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Welcome to the Official Home of the Starpoint Spartans Football Team
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ROBINSON IS NOMINATED FOR THE CONNONLY CUP
NEWFANE SLIDESHOW
STARPOINT FINISHES STRONG, RUNS OVER NEWFANE 43-0
November 1, 2009
43 0
The Starpoint Spartans' offense finally found the rhythm that it needed on Saturday as they scored on five consecutive drives in windy conditions at Newfane. Tyler Robinson, who rushed for 123 yards on 10 carries, scored on the Spartans’ second play from scrimmage in the non-league win over their former Class B North rivals. It was the third consecutive win for Starpoint (3-6 overall).
Denver Kopp, who led the defense with 6 tackles and a 2 and a half sacks, caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Brandon Wehrmeyer (3-for-4 passing, 50 yards, TD), while Cory Regnet had a pair of rushing touchdowns. Tyler Smith and Mike McMahon also scored on the ground in the win. Connor O’Brien kicked a 35-yard field goal.
Defensively, Dave Phillips had seven tackles and Dom Scarpine recovered a fumble. Newfane, which never crossed midfield against the Spartans, finishes the year 1-8 with its lone victory coming over winless Tonawanda.
NONLEAGUE
Starpoint 43, Newfane 0
Starpoint 20-14- 3-6 -- 43
Newfane 0- 0-0- 0 -- 0
S: Robinson 45 run (O'Brien kick)
S: Kopp 19 pass from Wehrmeyer (O'Brien kick)
S: Smith 2 run (kick failed)
S: Regnet 2 run (O'Brien kick)
S: Regnet 9 run (O'Brien kick)
S: FG O'Brien 35
S: McMahon 10 run (kick failed
KENMORE EAST SLIDESHOW
STARPOINT RUNS OVER KENMORE EAST 15-8
15 8
Tyler Robinson scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to help the Spartans secure their second consecutive win in non-league action. Robinson finished with a career-high 202 yards on 22 carries. Over 150 of those yards came in the second half.
Cory Regnet had a good all-around game for the Spartans (2-6), rushing for 24 yards, catching two balls for 25 yards and returning a punt 33 yards to set up their first score. Placekicker Connor O’Brien had a pair of touchbacks and an extra point.
Defensively for Starpoint, Tyler Smith and Denver Kopp had eight tackles, D.J. McAninch added six stops and Jake Wray had five tackles. Matt Doyle added an interception.
Pat Tuttle scored for East (0-8), which was held to 137 yards of total offense.
WILLIAMSVILLE EAST SLIDE SHOW
STARPOINT'S DEFENSE DOMINATES THE FLAMES 19-0
October 19, 2009
19 0
HS FOOTBALL: Spartans get in the win column By Nate Beutel
Niagara Gazette
PENDLETON — Dave Phillips fulfilled a lineman’s dream Saturday.
The senior scooped up a loose ball in the end zone for his first career touchdown to help Starpoint to a 19-0 Class A win over visiting Williamsville East at Shirley Tudor Stadium. Phillips’ score came courtesy of a botched punt snap midway through the second quarter.
“You can’t ask for anything better than that,” a smiling Phillips said. “I just saw it bouncing around and beelined right to it. You never expect something like that. It feels great.”
That play was just one of many great defensive efforts for the Spartans, who earned their first win of the year in both teams’ regular season finale.
“Our defense played very well,” veteran Starpoint coach Al Cavagnaro said while crediting defensive coordinator Shawn Latini. “They came up and made big play after big play. I’m very proud of them because they have continued to put in the work even though we’ve struggled.”
East (2-5 overall, 1-5 Class A) never got in the red zone and amassed only 183 yards of total offense. Quarterback Matt Mackintosh completed only five passes and threw three interceptions.
Defensively for Starpoint (1-6, 1-5), Tyler Smith had 11 tackles, Matt Doyle had 10 stops and an interception, Joe Miller added six tackles and Tyler Robinson chipped in with five stops.
“We were kicking their butt all game on defense,” Phillips said. “Everyone was going to the ball. It was a great team effort.”
Nursing a slim 6-0 lead late in the third quarter, Starpoint went on a nine-play drive that ended with fullback Josh Elizalde barreling into the end zone from 33 yards out after hauling in a screen pass from sophomore signal caller Branden Wehrmeyer (6-for-14 passing, 59 yards, TD, two INTs).
Late in the fourth quarter, Regnet returned an interception 17 yards to put the game away. The sophomore had two picks on the day.
