By: Jonathan Szczepaniak | Rochester Post | Published November 22, 2024
ROCHESTER — The longstanding Rochester Raiders, formerly known as the Rochester Redskins, youth football and cheer organization celebrated a milestone anniversary, and they did it the only way they know how.
Bringing home the Michigan Youth Football and Cheer Conference (MYFCC) Super Bowl championship and a pair of cheerleading titles this season, the Raiders’ hardware-winning season is a testament to the legacy that has surrounded the organization for the last 40 years.
“The teams operate as teaching more than just the sport,” Jessica Yodzio, vice president of the cheerleading program and freshman cheer coach, said.
“Obviously we’re teaching these young athletes to be prepared as they go on to middle school and high school, but we’re also shaping them as young men and women to be prepared to carry on whatever interest they have later in life.”
Yodzio’s freshman cheerleading squad (first through third graders) took first overall alongside the junior freshman team (third and fourth graders) Oct. 26 in the MYFCC’s Super Cheer at Madonna University. The junior varsity team (fifth and sixth graders) took second overall.
The Super Cheer is divided into two rounds with a winner for each round and an overall winner of combined score. The MYFCC currently has 10 programs in their league, but not every team has a cheer/football team at every grade level.
“Our round 1 is almost like a combination of high school’s round 1 and round 2 where our girls do the 10-count and are judged on the 10-count, their precision, and their jumps,” Yodzio said.
“Round 2 is kind of like a round 3 in high school where they’re doing stunts and tumbling. Our league allows the girls to have music in their material too, so it is stunting and tumbling with a little bit of dance aspect thrown in there as well.”
The Raiders captured both rounds on the junior freshman side to dominate the overall score while the freshman earned third in round 1 and first in round 2, finding a way to still claim the top overall score.
For the junior varsity squad, it was the Plymouth Canton Steelers who gave them fits, keeping them in second place.
The Steelers and Raiders, much like the old days of the National Football League when the Raiders were actually competitive, carry a little bit of a rivalry in the MYFCC league as top of the top programs.
So when the Steelers came out on top in cheerleading for the junior varsity level, the varsity football program quickly exacted its revenge in the MYFCC Super Bowl Nov. 2 at Westland John Glenn High School.
The two teams met under different circumstances in the regular season, playing on a Friday night at the University of Michigan.
Both teams had full locker room access, were able to run onto the field, and the league was able to use the stadium’s public address system for the nearly 800 fans in attendance.
“That’s kind of our rival there,” Raiders varsity head coach Ryan Alexander said.
“They’re one of the good organizations in our league as in they got their stuff together. We’ve worked well with them to get this whole thing done. It was just a really cool night. We were probably favored in the game, but to have it end in a tie – they felt like they won the Super Bowl and we felt like they lost, but we knew we’d see them again.”
The tie would be the only blemish on the Raiders’ record this season as they finished 8-0-1, but they made the most of their second meeting against the Steelers in a 46-22 win in the Super Bowl.
This particular Raiders squad is no stranger to hosting the Super Bowl trophy, winning it as junior freshman, freshman, junior varsity, and now varsity.
“I think it was the preparation and hard work, and also a historic level of pure talent,” Alexander said. “The kids that we had are just exceptional players. You’ll recognize their names in years to come when they go on to (Brother) Rice, (Rochester) Adams, and Rochester. We were blessed with a huge amount of talent on this team. It was incredible.”
Alexander had 10 coaches alone on his staff to guide the 32 players on their roster, and Alexander said it’s the kind of coaching that’s tough to find anywhere else.
“If you talk to any of the varsity coaches like (Tony) Patritto or (Erik) Vernon from Rochester, I can’t remember the guy from Stoney Creek (Rick Powell), but they know when a Rochester Raider/Redskin is coming into their organization,” Alexander said.
“They’re just more prepared, and that’s just a testament to our coaches. You have former college players that are on our staff and you have current high school coaches that actually come over after an Adams practice and are in our organization. It’s just a high level of coaching.”
Aside from all that, what makes the Raiders special is their bond and commitment to the program.
You have Alexander and Yodzio, both leading squads they once played for when they were kids, and you have other coaches such as Mike Sirianni and Eric Boughner, both assistants on the varsity level, who were with the organization when it first started 40 years ago.
You leave the organization as an adolescent, but it always has a way of staying with you for the rest of your life.
“It was my most memorable experience as a kid,” Alexander said. “The best man (Brandon DeCourcy) in my wedding is a former Rochester Redskin, who now coaches the junior freshman. Once I had kids, I just knew I would coach again. I coached my kid the second he signed up in the league and I’ve never stopped.”
“It was something very important and special to me growing up and being a part of the community, so it was exciting to me for her (Yodzio’s daughter) to show an interest,” Yodzio said.
Varsity football roster: Carmelo Walker, Lucas Budrick, Charlie Jablonski, Anthony Thompson III, Reeve Stark, Carter Bolin, Cooper Boughner, Max Ricketts, Caleb Cumiskey, Declan Raschke, Kyle Moussa, Matthew Meyers, Dominic Szymanski, Owen McCune, Joseph Sirianni, Ethan Reeves, Cullen Morgan, Brayden Markey, Butch Weghorst, Mason Cooke, Isaac Chue, Tristan Sudderth, Cooper Schultz, Mikhali Telegadas, Avery Rambow, Marcus Ibori, Drew Given, Matteo Trombetta, Tino Palazzolo, Kellen Alexander, Jaxon Papke, Benicio Borrego.
Junior freshman cheer roster: Ava Thompson, Lydia Hathaway, Willa Doski, Giuliana Caruso, Arabella Kolo, Daisy McNamara, Amelia Laporte, Eleanor Ortiz, Londyn Smith, Lucy Newingham, Taylor Korynski, Alanna Latra, Harper Weghorst, Charley Vogt, Harper Williamson, Kennedy Brown.
Freshman cheer roster: Addison Johnson, Lillian Orchell, Lucy Bittner, Paisley Florkey, Leighton Peglowski, Mae Colarossi, Nora Schornak, Ashlyn Koike, Ella Burzynski, Adalyn Rambow, Emily Wilson, Paisley Steenbergh, Mia Cumiskey, Callie Pollard, Hannah Stetson, Audrey Kuhlman, Brooklyn Scally, De’Myla Etchen, Arianna Yodzio, Addison Pollard, Brie Osmanski, Claire Poirier.
Junior varsity cheer roster: Anna Martin, Hope Barrett, Claudia Scruggs, Anna Fick, Sofia Caruso, Emma Brazen, Isabella Saverino, Joei Contompasis, Layla Kerry, Lyla Latra, Addilynn Hoekstra, Brooke Harrington, Vivian Kim, Marissa Fandakly, Mila Bedricky, Elena Ramos, Vivian Kolo, Alice Schaedel, Amelia Abela, Ashlyn May, Zoey Goedtel, Brianna Koetting.