Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
It’s never easy for a student to transfer to another school right before his or her senior year – no matter what the reason.
But that is what Josh Hafner did, transferring from St. Johns High School to Ithaca before his final year of high school.
He did not transfer because of a job change of one of his parents. Hafner is a talented football player, and he transferred because he wanted to be part of something special.
Hafner was a solid wide receiver/defensive back in St. Johns, and he brought his talents north to Ithaca to play for a team that was looking to win its fourth straight state title.
Ithaca did win the title, and Hafner played a big part, catching four balls for 45 yards and a touchdown in the 41-22 win over Clinton in the Division 6 state title game.
“It was an extremely tough decision,” Hafner said. “I thought a lot about it, I had a lot of talks, and at one point I called it off and thought I was going to stay with my friends. But I had to make a choice of what I wanted to do with my life.”
That decision turned into a memory of a lifetime, as it gave him the opportunity to play for a state championship team at Ford Field.
“Even though I left my friends, I have had a lot of support,” Hafner said. “It was the right decision; we won a state championship, and I still have all my friends, too – and new ones now.”
Hafner said that the reason he made the move wasn’t just to have the opportunity to play for a state championship team. That was just an added bonus. The biggest reason was that, as a wider receiver, Ithaca’s wide open offense and the chance to play with top-notch quarterback Travis Smith were too much for him to pass up.
“St. Johns has a great running program; here, we throw the ball a lot,” Hafner said. “Defenses can’t cover that, and Travis is such a great quarterback. Defenses had a hard time stopping us, because if they stopped one thing, we would just throw to another route.”
That’s exactly what happened in the state championship game, as Hafner caught a 15-yard pass from Smith and went head-over-heels into the end zone for the Yellowjackets’ first touchdown of the game.
“I had dreams of [that] moment,” Hafner said. “I can’t even tell you; it’s the best feeling in the world. I actually had a dream that I was doing that – if we could have made it to Ford Field I was going to jump over someone.”