Holley gridders look for rebound season

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 27 August 2014 at 12:00 am

Photo by Mike Wertman – New Holley varsity football Coach Will Prince meets here with several of the Hawks senior players including Stephen Mallet, Lucas Silvis, Luke Westfall and Glenn Robb.

Last fall when a rash of injuries depleted an already small varsity squad Holley brought up its entire JV team at mid season in order to finish out the Hawks’ varsity football campaign.

And though the learning curve was sharp the varsity playing time those JV players got over the last half of the season is now paying dividends as the still underclassmen dominated but much more experienced Hawks squad preps for the upcoming campaign.

“There was certainly some disappointment when the JV team was brought up because they were 3-0 at the time but now that experience definitely has benefitted us,” said new Holley Coach Will Prince who served as the JV coach last fall. “It’s a great group of kids. They want to win and they understand what they need to do to get where they want to be.”

Junior Nick Passarell looks to open at quarterback for the Hawks. Juniors Clarence Moyer and Adam Stetzel and senior Brendon Kamm head the running back contingent and junior Zach Vaccarelli leads the wide receiver group.

Seniors Glenn Robb and Luke Silvis will anchor the offensive line while linebackers Nick Shenk, a junior, and Zach Day, a sophomore, lead an experience defensive unit.

“We have a lot of athletes on defense and our linebackers look to be our strong point,” said Prince.

The Hawks are scheduled to open the Genesee Region League season at home on September 6 against Attica.

“We’ve dedicated ourselves to teamwork and hard work,” said Prince. “We’re working extremely hard to be tough both mentally and physically.”

Holley will prep for the season opener by participating in a scrimmage Saturday at East Rochester.

Holley’s Schedule

Sept. 6 – Attica, 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 13 – at Elba/Byron-Bergen, 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 20 – C.G. Finney, 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 27 – at Alexander, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 4 – Pembroke, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 10 – at Oakfield-Alabama, 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 – Notre Dame, 1:30 p.m.