Cameron Turner Photo

ENDICOTT – Four Chenango County high school football programs saw some of their standout athletes venture down to a ‘NFL’ style football combine this past weekend at Ty Cobb Stadium in Union-Endicott.

Members of the Norwich, Greene, Oxford and Unadilla Valley squads made appearances on Sunday, May 8, – with some serious standout performances happening thereafter.

The Norwich Purple Tornado finished 5-4 overall in 2016 and is looking to make a push for a playoff berth in 2017. 2017 is going to see Norwich playing in a newly formatted Section IV Class B division – as all Class B teams in Section IV will be combined into a singular division, meaning each regular season game holds even more value with no out of division games on Norwich’s 2017 schedule.

Norwich proved to bring the largest amount of athletes to the U-E combine – having seven athletes check in.

“I think it’s a testament to how hard these guys are working this off season. Drew, Eric, Grant, Scott, Robert, Shane, and Seth have all put in hard work in the weight room and playing other sports,” said Norwich head coach Mike Chrystie. “It’s always nice when you see the results, especially at a combine with over 200 other players there. Hopefully these guys continue to work hard, whether it be in the weight room (and) agility sessions, or with their respective sports teams.”

 

Norwich results:

• Eric Conant, RB,11th grade, Height 5’10”, 163 lbs, 4.67 40 yard dash, 4.11 Shuttle, 6.6 3-Cone Drill, 38.5” Vertical Jump, 10’5” Broad Jump, 14x185 Bench Press.

• Shane Lawrence, OL and LB, 10th grade, Height 5’9”, 206 lbs, 5.50 40 yard dash, 5.01 Shuttle, 7.81 3-Cone Drill, 20” Vertical Jump, 7’7” Broad Jump, 9x185 Bench Press.

• Scott Manwarren, OL, 11th grade, Height 6’1”, 232 lbs, 5.71 40 yard dash, 5.1 Shuttle, 7.79 3-Cone Drill, 22” Vertical Jump, 8’3” Broad Jump, 12x185 Bench Press.

• Robert Shepard, OL and DL, 12th grade, Height 6’0”, 250 lbs, 5.50 40 yard dash, 5.19 Shuttle, 7 3-Cone Drill, 28.5” Vertical Jump, 9’3” Broad Jump, 16x185 Bench Press.

• Drew Walsh, RB and DB, 11th grade, Height 6’0”, 180 lbs, 4.79 40 yard dash, 4.41 Shuttle, 7.6 3-Cone Drill, 27” Vertical Jump, 8’11” Broad Jump, 9x185 Bench Press.

• Grant Wessels, RB and DE, 12th grade, Height 5’11”, 198 lbs, 4.85 40 yard dash, 4.44 Shuttle, 7.72 3-Cone Drill, 26” Vertical Jump, 8’7” Broad Jump, 21x185 Bench Press.

• Seth Wessels, RB and LB, 10th grade, Height 5’7”, 145 lbs, 5.35 40 yard dash, 5.12 Shuttle, 7.62 3-Cone Drill, 23.5” Vertical Jump, 8’3” Broad Jump, 8x135 Bench Press.

 

Greene is coming off a stellar 2016 season where they finished ranked in New York State with a 6-3 overall record after an early postseason jettison. Greene would see three athletes make the trip to U-E, as the 2017 squad will be looking to replicate the success from year’s past.

“Coy is a very gifted athlete who has been training hard away from school. As one of our few returning seniors we expect him to step up and be a leader, and his combine scores show he’s working toward that goal,” said Greene head coach Dave Gorton. “Both upperclassmen who competed are potential college players and they put in a lot of time on their own.”

 

Greene results:

• Tristan Austin, QB, 9th grade, Height 6’1”, 152 lbs, 5.06 40 yard dash, 4.57 Shuttle, 7.6 3-Cone Drill, 27” Vertical Jump, 8’11” Broad Jump, 10x135 Bench Press.

• Coy Austin, QB and LB, 12th grade, Height 6’1”, 190 lbs, 4.55 40 yard dash, 4.4 Shuttle, 7.15 3-Cone Drill, 32” Vertical Jump, 10’5” Broad Jump, 31x185 Bench Press.

• Isaac Hadac, TE and DE, 11th grade, Height 6’1”, 219 lbs, 5.01 40 yard dash, 4.25 Shuttle, 7.3 3-Cone Drill, 28.5” Vertical Jump, 9’4”” Broad Jump, 25x185 Bench Press.

 

Oxford is coming off a rollercoaster of a season – 5-4 overall record – but missing the postseason once again. Oxford added a new head coach to the mix in the offseason in Jon Carey. With five athletes making the trip to U-E, Oxford is looking for a bounce-back year in 2017.

