Thanksgiving Day Articles

[Orangeyes]

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Big East commissioner John Marinatto needs to find a solution to teams like Syracuse, Pittsburgh jumping ship

Next Opponent

Cincinnati (7-3) at Syracuse (5-5) (ET)

Bearcats promise no 'repeat of last year'

Syracuse vs. Cincinnati: Here are our predictions ... what's yours?

Cincy Site

Future Orangeman

Dwyer jumped out to a 21-0 edge in the first quarter. Clinton Stephens hauled in a 36-yard scoring pass from Faton Bauta, Julian Whigham returned an interception 32-yards for a touchdown, Bauta scored on a 1-yard run and Bobby Puyol booted three PAT kicks.
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Premium

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Though he has yet to pick up an offer, Alwan has programs like Alabama, Oregon, Clemson, Rutgers and Syracuse actively recruiting him as a junior. ...
Scout TV: 2013 Prospect Jarred Alwan

Rochester (NY) East Ridge offensive tackle Alex Officer has already garnered three scholarship offers from Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Old Dominion. ...
Rochester Junior Holds Offers

Video

Bud & Brent Show 12: Cincinnati and Bernie Fine

Former Player

Zary Stewart #92 2nd team all Meac

OOC Opponent

Haden regrets late 'Barkley 4 Heisman' push

Around The Big East

Big East Week 13 Preview

Around The Nation

Report: Paterno's wife denied entry to PSU pool

Jerry Sandusky faces two new claims of child sexual abuse

Band director fired amid suspected hazing death

High School

Solvay says its goodbyes to high school football coaching icon Al Merola

Oscar Smith High Coach: Virginia-Virginia Tech ‘a huge game for both teams in the way they recruit kids this offseason’

East uses strong second half to win Davis Classic football game

University News

Syracuse University Brass Ensemble to jazz up holiday favorites

Syracuse Pizza Wars

Little Ceasar's street corner employee on video drumming up business

 

[OrangePA]

Al Merola.

It's really hard for me to believe that given my young age at the time, Al Merola could play such a major part in my life and my enduring love for sports.

I met him when I was in second grade at Manlius Elementary. He was a young student intern at the time.

He became our gym coach the following year at Pleasant Street School in Manlius.

For the next three years he not only taught us football, basketball, soccer etc, but at recess every day in the winter played "grab" football with us outside in the snow. Mr. Merola would play QB for the two teams of third through fifth graders. He ran a number of different offenses, including the wishbone when Darrel Royal introduced it that year at Texas.

I never had more fun in my life.

When I was in fifth grade he used to ask a few of us to play basketball with him and some high school students in the old Pleasant Street gym after class. He treated us as adults - we were nine years old! - and we loved it all.

He left to become the Solvay football coach when I was in sixth grade. The guy who replaced him was a decent teacher but nothing like what we had with Mr. Merola - school was never quite the same.

I never had a chance to meet up with him as an adult or even as a high school student. I always figured I would and always imagined that he would remember all of us at FM.

Again, it's hard to believe that one can be so influenced by a guy at such a young age, but that's what happened with me with Mr. Merola.

And it's hard to believe that a person could be so good and so much better than anybody else as a gym coach, but Mr. Merola was just that.

He was a true craftsman at his trade and I'll never forget him.