Sachem alum Joe Kirchner was honored with the Red Letter Award at Cortland State this spring, as announced in a YouTube video by Red Dragons football coach Dan MacNeill.
The award, similar to Sachem’s Black Helmet, is given to a player who exemplifies leadership, diligence and strong actions for success within the program.
MacNeill said Kirchner, a senior co-captain last season, was a player’s player and a coach’s player.
“Many times the Red Letter recipient is the most heralded with accomplishments defined with statistics,” he said. “Joe certainly is an accomplished player, but what distinguished him, what defines him, is his matter of existence. Without question he’s undersized for his position, he personifies under dog. Every day Joe immersed himself in our cause and his cause and he gave his best shot. Joe defined himself as an asset to our program, while accentuating his strengths: his heart for the game, his tremendous competitive spirit defined him as a prominent player.”
VIDEO: Click to watch Coach MacNeill talk about Kirchner
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro