There are some things that are almost irresistible to take on, despite the consequences.
The celebrations marking the 250th anniversary have led USA TODAY Sports to celebrate the 250 greatest American sports figures of all time. Alongside that national recognition, the USA TODAY Network will spotlight the roots of the country’s sports culture: the high school athletes and sports figures who thrilled and, in some cases, shaped communities.
Putting together a list of the 10 greatest high school football players in Section V of all-time was fun, and at the same time, overwhelming. Somehow, some way, great players are bumped on to a very long list of honorable mentions.
Roaming down memory lane with long-time assistant football coach Sean Banks, Aquinas coach Chris Battaglia, former Gates Chili coach Jason Benham, long-time assistant coach George Giordano, Section V Football Hall of Fame coach Ron Jones, Hilton coach Rich Lipani, former Caledonia-Mumford coach Mike Monacelli, Monroe principal Jason Muhammad and Dave Whitcomb, the coach of Section V champions at three schools, led to smiles.
And faster than you can say, ‘Do you remember . . .’, led to lists much greater than 10.
“You’re splitting hairs,” Whitcomb said. “Very thin hairs.”
There was one final split required.
Here, in alphabetical order and with a welcoming attitude to accept your selections, is a list for Section V Football, with more all-time lists in other sports to come:
Ashton Broyld
Standout at Marshall and Rush-Henrietta who played quarterback in high school like the position is played in today’s National Football League. The highly mobile passer was the Democrat and Chronicle All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year in 2010.
Tony Collins
Running back/linebacker at Penn Yan, far from one of the largest schools in Section V during the mid-1970s but the home of a big-time talent. Collins went on to play in the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl.
Messiah Hampton
Monroe receiver is the most recent player on this list. A University of Oregon recruit, Hampton is the 2025 Gatorade New York State Football Player of the Year. His play during Monroe’s run to a state championship is one of the most impressive in the history of the state playoffs.
Jarron Jones
Aquinas defensive lineman was a first-team all-state player who, at minimum, had 12 offers to play on scholarship at big-time college football teams. He chose Notre Dame. At 6-foot-7 and 300 pounds, Jones must have been very difficult to block in high school. Very difficult.
Robert “Junior” Poles
Starred from 1975-78 at Caledonia-Mumford, where he was named the top player in the state at a small school in his final season. He went on to Boston College then the NFL and is one of the players on this list who appeared on just about everyone’s list of selections.
Bill Scharr
Canandaigua quarterback’s ability to pass in the mid-1980s had a modern look in Section V during that time period. Dave Whitcomb, who has coached Section V champion teams at three schools, describes Canandaigua’s offense with coach Mike Foster and Scharr as “ahead of the state.” No wonder Scharr, with 73, was the state’s all-time leader in career passing touchdowns until about the 2000s.
Jeff Weston
If you are talking about all-time great linemen in Section V, this Cardinal Mooney graduate’s name comes up quickly, and most of the time, first. The former all-state two-way player, caught the attention of Notre Dame, a national champion-caliber team during the late 1970s, and then NFL scouts.
Marcus Wilson
Greece Olympia running back who appears on most lists for this exercise. Looking back, this 1985 All-Greater Rochester Team member, seemed, on a smaller scale, a version of former Franklin star athlete Trent Jackson, who excelled on a national level. Both made it to the NFL and were also standouts in high school basketball and track and field. Wilson once set the Section V triple jump record.
Roland Williams
There were very few, if any, statistics listed with Williams, but the East High end was on all but two contributors’ lists. The 1992 All-Greater Rochester Team member went on to Syracuse University, then played in the NFL from 1998-2005.
Jake Zembiec
The reasons for the Aquinas quarterback’s inclusion are similar to the ones tied to Scharr and Broyld. Zembiec, a two-time AGR Player of the Year, and the other pair looked like players you would see on television, or at the very least, recognize immediately that they were different when it came to what you watch in Section V.
Here, in alphabetical order, are the players at the very top of a long honorable mention list. Interested in your thoughts:
Earnest Edwards (Aquinas receiver)
Eugene Goodlow (McQuaid receiver)
Scott Greene (Canandaigua)
Don Holleder (Aquinas)
Trent Jackson (Franklin)
Ernest Jackson (Gates Chili) receiver
Tony Jordan (East High running back)
Ray Leach (Batavia running back)
Roland Poles (Caledonia-Mumford)
Ryan Poles (Canandaigua)
Cornelius Southall (Rush-Henrietta)
David Walker (Irondequoit)
James Johnson, who grew up in the city of Rochester and is a graduate of Edison Tech in the Rochester City School District, has worked as a full-time journalist covering high school sports for the Democrat and Chronicle since 1996. Follow him @jjDandC on X (Twitter). You can also contact him at JAMESJ@Gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Who is Section V’s all-time football player? VOTE in the poll sponsored by Faber Builders
Reporting by James Johnson, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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