by TYLER HATHAWAY
Fifteen players across Section V return to the gridiron this fall after earning recognition a season ago on the NYSSWA All-State team. The 14 seniors and one junior will look to earn their second-straight All-State selection, with 10 more players enter this year coming off the heels of being named honorable mentions, and a large group enters this year having received scholarship offers from Division I schools.
Monroe senior quarterback Terrell “Pooty” Cunningham returns this season after being selected to the Class B Offensive All-State First Team in 2025. Cunningham, who is currently fielding offers from Akron, Albany, Delaware State, Southern Miss, and Wagner, finished last year’s campaign having thrown for a Section V record 3,033 yards along with 39 touchdowns while leading the Red Jackets to a state title. In the state semifinals, Cunningham logged 307 yards and four touchdowns in what was a 48-7 win over Owego Free Academy. He will look to defend his title as the reigning Section V Class B Offensive Player of the Year.
Cunningham is not the only Red Jacket to return this season after getting an All-State nod. Senior offensive lineman Alijah Jones was named to the Second Team All-Offense in 2025 after being an integral piece of an offensive line that supported an offense that finished 2025 averaging 385.5 yards per game and 44.5 points per game. Jones, a Rutgers commit, helped his offense churn out a season-high 476 yards of total offense in a 34-0 win over Sleepy Hollow in the state championship game.
James Brumfield was selected to the Fifth Team All-Defense to round out the Monroe selections. Brumfield finished with four interceptions and a forced fumble in addition to 19 tackles during his sophomore campaign. Brumfield, a cornerback, forced a turnover in four of the first five games of the season last year and was a part of a defensive unit that only gave up four touchdowns all year. The junior currently sits with scholarship offers to Auburn, Duke, Miami, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rhode Island, Syracuse, Toledo, UConn, and Wisconsin.
Senior defensive lineman Jamie Anderson was named to the Class A All-State Defensive Fifth-Team in 2025 from East/World of Inquiry, who are reclassifying into Class B this upcoming season. Anderson currently holds an offer from Wagner and is coming off of a season in which he finished with 83 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and nine sacks. In a 39-0 win over Eastridge in the opening round of the Class A2 sectionals last season, he turned in 12 tackles and a season-high three sacks.
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Three players playing in Class B this season were named as Honorable Mentions to All-State teams a year ago. Monroe senior running back Ray Garcia was an honorable mention after finishing his junior year with 593 receiving yards, 359 rushing yards, and 12 total touchdowns. Also from Monroe, senior defensive back D’Markos Trammell received honors after leading the Red Jackets with a team-high six interceptions. Taye Brown threw for 650 yards, ran for 537 yards, and found the endzone 20 times as a junior for an East/World of Inquiry team that won the Section V Class A2 championship. Brown also took home the Class A2 Offensive Player of the Year award.
Some non Class B All-State returners currently fielding Division I offers or committed include Monroe seniors Terrance Barner and Brien Walker, a defensive back and wide receiver respectively who are each committed to Buffalo. From East/World of Inquiry, junior wide reciever Dezmon Jackson currently has an offer from Rhode Island. Sophomore Darius Weathers has received an offer from Akron, sophomore Anthony Lucas has gotten one from Syracuse, and sophomore Legacy Taylor currently holds one from Stetson.
In Class AA, senior Gavin White is returning to University Prep this season after earning a NYS Class AA Third-Team All-Offense nod a season ago. White, who is committed to play football at the University of Buffalo, threw for 1,001 yards and six touchdowns while running for 908 yards and 15 touchdowns as quarterback for the Griffins in 2025. A 39-20 win over Pittsford in early September saw White complete eight of 10 passes for 95 yards while scampering for 224 yards and four touchdowns.
Fellow Griffin Cashmere Williams is coming off of a junior campaign that ended in the defensive lineman being selected to the Fourth-Team All-Defense. Williams logged 37 tackles and five tackles for loss across seven games in 2025, including an outing with nine tackles and two tackles for loss in a game against McQuaid in the opening round of sectionals.
Rush-Henrietta has seniors Imani Wagstaff and Noah Collins-Howard returning this year after each was selected to be a part of the Sixth-Team All-Offense. Wagstaff led the Royal Comets rushing attack in 2025, finishing the year with 1,323 yards on the ground while adding 167 receiving yards in what was a 12-touchdown campaign. He finished the year with a bang, turning in 264 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in the Class AA Section V semifinals against Penfield. Wagstaff currently has Division I offers from Akron, Albany, and Maine.
For Collins-Howard, he finished last year’s season with 28 catches for 445 yards and six touchdowns in addition to 326 return yards. His best game came in a win against UPrep in September, where he supplied six catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. The wide receiver is committed to play football at Syracuse after he graduates.
