VOORHEESVILLE — will be relying on a strong and experienced defense this season as it builds off last year’s success.

Last fall, the Blackbirds won their division of Class C and advanced to the sectional semifinals.
"Our strength right now is our defense," Voorheesville Coach Joe Sapienza said. "We have six starters returning on defense."

Sapienza is also impressed with the way his team has come along in the pre-season.
"We’re ahead of where I expected us to be," he said after practice on Tuesday. "The big thing is we need to see somebody else. We’ve been banging heads with each other. We’re ready to go up against somebody else for awhile."

The Blackbirds will get the chance to bang heads with another team when they scrimmage against Broadalbin-Perth and Johnstown on Saturday.
"We need to get out there and see who responds to game situations," Sapienza said after practice on Tuesday. "We’re a bit battered. The one thing with this in practice is they are very physical. They like to play physical.
"I shortened up today," Sapienza added. "I feel right now we need a couple of days to heal before Saturday."

"Ahead of the game"
"This is one of the better pre-seasons," said Tim Robinson, one of the Birds’ five captains. "No one came in out of shape. We are ahead of the game this year."

Robinson is joined by seniors Steve Cardinal, Sean Hognestad, Charlie McGrail, and junior Adam Duncan as captains.
"We know a lot on the defense," Cardinal said. "We have a lot of veterans back."
"We have more than half of our defense back," Robinson added.

The team has been working a lot on offense and getting new quarterback Jay Conde adjusted to the varsity. Conde is replacing Andy Catellier, who was a three-year starter for the Blackbirds.
"I’m pleased with the progress of the offense," Sapienza said. "We’ll be balanced. We have several guys that can run the ball."
"We have done lots of offense," Robinson said. "We’ve spent double time on offense."

Sapienza also said that the Birds will have a lot of players who can catch the ball.
"We are deep at receiver," the coach said. "As the season progresses, we’ll spread the field more and we’ll put an extra receiver out there. Jay’s taking most of the snaps and he has been real strong. He’s reading the coverages real well. We should have a very efficient offense."

The Blackbirds have three offensive linemen returning. Hognestad will be at center, McGrail will man one of the tackle spots, and Cardinal will be at one of the guard positions.
"There won’t be a defensive front that will get them rattled," Sapienza said. "They will pick stuff up. We have nice experience in key spots. We have key people to replace. But everybody has really improved."
"Everybody knows what they are doing," Robinson said. "Everybody is stepping up."

"All the pieces"

The Blackbird players are bigger than what is typical for the Voorheesville.
"Size-wise, we’ll be a tough match," Sapienza said. "Sean Fitzmaurice and Jeff Connors are players that are not typical for us. We are not used to having a handful of guys weighing 250 or more."
"We have a lot of big people," McGrail said.

Sapienza feels that this team has all the right ingredients to make for a great season.
"We have all the pieces," he said. "They are all there. It’s just putting it together and staying healthy."

Sapienza has 25 players to work with, which doesn’t give him a lot of depth. He has players learning two or three different positions.
"One thing that I want to do in preseason is be three deep at every spot," Sapienza said. "We only have 25 kids so somebody has to learn to do a couple of things. I’ve had years that I’ve been one deep or two deep so I’ve not had a whole heck a lot of help if someone gets hurt. We have a lot of guys that want to earn playing time."
"Family"

As the first game of the season approaches, the Blackbirds have gelled as a team.
"We’ve become a family," Hognestad said.

The Blackbirds start the season on Sept. 2 at home against Catholic Central High School. They then travel to Schuylerville the following week.

Voorheesville then hosts division rival Watervliet on Sept. 16 and then travels to Chatham for a Thursday-night game. The Birds host Coxsackie-Athens before wrapping up the regular season with contests at Tamarac, and Canajoharie.
"We want to win every game we play," Robinson said. "There is no reason we shouldn’t win the section."

Class C has been split into three divisions. The Birds share a division with Watervliet, Chatham, Coxsackie, Tamarac and Canajoharie.
"There is a lot of balance," Sapienza said. "No one is head and shoulders above anyone. The schools know each other so you expect it to be tough."

The Birds will try to knock off defending Class C champion Schuylerville and perennial power Cambridge returns to Class C after playing in Class D the past couple of years.
"I like it like that," Sapienza said. "Some years there is a standout team but this makes it more fun. Class C has elevated its programs. I don’t see an easy game on the schedule."