“I’m very happy for my seniors,” Cavagnaro said. “The 13 of them have not allowed us to quit and we finally put it together. Hopefully this win helps our confidence for the final two games.”
The Spartans will likely have a date with former Class B rival Newfane on Saturday, while East will likely play Springville. Flames coach Joe Shifflet, the former Tonawanda and Niagara Falls coach, is one win shy of 200 for his career.
Contact reporter Nate Beutel at 282-2311, ext. 2262.
DEREK BONGIOVANNI STORY
October 19, 2009
CRUNCH FEATURE 6: Bongi helping Spartans stay afloat By Nate Beutel
Niagara Gazette
Losing isn’t easy. Especially when it comes in bunches.
But it’s how you respond that defines you. And Derek Bongiovanni has responded about the best any high school senior could to an 0-5 record.
“He’s probably the main reason we haven’t fallen off the face of the Earth,” veteran Starpoint coach Al Cavagnaro said of his senior captain.
Bongiovanni has faced some hard knocks before though. As a sophomore he played quarterback for the JV, despite not having a liking for the position. Needless to say, it didn’t go well.
“I wasn’t comfortable, but the coaches needed me there, so I did it,” Bongiovanni said. “I struggled. We struggled as a team, too.”
The following year Bongiovanni found himself on the varsity, which already had a proven signal caller in three-year starter Joe Scibilia. That gave Bongiovanni the opportunity to move to receiver, a spot he had longed to play.
“I’ve always had a passion for receiver,” he said. “Even when I was younger, my favorite players in the NFL were receivers.”
Bongiovanni immediately found success at the position, quickly becoming Scibilia’s top target. By season’s end he picked up second team all-Class A and CRUNCH honorable mention honors.
“You could see in his eyes how much more relaxed he was at receiver,” Cavagnaro said. “He really blossomed late last year.”
His development continued into the offseason as he began to strike up a relationship with sophomore quarterback Branden Wehrmeyer. Cavagnaro said Bongiovanni had a great Buffalo Bills passing league, building his confidence up even more.
And even though the Spartans’ offense has struggled this fall, Bongiovanni has made a profound impact. The 6-foot-2 wideout is the team’s leading receiver and perhaps most notably has made several highlight-worthy catches, Cavagnaro said.
“Every ball thrown to him he catches,” the coach added. “He makes a bad ball look good. He’s right up there with the best guys in our league. And every catch he makes seems to be a big one.”
“I actually think I’m better at catching those crazy balls than the ones thrown right at me,” Bongiovanni said with a laugh.
For Starpoint to get in the win column over the next two or three weeks, Bongiovanni will likely have to come up with a fair share of those type of grabs.
“Whatever it takes, I just want to win,” Bongiovanni said. “We’re due for one.”
Bongiovanni said he plans to major in aerospace engineering next fall. He is unsure of his gridiron future.
Contact reporter Nate Beutel at 282-2311, ext. 2262.
“I actually think I’m better at catching those crazy balls than the ones thrown right at me.”
DEREK BONGIOVANNI
• SCHOOL: Starpoint
• GRADE: Senior
• POSITION: Wide receiver
• STAT: Leads team in receptions
• ACCOLADES: CRUNCH honorable mention last fall… second team all-Class A receiver last year… team captain.
• COACH’S QUOTE: “He’s probably the main reason we haven’t fallen off the face of the earth.”
— Al Cavagnaro
NEW YORK'S # 1 CLASS "A" TEAM ROLLS THE SPARTANS 52-0
 52 0
BILLIES BULLY THE SPARTANS 28-0
 28 0
Joe Licata was 19-of-32 passing for 284 yards and four touchdowns as Williamsville South rolled to the Class A win. Marc Coppola caught two of Licata’s passing scores, including a 30-yarder in the first quarter and a 33-yarder in the third. Coppola finished with 106 yards receiving for South (5-0 overall, 4-0 Class A).
Leading the way for Starpoint (0-5, 0-4) was running back Tyler Smith, who filled in for an injured Brandon Kopp and picked up 52 yards on 14 carries.
Quarterback Brenden Wehrmeyer was 9-of-20 for 65 yards and Matt Doyle completed the lone pass he threw for a 63-yard gain to Cory Regnet.
Denver Kopp led the Spartan defense with nine tackles and Dalton Maska had a fumble recovery.
Mark Coppola had four catches for 105 yards and two TDs. Allen Knight has 13 carries for 59 yards. LB Buddy Ammerman had eight tackles and DL Charlie Munschauer added six tackles and two sacks.
