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Buffalo(from ECMC, cultural topics/current events, legal/health/education/general topics, education/school district/current events/sports/etc., Senior topics/special events and with the superintendent of BPS from 7:30 am-Noon): https://power965radio.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Power965WNY/ (should have Facebook lives for a few of the shows)
Speaking of these two cities, here are sports references from Sectional champs tonight from Buffalo charter co-op Health Sciences-Buff. Sci-Global Concepts(Lackawanna): https://www.facebook.com/wnyathletic...32698939357191
There should be a sports rundown later at night likely after the big Cicero-North Syracuse/Christian Brothers Academy(Syracuse) matchup, which should air on this thread at 6 pm.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 11-11-2023 at 10:29 PM..
Buffalo(from ECMC, cultural topics/current events, legal/health/education/general topics, education/school district/current events/sports/etc., Senior topics/special events and with the superintendent of BPS from 7:30 am-Noon): https://power965radio.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Power965WNY/ (should have Facebook lives for a few of the shows)
Speaking of these two cities, here are sports references from Sectional champs tonight from Buffalo charter co-op Health Sciences-Buff. Sci-Global Concepts(Lackawanna): https://www.facebook.com/wnyathletic...32698939357191
Here is a great article about Syracuse's(actually in DeWitt) Christian Brothers Academy Football program and how 5 of its current players have multiple Division 1 scholarship offers, with all of them having Power 5 offers. Keep in mind that this is a program that has historically sent many athletes to various FBS/FCS Division 1 Football programs over the past few decades and before that(former Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Walt Patulski went to CBA in the 1960's, as an example).
"When assistants from the University of Pittsburgh football team watched film of Christian Brothers Academy’s Syair Torrence(highest ranked Upstate NY HS football player in this current class), other CBA players stuck out.
Torrence already had a scholarship offer from Pittsburgh. Soon, Daunte Bacheyie, Matthew Hawn and Marquan Saddler all received offers.
“And that happened in the offseason. We are holding weight room workouts, field workouts, and college coaches say, ’Hey, we’re in Syracuse, can we stop by and see Torrence?’” CBA offensive coordinator Bruce Williams said. “And again, (the coaches) are there, and Daunte walked by and (the coach) was like, â€What year is he?’ ... We got a lot of that from these college coaches.”
The CBA football team has five players with Division I football offers, and each of the players has offers from at least two Power Five schools.
The Brothers have a perfect 10-0 record this fall and will take on Cicero-North Syracuse in the Section III Class AA championship at 6 p.m. on Sunday inside the JMA Wireless Dome.
Torrence holds offers from Michigan State, Syracuse, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Michigan; Bacheyie has offers from Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Boston College; Hawn has offers from Pittsburgh, Boston College, UMass, Buffalo and Temple; Saddler has an offer from Pittsburgh and Boston College; and Darien Williams has offers from UMass, Temple, Boston College and Penn State.
The CBA coaching staff believes there will be even more players from this year’s team who receive Division I offers.
CBA has a history of producing great talent, but the staff believes this may be one of the most talented groups to come out of CBA since the 2003-2005 era team that featured players such as Greg Paulus, Lavar Lobdell and Bruce Williams.(beat the Ray Rice led New Rochelle team for a state title and finished ranked #12 nationally in 2004).
Aside from being one of the nation’s best basketball players in high school, Paulus was also a standout on the football team. He was all-state, All-CNY and all-league selection multiple times as a quarterback; held six state records, including career passing yards (11,763); led CBA to a 42-3 as starting QB; was named the 2004 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year; and earned multiple All-America and player of the year honors. Paulus went on to play basketball at Duke and later played one year of college football at Syracuse University.
Coming out of high school, Lobdell was ranked one of the 10 best receivers in the country by SuperPrep. He was a two-time All-CNY selection as well before playing college football for Syracuse University.
“(This year’s team) is different in a sense of, I can tell you how great my quarterback was, right?” Williams said. “But oftentimes people would say, well, probably wouldn’t be Greg Paulus the football player without LaVar and Bruce attached to him, right? Like, that was it. You always had Bruce and LaVar and everybody else. I think like my senior year, I ended up with 29 touchdowns and LaVar had like 23 in the same season. ... This team has more athletes, more guys that it’s hard to defend. ... The love they have for each other feels the same.”
