Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013: Chaotic day as SU locks up one recruit, loses another

   Leading off today: Verbal contracts aren't worth the paper they're written on. That truism has been around for years and was reaffirmed Monday when a pair of Section 5 football players switched allegiances within hours of each other, with one choosing to continue his career at Syracuse University and another opting out of his non-binding commitment to the Orange.

   And, just for good measure, rumors swirled that a downstate star had also decommitted from the Orange, only to have the player log onto his Twitter account to refute the story.

   Scout.com was first to report that Brighton senior Devan Carter was lured away from SU by Rutgers after an official visit to the New Jersey campus over the weekend. Later in the day, Chauncey Scissum of Rush-Henrietta made his previously announced decommitment from Old Dominion official -- or more official, anyway -- by saying he'd accepted a scholarship to SU.

   As the Democrat and Chronicle noted, Carter’s two-step mirrored what his favorite NFL player did a decade ago. Ray Rice had committed to Syracuse but wound up at Rutgers after the Orange dumped head coach Paul Pasqualoni in a January shakeup.

   “We both changed our commitments following a coaching change,” Carter told the paper. “I know all about the history of (what happened with Rice at) Rutgers.’’

   Scout.com reported Carter, who missed most of his senior season with a broken leg, was swayed in part because Rutgers is offering him the chance to play running back. Syracuse wanted him as a linebacker.

   Scissum committed to Old Dominion last summer but reconsidered after the new Syracuse staff said it had a scholarship available. He'll play defensive back, likely ending up as a safety down the road.

   They have a week to change their mind, but both players intend to formally affirm their commitment next Wednesday on National Letter of Intent day.

   As for downstate drama, Tottenville running back Augustus Edwards denied he has decommitted from Syracuse shortly after a Rivals.com report to the contrary.

   Warwick surprise: James Sciarra will not return as Warwick’s football coach in the fall, he confirmed to The Times Herald-Record on Monday.

   “I’m not the head football coach any longer,” he told the paper, declining to elaborate.

   Sciarra, a 1997 Warwick graduate, was 40-25 in seven seasons as the replacement for Greg Sirico, now the school's athletic director.

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   The Wildcats reached the Section 9 Class AA championship game in 2009 and 2011. They were semifinalists last fall, finishing 6-3.

   Back to work: Five days after being shot and seriously injured, Thomas Dotterer was back to work on Monday.

   The Syracuse CBA baseball coach, 77, surprised family members and friends at his store by coming in to work at the checkout counter for a stint, Salina Liquor and Wine, shortly after leaving the hospital, his son Tony Dotterer told The Post-Standard.

   "He wanted to get into the store and see his buddies," Tony Dotterer said. "If he could have come back the next day, he would have."

   Dotterer was shot in the right eye during a robbery inside his store last Wednesday. Dotterer lost vision in the eye.