VOORHEESVILLE —Small school, big-time players.

The Voorheesville football team has had a long line of success at the high school level. Under the tutelage of Joe Sapienza, and before that Thomas Buckley, the Blakbirds have brougt a lot of tradition to the small school that sits just outside the village of Voorheesville.

The Blackbirds play in Class C, the second smallest division in the state. Yet, eight players from the last three graduating classes at Voorheesville will be on college football rosters this fall, including four from this year’s team that finished with a 6-3 record.

Tim Robinson will be moving on to St. Lawrence University in northern New York; Charlie McGrail will play football at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio; Steve Cardinal will play at Iona College in Westchester County; and Sam Pelham will play at the State University of New York College at Morrisville.

Iona is a Division I-AA school the rest are Division III programs.
"For the size of our school, I’m proud of the number of kids that contribute at the next level," Coach Sapienza said.

The four graduating seniors will join college sophomores-to-be P.J. Hognestad, Nick Duncan, and Andy Catellier and junior-to-be Corey Glath as college football players.

Catellier plays at Union College; Duncan at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Hognestad is at the University of Rochester; and Glath is at St. John Fisher College in the Rochester suburb of Pittsford.
"I’m pretty proud of that," Sapienza said.

There are a few factors for the success of the football program and Voorheesville kids being recruited for colleges.
"I think one of the many things," Sapienza said, "is that the kids develop a passion for it. And they understand what it takes to play at the next level. They want to keep their career going.
"It’s impressive because all of these kids are a combination of scholars and athletes," Sapienza added. They are going to great football and academic institutions. And they all did it the right way and are doing it the right way."

Sapienza also said that academics play a part in helping his players getting recruited.
"Our school district has a strong academic reputation," the coach said. "And we also put successful teams on the field. As far as the kids are concerned, I talk to them a lot about the importance of being a role model. They remember what the older kids did and they want to follow in their footsteps as well."