Poochie v Colucci : A Closer Look with Mark Miller

Last Friday was a return to my alma mater, Canton South, for a match-up with AJ Sarbaugh’s Fairless Falcons. Even though Canton South was undefeated and Fairless had gotten off to a slower than normal start, we knew this was going to be a good one and it was a great one! Congrats to AJ for getting his team ready for an upset and almost pulling it off. Two excellent coaches and two teams full of good players on the banks of the Nimisillen – what more could you ask for? A lot of the pregame conversation revolved around Wildcat QB Jack “Poochie” Snyder and the finger he injured the week before. Would he play? Would he be able to throw and if so, how well? Those
questions were dispelled by Coach Matt Dennison in a midweek interview and with more emphasis when Poochie came on to the field a couple hours before the game to throw. He looked good then and played good that night.

The game was close throughout and included several big plays which are always fun for radio broadcasters to talk about. It came down to a couple onside kick attempts by Fairless that Canton South covered to retain possession of the ball. In a losing effort, Falcon QB Carson Colucci was fabulous and as always, Poochie was out of this world!

The night was made even more special for me when one of my high school receivers, Greg Williams, joined me in the endzone to play a little catch. He still has it all these years later. Side note about Greg – I consider him one of the all-time great multisport athletes at Canton South. Dominant in football, basketball and baseball he attended Syracuse University where he played alongside Art Monk, (Pro Football HOF). We thought we had Greg at BGSU and my heart was broken when my great HS friend did
not come catch passes from me. Wow, would we have been good!

To finish my thought on the best all-around athletes at Canton South. My criteria is, I had to see them play (sorry Benny Battista) and they had to play at least 3 sports. My top 5 are Ron Young, Ronnie Bourquin, Matt Trissel, Greg and Poochie Snyder. I know Poochie is still in HS but he is definitely on the
list. Let me know if I missed someone. Some our crew commented how friendly the folks at South were that night. Hey, that’s how we roll in Canton Local! Last note from last Friday at South, thanks to Poochie’s grandma