Football teams prepare for upcoming season

YATES COUNTY (8/24/16)--It is football season once again, as teams can be seen practicing for their upcoming scrimmages. The Penn Yan Mustangs are entering their first year with new head coach Paul Giovine. The team finished last season with a 5-3 record and look to build upon that success.
Giovine is entering his first year as head coach of the team, which has 19 players currently attending practice. The team is currently preparing for their opening game versus East Rochester-Gananda Friday, Sept. 2. Giovine said they have nine returning offensive and defensive starters.
"The past two football seasons for Penn Yan have been fairly successful," Giovine said. "We would like to build upon these successes both on the field and off the field during our offseason preparations. Former Head Coach Dave Fauth and Assistants Tim McBride and Jon Pragle did a great job of instilling a strong work ethic, attitude, and knowledge of the game into our returning players. This year's team will contain similarities both offensively and defensively to teams of prior years. However, Tim, Jon, myself and our new assistants, Chris Wickham and Dave Tese, have been working hard to add a few additional offensive and defensive looks."
Giovine said if they can execute well and play together as a team, they can "achieve some great things this season." He said the keys to success will be attitude and execution, adding if they bring a great attitude to everything they do and work to flawlessly execute their plays, they can be successful.
"I think complacency is an obstacle that all teams must overcome, especially during the long stretch of preseason practices," Giovine said. "When everyone is working hard to both condition themselves for the season, as well as learn their offensive or defensive responsibilities, exhaustion can sometimes inhibit how well a team executes. I think our team, like most teams, needs to fight through the urge to settle for mediocracy during this timespan as we transition from the tough days of camp to the routines of seasonal game preparations."
Giovine named the following players as having high potential for the upcoming season:
• Dylan Stape -- running back and linebacker -- junior.
• Cadin Lloyd -- offensive and defensive line -- senior.
• Desmond Battin -- wide receiver and defensive back -- junior.
• Jack Peterson -- offensive line and defensive end -- sophomore.
• Riley Marsh -- running back and linebacker -- senior.
Dundee Head Coach Sheldon Gibson had a 4-4 record last year with the Scots. They currently have 27 players attending practice, with four starters returning on offense and defense. Their first game will be at home against Red Jacket Saturday, Sept. 3 at 1 p.m.
Gibson said his goals for the season are to stay healthy and to improve upon last year's record. He expects to be competitive in the Finger Lakes West, noting the team's biggest obstacle to overcome is their "abundance of youth." Gibson said they have a lot of young athletes this year, and is looking to continue adapting their "Delaware Wing-T" offense to the ever-changing defensive schemes.
Gibson mentioned the following players as having high potential for the upcoming season:
• Jovhannie Andrades -- fullback and nose tackle -- junior.
• Damon Empson -- running back and linebacker -- senior.
• Michael Shearin -- offensive guard and defensive tackle -- senior.
• Austin Gibson -- quarterback and defensive end -- sophomore.
• Preston Cole -- offensive and defensive tackle -- sophomore.
• Cameron Denmark -- offensive guard and defensive tackle -- sophomore.