's varsity football team it wasting no time getting back to work.
Players practiced for the first time this season on Friday and are looking to solidify game plans over the next few weeks. Brewster is slated to take on Nyack for the Bears' Sept. 9 home-opener, a game that will likely be scrutinized around all of Section 1.
After 23 years, the Nyack Indians will be playing their first game under coach Mike Ramponi, and without two-time state champion coach John Castellano. He left to become a defensive line coach at legendary Don Bosco Preparatory High School in New Jersey, which has won five state titles in a row.
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Regardless of their opponents' shift in leadership, Brewster coach Don Polverari plans to make sure his team’s focus is where its supposed to be — focusing on its own game plan.
“Every game we go out there and we expect to win,” Polverari said. “We expect to get better and better each week and at the end of it, win that week’s game.”
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Looking to help Brewster return to the winning side of the ledger after a 3-5 campaign a year ago is 6-foot-4 junior quarterback Brian McNeil.
“He has the height, he can see the field really well and he has everything else,” Brewster senior wide receiver Adam Tavolilla said. “He knows everybody, he is comfortable around all his teammates and at his height, everybody looks up to him. He is the tallest kid on the team, you have to respect that.”
McNeil will likely be throwing to Tavolilla quite often, and the latter plans to use his athleticism and speed at the slot position.
“He is athletic, fast and I expect him to get open for us,” Polverari said.
Junior Fernando Solis will be filling the shoes of all-section honorable mention running back Trevor Smith, who has since graduated.
“He is really quick, he has low gravity and will be able to run the ball up the field for us," Polverari said.
Starting in his third year on the offensive line is senior offensive tackle Mike Bonilla. He has the hands and feet of a wide receiver, just in a lineman’s body.
“He is big but also very quick and agile and will be a big asset on the line for us,” Polverari said.
As for the wide-receiver position, Polverari called senior Kamal Johnson a “game-changer.”
“He is very explosive,” Polverari said. “He is one of the fastest players I have ever seen at Brewster. The opposition it going to have to pay attention to him whenever he is on the field.”
Bringing plenty of intensity on the defensive side of the field at linebacker is lacrosse stud Harry Erickson, a senior who brings that same passion to the gridiron.
“Harry is the most physically intense player we have on the team,” Polverari said. “He is one of those guys that brings it on every play whether it’s in a game or practice.”
Other key defensive players include Bonilla at defensive tackle, Tavolilla at safety, junior Ed Schoenig at middle linebacker and junior linebacker Chris Leggio.
