Section V football coaches in new places

Welcome to the latest edition of the Varsity Voices newsletter about high school sports in Section V.

Democrat and Chronicle reporters Justin Ritzel, Marquel Slaughter and James Johnson put together notes and thoughts about what is happening in the Rochester region of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association.

Section V football coaches in new places

Victor Davidson was announced as the Eastridge Lancers' new football coach Friday, March 22. That same weekend he ran a "QB 101" spring workout with the Eastridge junior varsity and varsity quarterbacks, including current juniors Elijah Harris and Benny Calixto IV.

Davidson replaces Chad Green, who coached Eastridge in the fall after taking seven years off. Davidson coached at Wilson in 2023. It was his first head coaching position after many years as a UPrep assistant, winning the program's first Section V title in the fall 2021 season.

Jasson Jobson, who previously coached his sixth season at Eastridge in 2022, will be Webster Thomas' head coach. Jobson graduated from Webster. He is currently an assistant lacrosse coach and physical education teacher at Thomas. Jobson replaces Scott Deuschle, who won 100 games as Webster Thomas' only football coach for 22 years.

Flag football reach in New York State

We must wait to get a better idea of how much high school girls flag football has spread across the state.

How many athletes are playing the sport this spring in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, including Section V, still needs to be counted. Jen Lapinski, Section V's and a co-NYSPHSAA coordinator of the sport, said there are 31 teams in Section V, up from 18 in 2023.

There is confirmation that there are teams in 10 of the 11 sections. Here are participation numbers collected by the NYSPHSAA for 2022-23:

• Players: 3,336 all levels in the state, 29 junior varsity, 3 freshmen, 3 modified.
• Teams: 143, including 3 junior varsity, 1 for freshmen and 1 modified.

"It's awesome," Section V executive director Kathy Hoyt said about the sport's growth. "Some sections are just joining for the first time this year.

"We are already aware of schools that want teams next year."

Baseball championships at stadiums

There should be plenty of space for the celebrations when it comes time to crown Section V's baseball champions this spring.

All seven championship games May 24-25 are in stadiums.

Innovative Field, home of the Rochester Red Wings professional minor league ballclub near the city's downtown, is the site of five tournament finals. The Class AAA, AA and A championship games are locked in at the former Frontier Field.

Class B, Class C1, Class C2 and Class D championship games could take place at Innovative Field, Dwyer Stadium in Batavia or Colburn Park in Newark. The sites of the four games depends on which teams advance to the finals, since Batavia is west of Rochester and Newark east.

Dwyer Stadium in Genesee County was the home of a New York-Penn League team affiliated with a major league baseball organization for decades. The Batavia Muckdogs are now a team in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.

Minor league and college teams have also played at Colburn Park in Wayne County. The Newark Pilots are original members of the PGCBL.