Valley standouts Amill, Ricottilli ready for a new rivalry

They have both played in two of the area's fiercest and tradition-rich high school football rivalries.

Next season Cardinal Mooney running back C.J. Amill and Poland offensive-defensive lineman Liborio Ricottilli will take part in college football's most-played rivalry.

Amill is headed to Lafayette College in Easton, Penn., and Ricottilli will be down the road at Lehigh University in Bethlehem. The two schools have played a record 150 times.

Amill, who led the Cardinals to victory over archival Ursuline in his two years as Mooney's starting running back, said it was a factor in his decision to attend Lafayette.

"It's exciting having a big rivalry like that in college and having a similar rivalry like that in high school," Amill said. "It's a very big rivalry and I can't wait to play in a game like that.

"I watched it on ESPN when it was at Yankee Stadium [for the first time in November]. That was nice to watch."

Ricottilli and Amill were teammates in middle school in the East Catholic football program. No more for the future Football Championship Series and Patriot League foes.

"It's really cool to experience it," Ricottilli said of the rivalry, he himself having been a contributor in four straight wins over Canfield in their annual clash. "It's 40,000 fans in a packed house. The stuff leading up to the game every week is an awesome experience. It's very much like the Canfield game. We have a big week here at school and practicing hard and you always want to beat your rival."