Alumni inducted into Section V Football Hall of Fame

Tony Merola

   Anthony Merola  split his nearly four-decade coaching career evenly between varsity head coach and program assistant responsibilities, registering nearly unprecedented success at both levels. The Caledonia native (CMCS Class of 1952), a 4-year starter in football (24-6 record), baseball, and basketball for his hometown high school, began as a freshman coach at Mt. Morris and then took the varsity from 0-7 in 1959 to 7-0 in 1962 for the only undefeated mark in school history. That was followed by 10 winning seasons in 13 years at Cardinal Mooney in Greece, with the highlight coming in 1972 as the Cardinals won their only outright City-Catholic League championship.

   Tony followed that 75-61-5 varsity run over 18 seasons by moving over to the Fairport High staff in 1976 as an assistant coach for 17 of the most consistently successful seasons in school history. The Red Raiders went 133-26-9 with 16 winning seasons in that span. Highlights included 11 Monroe County League championships, 8 Section V trophies, and 2 mythical New York State Sportswriters Association state championships during the pre-tournament era.

   Tony was previously inducted into the Hall of Fames at Caledonia-Mumford and Mt Morris.

Roland Poles

   A 1986 graduate of Caledonia-Mumford, Roland Poles continued a family tradition of success with the Red Raiders and then went on to a stellar career at the University of Tennessee. Poles was All-Livingston County, All-Greater Rochester, and small-schools 2nd team All-State as a senior on Cal-Mum’s 7-1-1 squad. He was recruited by numerous major-college programs before settling on the Volunteers of Tennessee.

   At Tennessee, Roland lettered 4 times and appeared in 44 games as a punishing fullback, running 114 times for 425 yards in his career, and scoring 3 TDs in a game against Temple. He also caught 23 passes and cleared the way for 1,000-yard backs Reggie Cobb, Chuck Webb, and Tony Thompson. He capped his college career with an appearance in the East-West Shrine Game and was selected in the NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers before being traded to the Los Angeles Rams. He retired after suffering a neck injury and has since been inducted into the Caledonia-Mumford Hall of Fame.

Junior Poles accepting for his brother Roland