THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

THE RECORD

| SPORTS | 5
C

COACH OF THE YEAR

The players may change, but Jones just keeps winning

By James Costanzo
jcostanzo
@digitalfirstmedia.com
@JamesCostanzo on Twitter

After losing their first and final

game of season -- 20-14 to
Chenango Forks in the state
championship game -- Hoosick Falls head coach Ron
Jones walked over to running back Austin Pitt and
gave him a hug.
He told me it was a hell
of a run, and it was, said
Pitt, recalling the emotional moment between
the two.
Pitt won a state championship with Jones in 2012
and the programs sixth
straight sectional title for
him on their way to another Dome appearance in
2014 and, yet, when asked
about his most memorable moment with Jones, he
talked about that hug.
Its telling, that after
one of the toughest losses
in Pitts career -- a career
filled with such incredible
highs --- that moment on
the field with Jones stands
out the most.
Its not like Jones Coach
of the Year candidacy
needs validating, really.
The wins do all the talking if you want them to.
But its stories like this
one, and many others, that
paint a more vivid picture
HOOSICK FALLS >>

Zonca
FROM PAGE 1

mer. But hes a very good

football player.
Leach backed up his
faith in Zonca over the
course of the season by allowing the senior to be a
true workhorse. In two
games against La Salle
and Colonie Zonca racked
up over 70 carries for 468
yards and five touchdowns.
I knew how talented
he was, Ive watched him
since he was in Pop Warner, said Leach.
I dont think I expected
him to shoulder the load as
much as he did. The number of carries he had, in the
La Salle game, the Colonie
game, I dont think I expected that. Hes a strong
kid. It was never an issue,
his conditioning was great.
Our offense was really centered around him and it
worked out.
Zonca worked all offseason with Bishop Maginn assistant coach and

Hackett
FROM PAGE 1

backer and tight end where

he caught 18 passes for
270 yards and three touchdowns.
Hes now also The Record Defensive Player of
the Year.
Being a linebacker you
have to have your head
on a swivel. You have to
be able to see your read,
you have to be able to see
linemen coming out to
block you. Me, in particular, you have to be the
voice of the defense, said
Hackett, who broke out as
a starting linebacker for
the Panthers in the 2012
state championship game
of all places.
That was when people
really went Wow, said
Jones. It was the first
time we really went Wow,
is he really that good? Holy
crap, he is.
In the Dome that year
against Hornell, a team on
a 51-game winning streak,
Hacketts coaches said he
really came alive, making
tackles in the backfield,
preventing big plays and
taking down a 240-pound
running back by himself,
all the while alternating
every other series at offensive line.
In that state championship game as a sophomore,
when we saw him making
plays out there, we just
knew this kid is going to
be something special, said
Panthers defensive coordinator Chris Fleming.
Both Fleming and Jones

of why Jones is the slamdunk choice for the this

seasons honor.
Just for kicks, however,
these are the numbers: 12
wins, one loss, an average
margin of victory of 28
points, 59 consecutive Section II victories, a Section
II record sixth consecutive
Class C Super Bowl victory
and the programs second
state title appearance in
three years.
Jones players love him,
but perhaps more importantly, they trust him and
believe that, no matter how
much work he requires of
them, he wouldnt be asking for naught.
Hes just good at the
way he coaches. He doesnt
ask for too much, he doesnt
ask for something you cant
do, said Pitt.
He knows you can do it
if hes going to ask you to
do it. Thats the great thing
about him. He knows your
abilities and strengths.
Racking up sectional
titles doesnt hurt Jones
case, of course, especially
with his players who can
see how much work he puts
in. They respect him for it
and, ultimately, want to
perform for him -- all the
traits of a great coach.
The amount of time he
puts in, the amount of film
he does, the camps he goes
to in the offseason, run-

MIKE MCMAHON - MMCMAHON@DIGITALFIRSTMEDIA.COM

Hoosick Falls coach Ron Jones congratulates Evan Hand after he was named defensive MVP of the Class C state
semifinal vs. Millbrook this past November.
ning the weight room in what makes us so success- puts in gives us the extra weight room. Hes built a
the offseason, he just puts ful, said Pitt.
step in winning a cham- successful program with
in so much time that thats
The amount of time he pionship. It gets us in the that.

