VOORHEESVILLE — Nick Duncan and Andy Catellier.

For the past two years and more, those names have been two of the biggest in Voorheesville sports — baseball, football, and basketball.

On the cusp of graduating and leaving Voorheesville behind for new academic and athletic adventures, they had time to reflect on what they have accomplished in their storied high-school careers, though they did it modestly.
"I think athletics is part of it," said Voorheesville Athletic Director and football coach Joseph Sapienza. "They’ve made a big impact at this school and this community as people and as citizens that will be felt for years to come. I’ve expressed that to both of them. And they kind of said it, that this is a very good athletic class.
"These two gentlemen are always willing to step up athletically and set a tone in this building," Sapienza added. "They went far to be leaders and they didn’t respond to peer pressure and were model students for coaches and teachers."
"Team goals come first," Catellier said ever so modestly. "Everything else is just extra. There are things you want to accomplish as a team."
"Team goals are always ahead. Personal goals are just topping," Duncan added.

The pair has been successful in reaching team and personal goals over the past two years. The Blackbirds reached the state semifinal basketball game with both Catellier and Duncan in the starting line-up. The school also boasts banners for a Colonial Council championship in basketball this past winter and back-to-back league titles in baseball.

Catellier and Duncan also led the Blackbirds football team to the Class C South Division title and a spot in the sectional semifinals last fall.

Their personal accomplishments are just as impressive.

Catellier was named the Class C South Division Player Of The Year after being the Blackbirds quarterback. He has been the starting quarterback since his sophomore year. He replaced his brother, Frank, who graduated when the younger Catellier was a freshman.

Duncan was named to the Class C South Division All-Star Team as a wide receiver and defensive back. He was also named to the Class C All-State Team as a wide receiver. He was named to the third team as a junior and to the second team last fall.

Catellier and Duncan were named Colonial Council all-stars in basketball. They played in the Exceptional Senior All-Star Game in football, basketball, and baseball at the end of each season.

The pair will be staying close to home to play college football. Catellier will be going to Union College in Schenectady in the fall and Duncan will be heading to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy.
"Looking back at the things I did in high school," Duncan said. "I hope in college, I have as much fun as high school in Voorheesville was.
"I’ll concentrate on football," Duncan added. "Basketball, right now, is third on my list — behind academics and football. Down the road, basketball might be an option."
"I wasn’t expecting at all to be able to play three sports," Catellier said of his college plans. "Football will take up a lot of time. You have to concentrate on one sport. It is a big commitment. Before I looked at colleges, I knew that."

Catellier will see not just Duncan’s familiar face on the RPI sideline when the two teams continue their fierce rivalry in November; his brother is a member of the RPI team as well.
"Me and my brother are already talking stuff," Catellier said. "It will be weird to see Nick on the other sideline. It’s also going to be weird not throwing to him next year. But it’s nice. There will be a lot of Voorheesville kids in one Division III football game."

Both were recruited mainly for football, which it is their first love.
"The past couple of years," Catellier said, "for me, I’ve always wanted to play college football. My brother plays and my dad coaches. I always wanted to do it."

Both said, though, that they chose their colleges because of academics.
"I felt like both fit academics and football," Catellier said.
"I also like my coaches," Duncan said.

Life-long friends

Duncan and Catellier have known each other since the second grade.
"It’s been a long time," Catellier said. "We had some good times. We’re always hanging out, playing Wiffle Ball or doing something."
"It started because of sports," Duncan said of friendship. "But it didn’t stay because of sports."

They both said that friendly competition drove then to push each other and their teammates.
"We always work hard," Catellier said. "We are just pushing ourselves and we expect good things.
"We push ourselves and that helps the team," Duncan added.

Catellier and Duncan said that, growing up, they were always on pretty successful teams growing up.
"Basketball, we’ve always been successful," Duncan said. "Baseball, we’ve not been so successful. And in football we were building to last year. It was a lot of hard work."
"In football, we had a nice program," Catellier said. "We got it back on track, winning our first sectional game and coming close against Schuylerville."

And, though they have had success in almost everything they’ve done, there are regrets.
"Basketball is the one sport I wish we did a little better in this year," Catellier said. "I wish we had got as far as the year before. The past two years in basketball have been pretty special. I wish we could’ve done more."
"This year was disappointing," Duncan added. "It would have been great to accomplish what we had the year before. It left a sour taste in our mouth."

The Blackbirds reached the state semifinals in Catellier’s and Duncan’s junior season. This past year the team was knocked out of the playoffs in the Section II semifinals.
"The expectations were high," Sapienza said. "They were at a certain level and they had to take it to a higher level."
"I can’t say that I would take anything back in any sport," Duncan said. "Not as far as we’ve gotten in the past couple of years. It’s not really a failure, more disappointment."

Not just them

But the ever-humble pair were quick to say those accomplishments were helped tremendously by their teammates.
"The thing is that we received the credit," Catellier said. "But we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish what we did without the rest of the team. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything."

Catellier and Duncan say that the success is not just limited to their sports. But this year’s senior class is very talented.
"It’s not just us," Catellier said. "This class is very athletic. The Class of 2006 has set a high standard for athletics."
"It’s not just football," Duncan said. "But soccer and volleyball all did well this year and those are not the only two but others as well. We’ve got a lot of new banners and plaques in the new gym from the past two years or so."

But there is something special about these two athletes in an era when it’s rare that high school kids play more than one or two sports.
"It’s kind of rare to see this type of athletic success in three different sports in this era of specialization," Sapienza said. "It’s great not just to be able to play them but at such a high level. And to receive, at a high level, the kind of accolades they have is amazing.
"It’s one thing to play one or two sports and excel in both, but with the time these two gentlemen put in with playing football, baseball, and basketball, and playing at the Empire State Games [basketball] and with a camp schedule is incredible. They’ve made an impact as individuals on this school and it doesn’t surprise me they are modest about it."

Duncan and Catellier understand that they have accomplished a lot of things in their young lives, and that there is more to accomplish. They know that, without strong support from parents and coaches, they wouldn’t get the recognition they have.
"Our parents have definitely made a lot of sacrifices for us," Catellier said. "I just hope I made them proud."

Catellier’s father, Don, is the head basketball coach at Voorheesville.
"It’s tough on my family," Duncan added. "I’m one of four that are in school. My brother Adam plays football and that made it easier on my family and my dad helped coach the baseball team. If one parent was not there, the other one was. They didn’t miss a lot of games"
"We’ve always had excellent coaches all the way through," Duncan added. "Coach Sap we are going to miss. I just hope my future coaches are just like the ones in high school."