It can be interesting, in some cases exciting, to watch high school players grow older and work together to help their team win more games than the previous season.
The Attica Blue Devils, 4-5 last fall, are in that positive pattern.
"Each year it's been a little better," Attica coach Jeff Cusmano said about the progress as a group of the seniors on this year's team. "When these kids were sophomores, we were 2-7."
Will the Blue Devils take two giant steps forward with seven starters in the team's 2025 offense and eight on the defense back to play this season?
The number of returners at Attica are similar to the 2023 season, when the Blue Devils fell one win short of back-to-back Section V championships.
"With the experience we have, we've got the potential
to have a good season," Cusmano said. "We also have a lot of youth (because there is no JV team at Attica).
"Especially in Class D, you get one or two injuries and that is two spots (which need to be filled)."
The Blue Devils again plan to score in a run-heavy attack. A team needs talented and experienced linemen to do this.
Attica has a pair to lead the way with 6 foot-3 inches tall and 260-pound senior Gavin Duffy and Chase Woodrow, a 5-11 and 220-pound senior who plans to play Division III college football at Denison University in Ohio. Woodrow and Duffy are third-year varsity players.
Duffy and Woodrow are also defensive linemen, the nucleus of the Attica defense that includes 6-4, 315-pound senior nose tackle Noah Robinson.
By controlling the line of scrimmage — clearing the way for 6-5, 250-pound senior quarterback Blake Kines, 215-pound fullback Landon Nagel and running back William Franz, and shutting down opponents' running games — the Blue Devils have a good chance to complete a positive pattern.
Attica football at a glance
- Head coach: Jeff Cusmano
- Classification: D
- League/division: Livingston County/Genesee Region Division 2
- Last season's record: 4-5, lost to Batavia Notre Dame/Byron-Bergen, Section V Class D quarterfinals.
- Last Section V championship: 2022
Attica football schedule for 2026 season
- Saturday, Sept. 5: Bishop Kearney/Williamson, noon at Kearney
- Friday, Sept. 11: vs. York/Pavilion, 7 p.m.
- Friday, Sept. 18: Oakfield-Alabama/Elba, 7 p.m. at Oakfield-Alabama
- Friday, Sept. 25: vs. Avon, 7 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 2: Geneseo/Mount Morris, 7 p.m. at Geneseo
- Saturday, Oct. 10: Holley/Lyndonville, 1 p.m. at Holley
- Friday, Oct. 16: vs. Canisteo-Greenwood, 7 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 23: Batavia Notre Dame/Byron-Bergen, 7 p.m. at Genesee Community College
Attica's top returning players
OL/DL Gavin Duffy, RB/DB William Franz, WR/CB Mason Jackson, QB/TE/DE Blake Kines, FB/LB Landon Nagel, OL/LB Robert Manko, DL Noah Robinson, OL/DL Chase Woodrow
Marquee matchups for Attica
There are two games already circled on the Attica schedule. The first is the showdown with rival Oakfield-Alabama/Elba on Sept. 18, an away game for the Attica Blue Devils.
The second is Attica's regular season-finale against Batavia Notre Dame/Byron-Bergen, a finalist in last year's Section V Class D tournament. Batavia Notre Dame/Byron-Bergen might be just as strong this season, so the Livingston County/Genesee Region league game Oct. 23 at Genesee Community College, promises to be a "how good-are-we moment" for the Blue Devils.
James Johnson, who grew up in the city of Rochester, has worked as a full-time journalist covering high school sports for the Democrat and Chronicle since 1996. Follow him @jjDandC on X (Twitter) and Instagram. Please contact him at JAMESJ@Gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Attica football pins Class D title hopes on experience
