Golden Horde runners, jumpers excel
By Keith Harrington
The Granville track and field team traveled to Lake George last week to square off with a strong Warriors’ team and while the boys and girls teams fell, Granville had some solid individual performances.
“Definitely rough, but we only have 12 boys and seven girls,” said Granville coach Dani Cosey. “They really held their own. Some solid PRs in there as well. Good meet, onto Whitehall at home next week.”
The Lake George girls defeated Granville 82-47. The Warriors topped the Golden Horde boys 92-36.
On the girls side Granville’s Katelyn Panoushek and Nicole Arnhold swept the top two spots in the 100-meter dash.
Amber Gibbs finished first in the 800, 1500 and 3,000-meter races. Panoushek was second in the 800 and 1,500 meters.
Nicole Arnhold and Ashley Pratt finished 1-2 in the long jump. Laura Arnhold placed fourth.
Nicole Arnhold finished first in the triple jump.
On the boys side Isaiah Stevens was first in the 100-meter dash for the Golden Horde. Granville’s Matthew Barlow won the 200-meter dash.
Myles Pauquette placed atop the field in the high jump. Owen Burnham claimed top honors in the long jump, with Barlow finishing fourth.
The Granville girls are 1-1. The Golden Horde boys are 0-2.
Football merger called off by Whitehall
By Austin Crosier
Granville school superintendent Tom McGurl announced at the May 10 Board of Education meeting that the Granville-Whitehall football merger expected this fall won’t happen.
“Whitehall, if they were merging, they wanted to make sure it was because they didn’t have enough players,” McGurl said. “They (Whitehall) have done a count of their players and they feel they have enough players to run a JV program at this time for next year. And their idea is they would graduate the JV program into a varsity program over time. So, that is the direction they’re going to go, we will not be merging with Whitehall for football next year.”
McGurl noted that the mergers for cross-country and boys soccer with Whitehall are still in effect for the 2021-2022 fall sports season.
Whitehall superintendent Pat Dee responded to NYVT Media on May 12 with an update on how the Railroaders’ decision came to be.
“The Whitehall football coaches and athletic director have been engaged in ongoing conversations regarding the Whitehall football program.” Dee said. “Mr. (Keith) Redmond, our AD, has been meeting with students at all Jr./Sr. high grade levels to assess the ages of the potential number of players that we will have participating for the 2021-2022 season.
“As a result of these ongoing discussions, our coaching staff and AD feel that we have sufficient player interest to run a quality JV program that will enable our coaching staff to develop these players safely and with the ability to grow into an independent Whitehall varsity program for 2022-2023.
“We certainly appreciate the opportunity to participate with Granville, and will continue to be merged for cross-country and (boy’s) soccer for the 2021-2022 school year.”
Dee mentioned Whitehall has invited the Granville cheerleading team to participate with Whitehall’s team at the Railroader JV games, and potentially at Granville varsity games this fall.
One Whitehall football player, Brandon Bakerian, will now have two football seasons ripped away from him. Both out of his control.
“It’s just unfortunate that there was no communication, and now, the kids are going to feel left out,” Bakerian’s father, Jason Roberts, said.
“They (Whitehall senior and junior football players) didn’t even get to have football in his (Brandon’s) junior year. COVID took his junior year away,” Bakerian’s mother, Nicole Roberts chimed in.
Bakerian, quarterback and linebacker for the Railroaders since his freshman year, is forced to put his focus on baseball in the meantime.
“I was pretty upset because I’m going to be a senior, no varsity program, just JV? That’s pretty upsetting,” Bakerian said.
A similar issue occurred when Bakerian was in sixth grade, being forced to join Granville’s football program due to Whitehall not being able to field a team. That connection established friendships between Bakerian and Granville football players who were all excited to team together this fall as a merged, well-oiled machine.
But now, that’s off the table.
John Irion, head coach of the Horde football team, said he was ready for both outcomes.
“I was, and actually still am, in favor of the merger,” he said. “At the same time we are prepared to continue on without them. As far as I know, nobody from Granville was involved in their decision.”
Irion was asked, with the merger being called off, how does this affect Granville’s football program, which leans on the lower side of depth and roster size.
“In my opinion, in the short term we will survive. Long term I think there will be problems for both schools with student numbers. Having just enough to field a team does not make a solid program and that, or not having enough may be the direction small schools may face,” Irion said.
However, Irion thought of two possible remedies to the issue at hand for both programs.
“Viable solutions are for programs to merge to create stable and competitive teams, or to go to seven or eight-man football, which I wouldn’t be in favor of,” Irion said.
Granville athletic director Justin Nassivera said he, Irion and the other Granville football coaches were pumped for the merger with Whitehall.
“I have had contact with my coaching staff, they were very excited for the merger. We felt that as a combined program, we would have instant success. However, good for Whitehall that they have been able to find the numbers to field a program,” Nassivera said. “Hopefully down the road we can have the opportunity to revisit this conversation. I do know our coaching staff has already started our offseason weight room program and is doing some heavy recruiting at this time.”
