Buffalo city football teams embraces new opportunities
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Buffalo, NY - The start of the high school football season is just around the corner. Teams around Western New York are set to kick things off this Friday. For players at the nine Buffalo city schools that field teams, this fall will be a season of new opportunities.
Dale Stewart is a senior quarterback at Niagara Falls High School. "I love the lights," said Stewart after a scrimmage Saturday at All-High Stadium in Buffalo. "I just come out and it gives me a little hype when the lights are on, the team behind me chanting, it's just a good feeling."
New this fall, city and county teams will get to play regular season games, in the city, under the lights. All-High, Riverside and Johnny B. Wiley Stadiums are equipped with lights for games at night.
Niagara Falls will open its season by coming into the city to face Riverside under the lights on Friday. Coach Donald Bass thinks it's great for both teams. "Absolutely about time," said Bass. "We've been looking all over the country and watching this go on in Texas, Ohio and Florida for years so to actually have this up here for the Western New York area is great."
The nine football teams in the City of Buffalo will also compete as part of Section Six, meaning they will have the chance to represent Western New York in the playoffs and win a State Championship for the first time. "My last year I'm trying to win it all, a Class C Championship," said Grover Cleveland Senior Christopher Holland after his team's scrimmage Saturday.
Competing statewide will also give these players more exposure to college recruiters. As he looked at his teammates East High Senior Jasen Oden remarked, "By them being out here playing these different schools, they see more scouts and they can go to the next level and play."
The timing of the move to Friday nights and Section Six comes down to money. "We got the funding, the Board of Education approved it, Dr. Williams thought it was a great move and our kids are ready, our student athletes are ready to go into Section Six," said Buffalo Public Schools Athletic Director Aubrey Lloyd.
Lloyd says additional security will be in place for the night games. As for how the city teams will fare in as they compete against county schools in Section Six, East Coach Starling Bryant thinks the timing is good. "All these kids have played little league, they've come up in the system - jayvee, modified to varsity and we all can compete and I think we're going to surprise some people," said Bryant.
It all starts Friday night under the lights in the city of Buffalo.