In Williams’ era, it was star players like Paulus who were well-known around school and wore the title of role model as a badge of honor. Now it’s players like Torrence carrying that torch.
“When Greg Paulus can hold a door for a hundred people to walk through to say hi to a hundred people, that meant something to the school,” Williams said. “And you see that with Syair and all of these guys being respectful around the building now.”
CBA coach Casey Brown has gotten his players to buy into the mantra, “Love the ones that love you.”
“If coaches reach out to you, reach back to them,” Brown said. “I don’t care what school reaches out to you. If they reach out to you, reach back.”
The coaches say they remind the players that just because a coach from a Division III school comes in for a visit, it doesn’t mean that the coach is any less important than the coach from a Division I powerhouse. The staff also reminds the team that Division I is not the end-all, be-all. Just being able to use football to further their education is an accomplishment in itself.
Williams rewrote the New York State Public High School Athletic Association record book during his time at CBA. He still holds the record for most receptions in a season (103), most receptions in a career (227), most receiving yards in a season (1,546), most receiving yards in a career (3,405) and most receiving touchdowns in a season (24). He also went on to play collegiately at Syracuse University.
“We talk to (the team) about how to use football to get into a better school than they couldn’t get into otherwise,” defensive coordinator Brian Bruno said. “Last year, we actually had 14 of our seniors go on to play college football at various levels, and that’s something we’re most proud of. It’s one thing that there are D-I offers, but I mean, we’re consistently sending 10-to-14 kids a year to go on and play college football at several levels.”
CBA has a long history of players going on to play at the next level, and the current players recognize this every day.
“I know the history of CBA, the history we have of great football,” Hawn said. “Being around these guys all day, great teammates, great people. The locker room is great.”
Not only is the coaching staff filled with past Brothers’ players, but CBA players who have gone on to play professionally continue to come back to the school. Players like SirVocea Dennis and Riley Dixon of the NFL and Stevie Scott of the USFL are a few of the most recent players to come back and support the program.
“The best part is understanding the culture,” Brown said. “(Dennis) could’ve come in his (University of Pittsburgh) gear, he could’ve come in with his Tampa Bay (Buccaneers) stuff, but he went into our locker room and comes out in his CBA gear because that’s the expectation. The expectation in the weight room is you’re wearing your CBA gear. ... He knew the expectation. He wasn’t any bigger or better than anybody else.”
The mentality of not being bigger than anyone else has trickled down over the years and still remains with this year’s group of players.
That could be seen through Torrence. The senior is ranked the No. 7 player in the entire state, according to 247 sports, but he gets more excitement from seeing his teammates get recognition.
“I’m so happy for all my teammates getting offers, and hearing them get offers makes me happier than when I get one,” Torrence said. “Seeing my teammates getting offers just like me, that’s just truly a blessing. Having that on your team, just bringing more colleges here to watch us, not even just us, but the city of Syracuse. Just giving everybody more of a chance.”
CBA is a private school, meaning that they are not bound to district boundaries like public schools. It allows the team to have players from a larger area, and that means a better chance of having players with Division I potential, but it also helps the players build relationships with teammates they may not have otherwise gotten the chance to know. It also helps give players opportunities to prolong their athletic careers beyond high school.
“Realizing that we all come from a different city, different culture, different household, and just talking to each other and feeling connected like you’re a part of their culture,” Torrence said. “That’s just what’s really important about this school and this football team.”
“I love CBA so much because it was able to show me who I could be in the future and able to just unlock my potential,” Saddler said.
“I’m blessed for sure. Not everyone gets opportunities, especially this young to get offers,” Hawn said. “I love football, so I’m excited I get to play at the next level.”
It is located just outside of Syracuse's East Side in the 13214 zip code and close to the adjacent 13224 zip code, both of which have a substantial black middle class.
