Steinberg: EG Football Team Shook off Doubts, Focused on "Team"

By Garrett Steinberg
Junior, East Greenwich High School

The whistle blows and the captains form two lines. At the end of a warmup run and stretch, Carney Crawford or Andrew Miner would break down the team with an ecstatic “East on three!”

As many know, Miner won the Wendy’s High School Heisman Award last year and now attends Harvard University. Crawford holds the record for most rushing yards in East Greenwich history. The football team of 2013 was made up of superstars and yet, never made the playoffs.

Crawford and Miner, now graduates, left the football team with many concerns and doubt for the year to come. The 2014 season came and East Greenwich Football geared up for the long haul. The team was left with Nick Andreozzi at the starting QB who raised many questions himself coming off the “Age of Miner” and a basically brand new starting defense. These factors led many to question the talent EG would produce while some even wrote off the team seeing as they had little chance to impact the league.

The whistle blows and two lines once again form in timely fashion. An element of the team has changed, however. The infamous “East on three!” is replaced with “Team!”

At the end of every drill and every practice the team would yell “Team,” even punishing players who accidentally reverted to the old chant. “Team” was yelled all these times to remind the players that the team was family and only a full unselfish participation could lead to triumph.

All doubts of a 5’6” quarterback and new defense were blown out the window when Andreozzi silenced crowds passing for over 2,000 yards and rushing for more than 550.

The team’s defense was also the most tenacious in the league limiting other teams to an average of 11.25 points per game. The team powered through the playoffs making it all the way to the D3 Rhode Island Super Bowl vs. Middletown. The game took place at Cranston stadium and was an excellent showing for both teams. East Greenwich was able to overcome a 14-0 deficit coming into the second half and made it through to the last three minutes with a lead of 15-14. Middletown, however made a drive in the last few minutes and won the game 22-15. Though, East Greenwich had lost, we had done more than anyone thought possible. In the words of (Football team player) Josh Fowler: “We left our mark on the league and making it to the bowl proves that fact.”

One may wonder how the team transitioned into a new year and came off with such substantial results. The answer was in the chant: “Team”. As Coach George always says, “The team may not have as many superstars, but if we play like a team and come together for the big plays, we can go far.”

This was true for practices and every moment on field. Football is one of the only sports where every player has a role on the team including bench players. Bench players or ‘scouts’ help get the starters ready for each week’s game in practices and the effort of the team elevates everyone’s performances. Coming together as a whole made East Greenwich have one of the most successful seasons in recent memory and silence any disbelievers.

The Football team is only working harder together in the off season and the league will have a run for its money next year.

Photo Courtesy: Garrett Steinberg