Posted: Mike Couzens
Sunday marks the first ever New York State High School Football Classic at the Carrier Dome.
The Fizz has been covering the creation of this game since it’s genesis. The end of the Governors Bowl seemed like a bad omen for Syracuse recruiting, but now there will be high school prep stars galore taking over the turf of the Carrier Dome.
Most notably, there’s a handful of players which will be suiting up in Orange in the fall.
First is Macky MacPherson, grandson of Coach Mac, who is going to graduate from CBA here in Syracuse. The Fizz talked to him back on signing day, after signing with the school he had always wanted to play for.
Next is John Kinder, a quarterback from Lawrence High on Long Island. He’s excited to be with his new teammates and says, “I definitely feel like it gives me a jump (to be here early). I’m working out (at the Dome) and throwing. It can only help.”
There’s linebacker Malcolm Cater from Riverhead, defensive back/running back Steven Rene and lineman Rob Welsh.
Rene is from New York City just like Doug Marrone said last July after making his decision:
“Basically, I can relate to what happened to him. A lot of people that hear you’re from the city, they doubt you. Most people are all aware about people playing in different states. He actually came from the Bronx. Like me, he’s been through a lot. The same things he went through, I went through. A lot of kids from the city and Brooklyn play good football. He said we can prove people wrong and what they think about the city and we can actually win with kids in the city.”
Sunday is the culmination of Marrone and his staff’s hard work to get a high school event in CNY. This is the beginning of something invaluable – getting elite high school athletes in the state to the Dome and on campus.
College bound seniors are the ones playing the game, so they’ve already committed. But you know they‚Äôll be headed home after this weekend to tell their teammates that they played in the same building as Donovan McNabb played and saw Ernie Davis on the wall. There’s absolutely recruiting benefits.
The windfall may not be immediate, but here’s to hoping they’ll be plentiful.