Just to add, CBA is not the only Syracuse area or Upstate NY HS with a collection of talent or that can send players to D1 or other levels of college Football/athletics. In fact, with a similar group of players last year, they lost in the Class AA Section 3 final to Cicero-North Syracuse and Buffalo's Bennett HS, which won the Class AA NYSPHSAA state title, has multiple guys with D1 offers. There are other schools like Rochester's UPrep, Aquinas Institute, East, Monroe, McQuaid Jesuit; Albany's CBA, Shenendehowa in Clifton Park, Arlington outside of Poughkeepsie(a lineman is going to Wisconsin), Buffalo charter co-op Health Sciences(-Buff Sci.-Global Concepts), Middletown(remember the name Julani Graham), Union-Endicott, Vestal(Liam Nealy is a sleeper on that team), Elmira(Amir Williams when healthy is tough), Corning, Whitesboro, Indian River, Peru, Moriah, Shaker(North Colone SD), Niskayuna, Medina and others have plenty of talent. This is why I do this and while it is done in a cultural context, I have general reasons for doing this as well like giving exposure to athletes and platforms across the state. This also can serve as a way to get information about school options and communities.
Here is a live interview with the assistant coach/former player at CBA many credit for getting exposure for the athletes on the team, which just won the Section 3 Class AA title: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjiV5oPF9U8
On a side note, the current punter for the Denver Broncos, Riley Dixon, is a CBA grad/former Football player and came from Blossvale in the Camden SD, which is actually in the Utica-Rome metro area. So, some come from a good distance to attend/play at the school.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 11-14-2023 at 07:41 AM..
Also on a side note related to private schools that play in the NYSPHSAA and sports, say that you move to another area with a child that is already in high school and you are interested in attending a private school in the area, the easiest way for that child to not have to sit out a year at that school is to move into the school district that private school is located in. For instance, Albany's Christian Brothers Academy is located in the North Colonie SD. So, if a student athlete is currently at Shaker High in the North Colonie SD, they can transfer to CBA due to that school being located in that district and do so without having to sit out a season/year.
That means say if you have a son that plays Football and is already in high school, but you want them to attend Syracuse's CBA, the district you would move into in order to not sit out is the Jamesville-DeWitt SD.
For a school like Bishop Ludden just west of Syracuse, which is historically known for its good Basketball programs, it is in the West Genesee SD.
McQuaid Jesuit, an all male school with a good Football program, it would be the Brighton SD.
Bishop Kearney, a school known for its very good Women's basketball program, it is in the East Irondequoit SD.
For Our Lady of Lourdes in Poughkeepsie, it is the Arlington SD.
Mekeel Christian, a school known for its good basketball programs, it is in the Scotia-Glenville SD.
Bishop Grimes, another school good Basketball programs, it is in the East Syracuse-Minoa SD.
Manlius-Pebble Hill, an independent private school known for having good Soccer programs, is also in the Jamesville-DeWitt SD.
Catholic Central, another school known for its Basketball programs that used to be in the Lansingburgh neighborhood of Troy, is now in Latham, also in the North Colonie SD.
Plattsburgh's Seton Catholic now on the former Plattsburgh Air Base/currently Parc(CDP) is actually in the Peru SD.
Troy's La Salle Institute is actually in the North Greenbush SD, which has a school relationship with the Wynantskill UFSD and has options for attending Averill Park or Troy HS's.
While outside of the municipal limits, Elmira's Notre Dame and Goshen's Burke Catholic are in the school districts of said communities.
There are maybe some others that I didn't mention and while many other private schools that are in the NYSPHSAA are located within cities(Rochester's Aquinas, Watertown's Immaculate Heart Central, Binghamton's Seton Catholic, Schenectady's Bishop Gibbons, Albany's Holy Names(all female), Troy's Emma Willard(all female), Saratoga/SPA Catholic in Saratoga Springs, Utica's Notre Dame, Batavia's Notre Dame, etc.), that is something to consider in terms of private schools and athletics if you moved to these areas.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 11-16-2023 at 09:13 PM..
^Some other private schools that come to mind are: Loudonville Christian outside of Albany is also in the North Colonie SD, Mater Dei Academy in Warners west of Syracuse is also in the West Genesee SD and Our Lady of Mercy(an female school) in Brighton is actually in the Penfield SD.
You also have a co-op athletic program between independent private schools The Harley School in Brighton and Allendale Columbia in Pittsford(aka H-AC). So, to join that program for any sports(good Tennis, volleyball and even basketball programs within its class), you can transfer from Brighton to The Harley School or from Pittsford to Allendale Columbia without having to sit out due to those schools being within those school districts.
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Here is another sports rundown
