Castleton fans can get early taste of football
Toolbox
By Tom Haley STAFF WRITER - Published: June 18, 2009
CASTLETON — Castleton State College football fans starved for that first action of this inaugural season won’t have to wait until the season opener on Sept. 5 against Anna Maria College at Spartan Stadium. There is a Green & White scrimmage on Aug. 23 and a scrimmage against the University of Vermont club team on Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. at South Burlington High School.
And Castleton sports fans won’t have to wait until Sept. 5 to see the first regular season game in the new stadium. Tammy Landon’s field hockey Spartans play the first real game in the facility by hosting Kean College of New Jersey on Sept. 1 at 3 p.m. That is the beginning of a big day because at 6 p.m., coach John Werner’s men’s soccer team steps on the turf to host Southern Vermont College.
The Castleton football team reports to camp on Aug. 13.
“Hopefully, we will practice that night,” head coach Rich Alercio said.
Right now, there are about 90 football players scheduled to report.
The Green & White session and scrimmage against UVM will have very different purposes. The Green & White scrimmage is more of a dress rehearsal. It will be used for game staging; to work out the logistics for security, seating the fans, parking and such things.
“We hope to get a lot of people there to watch,” Alercio said.
It will also be used to iron out any kinks in the communication between coaches. Quarterback coach Brian Grady will be upstairs with the headset just as he will be during games as he and the rest of the staff make certain everything can be communicated without a hitch.
The scrimmage with UVM will be more about evaluating talent. Alercio said that evening will be all about determining starters for the season opener.
The talk around the new Eastern Collegiate Football Conference is still the surprising departure of Husson University head coach Gabby Price. He told his players Monday that he was stepping down and certainly the middle of June is a surprising time for a college coach to leave.
Price built the team into a regional power in its six years of existence. The Eagles went 7-2 in 2008 during the regular campaign and were unbeaten against Division III competition. The only losses were to Division II Merrimack and American International College before the Eagles lost to St. John Fisher in an ECAC postseason game.
“They were the best team in the conference. He was a good coach and a good guy, too,” Alercio said.
The title of Larry Mahoney’s column in Wednesday’s Bangor Daily News said it all: “Price Born to Coach, Lead Men.”
A number of Vermont high school baseball players have paid their enrollment deposits at Castleton. Coach Ted Shipley lists them as Rutland’s Aaron Bloomer, Kyle Horvath and Chris Mack, Vergennes shortstop Cameron Curler, Poultney’s Kurt Hewes, South Burlington’s Austin Fay, Hartford’s Matt Pause and Pat Riley, Mill River’s Dan Hammond, Otter Valley’s Ben Williams and Poultney’s Chad Woodruff.
Riley was the winning pitcher in the Division I state championship game and Fay is the brother of Brandon Fay who had such an outstanding freshman season as a pitcher for the Spartans.
Hewes spent last year as a freshman at De Sales University in Center Valley, Pa., where he was mainly an outfielder, but he was a pitcher/infielder at Poultney High.
Shipley is still putting together the 2010 schedule, but he is hopeful it will include trips to Texas and Arizona.
The fields are set for both Rutland Herald Invitational Tournaments hosted by the Castleton men’s and women’s ice hockey teams.
The Spartan men’s event will be Nov. 28 and 29 with Becker, Neumann and Tufts completing the field.
The women’s tourney has been moved to Jan. 9-10 with Oswego and Potsdam returning. The new team is Adrian College of Michigan.
Coach Chris Chapdelaine’s Castleton women’s soccer team has a new event on its schedule. It will be traveling to Clarkson University’s Lotto North Country Classic where the Spartans will play Clarkson and St. Lawrence, Sept. 5-6.
New Castleton men’s basketball coach Paul Culpo has received a windfall in the way of a Division I transfer. West Rutland’s Greg Hughes is transferring from the University of Vermont.
Hughes and Kyle McQuarrie had a great rivalry in high school when McQuarrie played for Proctor. That rivalry will be renewed as McQuarrie is transferring from Norwich University to College of St. Joseph.
tom.haley@rutlandherald.com
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