Competitive Edge trainer

Mike Grasso to improve his
strength and agility and
says that training made
all the difference in 2014.
Lifting, like lifting seriously, actually doing all the
lifts and just working on
my speed and agility, said
Zonca about his offseason
training regimen. It just
came together in one season and really helped out.
In addition to taking the
Eagles to their first playoff
berth and six-win season
since 2001, Zonca was also
named the Class AA Liberty Division Player of the
Year.
However, Leach says
Zoncas greatest strength
isnt his ability to tear
up seven- and eight-man
boxes, its his humility.
Hes incredibly humble.
Thats the first, and most
important, thing about
him. Theres not one cent
of arrogance in him. Hes
almost giddy by all the attention hes getting, said
Leach. We announced at
our banquet that he was
the Liberty Division Player

of the Year and there was

a smile on his face a mile
wide. It was not expected
at all. I think that is his biggest trait.
Leachs compliments
arent traditional coach
speak, either. Zonca is, in
fact, one of the more humble kids youll meet. Its like
he genuinely wasnt expecting to be as good as he was.
I wasnt thinking I
wouldnt be a factor for the
team, but I didnt expect
myself to be actually what
happened, said Zonca. I
was expecting to be a good
player, but I think the off
season helped, the guys
pushing me. That helped
me become the player I was
this year.
Over the summer, Zonca
casually mentioned that
once the season was over
he thought people would
remember his name. How
does he feel about that
now?
I think people know
who am from this season,
I mean, I hope they do, he
said.
They do.

agree, Hacketts greatest talent as a linebacker

is his ability to blitz. His
instincts and timing, they
said, are impeccable. Hes
always moving, he trusts
his reads, he can change
direction and shed blocks.
Jones said Hackett is
the best blitzer hes ever
had, bar none, and Fleming agrees.
What Mark is so good
at, probably the best Ive
ever coached, is blitzing. Hes an unbelievable
blitzer and we knew early
on. Even when he was
younger we were sending him in on blitzes,
said Fleming. Every week
when we game planned we
always talked about, how
do we get Mark moving?
How to be get him blitzing in our scheme for the
week?
Hackett owns the blitzer
label, calling it his thing.
Linebacker, he says, is and
always was the perfect position for him.
Hitting people is fun.
Blitzing is always fun, too.
On the d-line you dont
have a chance to get free
but at linebacker you can
come from depth and get
momentum going. Its
probably the funnest position to play on defense,
he said.
Since taking over the
starting middle linebacker
job for good his junior year,
Fleming has given Hackett
a remarkable amount of
control over the defense,
allowing him to make
checks with the defensive
line, slanting them in different directions, recognizing offensive formations

and then making changes

on the fly.
The guys are looking
to me for leadership. I remember multiple times the
d-line asking what were in
and its just great, for me,
to be able to tell them,
said Hackett. Its fun to
then see them go and do
it. Its a great position for
control freaks.
Hackett plans to pursue
football at the Division III
level next season. He has
a few offers, but has yet
to make a decision as to
where hell attend school.
His coaches said they have
no doubt he will succeed
at the next level, while
taking time to praised his
off-the-field personality
above all.
It has been a lot of fun
coaching him because
its always light, its always fun. Hes just having a blast out there, unless youre trying to run
the ball against him, then
hes going to run into you
very hard, said Jones
with a laugh. But then
hes going to smile at you
with his big dimples, pick
you up and say, Lets go
again.
Hes just so ferocious
and physical out on the
football field that you
would never know what
an easy going, nice guy
Mark is off the football
field. He really turns into
somebody else when he
gets on the field, added
Fleming. I know hes a
good friend to his friends,
hes a good student and
he is so coachable. Its a
coachs dream to have a
kid like that.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Mack leads CCHS past Albany

TROY >> Anthony Mack
scored a season-high 32
points to lead Catholic
Central past Albany, 73-56,
Tuesday in a non-league
boys basketball game,
which served as a tuneup for the Crusaders big
games this coming weekend.
CCHS opened with a 23-7
run, but was forced to hold

off an Albany rally. The Falcons closed to within 51-46

with eight minutes remaining. The Crusaders ended
the game with a 22-10 run.
CCHS will play this weekend in Boston, meeting Benjamin Franklin on Saturday
and then taking on national
power St. Anthonys of New
Jersey in the tournaments
showcase game. St. Antho-

nys is coached by legend

Bob Hurley, who has won
more than 1,000 games, 27
New Jersey state championships and seven national
championships.
Raquis Harris scored 19
points and Brian Brooks
added 12 for CCHS. Shaliem
Caldwell scored a teamhigh 20 point and Cy-Mier
Dace added 15 for Albany.