When the Section V Football Hall of Fame welcomed five new members this year, the list of inductees grew to 267.
The celebrations for the new arrivals dampen the question “Why isn’t he here yet?”
However, there is a way to make your case if your player is not yet in.
Step one: Visit this link to the list of former players, coaches, officials and other contributors who are already members of the Section V Football Hall of Fame: https://sectionv.org/sports/2019/9/16/football_hall_of_fame.aspx
The nomination form used by the Hall of Fame Committee is also available online at https://sectionv.org/sb_output.aspx?form=13.
This form explains who is eligible and indicates 1 January as the deadline for considering a spring/summer 2025 launch.
The Section V Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024 were presented with plaques during the induction ceremony on June 28.
The group included a receiver who later played at Syracuse University, a longtime coach in the Rochester City School District, an all-state running back at Caledonia-Mumford and two players from the state championship teams at Aquinas:
André Fontenette
During Andre Fontenette’s time with the Churchville-Chili Saints from 1996 to 2000, more high school football teams in Section V began to rely on the pass to gain more points and yards. But the offenses of those days rarely resembled the ones that rely on the pass today on the field. Still, 13 of Fontenette’s 66 catches during his three seasons as a starter for Churchville-Chili were touchdowns. Nine of those catches that resulted in points came in a single season.
Fontenette, a two-time Monroe County All-Star, also scored four touchdowns off kickoffs. The New York State High School Football Coaches Association named Fontenette a member of the state’s “Golden 50” team before the standout receiver played on scholarship at Syracuse University. Fontenette is about to begin his first season as varsity coach at Gates Chili.
Ron Jones
Ron Jones, a Monroe University graduate from the class of 1968, coached at various levels and in various sports for 38 years in the Rochester City School District with considerable success. Two football teams led by Jones won Section V championships. The 1982 Charlotte team, where Jones and the Lakesiders won a state basketball title, went undefeated in the period leading up to the state tournament. Jones said Charlotte won maybe one or two games in his first season as varsity coach in 1979. “The best school I ever worked for,” Jones said earlier this month. “The community came together and we kind of came together. We turned it around.”
The 1994 Marshall team, the smallest public school in the City-Catholic League in terms of enrollment, suffered setbacks in the regular season but won the Section V championship that fall. Scottie Nicholson, a future All Greater Rochester/Super 22 co-player of the year, Jauvant Pratt and Jarmiene Holloway, who had the speed of a sprinter in track, were among nine of the Jurists’ 22 regulars. But running back Jamil Porter and receiver Maurice Jackson, two other future Section V players of the year, defensive end Patrick Coley and sophomore quarterback Essa Rahmann were among the team’s newcomers. Jones and the players gave it their all to win the Section V Class B title. Jackson said at least 30 men who had played on Jones’ teams came to his induction.
Wade Rowcliffe
Jeff Legwold, former columnist/sports journalist at the Democrat and Chroniclebegan a story about Caledonia-Mumford’s triumph in the 1994 Class D state tournament final with, “One was overland. And yesterday was the second.” Cal-Mum ran the ball 45 times that day at Syracuse University. Rowcliffe, who was later named Class C Player of the Year by the New York State Sportswriters Association, became the all-time leading runner in Section V with three touchdowns that day. While playing at Cal-Mum, he scored 81 touchdowns, which was a state record at the time.
Rowcliffe set the career record for most rushing yards in Section V during his three seasons as a running back with 4,191 yards on 472 carries. He was in Cal-Mum’s starting lineup for four years as a strong safety and kick returner. Rowcliffe, a 1994 All-American, later played at the University of Hampshire. “Rensselaer probably thought if they got the ball back, they could throw a couple passes and score a point,” Cal-Mum coach Mike Monacelli said after the 1994 state final. “But Wade is the type of player that a lot of teams at our level don’t have. He can beat you with his speed, he can break it open.”
Kwynn Walton
It is believed that Kwynn Walton led Aquinas to state and Section V championships in 1998. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but not entirely. Walton ran for a then-Section V season-record 2,111 yards that season, the first of three years he was named All-State. The 1998 Class A State Player of the Year’s status as one of the best players in Section V was no exaggeration, as he was named to three Democrat and Chronicle All-Greater Rochester teams by the Section V coaches and was named the 1998 AGR Player of the Year.
The New York State High School Football Coaches Association named Walton to its Golden 50 team in 2000 before he transferred to James Madison University. There in Virginia, Walton was named an All-American once, a two-time All-Atlantic 10 First Team selection and helped the Dukes win the 2004 NCAA Division 1-AA championship as a linebacker.
Devin Worthington
Devin Worthington has been a major contributor to Aquinas’ winning streak as a linebacker. A four-year starter, Worthington was a key player on Aquinas’ team that won the 2007 Class A state championship and three Section V championships. During his time as a high school player, he was involved in 200 tackles, including 50 behind the line of scrimmage, which resulted in yardage losses.
He then moved on to Hobart College in Geneva, where Worthington continued to be an above-average player. The Liberty League’s Rookie of the Year, Worthington was twice the league’s best defensive player. The two-time All-American was named All-League for the fourth and final time in 2013.
James Johnson, who grew up in the city of Rochester and graduated from Edison Tech in the Rochester City School District, has been a full-time journalist for the Democrat and Chronicle since 1996, covering high school sports. Follow him at @jjDandC on X (Twitter). You can reach him at [email protected].
