Football

King bees

Eldred’s top players cited at annual football banquet

By RICHARD A. ROSS

GLEN SPEY, NY — Their season was not over on November 18 when the Eldred football team, their parents and coaches gathered at DiMatteos’s Restaurant for their annual football banquet. Arranged by the Eldred Booster Club, the dinner and awards ceremony usually comes at the conclusion of the season. But Eldred had not only won the Section 9 title with a commanding 45-6 win over Chester, it had just garnered the school’s first-ever regional championship title with a 22-14 victory over Tuckahoe. As the only fall sports team in Sullivan County still playing, Eldred had another game two days hence.

Up ahead loomed the state semifinal tilt with Moriah, a game the Yellow Jackets would lose 22-13. But on this night, it was time for praise and awards.

Much of that praise was accorded to retiring coach Frank Kean, whose 36th season of coaching football brought not only the aforementioned titles, but recognition by the New York Jets as the Tri-State Coach of the Week.

Kean’s years of coaching Eldred teams and Pop Warner football, in between his stints with the Yellow Jackets, spawned one of the most fearsome and respected football programs in Section 9.

Following an accident, incurred in diving into a swimming pool and fracturing vertebrae in 1980, Kean actually considered leaving Eldred and going to Florida. Fortunately for the legions of kids who have regarded him as a second father, Kean recovered after his surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and, despite the fact that he was told he wouldn’t be able to coach again, Kean found the strength and the will to do just that.

“Belief is a big thing in my life,” said Kean, referring to his recovery and his years of coaching some teams that were beaten regularly. “They never gave up. I’m proud of the community that put their boys in my hands.” Kean pointed to this season’s unrivaled success and advised, “Play with your hearts and your dreams will come true.”

Athletic director Kelly Doherty added her words of praise to Kean’s achievements. This writer emphasized the difference between hoping that something good will come to pass and believing it will happen. For the upcoming Moriah game, the players were told that they would issue from it as champions, regardless of the final score, if they gave it their all.

They did just that.

Kean was joined by his son Patrick, the offensive coordinator, and long-time defensive coach John LiGreci in presenting awards to deserving players.

The team voted quarterback Bryan Henry as the Most Valuable Player.

The coaches added the following awards for defense: MVP Team, Geno Jones; MVP Line, Zak Tyler; MVP Back, Dylan Kulik; MVP Improved Player, Charles Wolff; MVP Reliable Player, Shawn Berger; and Certificate of Leadership, Jordan Tice.

Awards for offense included MVP Team, Ian Halloran; MVP Line, Scott Hallock; MVP Back, Bob Warden; MVP Improved Player, Matt Balcom; MVP Reliable Player, Dave Mellan; and Certificate of Leadership, Rob Morris.

Visit sportsinsightsny.com for an album of photos from the dinner. Just click on Hot Shots at the bottom to find the album.