Porcelli, who enjoyed successful stints at Lansingburgh and Catholic Central, would not say why he stepped down, The Times Union reported.

   The next coach will be the school's fourth in four seasons. Brian Spicer guided Albany to an 0-9 mark in 2008 and Joe Burke's run ended after the 2007 campaign. Porcelli was 0-9 in his one season, making it four times in nine years that the Falcons have gone winless.

   "I walked into a tough situation. I wish the kids well," said Porcelli, who also told the paper he "would like to get back on the sidelines soon."

   Three other Section 2 jobs have opened up recently. Scotia's Mike Turgeon (6-30 in four seasons) and CBA's Matt Gormley (2-16 in two seasons after 24 years as an assistant) both recently resigned, and Dennis Bender of Shaker left last month.

   All-state soccer: Edmeston senior striker Kori Hamm has repeated as the Class D girls player of the year as the first of the fall season's all-state teams was released last night.

   The picks were made by girls soccer editor Perry Novak of NYSSCOGS, our sister organization.

   The complete list of honored players can be found here.

   The other players of the year are Union-Endicott senior midfielder Kylie Strom in Class AA; Rockville Centre South Side midfielder Crystal Dunn in Class A; Stillwater senior defender Amanda Hathaway and Briarcliff senior defender Kate Underwood in Class B; and junior Stony Brook midfielder Donna Liotine in Class C.

   The coaches of the year are Mike McQuatters of Syracuse CBA in Class AA; Judi Croutier of Rockville Centre South Side in A; repeat selection Owen Scully of Briarcliff in B; Mark Maningo of Stony Brook and Tim Clive of Sauquoit Valley in C; and Melody Harwood of Arkport in D.

   All-state football: Longtime NYSSWA member Steve Grandin is coordinating our organization's section process for the all-state football team, which will be announced early next month.

   We are asking reporters to send Steve their all-area teams ASAP, even if they have not been published yet (we will not publish it or otherwise share it with anyone before it appears in your publication). In addition please share nominations for players in the smaller classes since all-area teams tend to be dominated by athletes from the larger schools.

   Coaches and chairmen are also encouraged to send in their league and/or class all-star teams.

   Steve's e-mail address is sgrandin55@aol.com.

   Easley wavering? Scout.com reports that Staten Island Curtis defensive lineman Dominique Easley took an official visit to Oregon over the weekend and may not follow through on his non-binding commitment to Penn State.

   Easley told Scout.com that the visit went well and that he was highly impressed by the facilities. However, he also said that his scheduled official visit to Penn State this weekend is still on.

   Scout is interpreting the recent developments as a sign that Easley could very well end up at Oregon.

   I have no ties to Easley, but the hunch here is that the Oregon visit could have been a courtesy toward a school that showed enormous early interest at that he'll still sign with Penn State in February unless something drastic happens. And if it does, he has his Plan B lined up.

   Scout.com also reports that colleges that try to recruit Ashton Broyld as a linebacker rather than a quarterback will have to move to the back of the line for now. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound junior at Rush-Henrietta has heard from Alabama, Michigan, Syracuse and Virginia to name just a few, but there are multiple schools that want to move his size and speed to defense.

   Royal Comets coach Joe Montesano told the service Broyld is not interested in playing linebacker.

   Shut out by ESPN: The Old Spice High School Showcase, a series of 14 boys basketball games throughout the winter, begins Friday with an all-Texas matchup. As impossible as it seems, there are no New York teams scheduled for appearances on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU this season.

   Girls basketball injuries: Ossining point guard Hayley Awerdick tore the ACL in her left knee in a scrimmage against Ursuline last month and will miss her senior season. Awerdick, who averaged 16.8 points and 7.0 assists as a junior, had torn her right ACL two years earlier.

   Albertus Magnus junior forward Meghan Richards suffered the same injury this preseason after helping the Falcons to last season’s NYSPHSAA Class A final and also will miss the whole season.

   Taylor Leonard of Coleman Catholic, last season's state Class D Player of the Year and state tournament MVP, has been recovering from surgery on her right knee for two months after an ACL tear and also is out for the year.

   She'll finish her career with 1,149 points, having averaged 18 points and 5.5 assists as a junior.

   He knows of what he speaks: Bedford Academy basketball players would do well to listen to their coach when the subject is scoring buckets.

   Former Nazareth great Robert Phelps was enlisted as the new coach after Deron Rippey resigned following last season. Phelps ranks 11th (he was fourth at the time of his graduation in 1990) on the state's all-time list with 2,477 career points and went on to a solid career at Providence College and nine seasons of pro ball overseas.

   "Everywhere we go," senior forward Anthony Mason Jr. told The New York Post, "we hear about him, how he was a legend."

   Phelps inherits a PSAL Class A semifinalist that won Brooklyn A East last year.

   "When I was on the court, I controlled everything," Phelps said. "Now it’s almost like a chess match. I have to move the pieces around, so it’s different."

   Extra Points: Joe Lewinger is coaching girls basketball at Mary Louis Academy again. He stepped down last December to help care for this 3-year-old twins, Jack and Madison, as they battled cancer. . . . If you haven't seen it yet, last month's New York Daily News story on St. Michael's Academy coach Apache Paschall is an outstanding read. He's frequently criticized for an "us against the world" mentality, but the story sheds quite a bit of light on a complicated personality.

   Speaking of stories worth going back to scope out, The Buffalo News delved into the future of the Harvard Cup recently. Riverside coach Tony Truilizio advocates disbanding the nine-school league so that the Buffalo city schools can participate in the Section 6 football tournament, and district administrators are on board with the idea.