Ninth Annual Eldred Football Banquet

Eldred celebrates second Section Nine football title

Nick Simonelli named team MVP and Record Breaker

By RICHARD A. ROSS

ELDRED, NY - For the second time in the past three years, Eldred players, coaches and parents celebrated a Section Nine Class D championship as part of their annual football banquet. This year’s event, held at the Eldred Preserve on November 27, was the ninth banquet held in tribute to a football team that has grown immensely in stature. The team finished its season at 7-3, only two wins shy of a state championship game at the Carrier Dome. This season’s successful campaign brought Eldred’s three-year record to 24-7.

Eldred booster club president June Hallock welcomed the guests and referenced the team’s tough division loss to Chester, which was avenged by the Yellowjackets’ 20-16 Section Nine victory. “We showed them at Dietz who was the better team,” she said to a round of thunderous applause.

Head coach Frank Kean thanked all those that have supported him since he took over the helm in 1975. Reflecting on those early days, Kean noted that the current elite team was something he had always envisioned. For the past 20 years, Kean has had John LiGreci as his assistant. “He’s been with me though thick and thin,” Kean said, who went on to extol the contributions of all of his other assistants, including his son Patrick, who came on board this year as the offensive coordinator. Kean praised the help of assistants Dave Thompson and Chuck Buck.

Kean celebrated the cheerleaders and their coaches for being an integral part of the Eldred football program. Kean attributed his team’s success to a serious weightlifting program and the invaluable imprint of its seniors. “I’ve never had a group like you working together,” he told them.

Kean recounted the season highlights and referred to the win over Tri-Valley, this year’s Class C champion, as a defining moment in the season. In addition, the controversial division loss to Chester was a motivator for Eldred to set its focus on winning back the Section Nine title.

Following the Chester game, Kean remarked that his team was “on a mission.” In the championship game when Eldred fell behind, Kean told his team during a time out, “There’s no way you are going to lose this game.” The team responded with an inspired drive that led to the eventual lead, while the defense kept Chester at bay, despite being well within striking distance in the late going.

LiGreci told the team, “you did the most with the least,” referring to the school’s small size. “Your parents deserve an Academy Award,” he added, comparing the commitment of the players and the community that he said far exceeded what he had seen during his tenure as a coach in a much larger program in Staten Island.

The coaches called up the modified players and praised each one. They did the same for the junior and varsity players, talking about their strongest asset.

Kean named senior Nick Simonelli as this year’s Record Breaker. Simonelli recorded 128 tackles, besting Eldred’s former high water mark of 78 set by Mike Vaca in 1972. A short while later, Simonelli was in the spotlight again, this time as the team’s unanimous choice as Most Valuable Player.

A musical slide show tribute by this writer was part of the sights and sounds of the evening, as was a video of highlights from the championship game filmed by Mike Prunka Sr.

The evening concluded as each player was given a Section Nine championship commemorative t-shirt, and a host of raffle winners were announced for the panoply of items given away.

Graduation will mark the departure of Josh Wallace, Nick Simonelli, Tom Compasso, Chris Leader, Kojo Williams, Stan Smith, Chris Mehedin, Bobby Moriggia and Kevin Prunka.

That said, Eldred retains a fine group of football players whose ranks will be strengthened by the ongoing stream of talented players coming up through Eldred’s established program.

Visit riverreportersports.com for an album of photos from the dinner.