From each month this year, The Daily Gazette sports department is compiling the 10 quotes from our interview subjects that stuck out the most for us, based on how they either made us think or laugh — or some combination of both.

Selected quotes come both from reporting for stories that appeared in The Daily Gazette and interviews associated with episodes of “The Parting Schotts Podcast.” Not all quotes used were previously published.

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“It was a tough sight to see on your first varsity snap at quarterback. It was only up from there.”

— Christian Brother Academy sophomore football player Donald Jones, on Sept. 3, reminiscing on both his first snap at quarterback resulting in four different fumbles on one play, and the remainder of his night against La Salle Institute that saw Jones rush for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

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“When one of our horses can win at odds like that in the last race of the day, the loyal fan base, we get ’em even for the day. We get ’em out. That’s when you walk through the picnic area and you’re the real hero. Not winning the Travers, not winning a stakes race, none of that. When you win and have a $20 horse, a Chad Brown horse, on the last race of the day. . . . You have to do your victory lap, walking around there, because there’s so many happy faces. All ages. It’s ‘Thank you,’ ‘got even today,’ ‘made money today.’ That’s a really good feeling.”

— Trainer Chad Brown, on Sept. 5, referring to a long shot two days prior who was one of 41 winners the Mechanicville native saddled while earning his fourth Saratoga training title.

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“It looked pretty impossible, but nothing is impossible. We came here and tried to get it, and, well, we did it, so we’re so happy to be here.”

— Jockey Luis Saez, on Sept. 6, on winning the Saratoga riding championship after brothers Irad and Jose Ortiz had won the previous six.

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“He started out as a pitcher in Little League. The batters were terrified to face him. He would throw very hard. Not too accurate, but very hard. In football, he could throw the ball 70 yards in the air, and the short passes were like a Scud missile coming at you.”

— Former Mont Pleasant High School athlete Rit DiCaprio reminiscing Sept. 8 about his long-time friend Joe Zelezniak, a star shot putter who was inducted into the Schenectady City School District Athletic Hall of Fame on Sept. 13.

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“I serve wherever the ball wants to go. But, sometimes, the ball goes to nice spots. I just let it live.”

— Schenectady girls’ volleyball’s Niomo Rogers, on Sept. 14, after a match against Guilderland.

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“I don’t know how my dad really feels about that.”

— Union men’s hockey freshman forward Tom Richter, on Sept. 16, on choosing not to play the same position as his father, former New York Rangers goalie Mike Richter.

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“Oh, yes, every day. It’s brutal. It definitely leaves you with a lot of bruises. We spent so many hours, all three of us, the sisters, out there, kicking against the wall, beating each other to death. To the death, of who wins.”

— UAlbany freshman Megan Krohn, on Sept. 22, laughing as she describes a backyard kickboard game she and her sisters Carrie and Katie regularly engage in at their Schoharie home.

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“At the end of the day, I work for the kids.”

— Michaela Miranda McBride, on Sept. 23, on her new role as Schenectady High School’s athletic director.

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“We’re all in here screaming. We’re going to come in tomorrow with no voice.”

— Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons sophomore girls’ volleyball player Julia Jaworowski, after her team rallied from an 11-point deficit in the fifth set to rally for a Sept. 23 win over Mekeel Christian Academy.

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“We were swinging and missing. I’m not even sure he made any moves.”

— UAlbany football coach Greg Gattuso, on Sept. 24, describing how Syracuse’s Sean Tucker took a short screen pass on third-and-27 for a 72-yard touchdown as part of Syracuse’s 62-24 win at the Carrier Dome.

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“I just couldn’t see myself ever throwing on another jersey [and] ever playing for another school. Everything that this school and this program has done for me, and changing who I was as a person and all that kind of stuff — it’s cliche to say, but I really turned from a kid to a man.”

— Union College men’s hockey’s Josh Kosack, on Sept. 29, regarding why he came back for one last season with the Dutchmen following the team’s canceled 2020-21 campaign. 

Categories: College Sports, High School Sports, Sports