Harrison Football Opens Practice With Eye on Goal

HARRISON, N.Y. -- Once the 2010 high school football season concluded, Harrison did not waste any time preparing for the current year. Harrison played for the 2010 New York State Class A title, only to be denied by St. Thomas Aquinas of Rochester. It was Harrison’s fourth berth in the state final since the football championships were introduced in 1994.

The Huskies are led by junior quarterback Vinny Nicita, and Friday, they, along with every Section 1 football team, opened the 2011 season. The quest is the Carrier Dome in Syracuse for the state championships.

“I am definitely excited and ready to get it started,” said the 6-foot-3, 195-pound Nicita after the morning session concluded. “After last year, seeing how close we got, we want to get right back out here and get another shot at it.”

The returning veterans kept everyone in line during the offseason, making sure they all had the same drive. “I felt everyone was focused, coming to the workout or the receivers going to the field with me,” Nicita said. “I felt this was one of the most productive summers we’ve had.”

The team, numbering 31, beat the heat in the morning. Veteran coach Artie Troilo, Jr., who guided Harrison to the 1999 and 2003 state titles, ran the team through offensive sets, along with assistants Harry Peterson and Rudy Arcara. Arcara was a running back/linebacker on both state-title teams. Following the morning session, Troilo called his team together and rewarded them by deducting time off Saturday’s morning session.

“I felt everything ran really smoothly,” said the strong-armed Nicita, in his second season as the full-time quarterback. “Everyone had a lot of energy. We had good weather this morning and that allowed us to get a lot of things done.”

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