Ron Moshier: Proctor's frozen football final cut short

In retrospect, Thomas R. Proctor High School football coach Jerry Fiorini said Tuesday night’s Section III crossover game against Auburn “should have been canceled.” It wasn’t, and his Raiders ended their season with a 39-0 loss that was stopped at halftime because of the extreme cold, high winds, and snow at Syracuse’s Nottingham High School.

 

Fiorini said both teams agreed at halftime that the game, an admittedly “meaningless” crossover between two teams that did not qualify for Section III’s playoffs, should be stopped.

 

“We had three guys really in bad shape, almost going into hypothermia,” Fiorini said. “It was brutal. It was a blizzard, the worst conditions we’ve ever played in. We couldn’t even hold onto the ball and you couldn’t see the field. (Auburn) had guys who were hurting pretty good, too. It was awful.”