SOUTHERN TIER SPORTS REPORT: ELMIRA'S WOODARD HEADLINES DYNAMIC DOZEN ALL-STSR TEAM; ELMIRA, CORNING, HORSEHEADS, ND, EDISON, CORNING CHRISTIAN ALL REPRESENTED ON TEAM (2023-03-19)

By Brian Fees
Southern Tier Sports Report
The boys’ basketball season is in the books, and the area had a pair of sectional champions.

With two sectional champions it was hard to narrow down the list of deserving players. We have a Terrific Thirteen that make up the All-Southern Tier Sports Report team, headlined by Elmira junior Chris Woodard.

Woodard was a dominant force in the paint for the Express this year, averaging a double-double. He put up 16.1 points a game and 10 rebounds a contest. He added two assists, two deflections and two steals per game.

He had some of his biggest games down the stretch as Elmira finished the season 8-2 to make sectionals, and then went on and won the sectional titles.

In early February he had a 25 point, 10 board double-double against Binghamton and then 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in the game that clinched a sectional spot for the Express.

He had a 28 points, 13 rebound game against Pennsylvania power Bishop McDevitt in the Josh Palmer Fund Holiday Classic.

He had 18 in the sectional semifinal win over Ithaca and 19 in the sectional final win over Corning.

Woodard’s teammate Anthony Kitching is the defensive player of the year. He was inserted into the starting lineup over the last 10 games and helped the Express go 8-2 in those games as they made it into sectionals, then won the Section 4, Class AA final.

He was the Section IV, BCANY Class AA co-player of the year.

He averaged 10 rebounds a game and eight points a game and he had a plus/minus of plus 5.2 over that run. The teams only two losses the final 10 games were in the regional semifinals by a point to Newburgh and to Jamestown, who was a Final Four team a year ago.

The team went from giving up 72 points a game before he went into the starting lineup to allowing 55 after he came into the lineup.

The offensive player of the year is Jeremy Truax of Horseheads. He was a BCANY Section IV first-team all-star. He averaged 17 points a game for Horseheads and had some of his biggest games in the biggest moment.

He had 25 in a win over Corning and 20, with 17 in the second half, in a win over Elmira.

In the sectional final he had 26 points to lead the Blue Raiders past Johnson City, 18 of those points came in the second half.

The newcomer of the year is Jeremiah Parker of Notre Dame. The Crusaders junior led all area scorers at over 20 points a game. He was one of the top scorers in the section despite having opposing teams key on him throughout games.

The coach of the year is Jeff Limoncelli of Horseheads. He helped guide the Blue Raiders to two big wins in the sectional playoffs, topping last year’s STAC champions Union-Endicott, and then rallying past Johnson City in the final.

The hustle player of the year is Kobe Thomas of Elmira.

Kobe Thomas is one of the best, if not the best young men to ever come through our program,” Elmira coach Ryan Johnson said. “Just an outstanding young man. Doesn’t get better than him when you look for kids to represent your program and wear your uniform. He was a player that led by example on the court and was always taking a charge, or fighting for every loose ball.

A new award is the ultimate competitor award for a player that gives everything they have at all times on the court. The winner of that award is Corning’s Logan Booker.

He’s a 6-foot post player, who often had to guard other teams power forwards and even centers in the paint. Would often match up with players six inches taller than him and be able to contain them on defense, and then score in the paint, or from the perimeter.

Booker averaged 17 points and 8.4 rebounds a game, along with 2.3 steals a game, he shot 60% from the floor on the season.

The Terrific Thirteen all-star team includes Woodard, Kitching, Truax, Parker and Booker along with Amauri Truax of Horseheads.

The first-team includes Jackson Casey, Reed Walrath and seventh-grader Nolyn Proudfoot of Corning. Any other year Proudfoot would have been newcomer of the year, but in a season with two standout newcomers with Proudfoot and Parker, you end up with two newcomers among the best 12 players in the area.

The other players on the Dynamic Dozen list are Elmira’s Tyre Daniel and James Harris, Alex Daugherty of Horseheads and Tyrus Peters of Corning Christian Academy.

There is a five-to-watch list of players to keep an eye on for next year. This list doesn’t include players who are already all-stars, but rather players who could find themselves on the list next season.

Louie McHenry of Elmira is a dynamic guard who could be one of the top guards next season. He had some big moments for Elmira this year and could take on an even bigger role next season.

Freshman Finn Schweitzer of Notre Dame had a big season in the paint for the Crusaders and could be one of the best post players in the league next season.

Jack Fesetch of Horseheads was one of the best shooters in the league as a sophomore and he could take things to an even higher level next season.

Drew Slaven of Edison played some of his best games down the stretch for the Spartans, including 15 in a late-season game against Whitney Point.

Caleb Anderson of Corning is a player with a lot of size, but can also step out and hit a three. He had a big three late to keep Corning in the sectional final. He could take on a big role next season.

