O’Mara pays tribute to Waverly HS football state champions

Waverly, N.Y., June 11--State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C-Big Flats) visited Waverly High School on Monday to pay tribute to the Waverly High School Football team for winning the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Class C state championship last December. 

During the school’s annual All Sports Banquet on Monday night, O’Mara presented a Legislative Resolution (J1735) he sponsored recognizing the team’s victory in the Class C Football Championship on December 2, 2023, at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York. The team defeated No. 1 ranked Fonda-Fultonville, 46-26, to capture Waverly football’s first-ever state championship. 

O’Mara said, “The Waverly school district has a proud history of athletic excellence, competition, and achievement. I appreciate this opportunity to congratulate and pay tribute to Waverly’s first state championship in football. It’s an opportunity to recognize and honor the dedication, excellence, hard work, and success of these remarkable student-athletes and their coaches. This championship represents an enormous source of pride to the entire Waverly school community, to the family and friends of all the players and coaches, the community at large, and our entire region.” 

The O’Mara resolution recognized Head Coach Jason Miller and all of his assistant coaches, and team members Hogan Shaw, Carter George, Ben Shaw, Drayton Dekay, Ronin Ault, Joey Tomasso, Dalton Davis, Xavier Watson, Kolsen Kealthley, Payton Fravel, Seto Noto, Chase Wheeler, Jay Pipher, Jace Fravel, Bryce Laforest, Ethan Perry, Braeden Nichols, Justin Koenig, Nate Peters, Josh Silva, Matthias Welles, Tim George, Derek Johnson, Ryan Shepard, JT Williams, Jarren Ennis, Jacob Benjamin, Daniel Fischer, Carson Rockwell, Jace Peters, Hayden Bill, Kayne McCutcheon, Aiden Strope, Troy Beeman, Kam Hills, Jake VanHouten, Jack Cheresnowsky, Tristan Campbell, and Roger Webster.

The resolution reads, in part, “Proudly donning the school's colors of red and white, family, friends, and the community at large loyally and enthusiastically supported the Wolverines throughout their journey as they ended their season with an impressive 13-1 overall record and their first state title.”

Head Coach Jason Miller said, “It’s very gratifying to have the team’s commitment to success, long hours of hard work and practice, and unbelievable skill and determination be rewarded with this championship. We had to earn it, our players responded, and we appreciated all the incredible support we received along the way from the community.”