All-State Honorable Mentions for Class AA include Penfield seniors Zane Kropman and Jake Maurer. Kropman was the starting running back for a Patriots squad that won Section V Class AA in 2025 and totaled 1,435 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. Maurer, a cornerback, turned in 37 tackles, six interceptions, 12 pass break-ups, and two fumble recoveries last season.
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UPrep senior wideout Thomas Levans III has been offered by Akron, and senior lineman Sean Buchanan has gotten one from Albany. Rush-Henrietta sophomore cornerback Terrell Moore Jr. currently holds two Division I offers from Syracuse and Penn State. Also across Class AA, Pittsford senior wide receiver Dayshawn Preston has received offers from Merrimack and Long Island, while Pittsford junior wide receiver Jesse Jablonsky has been offered by Fordham. Aquinas sophomore lineman Kiernan Wofford has received a scholarship offer from Pittsburgh, while Fairport senior lineman Brenner Patterson has received offers to play at Maine and Merrimack.
Three returning players in Section V were named to All-State teams in Class A. Kalin “Junior” Watkins was chosen to the NYS Class A Second-Team All-Defense as a linebacker and finished 2025 with 52 tackles. He also played quarterback for the Warriors, tossing 1,725 yards with 15 passing touchdowns while running for 349 yards and nine touchdowns. The senior threw for a school-record 452 passing yards in a 37-20 win over Spencerport in October. Watkins has received offers to play football at Albany, Columbia, and New Haven.
Brighton’s Zahmar Tookes is looking to follow up his junior season after being named to the Fourth-Team All-Defense. Tookes, who is currently the number one ranked New York recruit in the Class of 2027 and is committed to play football at Florida, ended his 2025 campaign with 77 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and three sacks. The defensive lineman had a season-high 12 tackles in a game against Webster Schroeder in October and was a part of a Brighton defense that helped lead the Bruins to the NYS Class A title game.
Joining Tookes from Brighton is offensive lineman Titus Nebbia, a senior who was chosen to the Sixth-Team All-Offense in 2025. Nebbia was part of an offensive line that produced one of the best rushing attacks in Section V, with the Bruins averaging over 200 rushing yards per game last season. Their best performance on the ground came in a 47-14 state semifinal win over Union-Endicott, in which Brighton tallied 360 yards and six rushing touchdowns.
Brighton senior running backs Justin Medina and Zach Rossignol each were chosen as Class A Honorable Mentions. Medina tallied 1,099 yards and 18 touchdowns last season, while Rossignol chipped in 966 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Webster Schroeder’s Brysen Terry, a senior offensive lineman, has committed to Dartmouth. Irondequoit senior wide receiver Josh Barr is committed to play football at Syracuse.
Alexander/Pembroke linebacker Sean Pietzrykowski was chosen to the NYS Class C Second-Team All-Defense. Pietzrykowski was a core piece of a defense that helped the team reach the NYS Class C Far West Regional and logged over 40 tackles and over 15 tackles for loss in 2025. The senior helped Alexander/Pembroke log six shutouts across the season, including three straight from October 24 to November 7.
The Defenders also saw running back Ryder Reichert named as an offensive Honorable Mention. Reichert, who was selected as the Section V Class C Offensive Player of the Year, ran for 1,047 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in 2025.
In Class D, offensive lineman Ty Reilly was named to the NYS Class D Second-Team All-Offense from Oakfield-Alabama/Elba. Reilly is entering his senior year and was a part of an offensive line that helped Oakfield-Alabama/Elba run for 235.5 yards per game in 2025. In addition, he was the leading tackler on defense, finishing with 73 tackles on the year.
Defensive back Chase Antinore got picked to the Second-Team All-Defense. The Notre Dame Batavia/Byron-Bergen senior forced six turnovers in 2025 while scoring two defensive touchdowns. In the Section V Class D semifinals against York/Pavilion, Antinore logged five tackles, a pass break-up, and an interception in what ended as a 19-14 win.
Avon senior kicker Gabriel Mayen was selected to the Second-Team. Mayen finished 2025 going 45-of-50 on extra-point tries for an Avon team that won the Section V Class D title. Mayen’s best performance came in a 52-22 win over Oakfield-Alabama/Elba in late October in which he finished a perfect 7-of-7 on extra points while adding a 24-yard field goal.
Section V had two Honorable Mentions in Class D. Notre Dame Batavia/Byron-Bergen junior wideout TJ Cephus featured a four-game stretch last season where he averaged nearly 75 yards per game, while senior offensive lineman Trent Englert helped fortify a York/Pavilion offense that averaged 28 points per game in 2025 while earning the number one seed in Class D.
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