John Raffel
Sports Scene

Travis Wetzel can’t wait for the football season to start. Neither can the rest of his Ithaca Yellowjacket teammates.
Wetzel, an offensive guard and defensive end, wants to help the Yellow Jackets go after another state title. They were 14-0 a year ago. But they start off with an excellent opening day opponent in Williamston.
“I think I have improved a lot from last year,” Wetzel said. “I’ve definitely gotten a lot stronger and quicker. We worked hard during the offseason.”
State power Williamston, Wetzel noted, was not going to present an easy challenge.
“I think we’re ready,” Wetzel said. “They’ll probably be pretty good.”
Wetzel was happy with his performance in his first varsity season at Ithaca.
“I did very well,” he said. “It didn’t take me too long to adjust.”
But he’s hoping that his second year of varsity football will mean he’ll be an even more effective football player. And he hopes to play no small role in Ithaca’s quest for back-to-back title