Valley Sports ReportCANTON — Athens and Sayre were at the NTL Football Media Day here Thursday afternoon at the Moose Lodge.
The Wildcats had assistant coach Steve Satterly in attendance, along with key returnees Connor Davidson and Brendan Cooke.
"We've been busy," Satterly said about the off-season. "We're doing a lot of 7-on-7s, and linemen competitions.
"We've got the kids in the weight room throughout the week, doing our little open gyms, and things like that, so it's definitely been busy," he added.
He noted that, coming off an 9-2 season, expectations are higher this fall, and they're ready to meet the challenge.
"We're looking forward to it," Satterly said.
Nobody on the team is more excited to get on the field than players Brendan Cooke and Connor Davidson.
"There's a lot to prove, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to prove it with my guys," remarked Cooke. "(Last year) was a stepping stone, but we did not accomplish anything near what we wanted to last year. We have a lot to do."
Davidson comes in as a 3-year starter at quarterback, so he expects to hit the ground running.
"I know everything about the playbook," he said. "It's just really nice being familiar with everything."
He's also accepting a leadership role this season.
"I've been trying to be better with lifting up my guys, and trying to be a better teammate," he said. "We're all working hard."
Their crosstown rivals have a new coach in Guy Kapichok, who has been with the team for several years but this is his first year in the top spot.
"We're just rocking and rolling with getting into shape as our number one priority this summer," he said. "It's been weight room, weight room, weight room, and conditioning twice a week. We're in the best shape I've seen us in the last three years."
They've hired a full-time conditioning coach, and Kapichok has noticed a difference with the players.
He's hoping that carries over to the field this fall as Sayre is looking to build some respect back to the program.
"We want teams to have to pay attention to us," remarked Kapichok. "We just felt like we weren't taken that seriously, so it'd be fun to come out, and pop some heads a little bit - show that we've got some skill, which I know we have."
Declan Barry will be stepping into the quarterback spot for Sayre.
"It's a lot of pressure, and I like that," he said.
He's hoping they've put the injury issues behind them.
"A lot of the kids who got hurt last year didn't do summer conditioning," Barry said. "Anybody who plans on getting in the game has shown up for everything, so I don't think (injuries) will be that much of an issue."
He's been working with Mason Oldroyd as they get in-sync to drive the Sayre passing game.
"I've gotten taller, gotten faster, stronger, bigger," Oldroyd said compared to last year. "So have a lot of my teammates. I think we'll see big changes from this year to last year."
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IN TOP PHOTO: Connor Davidson (left) and Brendan Cooke. IN BOTTOM PHOTO: Declan Barry (left) and Mason Oldroyd. ... PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING.