LAKE SHORE SLIDESHOW
LAKE SHORE TAKES ADVANTAGE OF SPARTAN ERRORS
September 26, 2009
 18 7
The Spartans had their share of offensive breakdowns while dropping to 0-4 overall and 0-3 in Class A. Brandon Kopp scored Starpoint’s only touchdown on a 4-yard run in the third quarter. He finished the day with 72 yards on 19 carries. Branden Wehrmeyer was 7-of-12 passing for 65 yards. He also fumbled once and had an interception taken back 38 yards by the Eagles’ Tom Fritz.
Denver Kopp led the Spartans defense with 14 tackles. Victor Schul added nine and Derek Bongiovanni had an interception. For Lake Shore (2-2, 2-2), Pat Gilman returned a kick 90 yards for a touchdown and had a 15-yard TD run. The game was played on Hamburg’s renovated Howe Field while Lake Shore’s field undergoes renovations.
IROQUOIS SLIDE SHOW
CHIEFS GROUND AND POUND, BEAT THE SPARTANS 22-7
September 19, 2009
 22 7 Spartans Finally Succumb To Iroquois
By Tim Schmitt
Niagara Gazette
Iroquois football coach Frank Payne knows his team lives for the spotlight. In the natural sunlight, though, it takes a while for the Chiefs to get their legs warmed up.
After a number of early turnovers and mistakes, the Chiefs finally rallied behind Jim Kloc’s two touchdown runs to put away Starpoint, 22-7, in a Class A contest at Tudor Field.
“We had a great atmosphere over at Iroquois with Friday night lights, fireworks and 4,000 people,” Payne said. “It’s almost an advantage if you don’t have lights. Then we came here and it was kind of like a practice. I told the kids that, but we still came out flat.”
But give the green Spartans their due. When Iroquois fumbled the opening kickoff, Starpoint (0-3) rallied before the home crowd to draw first blood.
Brandon Kopp got in the end zone from eight yards away, and the Spartans got a lead they’d hold into the fourth quarter against one of Section VI’s top teams.
Not bad for a team that sports a lineup of mostly juniors and sophomore, including starting quarterback Brandon Werhmeyer, who’s in 10th grade.
“We’re not writing this season off by any means,” Starpoint coach Al Cavagnaro said. “But we know that we’re young and to play a team like that the way did, we’re really happy to see it. They’re a good football team.”
The Spartans kept the lead by dodging a pair of bullets in the third quarter and when a 68-yard touchdown by Calvin Sluberski got called back on holding. The very next play — a third and 39 — saw Iroquois’ Chris Evans sneak behind all the Starpoint defenders, but a long pass from quarterback Brandon Souder slipped through Evans’ hands.
“I felt like we were snakebitten for a little while,” Payne admitted.
The Chiefs finally broke the goose egg on the first play of the fourth quarter as Evans again found himself alone, and this time Souder’s pass connected for a 24-yard score. The Spartans were flagged for a late hit on Souder, and Iroquois (3-0) accepted the penalty on the conversion. Sluberski, a running back, lined up under center and sprinted right. It appeared he’d be bottled up by the Starpoint defense, but the senior back snuck around the outside for the go-ahead conversion.
On the ensuing drive, Starpoint pulled its gutsiest move of the day, but it didn’t work out in their favor. On fourth and six from their own 37, the Spartans tried a fake punt, but Matt Doyle was stopped just inches from a first down.
“It’s a choice I’d try again,” Cavagnaro said. “It’s up to (Doyle) to read what he has, and I thought it was a good call. Our defense was playing well, and the offense was having trouble moving the ball. You have to take some chances in those situations.”
After the teams swapped possessions, Kroc finally broke free for a score, spinning out of a number of tackles for a 33-yard TD that gave the visitors some insurance.
“They just slipped right off me,” said Kroc, who finished with 199 yards on 24 carries. “There’s nothing I can really say about that run. I just kept running.”
Contact sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.
LOCKPORT SLIDESHOW
September 15, 2009
RIVALRY YEAR 2 LOCKPORT 36 STARPOINT 7
 36 7
Fluellen leads LHS past Starpoint By John D'Onofrio
Niagara Gazette
LOCKPORT — With 254 rushing yards and three touchdowns, you’d think Lockport senior tailback David Fluellen was the star of Saturday’s 36-7 “rivalry” victory over visiting Starpoint in the CRUNCH Game of the Week.
But that just wouldn’t be fair to the blue and gold defense.
The Lions’ aggressive “D” racked up big plays throughout, including two second-half interception returns for scores as head coach Greg Bronson’s team improved to 1-1 overall in 2009 after opening with two non-league contests.
