Geneva High School - Seneca Saga Yearbook (Geneva, NY)

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 0 z knovO vOhat )e arc no , Geneva High School teams had a stellar year as the athletes earned three championships — in Varsity Football and Varsity Boys and Girls Basketball. Although the backgrounds of the seniors who played on these teams varied, they all had the ability to get psyched for their contests. Some remember tuning out or “smelling Ben-Gay ; others listened to “The Boss , banged heads or “ate rocks . Still others just raised cane in the locker room, paid attention to “Fat Jack, psych drills or bit their opponents! The Seneca Saga staff interviewed those seniors who contributed so much of their time and energy to putting Geneva High School on the Section V map. Their comments and memories of the exciting 1981-1982 athletic season follow. All together Rob Fabrizio played seven years of football, three with the Giants and the remainder at GHS. Along with sportsmanship, Rob learned the secret of winning and losing with class. About being number one, Rob says, “It gives me a good feeling, and I'm proud to be part of a winner. Center Mike DeVito’a hard work in football paid off his senior year when he was named to the FLE second team. Mike thinks the coaches are excellent; he explained, “They worked us hard, but it all paid off. Mike learned that while playing football, an individual cannot survive; it has to be a team effort. He plans to play in college. Injuries did not hamper the team. Jim Alexander, though he suffered from a separated shoulder, still made it to the first team All-League. Jim, who also plans to play in college, said that being number one is “great. Pat Fountain, a college prospect for baseball felt the winning season was “excellent, extraordinary outrageous. Pat also played with an injury. A1 Sutton, who also played on the winning basketball team, played his position as defensive end although he had an injured finger. A1 hopes to play football in college. Also playing with a broken finger, Mike Rice, an offensive end. believed the coach was a good engineer of offense. Fingers weren’t the only injuries this season. Gary Cow lea hurt both his knee and shoulder while playing offensive tackle. Gary played four years in junior football and four years in high school which paid off in 1980-81 when he was named Most Improved Player. Billy Kerr made it through four years without an injury. He played offense and defense; sometimes he ran and sometimes he fought against the run. Through his experiences. Bill learned to accept losing as well as winning. One of the fastest players on the team is halfback Anthony Grady. Having played since he was in sixth grade, Anthony has always loved football. To him, being number one is what he has strived for since he was a freshman. Captain Bill Riker was honored with the defense award and by being named to the first team All-Star. Bill played halfback, linebacker, and was the punter. During his years of GHS football. Bill learned how “to win and lose. The main man on offense this year. Todd Rizzieri, was the quarterback. Todd has played eight years all together, four years at GHS. His experience paid off as he was selected for the third team FLE in 1980 and for Special Mention FLE in 1981. There were other seniors who contributed to the winning year on the football field. For instance, in Andy Morale ’ first year playing defensive end. he learned “to be tough. Matt Rogers, a guard and linebacker, believes that the coach helped in practice, but that it was the players who did it on the field. Jeff Greco, right guard, learned how to achieve good speed and how “to destroy.” Outside linebacker Mike Tanner learned “how to kill.” Mike says, “It was great to be number one in the league, but we should have won the sectionals.” When John Onorato was not busy “getting splinters from the bench, he played tackle. Finishing his year as a defensive back. Welton Eld ridge was chosen for second team FLE. Welton learned sportsmanship, leadership, and pride as a Panther athlete. 4 Feature