The defensive team is led by defensive player of the year Kitching. The other members of the team are Jackson Cook of Horseheads, Dashawn Thompkins of Notre Dame, Da’mon Jackson of Elmira and George Smith of Edison, who all played key roles in anchoring their teams defenses this year.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Chris Woodard, Elmira
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jeremy Truax, Horseheads
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Anthony Kitching, Elmira
ULTIMATE COMPETITOR AWARD: Logan Booker, Corning
HUSTLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kobe Thomas, Elmira
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Jeremiah Parker, ND
COACH OF THE YEAR: Jeff Limoncelli, Horseheads

TERRIFIC THIRTEEN
PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
CHRIS WOODARD, ELMIRA, JR.
A dominant force in the paint for the Express this year. 16.1 ppg, 10 rebs., 2 assists, 2 deflections, 2 steals per game. Helped lead Elmira to the sectional championship in Class AA.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Anthony Kitching, Elmira, So.
We inserted him into the starting line up over the last 10 games and we went 8-2 with a sectional title. He averaged just over 10 rebounds a game, averaged 8 points per game, and had a +/- of +5.2 during our run. What he brought defensively led us to that record through 10 games (2 loses were to Jamestown and Newburgh), we went from giving up 72 per contest to 55 per game after he was put into the starting lineup. He guarded the best guy on the opposing team and did all the intangibles that deserve this award (hustle, diving on the floor, energy, effort, etc.) Sectional Champion!

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JEREMY TRUAX, HORSEHEADS, JR.
A first-team all-BCANY Section 4 all-star. Helped lead the Horseheads Blue Raiders to a Class A sectional title. Averaged 17 points a game for the Blue Raiders this year. Only failed to reach double figures in two games, and one of them was a game Horseheads won big where the starters didn’t play in the second half. He had some of his biggest games in the biggest moments. Had 26 points, 18 in the second half, in the sectional final. Had 25 points in a win over Corning and 20, 17 in the second half, in a win over Elmira, who won the Class AA sectional title.

AMAURI TRUAX, HORSEHEADS, SR.
A second-team all-BCANY Section 4 all-star. Helped lead the Horseheads Blue Raiders to a Class A sectional title. Averaged 15 points a game this year. Had 35 points in the two sectional games as the Blue Raiders won the sectional title. Had a season-high 31 points in a win over Bishop Kearney. Scored 57 points in the two games at the Bishop Kearney tournament.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
JEREMIAH PARKER, ND, JR.
Averaged 20 points a game in his first season for the Crusaders. Was one of the best scorers in the region despite teams keying on him defensively.

ULTIMATE COMPETITOR
Logan Booker - 12th Grade, Guard/Forward - 17 points per game, 8.4 rebounds per game, 2.3 steals per game, shot 111 for 184 = 60% from the Field, scored 276 points on the season, 134 rebounds on the season, 37 steals on the season, 32 deflections on the season, drew 6 charges on the season, was just named BCANY Section IV 1st Team.  He’s a 6-foot post player, who often had to guard other teams power forwards and even centers in the paint. Would often match up with players six inches taller than him and be able to contain them on defense, and then score in the paint, or from the perimeter.

Jackson Casey - 12th Grade, Point Guard - 10.5 points per game, 8.4 assists per game to lead the area in assists, 4.2 rebounds per game, scored 168 points on the season, had 67 rebounds on the season, 134 assists on the season, 23 deflections on the season, 18 steals on the season, drew 6 charges on the season, was just named BCANY Section IV 1st Team

Reed Walrath - 12th Grade, Forward - 9.2 ppg, 9.4 rpg, was 65 for 120 = 54% from the field on the season, scored 147 points on the season, had 150 rebounds on the season, 19 deflections on the season, 14 blocks on the season.

Nolyn Proudfoot - 7th Grade, Guard - 11.4 ppg, was 43 for 132 = 33% from 3 pt, was an 83% FT shooter on the season, scored 183 points on the season, had 22 deflections on the season, 17 steals on the season and drew 4 charges.

James Harris, Elmira
 nearly 30% from the 3-point line, 80% from the FT line, just under 10 pts. per contest and 4 rebs. Another guy who was asked to do a lot defensively and was the target of the opposing team to try and shut him down due to his sharp shooting. Showed a ton of poise, confidence, and maturation from his 9th grade to 10th grade year.

Tyre Daniel, Elmira
Elmira’s leader on the floor at PG. Stats don't do his value to our team justice. Defended the ball very well and disrupted offensive flow from opposing teams. He took charges and rebounded well from the guard position. He was our facilitator on offense, scored 8.6 pts. per game and shot 31% from 3. What coach Ryan Johnson loved most about Ty was his attentiveness in practice and film, and he brought it every day in practice.

Alex Daugherty, Horseheads, Jr.

OTHER AWARD WINNERS
HUSTLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kobe Thomas is one of the best, if not the best young men to ever come through our program,” Elmira coach Ryan Johnson said. “Just an outstanding young man. Doesn’t get better than him when you look for kids to represent your program and wear your uniform. He was a player that led by example on the court and was always taking a charge, or fighting for every loose ball.

FIVE TO WATCH
Louie McHenry, Elmira, Jr.
Finn Schweitzer, Notre Dame
Drew Slaven, Edison
Jack Fesetch, Horseheads
Caleb Anderson, Corning

DEFENSIVE TEAM
Anthony Kitching, Elmira
Jackson Cook, Horseheads
Dashwn Thompkins, Notre Dame
Da’mon Jackson, Elmira
George Smith, Edison
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PHOTOS BY BRIAN FEES