Raiders, Larries Renew Grid Rivalry In Opener

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2010

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By JOHN TURCOTTE

C-O Sports

MASSENA - Though St. Lawrence Central gridiron teams have not racked up a wealth of victories in the past few years, count on the the Larries to play some good football when they take on nearby Massena.

The Raiders (4-5 in 2009) will host the Larries (2-7 in 2009) on Friday night on Mike Nicholas Field in the 2010 Northern Athletic Conference opener for each team (7 p.m. kickoff).

The last time the two teams met in Massena was a 9-0 hard-fought Raider victory on Hall of Fame Weekend in 2008, the year Anthony Diagostino took over as Massena head coach.

"As a player at Massena, I lost to St. Lawrence Central my senior year and the game my first year as head coach was also a tough one. St. Lawrence Central always has a physical team. It's their biggest game, they love to beat Massena. It's a game we can't look by," said coach Diagostino.

The Larries have dropped their JV program and 16 sophomores are part of their 26-man roster.

"Massena is always a tough opponent. We'll try to stop their outside running game. Our best chance is to try and control the line of scrimmage," said Larrie coach Bill Scharf.

"The kids are excited about the Massena game. They're enthusiastic every night in practice and they've made a lot progress in two weeks of camp."

The game is also important to both teams in that each team will compete in Class A for sectionals this year with the team with the better record versus Class A opponents receiving the higher seed.

Massena returns 15 players from last year's team and the majority of the veteran experience is found on the offensive and defensive lines including Anto Almasian (TE/LB), Trevor Bacon (TE/DE), Josh Cameron (OL/DL), Alexander Hartigan (C/LB), Adam Malone (OL/LB), Tyler Matthews (OL/DL), Kenneth Taber (OL/DL) and Andrew Wheeler (OL/DL).

Juniors Troy Myers, who served as varsity back-up last season, will be the starter at quarterback while Josh Miller, Josh Blanchard and Johnny Square will likely see the most action at running back.