that have earned four titles. All but one earned all of their titles beginning in 2001 or later. As such, it was going to be a tough call for the author of the list to settle on one or two to consider.
That being said, I rate four-time champ Yianni Diakomihalis from Hilton as the best combination of technical skills and physical tools I've seen in any sport in my four-plus decades of observing Section 5. He already had a takedown and back points in his pocket just by stepping on the mat in so many matches. I think I would have at least started the discussion of wrestlers with him and found space on the list for him.
Section 5 football to end federation scheduling next year
Section 5 was a holdout for several years while other regions in the NYSPHSAA switched from league-centric football scheduling to a federation format that grouped teams by their playoff class.
Now, after three years of back-and-forth discussions, the Rochester/Finger Lakes region will revert to league scheduling after the upcoming season, the Democrat and Chronicle reported.
The handful of coaches and ADs I've spoken to since the issue was put on the table awhile back, sometimes pointed to the large number of schools that have opted out of sectionals to play independent schedules instead.
With a limited number of potential opponents in some classes, ADs and superintendents didn't relish the idea of 90-minute bus rides to and from schools at the other end of the section on some Friday nights as part of the round-robin scheduling. They prefer to stay close to home, even if it means a couple of games a year against teams in a larger class.
The other side of the issue has long been concerns raised by administrators at Rochester City School District schools who see the switch as being aimed at them and worry about being frozen out of non-league options to fill out their schedules.
For Aquinas, which has long been an independent in football, this could be an opportunity to reconnect with the Monsignor Martin Association schools in Western New York. For a long stretch of time, Aquinas vs. Canisius was routinely the best game on the Section 5 schedule.
