After winning three straight league championships, Pleasantville suffered through a 3-6 campaign last fall.
Panther Coach Tony Becerra believes his squad will be better this upcoming season, but because of the realignment based on the Piner System, qualifying for the Section 1 Class B playoffs will be a challenge.
Pleasantville will look to start what it hopes is a bounce-back campaign in its opener at 7 p.m. Sept. 9 at Putnam Valley.
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“Obviously we were disappointed at being 3-6 last year after coming off three straight league championships,” Becerra said. “We knew we were young last year but we didn’t want to use it as an excuse. We are improved this year, however, the revamping of the schedule puts us in a tough spot.”
The Pleasantville coach explained why his team, along with every other Class B squad, will have a tougher time getting into the postseason.
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“Instead of eight teams making the playoffs, in Class B only four teams will make the playoffs,” Becerra said. “Every game is pretty much a must win this year. Even though I feel personnel wise we will be better, the schedule will dictate how things shake out.”
Pleasantville’s key returning players from last year are the following:
Running back/defensive back Kyle O’Loughlin (5-foot-10, 170 pounds),quarterback John Conway (6-4, 200), safety/running back Danny Schulman (5-6, 140), outside linebacker/tight end Nick Greto (6-0, 185), guard/linebacker Zack Myers (6-0, 165), guard/linebacker Micheal Lanza (5-11, 205), offensive/defensive tackle Michael Minerva (6-2, 235), outside linebacker/tight end Sean Conway (6-0, 185) and tackle/nose guard Obum Anyichie (6-0, 240).
All of the above are seniors, except Greto who is a junior.
The offensive backfield will be led by John Conway and Schulman.
Each has a year of experience on the varsity after playing as juniors last season.
“Last year I was rotating Conway and Schulman at quarterback but I decided Conway as the No. 1 with Danny backing up,” Becerra said. “John is 6-4, he has a strong arm. He’s been tested. Danny is more versatile, even though he’s a smaller kid. He can run the ball, he can catch the ball. He can start both ways.”
Leading the offensive line will be Lanza, who enters his third year as a starter on the varsity. As a sophomore he was guard, last year he was moved to fullback because the Panthers weren’t deep in the backfield but is back at guard for this fall.
“Myers is moving from the center position to guard,” Becerra said. “Minerva will be a three-year starter at tackle for us. Obum showed a lot in the offseason even though he didn’t play a lot last year. He improved tremendously. Greto and [Sean] Conway give us depth on the line with Greto getting the majority of the experience last year.”
On the defensive line, Minerva and Anyichie will be the two key players this season.
“We will also have a lot of newcomers who are coming up from the JV who also will help out, depending how things shake out,” Becerra said. “I hope we can keep these guys from going both ways and keep them fresh, we’ll see what happens.”
Lanza has the most experience at the linebacker position with Myers and Sean Conway earning their time with an impressive off-season.
Schulman will be the quarterback of the defensive backfield with O’Loughlin also playing a key role after battling injuries that limited his playing time a year ago.
“Schulman will be our backup quarterback and I trust him at the safety position,” Becerra said. “Because of his experience at quarterback, he is a natural safety. He is a smart player, he will be making the defensive adjustments as a safety.”
