TRENCH TROPHY FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

Along with the Connolly Cup, the Trench Trophy is one of the two highest individual honors a high school football player can have bestowed upon him in Western New York.

The 12 finalists for the area’s best senior lineman were revealed last week and as usual, there were a bevy of talented players to choose from for the 21st edition of the award, according to the trophy’s selection committee (which is made up of roughly 40 voters).

“This year’s class is one of the deepest classes we’ve had in a long time,” committee member Ed Sierra said. “We ended up with about 62 nominees, we break it down into our top 24 and then we vote on that to get it down to 12.”

The things that are considered when voting on the award in addition to performance on the field are a player’s character, their schoolwork, practice habits and leadership qualities.

“We watch how guys play and how their character is, how they help their teammates up and things like that,” committee member Rick Coburn said. “The things we look at are the kind of guys who really enjoy the game, give all of their effort and really want to be role models and team leaders from a trench position that doesn’t always get recognized.”

Former Lancaster coach and athletic director Len Jankiewicz also contributes by contacting every coach in Section VI asking for their offensive line coach’s input on who should be nominated.

The finalists, in alphabetical order, are:

Cole Cammarata (Sweet Home)

Jeremiah Guerrero (St. Joe’s)

Owen Haffa (Lancaster)

Michael Harris (St. Francis)

Sam Ikegwuonu (Lackawanna)

Limmie Johnson-Bates (McKinley)

Warrick Kyler (Salamanca)

Rylan Lavery (Pioneer)

Manny Parker (South Park)

Tommy Pratton (Jamestown)

Kolten Rhoades (CSP)

Ty Richardson (Pioneer)

Hosted by WGR 550 radio personality Sal Capaccio, the banquet recognizing the winner of the Trench Trophy will be held on December 5 at the Grapevine Banquets on Dick Road in Depew. Tickets are available for purchase at trenchtrophy.com.