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Friday Night Lights

High school football preview: Altmar-Parish-Williamstown

Lucy Naland | Senior Design Editor

Jonathan Comstock quarterbacked Altmar-Parish-Williamstown in the 11-man game last fall, and he’ll lead the switch to eight-man football in 2018.

By Billy HeyenSenior Staff Writer

Altmar-Parish-Williamstown struggled late in games during the 2017 season. They didn’t have depth. By the season finale, the Rebels dressed just 20 players. That was “the writing on the wall” to move from 11-man to eight-man football this season, A-P-W head coach Scott Stanard said. After a 2-6 season, the Rebels hope their added depth allows them to keep up.

Here’s The Daily Orange’s preview of Altmar-Parish-Williamstown’s first season in eight-man football.

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2017 record: 2-6 (in 11-man football, now transitioning to eight-man)

Head Coach: Scott Stanard, entering fourth season as head coach

Driving distance from SU: 32.6 miles



Notable returners:

  • Jonathan Comstock, QB, 6’1”, 185 lbs; 2017 stats: 546 yards passing, eight passing TDs, one rushing TD
  • Kody Roe, LB, 5’10”, 190 lbs; 2017 stats: 73 total tackles, 51 solo, 9 tackles per game

Opening game: Sept. 14 at Tupper Lake High School

Key Storylines:

  • The transition from 11-man football to the eight-man game
  • Maintaining fitness late in games with more backups relative to years past since less players will be on the field

What they’re saying:

  • Head coach Scott Stanard: “With the returning kids that we have, with our core coming back, we’re pretty excited about getting to compete with schools that are our size. We’re hoping each week that we can come out and put on a show and have some fun.”
  • Stanard: “Lot of outside runs. Everybody’s gonna try to get to that edge with their speedy guy because of less players.”
  • Stanard: “I can’t say whether we’re gonna come in and win a bunch or be worried that we’re gonna lose. I think it just gives us a much better level playing field going up against teams that we know are pretty much the same caliber as we are.”
  • QB Jonathan Comstock: “I think it’ll be a little different for us since we haven’t played eight-man football in a game setting before. But after the first game, I feel like we’ll shake all those jitters out, and we’ll know what we’re doing.”

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