Junior QB Benny Feinberg drops back before tossing a pass during HF-L’s Football Camp in early August. Photo by Peter Carosa
Honeoye Falls-Lima Cougars Varsity Football Overview – Fall 2026
Head Coach: John Russ (15th Season)
Class: B
2025 Overall Record: 4-6 (including Sectionals)
2025 Playoffs: Lost Sectional Championship to Monroe Red Jackets, 40-0
Key Losses: Patrick Adair (OL/DL), Ezra Gathercole (K/P), Cal Grasley (OL/DL), Nate Meacham (QB), Chris Settles (OL/DL), August Youngstrum (OL/DL)
Key Returnees: Colin Bailey (OL/DL), Benny Feinberg (QB/DB), Brian Finn (RB/DE), Blake Fisher (OL/LB), Johnny Gaudieri (OL/LB), Grady Goodberlet (WR/DB), Chase Harrison (WR/DB), Dario Pringle (OL/LB), Wyatt Weiboldt (OL/DL)
Fall 2026 Preview
For the first time since the 2017 season, HF-L will play a Monroe County League schedule. The shift comes as Section V abandons enrollment-based federation scheduling in favor of a geography-based league format. As a result, the Cougars are back in a familiar bind: they must spend the regular season facing mostly larger Class A schools, even though they compete in Class B for the postseason. This exact competitive mismatch originally drove HF-L to play an independent schedule before Section V introduced federation scheduling for the 2019 season.
Despite the scheduling changes, the Cougars approached the offseason as they always do. In June fourteen seniors from the 2025 roster graduated, including 1st Team Class B All-Star, August Youngstrom, and three 2nd Team Class B All-Stars: Patrick Adair, Cal Grasley, and Nate Meacham. Two returning players were also named as All-Stars a season ago: Grady Goodberlet (1st Team) and Brian Finn (2nd Team). Then, in July, HF-L began optional workouts and practices. The Cougars traveled to Brighton, East Rochester, Penfield, and Webster Thomas for both 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills. The Cougars wrapped up their offseason with their Football Camp in early August and then the team’s first official practice of the 2026 season occurred on Monday, August 17th.
Following their August 29th scrimmage against Avon and Livonia, The Sentinel caught up with head coach John Russ to discuss the upcoming season. While HF-L has recently relied on their passing game to establish the run, this year the Cougars will flip the script, using a powerful rushing attack to open up the passing lanes.
The offense will be spearheaded by junior Benny Feinberg, who steps into the starting quarterback role after two standout rushing performances last year; notably racking up 250 yards on 55 carries against East/WOIS and Monroe. The former run-first QB spent the offseason honing his passing mechanics to transform into a true dual-threat weapon. Joining him in the backfield is senior rusher Brian Finn, who looks to build on a junior season where he posted 706 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.
When the Cougars do take to the air, Feinberg will have plenty of veteran targets. Senior Grady Goodberlet returns as the top receiving threat after anchoring last year’s passing game with 35 receptions for 501 yards and 8 touchdowns. Senior Chase Harrison will also start on the outside to provide a reliable secondary target. Up front, the offensive line will be anchored by seniors Colin Bailey and Blake Fisher, alongside sophomore Johnny Gaudieri, all of whom bring valuable starting experience from last Fall.
Defensively, Coach Russ is incredibly high on his linebacking corps. Returning starters Blake Fisher and Johnny Gaudieri will be joined at linebacker by junior Dario Pringle. This realignment comes as 2025 starting linebacker Brian Finn transitions to defensive end to shore up the defensive line. Coach Russ also named senior defensive tackle Wyatt Weiboldt as a crucial player to watch upfront. Meanwhile, the secondary will be locked down by the veteran duo of Goodberlet and Harrison, who combined for four interceptions and a defensive touchdown last year. Ultimately, Coach Russ emphasized that HF-L’s success this Fall will hinge heavily on their ability to stop the run.
Heading into the 2026 season, the goal for the Cougars is unaltered: make it back to the title game. HF-L has reached the finals five times in the last seven years, though they only claimed one Sectional Block in that span. Even with an expanded Class B field, Coach Russ remains firm that the team’s championship expectations stay the same.
Fall 2026 Outlook
A major benefit of Section V’s switch to league play is the return of teams from the former Wayne-Finger Lakes independent football league. After shrinking to just four teams last year, Section V Class B has ballooned to 11 members. Holdovers Batavia, HF-L, Monroe, and Rochester Prep will now be joined by Dansville/Wayland-Cohocton, East/WOIS, Geneva, Newark/Marion, Penn Yan/Dundee, Waterloo/Mynderse, and Wayne. When the regular season concludes, the top eight teams in the power seeding points standings will secure a Sectional playoff berth, culminating in the battle for the Championship Block at St. John Fisher University on November 14th.
Under their Monroe County League schedule, the Cougars will only face two of the 11 Class B teams this Fall: Monroe and Batavia, the latter of which features a home-and-away series. The remaining five matchups on the slate will force HF-L to play up against Class A competition, including games against Brockport, Canandaigua, Greece Arcadia, and Greece Olympia/Odyssey.
The Cougars kick off their 2026 campaign at home against the Canandaigua Gray Wolves, marking the first meeting between programs since Week 4 of the 2015 season. In Week 2, HF-L hits the road to face Eastridge, hungry to avenge a heartbreaking, last-second playoff loss to the Lancers in 2024. The home schedule resumes in Week 3 against Greece Olympia/Odyssey, a team the Cougars haven’t faced since 2017, followed by a road rematch of the 2025 Class B Championship against the reigning state champion Monroe Red Jackets. October brings consecutive home games, with HF-L celebrating Homecoming against Batavia and then Senior Night against Brockport. Finally, the Cougars close out the regular season with two road trips. The first is a visit to the Greece Arcadia Titans, where they will line up against their former defensive coordinator, Brad Herman, who is now in his first year as the Titans’ head coach. The regular season then wraps up with a second clash against Batavia.
With only eight Class B playoff spots available, the Cougars face a steep uphill battle. Section V’s current power seeding points formula factors in win-loss records, but fails to account for opponent classification like the old plus/minus system did. Consequently, HF-L won’t receive extra credit for enduring a grueling, Class A-heavy schedule. While the path is challenging, the Cougars have navigated these structural hurdles before. Securing a postseason berth remains their immediate priority; once they are in, they control their own destiny. If HF-L can stay healthy and mature through this regular-season gauntlet, they will enter the Class B tournament with invaluable, battle-tested experience.
Fall 2026 Schedule
Sept. 4 – vs. Canandaigua*
Sept. 11– @ Eastridge
Sept. 18 – vs. Greece Olympia/Odyssey*
Sept. 25 – @ Monroe
Oct. 3 – vs. Batavia* (HOMECOMING)
Oct. 9 – vs. Brockport* (SENIOR NIGHT)
Oct. 16 – @ Greece Arcadia
Oct. 23 – @ Batavia
*Game will be broadcast live by The Sentinel
