Remember last Friday night? The weather was warm, the air was still and the sky was clear. Coach Ryan Baldock observed that it was perfect weather for football. If it wasn’t for the pandemic, the section semifinals would have been played that night.
It’s ironic. In other years, the Dragons traveled the road to Syracuse in wintry weather. When they edged Queensbury last fall, the temperature was below freezing. When they surprised Burnt Hills in 2018, there were piles of snow around the field in Middletown.
The Section IX football season has been pushed back to March. Coach Baldock reports that the Dragons have yet to meet in person. “We’ve had virtual meetings,” he said. “But it’s a big adjustment. We’re used to a high level of commitment.”
He attributes part of the players’ success to the work they do in the preseason. During the spring and summer, the Dragons keep busier than most of their opponents. But this year has been different.
Some of the players are participating in seven-on-seven match-ups in a recreational league. Some have gym memberships or are working with trainers to keep fit. But the coach knows it’s not the same as working together in the high school weight room.
“There’s a camaraderie aspect of working together,” he explains. “We’re not building the team chemistry. And that can be an obstacle.”
Other states are playing football this fall. For example, Delaware Valley in Milford, Penn. has played seven games while the kids in Port Jervis have been idle. The two schools are just a few miles apart.
Needing to get the attention of college recruiters, two Cornwall players have enrolled in other schools.
Aidan Semo is quarterbacking in Georgia. Mike Baloga is kicking in Pennsylvania.
Their coach has yet to decide on their replacements.Jack Diamond, a receiver on last year’s team, is a possibility for quarterback; so is Daniel Breheny, who played the position for last year’s junior varsity.
A few people have asked the coach for a chance to kick. Of course, he can’t make a selection until he sees the players outdoors.
The Dragons have several returning players on defense and on the offensive line. So the team should do well in March. But their coach has several questions. Will the practice and game field be playable in March? What about busing? If the players have to observe social distancing, it may take several buses to bring the team to the field. And meanwhile, the coach observes, the number of COVID cases keeps going up. It makes him wonder if we’ll even have a season in March.