Better yet for die hard high school football fans in Lockport and Pendleton, it evened the newly-created “rivalry series” between the neighboring school districts at 1-1.
It was deja vu again, with the winner dominating their opponent throughout and winning by 30-plus points — wait, that was last year when the Spartans routed the Lions, 38-6, at Shirley Tudor Stadium in Pendleton in their historic first meeting.
Fluellen, who continues to near his brother Jhamal Fluellen’s all-time Lockport rushing record of 3,591 yards, was contained for the most part on Saturday by a hard-hitting Spartans defense led by senior Tyler Smith (8 tackles), but still managed to top 3,000 yards in his high school career.
“Flu” took advantage of limited opportunities for big plays and scampered in on long touchdown runs of 65, 46 and 72 yards at sunny Max D. Lederer Field. With 439 yards in the first two games of 2009, Fluellen now has 3,075 career yards, leaving him 250 behind Randy Smith (3,425) and 416 in back of his older sibling.
The home team led 15-0 at halftime and Flu scored his third TD of the game five minutes into the third quarter to give Lockport a 22-0 lead. Meanwhile the Lions’ defense, led by senior middle linebacker Luke Rankie’s 11 tackles, was busy holding garnet and gray to 14 yards on the ground in the first half and 79 overall.
The Spartans put together their best offensive series of the game early in the fourth quarter, marching 54 yards on 11 plays, capped by sophomore Cory Regnet’s 1-yard TD run.
“We played hard. I don’t think the score reflects how well we played,” said Spartans senior co-captain Derek Bongiovanni.
“I thought our defense played better this week and the offensive line opened up some nice holes. We’re getting better.”
Lockport’s defense put the game away as Rankie intercepted a pass from Spartans sophomore quarterback Branden Wehrmeyer and returned it 15 yards for a score. Senior defensive back Jake Chenez (nine tackles, 2-point conversion run) stepped in front of a Wehrmeyer pass and returned it 80 yards for the game’s final touchdown.
“They were killing us all day with the slant pass,” Rankie said.
“I finally played it right and had an interception and knocked down a few passes.”
Despite the picks, which came later in the game with the Lions ahead comfortably, Wehrmeyer played well and showed that he possesses a tremendous arm and passing touch, completing 14 of his first 15 passes and finishing 16-of-24 for 121 yards.
Senior Thurman Harden (seven tackles) recorded two sacks and senior linebacker Sean Mulvey (eight tackles) added one for Lockport, which will open its Section VI Class AA slate at 2 p.m. this coming Saturday against visiting Niagara-Wheatfield.
“We watched a lot of film on Starpoint and it helped knowing what they would come against us with. All 11 guys played well and tackled well,” Mulvey said.
The Spartans (0-2 overall,) will host Iroquois in a Class A tilt at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Lions senior kicker/punter Brian Orzechowski cashed in on three-of-three extra point attempts and punted the ball effectively throughout, including one inside the Spartans’ 10.
“Our kids were kind of surprised that they hung in with us for as long as they did. They thought it might be easier, but it wasn’t, which is a credit to the Starpoint program, their coaching staff and their players,” said Lions head coach Greg Bronson.
“We made some adjustments at halftime. We knew they liked going to the bootleg play that hurt us last year, so we brought pressure in from the sides. They were hurting us with the slant pass as well, so we also made some adjustments on that.”
GAME NOTES —A moment of silence was observed before the game for former Starpoint football assistant coach Bob Boudeman, who passed away shortly after the first Lockport-Starpoint contest last year ... Saturday’s game was broadcast by Lockport WLVL Radio, with Norm and Becky Palmer calling the action; as well as Lockport Community Television with play-by-play announcers Danny Sheehan and Jim Slowey ... Assisting this reporter on the sideline was spotter, Randy Butler, a former LHS and Lockport Invaders football great.
SPARTANS LOSE OPENER TO WEST SENECA EAST TROJANS 14-0
September 5, 2009
 14 0 The changing of the guard stumbled a bit to get out of the gate. With the graduation of the school's all-time leading rusher, passer and receiver, Starpoint's offense sputtered and twice left the field after stalling on the one-yard line with no points. The offense was led by Derek Bongiovanni who had 4 receptions for 82 yards. Branden Wehrmeyer was 9 for 16 for 120 yards in his varsity debut at quarterback. Sophomore tailback Cory Regnet was held to 37 yards on 17 carries as the running game couldn't get in track.
Varsity Football All-Time Records
Starpoint Spartans All-Time Records
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