Indian River High School celebrates first state football championship

By U.S. ArmyDecember 4, 2014

usa image
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
usa image
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Students, staff and family members of the Indian River High School, Philadelphia, applaud and congratulate their football team, who won the North Country's first state football championship Sunday, as the players parade through the school's hallways ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
usa image
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

As the Indian River High School "Warriors" football team paraded through the school with their medals around their necks Tuesday, the entire student body applauded the athletes, and Principal Troy Decker and the Indian River District Superintendent James Kettrick congratulated them on their first New York state championship game win.

They had a perfect season going into Sunday's state championship game at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, and although the game against last year's champions Queensbury High School started with a 19-point deficit, the Warriors went on to crush their opponents with a 63 to 38 final score.

The Warriors rebounded after senior defensive lineman Anthony M. DeMarco, 18, recovered a fumble and achieved the first defensive turnover of the game.

"I jumped on the ball," said DeMarco, whose stepfather, Noe Delgado, served at Fort Drum. "It felt awesome, but we didn't celebrate. The team was focused -- we knew we had to score."

Among the Warriors on the sideline was Cory D. Marsell, head coach and physical education teacher, who played fullback when he attended Indian River High School.

"It was an amazing experience," Marsell said. "I was worried, but there wasn't a look of concern on the players' faces."

Marsell said the players were resilient. Physical, emotional and mental resilience are among the many qualities that the Army values and teaches Soldiers to keep, and according to Marsell, about 75 percent of the Indian River High School football team comes from Fort Drum Families.

A common saying in the Army is "observe, adapt and overcome." Senior offensive and defensive lineman Zachery Stone, 17, had a similar mindset during the first quarter.

"We made simple mistakes, but the coaches made adjustments," Stone said. "The best part of the game is knowing that the guy next to you is working just as hard as you are. It is a brotherhood. It feels awesome to be a part of something bigger."

Shortly after the turnover, senior wide receiver Gary Ruckman, 17, who had a perfect reception record, caught a 40-yard pass, which changed the momentum of the game.

"We knew all we had to do was to stop them," Stone said. "A bunch of us play on both sides of the scrimmage line, so we played Warrior football."

Senior quarterback Densel M. Barnes, 18, who has been a part of the Fort Drum community for six years, scored the first of the team's eight touchdowns.

Junior running back Romel Washington, 16, son of Sgt. 1st Class Melanie Washington of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade Combat Team, ran for a total for 196 yards.

"We knew we could score," Romel said. "We just needed to get an opportunity to do so."

Freshman fullback and defensive back Brandon Smith, 14, and his brother, junior fullback and defensive lineman Dustin Sharrit, 16, scored one and three touchdowns respectively.

Their mother, Sgt. 1st Class Katherine Smith, of the recently inactivated Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, said she plans to remain at Fort Drum to allow her children to graduate from Indian River High School.

"I tried explaining to them how important this is; they are going to look back on this for the rest of their lives," Smith said of being part of a state championship team and a supportive community that has accepted them as their own.

One of the greatest feelings is knowing that they share this victory with the entire Indian River school district community, Stone said.

"I couldn't be prouder of our school community," Decker said. "This was years in the making. Through our multiple programs, our school has achieved many successes, and the state championship is like the capstone to those successes. Students want to be champions at whatever they do.

"They want to be the champions in class and in their extracurricular activities, and that's what's important."