Seasons
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The JV Squad went 9-0 in League play and made the Championship for the third time, 2nd in a row. They came up short again as the Brunswick Jets prevailed 12-0. The squad was coached by Head Coach Dave Walker, who moved up from Pee Wee, and Assistants Mark Crooks, Carmen Monaco and Andrew Nigh.
The Pee Wee Squad was under the direction of Head Coach Ryan Sweeney who moved up from the Flag Squad. He and Assistants Scott Marcum, Gary Merker, and Kirk Vozar had a few ups and downs, but did have a successful season at that level. This division keeps score but does not award a Championship. They receive instruction on tackle football get ready to move up to the JV Division after 2 seasons.
The Jets Flag Squad is made up of 5 and 6 year olds. They get an introduction to football and ease into playing tackle when they move to the Pee Wee Division at age 7. The Flag team was coached by Head Coach Scott Marcum and Assistant Mike Augustine.
Kara Seese returned to coach Jets Varsity Cheerleaders, as did Tammy Potter with the Jets JV Cheer Squad. The Pee Wee Squad had Head Coach Ann Vogt and assistance from Sherry Graham and Kristen Novick. The Flag Squad had two new coaches in Renee Geyer and Danielle Roberts.
The Jets had great support and fund raising from their Team Moms. They were led by Head Team Mom Audrey Calame from the JV Squad and Kristen Nemes (Varsity), Heidi Sweeney (Pee Wee) and Jessica Marcum (Flag).
The JV Squad made it to the playoffs for the 3rd time going 7-3 on the season. The Jags JV were coached by 1st year Head Coach Kevin Capela and Assistants Cleatus Varney, Dennis Galdun and Mickey Ballantyne.
The Jags Pee Wee Squad got their 4th Season under their belt and had a good year under Head Coach Jon Stahl and Assistants Jason Mamrak, Dave Chaney and Bob Chegan.
The Jags Flag Squad is made up of 5 and 6 year olds. They get an introduction to football and ease into playing tackle when they move to the Pee Wee Division at age 7. The Flag team was coached by Head Coach Paul Schnepp and Assistant Mike Knapp.
Head Coach Sheila Schnepp and Sue Lyons coached the Jags Varsity Cheerleaders, Cathy Maslanka coached the JV Jags Cheerleaders, Amy Nutter coached the Pee Wee Cheer Squad and Tracey Johnson coached the Jags Flag Cheerleaders.
The Jags had support and fund raising from their Team Moms. They were led by Head Team Mom Dawn Fowler along with Tina Kutolowski (Varsity), Chris Demagall (JV), Dawn Chegan (Pee Wee) and Jen Knapp (Flag).Here are the rest of the former BYFA players on the roster this season:
Jaguars: Dan Inman, Billy Doerge, Ian Dalton, Sean Spence, Brandon Klaehn, Christian Petek, Kyle Fowler, Anthony Kisiday, Shane Cook, John Maslanka, Austin Schnepp, Zach Diaz and Ernie Bolton.
Jets: Kyle Haines, RIcky Monroe (1 Season as a Buc), Shawn Akim, Tyler Carrow, Colton Theus, Logan Luna and Alex Wilk.
Buccaneers: Mike Rain, Tom Metheney, Jeff Miller, Brandon Nagy, Dan Gerenday, Matt Duplaga, Mike Winans, Joshua Camper and Rory Flynn.
Former BYFA Player To Play College Football At Tiffin
Buckeye's Carlton Watkins Heads To Tiffin
From the GAZETTE, by Dan Brown.
YORK TWP. — It’s not unusual for Carlton Watkins to miss a call on his cell phone. This call, however, was his future. Inching closer and closer to committing to Division III John Carroll University, the Buckeye High standout got a call that changed everything. “The night before my overnight to John Carroll, I got a call back from Tiffin,” Watkins said. “It was one of their coaches and they had just got done with a spring practice and he said they needed a receiver.”
The chance to play at the Division II level and join former teammate Austin Friel and Gazette boys track MVP — and cousin — Malik Tuck of Medina was too good to pass up, so Watkins made his commitment to play football and compete in track for Tiffin. “It caught me off guard,” Watkins said of the phone call. “I was actually golfing when I saw the missed call and got a message to give them a call. I couldn’t believe it. I thought someone was messing with me. They told me that going D-III, I was limiting myself. You can go a higher level and earn a scholarship.”
Those words were enough to sell the 5-foot-10, 170 pound wide receiver on the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference program, which is looking for a fresh start after a 1-10, 0-10 campaign. While Watkins didn’t know he was going to find himself on the western side of the state with his former quarterback, Friel seemed to know something else. “After I got the call, I called Austin and I told him, ‘You will never believe who called,’” Watkins said. “The crazy thing is, I never said anything and Austin already knew I was going and put my name down for housing. He just knew.” Selling Watkins the most was the fact he will be paying about $4,000 less at the D-II school, with the possibility of earning scholarship money his second year. Add in that Tiffin has one of the best criminal justice programs around and the former Buck is happy to be a Dragon.
“I had it settled with John Carroll and it was going to cost $7,000 to go there, so I thought, ‘Why not try some other schools,’” Watkins said. “Tiffin is great for two-sport athletes, and their criminal justice program is top five in the country, so it’s really a go academic-wise, and that’s why I want to go to college. To play football, too, that’s just a plus.” Tiffin runs a spread offense with four wide receivers, a system Watkins is familiar with, as Buckeye ran a hybrid of that offense last fall. “The opportunity is great to get in there this year,” said Watkins, who also was looking at Westminster (Pa.), Thiel (Pa.) and Notre Dame of Ohio. “All I have to do is show them what I can do. It’s in my hands.
“You’re going to get a chance with four wide, because they will be using their receivers every play. That’s where my chance comes in.” Watkins had spoken to the school’s track program just weeks after breaking the Buckeye school record in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 6 inches at the Ernie Moore Invitational in Doylestown. He knows that doing both sports at the collegiate level is a challenge, but with friends Friel and Tuck by his side and the confidence that helped him earn accolades in both sports at the prep level, Watkins is ready for the next test.
“It worked out good,” he said. “I’m going down there with two guys that I’m really close to, and after meeting the (football) team, I got real comfortable with them and they welcomed me with open arms. “Every school I talked to, I talked about doing both sports. The way I see it, why not? You only live once.” -- Contact Dan Brown at sports@medina-gazette.com.
