Homecoming can't come soon enough at Troy High

Friday night was spent channel flipping between Mets-Yankees and a high school football game between Troy High & Amsterdam. Which game do you think had me cringing more before it was over? If you said the Mets, you'd be wrong.

Troy High welcomed back QB John Germinerio after he sat out last week's 54-0 demolition of Scotia to rest an injured ankle. It was assumed he was 100% ready to go, and for the first half, he was. Troy jumped out to a 26-0 lead at half time, most of it thanks to Damani Soares, who accumulated nearly 300 yards in total offense all by himself, 271 on the ground, with 2 TD's. However, when Germinerio was tackled on one play, he reaggravated the ankle injury sustained vs. Queensbury 2 weeks ago. Common sense would suggest that he would sit out the remainder of the game and be ready for the 2-game homestand coming vs. Bishop Maginn & Averill Park.

Unfortunately, common sense is not familiar with John Germinerio. He thinks he can be Joe Namath, Willis Reed, and Kirk Gibson rolled into one, and while RB/PK/DB Nick Pastore would take a few snaps at QB (he played QB last week), Germinerio insisted on going back in to gut it out. I get that he's a gamer, but another brutal hit, and perhaps that ankle ends up broken, ending his season prematurely. Coach Bob Burns needed to err on the side of caution, but instead listened to his star QB, and it nearly cost him the game.

On his first play from scrimmage after the injury, Germinerio botched the handoff to Soares. Amsterdam, which had just scored late in the 3rd quarter, pounced on the recovery. A couple of minutes into the 4th quarter, the Rams trimmed the lead to 26-14 as Bryan Stanovich scored his 2nd TD of the game. Stanovich would later throw a TD pass on the halfback option, creating the final score at 26-21, Troy. Amsterdam dips to 0-3, while Troy escapes and returns home 3-0, but at what cost?

If I'm Coach Burns and/or AD Paul Reinisch, I'd sit down with Germinerio ASAP, and try to convince him to sit out Homecoming next week vs. Bishop Maginn (0-3), or at least let either Pastore or Joe Casale start at QB, then come in for mop-up duty if Troy runs out to a big lead again. It's one thing to be a hero, it's one thing to have the courage to overcome injury, but it's another thing altogether if you're putting your team in jeopardy, as Germinerio did. I'm going to be at THS for the next two games, so I'll see for myself what happens next.