“As first time participants in the Section IV Combine, I feel our athletes exceeded expectations. As a smaller school, it was quite a shock to compete with larger schools, such as Maine-Endwell and Chenango Forks, but our young men went in and represented Oxford better than I could have imagined,” said Oxford’s new head coach Jon Carey. “As a staff we were extremely proud of our players and are looking forward to the upcoming season of Blackhawk Football.”

 

Oxford results:

• Brad Beckwith, OL and DL, 11th grade, Height 5’11”, 225 lbs, 5.66 40 yard dash, 5.29 Shuttle, 8.27 3-Cone Drill, 17.5” Vertical Jump, 7’7” Broad Jump, 2x185 Bench Press.

• Richard Hathaway, TE and DE, 12th grade, Height 5’11”, 168 lbs, 5.05 40 yard dash, 4.97 Shuttle, 8.14 3-Cone Drill, 25” Vertical Jump, 8’7” Broad Jump, 1x185 Bench Press.

• William Kelsey, TE and DE, 10th grade, Height 5’9”, 175 lbs, 5.22 40 yard dash, 5.05 Shuttle, 8.3 3-Cone Drill, 20” Vertical Jump, 7’6” Broad Jump, 5x185 Bench Press.

• Christopher Martin, QB and DB, 12th grade, Height 5’10”, 164 lbs, 5.31 40 yard dash, 4.94 Shuttle, 7.75 3-Cone Drill, 24” Vertical Jump, 8’7” Broad Jump, 0x185 Bench Press.

• Isaiah Peterson, WR and DB, 11th grade, Height 5’10”, 157 lbs, 5.20 40 yard dash, 4.80 Shuttle, 8 3-Cone Drill, 25” Vertical Jump, 9’3” Broad Jump, 8x185 Bench Press.

 

Unadilla Valley is coming off a 2016 campaign where nothing seemed to fall their way, finishing with a dismal 1-7 record. With one of the top-rushing attacks in Chenango County, UV will be looking to add to the wins column come the 2017 season. Unadilla Valley had three athletes make the trip to the U-E combine.

“Young guys, Jonathan Bonanno and Kyler Butts did a great job and they have an exciting future in our program. Colby Moore is a great kid that works his tail off in the weight room,” said Unadilla Valley head coach Ray Dayton. “He’s (Colby Moore) a leader for us on and off the field. He proved that he’s one of the strongest players in the section. We are ecstatic to have him back for his senior year.”

 

Unadilla Valley results:

• Jonathan Bonanno, RB and LB, 9th grade, height 5’9”, 154 lbs, 5.18 40 yard dash, 4.25 Shuttle, 8.23 3-Cone Drill, 23” Vertical Jump, 8’6” broad jump, 12x135 Bench Press.

• Kyler Butts, RB and LB, 9th grade, height 5’10”, 167 lbs, 5.23 40 yard dash, 4.48 Shuttle, 7.91 3-Cone Drill, 24” Vertical Jump, 8’3” broad jump, 9x135 Bench Press.

• Colby Moore, OL and DE, 12th grade, height 5’8”, 201 lbs, 5.45 40 yard dash, 5.19 Shuttle, 8.06 3-Cone Drill, 21” Vertical Jump, 8’2” broad jump, 25x185 Bench Press.

 

Notably, there were 209 athletes at the combine, of the Chenango County athletes, Coy Austin of Greene ranked in the top-seven in all six of the major categories. While Norwich’s Eric Conant ranked in the top-three in five out of six of the major categories.

Coy Austin ranked first in the 40 yard dash at 4.55, seventh in the Shuttle run at 4.44, tied for fifth in the 3-Cone Drill at 7.15, seventh in the Vertical Jump at 32’, first in the Bench Press at 185lbs at 31, and tied for first with Conant in the Broad Jump at 10’5”.

Eric Conant ranked third in the 40 yard dash a 4.67, first in the Shuttle Run at 4.11, first in the 3-Cone Drill at 6.6, first in the Vertical Jump at 38.5, with the aforementioned tie at first at 10’5” in the Broad Jump.

Other notable standouts, Isaac Hadac of Greene ranked third in the Shuttle Run at 4.25, and was tied with Unadilla Valley’s Colby Moore in the Bench Press at 25 reps at 185lbs.

Norwich’s Drew Walsh finished in sixth for the 40 yard dash at 4.79, fifth in the Shuttle Run at 4.41, and tied for third in the 3-Cone Drill at 7 – while Norwich’s Grant Wessels finished in third for the Bench Press at 21 reps for 185lbs.