UTICA N.Y.- It was a full house at the Utica Common Council meeting as the Utica Proctor Football team was honored for their outstanding season this fall.

The team finished with a 9-0 regular season record, earning them a spot in the Section III playoffs eventually leading them to the Carrier Dome, and then onto Mahopac for the New York State Regionals.

Although the Raiders fell in the state regionals to New Rochelle in Mahopac ending their season on November 16th, the team made history this year making that the farthest any Proctor Football team has gone.

Credit was given to Head Coach Steve Strife, who says he feels the support from the City of Utica every step of the way.

“The community was awesome, the school district was awesome, the support was unbelievable”. said Strife. “I was getting calls from Proctor graduates from 1946, the mayor, the police department, the fire department sending us off; it was an awesome experience."

Proctor Senior Defensive End Evan Gohringer says it was a great way to end his High School Career going out on top.

"We went to the state championship it's uncharted territory for Proctor”. said Gohringer. “The football team has never made it that far and it was great experience. We had to travel 3 1/2 hours to get there and we've never had to travel that far. It was a great experience for us you know teammates and coaches especially such a great team even though we didn't come up short it was a great day."

The team was honored with a Proclamation read by City Council Woman Samantha Colosimo-Testa. Gohringer says he plans on attending Utica College to continue his academic and football career.