In addition, it was announced Fort Ann’s wrestlers will be leaving Whitehall to join the Granville wrestling program.
The Fort Ann merger will bring added numbers to each weight class and Fort Ann will provide transportation for those student-athletes. The program will remain “Granville wrestling” but there may be a possibility of having one home match at Fort Ann for those senior wrestlers and families.
McGurl said he looks forward to the possibility of continuing the famous Granville-Whitehall football games.
“I do wish them all the best and I hope that if they do have a varsity program in the future, that we have the opportunity to play them,” McGurl said.
Redmond and Whitehall football head coach Richard Gould couldn’t be reached for a comment by press time.
Horde wins 2 of 3 softball games
By Keith Harrington
The Granville softball team had a busy week on the diamond, winning two games and falling just short in another in Adirondack League play.
The Golden Horde began the week by recovering from a slow start to cruise past North Warren 18-1 at Burch Field. The third inning turned out to be the key to the game as Granville exploded for 12 runs to blow the contest open.
The Golden Horde added more runs in the fourth leading to the game being shortened to five innings because of the run rule.
Haley Corlew helped ignite the Granville offense with an inside-the-park home run and a double. Raegan Swain was 4 for 4 with a triple and two RBIs for Granville. Lexyss Zovistoski was 3 for 4 with a double and four runs driven in. Lauren Bascom was 3 for 4 with a triple and three RBIs. Katie McEachron doubled and Jordan Chadwick tripled for the Golden Horde.
Bascom earned the win in the circle. The freshman spun a three-hitter and struck out 12.
Granville moved to 2-1, 2-1 with the win. North Warren fell to 0-2, 0-2.
On Wednesday Granville was back in action at Burch Field to host a Hartford-Fort Edward team that was searching for their initial win of the season. The Golden Horde were not about to let that happen as they overcame a stellar effort by the Flying Tanagers for a 5-1 win.
“It was a great game,” said Granville assistant coach Frank Hunt. “Both teams battled hard. There were many opportunities for either team to blow it open at any given moment, but good defense prevented both sides from walking away with this game.”
Hartford-Fort Edward got off to a nice start against Bascom who was again in the Granville circle. Gabby McFarren walked to lead off the game and came around to score, giving her squad a 1-0 advantage.
The Flying Tanagers’ momentum didn’t last long. Granville got to Hartford-Fort Edward starter Mattie Viele, touching her up for three runs in the bottom of the first and two more in the in the third to grab a 5-1 lead.
Bascom and Viele went toe-to-toe the rest of the game, both pitching well as neither team could plate another run.
Zovistoski had the defensive gem of the contest with a leaping snag of a line drive to halt a potential H-FE rally. McEachron and Raegan Swain also had nice defensive plays.
“Zovistoski, Swain, McEachron and Bascom all contributed to spectacular game-saving defensive plays tonight,” Hunt said. “Aggressive base running early on was ultimately the deciding factor in this victory.”
McEachron was 2 for 3 for Granville. Zovistoski had two RBIs.
Bascom earned the win in the circle, recording nine strikeouts.
Viele had her best outing of the season for Hartford-Fort Edward with eight K’s. Viele shut down the Golden Horde after the third.
Granville raised its mark to 3-1 on the season. Hartford-Fort Edward dropped to 0-3.
On Thursday the Golden Horde hit the road to Lake George to face a talented team led by Ty Bergman, who will play at Division I Missouri in the Big 12 Conference next season. Granville was able to keep Bergman silent, but the Warriors scored a pair of runs in the fourth to take a hard-fought 3-2 win.
Bascom and Lake George’s Shannon Starratt hooked up in a pitcher’s duel for most of the afternoon. Starratt fired a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts. Bascom scattered six hits with seven Ks.
The Golden Horde took a 1-0 lead in the second when Zovistoski blasted a home run.
The Warriors came back to tie the game in the third and added two more in the fourth to extend the Granville deficit to 3-1.
Granville got a run back in the sixth to pull within 3-2.
Rachel Jager had two doubles for Lake George. Sam Gorey doubled. Alli Zilm, Ty Bergman and Grace York also had hits for the Warriors.
Haylie Barber contributed a double for Granville.
Even with the loss Hunt and the coaching staff were pleased with where the Golden Horde stands.
Coach ( Bri) Gould is doing a fantastic job with these ladies and we’re really impressed with how well and quick they have jelled with one another,” Hunt said. “There is a lot of good talent on this team and they really have a lot of fun with one another. The chemistry is amazing and they believe in teamwork and more importantly in each other.”
Lake George is 4-1, 4-1. Granville is 3-2, 3-2.
Horde tennis team drops 3 matches
By Keith Harrington
It was a busy week for the Granville tennis team last week as the Golden Horde played three Adirondack League matches as spring sports teams hustle to get in their shortened season.
On Monday Johnsburg won three of the singles matches but the Golden Horde claimed a doubles match to come up just short, 3-2, in a match played in North Creek.
Tiernan Weeden rolled over the Jaguars’ Gage Morris, 10-1, to earn a win for Granville.
In the rest of the singles matches, Gabe Freebern won over Carter O’Leary 10-4, Julie Verfurth topped Sam O’leary 10-7 and Cole Sears slipped past Andrew Lapierre 10-6.
Granville’s doubles pairing of Jenna Tooley and Cassie Weeden defeated Haley Mason and Maria Ordway, 10-0.
Johnsburg moved to 1-2, 1-2. Granville dropped to 0-3,0-3.
Granville hosted Lake George last Wednesday in an Adirondack League match. The Warriors proved too much for the Golden Horde as they swept the match, 6-0.
In singles Ian Gillman of Lake George defeated Carter O’Leary 10-4. Brian Dee of the Warriors topped Tiernan Weeden 10-2. Carson Bruening got past Sam O’Leary, 10-1 and Dylan blanked Lapierre 10-0 to give Lake George a 4-0 lead.
In doubles Tyler Cornelius and Cassie Wagemann of Lake George defeated Tooley and Cassie Weeden 10-4.
The Warriors also picked up a forfeit win.
Lake George was 3-0, 3-0 after the win. Granville was 0-4, 0-4.
On Thursday Granville dropped a 6-1 decision to Hadley-Luzerne in Adirondack League play.
Sam O’Leary earned a match victory in singles play, cruising past Connor Hayes of the Eagles 10-4.
Hadley-Luzerne swept the other three singles matches. Connor Moulton defeated Carter O’Leary 10-0, Dylan Smead topped Tiernan Weeden 10-2 and Isaiah Smead shutout Lapierre 10-0.
In doubles Sean Frasier and Hannah King defeated Tooley and Cassie Weeden, 10-2.
Hadley-Luzerne is now 3-1, 4-1. Granville fell to 0-5, 0-5.
Horde (2-2) falls to Lake George on diamond
By Keith Harrington
The Granville Golden Horde and Lake George Warriors have developed an intense rivalry the last few years. What began on the basketball court as both schools contended for Adirondack League titles has spilled into other sports.
A couple of weeks ago Granville took down the merged Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne team on the football field, then last Thursday the Warriors got to taste a little sweet revenge as they cruised to a 17-7 victory on the baseball diamond.
Granville hung close early and even jumped out to a lead to open the game, plating three runs in the top of the first, but their momentum was short-lived.
Lake George scored two runs in the first and three in the second to take a 5-4 lead. But it was the third inning that proved decisive as the Warriors exploded for seven runs in the frame to increase the lead to 12-4.
Lake George pounded out 10 hits to just five for Granville.
Cayden Johnston earned the win on the mound for the Warriors.
Matt Syoersten was 2 for 3 with a home run and a pair of RBIs for Lake George. Brendan Lamby was 2 for 5 and drove in three runs. Cole Clarke added two hits and two RBIs.
Josh Oakman was 2 for 4 for Granville. Connor Farrell doubled. Logan Beebe and Ryan Kunen also had hits for the Golden Horde.
Lake George is 5-0, 5-1. Granville is 2-2.
Granville began the week at Burch Field against North Warren on Monday and rolled to a 14-0 win, using a huge second inning to put the Cougars away.
The game was scoreless after the first inning before the Granville bats heated up. The Golden Horde exploded for 12 runs in the frame to build an insurmountable lead.
Granville added a run in the third and another in the fourth to finish off North Warren in five innings.
Kunen was in control on the bump for Granville from the start, tossing a five-inning one-hitter with 11 strikeouts.
Kunen helped his cause at the plate, going 2 for 3 with five RBIs. Oakman was 2 for 3 and drove in three runs. Kaedin Saddlemire was also 2 for 3.
Tanner Dunkley had the only hit for North Warren.
Granville was 1-1, 1-1 after the game. North Warren fell to 0-2, 0-2.
On Wednesday Granville was back at Burch Field to take on Hartford-Fort Edward and took a commanding 6-0 lead after two innings, going on to defeat the TanaForts, 11-1.
Granville scored two runs in the first and four in the second. Hartford-Fort Edward answered with a run in the third. The golden Horde plated five more runs over final three innings to insure the victory.
Lane Mattison was stellar on the mound, yielding just three hits and striking out six.
Nelson stayed red hot, going 3 for 4 with three RBIs. Logan Harrington was 3 for 4 for the Golden Horde. Logan Beebe was 2 for 4 and drove in three runs.
Bryce Tyler was 2 for 3 with an RBI for the TanaForts. Mike Taylor also had a hit.
Granville moved to 2-1, 2-1 with the win. Hartford fell to 1-4.
