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Six seconds. That’s all you need to see from the video above to realize this: Ossining has itself a new quarterback.
His name is Brian Connolly, and he is a junior transfer from Stepinac. Connolly played on the Stepinac varsity as a sophomore last season but decided to come home to Ossining — the town he lives in and the school his parents call their alma mater — rather than sit on the sideline another year behind Tyrell Goodman.
As you can probably tell, Connolly strikes an imposing figure and has a strong left arm. He is 6-foot-5, 195 pounds, and Dan Ricci did not hide today that his team will open up its offense with Connolly under center. He certainly has the arm strength to stretch the field.
Ossining will be awfully young in several key spots, although it returns several guys who can protect the new QB. Jordan Archible (RG/DT), Tyler Brown (C), Jose Chica (OT) and Peter Hoffman (TE/LB) were all front 7 mainstays as juniors. Chica filled in admirably after Dakota Degree went down for the year.
They will form the core and provide some experience up front, but the skill positions are where Ossining felt the biggest crush from graduation. Main ball carriers Matt Laccetti and Lemar Johnson are gone, so is top target Jamel Lucky. Seniors Donqutae Washington and Darrick Espinal-Ridenhour would’ve filled in but left the school, transferring to Brunswick.
Two seniors will earn carries: Louis Rodriguez and Alex Anthony, the latter of who has been the team’s kicker. They’ll be joined by a pair of sophomores with talent: Steve Candeleria and Kevin Gemboa. Candeleria already has the size the carry the ball on varsity.
With the team moving to Class AA and an entirely new group of players on the ball, Ossining remains a complete unknown. As promising as Connolly and his backs look, we won’t know where they stand for a while. If you’re looking for good chance to learn more, try September 2. Ossining will host an seven-way scrimmage with Greeley, Fox Lane, Suffern, Yonkers and Lincoln Hall.
Ossining worked down on the soccer field as a change or two are made to its turf. When it returns, fans will notice a tribute to Christian Federico, the former Ossining star who died suddenly this spring at 20. His number 23 was painted onto the padding near one end zone. You can see it below. Ricci also said his team will wear Federico’s No. 23 on its helmets.
17 Comments
light it up!
Step4Life;
If you’re gonna hate, post your own name! Don’t make the rest of us look like classless punks also!
We wish Brian the best of luck with his new team! He’s gonna be great!
StepFan,
Well said
oh sh…..I thought that name looked familiar at quick glance. I remember Brian. He had strong potential. Spending time in the CHSFL is going to help him adjust to Class AA. He really did not adjust to Stepinac’s offensive scheme, especially when one of the coaches tells the line “He’s going to just take off (Rabbit Goodman), and you gotta watch that, and block for him.” Shown here at a more realistic passing situation I’m sure Brian will do extremely well.
It pays to have multiple speed turf fields at Ossining, lol, being able to jump down to the multipurpose field while the football field is being worked on.
Brian Connolly will do very well at Ossining. He is a talented player who worked very hard the last few years. He was unfortunate to have Tyrell Goodman in front of him at QB. Brian is an outstanding person & student. Stepinac has already missed him. That being said, everyone wants the best for all the players on both teams. I ask that people to avoid being nasty or critical of situation. I wish Brian good luck in his next two years at Ossining. I hope the change works out for him & his family. I also don’t know why anyone is printing what a coach might have said with out any knowledge. The coaches at Stepinac all wished Brian the best when he left. We will be watching his growth for next two years & will be rooting him on. The coaching staff at Stepinac spent many hours with Brian. Everyone should remember our job is to make players better & prepared for the next level. Sometimes things in life change & places change, that does not mean that people don’t still care about the progress a player has made. I am sure Brian & his parents will watch the blog for Stepinac updates to see what is going on. We will surely keep an eye on how he progresses. I am sure Coach Ricci will enjoy having Brian around. He is a great kid & will be a great leader.
Good luck Brian!
I do ask that Stepinac so called fans please refrain from negative comments on blogs.
Coach O’D
coach ricci is one of the best he will def make something out of this group
Ossining is going to get embarrassed this year, this kid is no Lemar Johnson and they will miss lacetti greatly. If Ridenhour was staying there could be a glimmer of hope but i see nothing good coming out of ossining’s season this year. AA is a whole new monster. Ossining couldnt handle Somers with Johnson, Lacetti, Ridenhour, Lucky, and Washington… looks very bleak for O town in AA
Tough opening game with John Jay EF(away) Although this could be good timing for Ossining, Jay lost a ton of senior starters from last year. Jay has their backfield back which includes one of the best running backs in the section B.Ercoli. Jay will open with a brand new O-line which could take time to come together.
If Coach Ricci can find a couple of tall receivers and a D-line that can give him 2 to 3 seconds, Connolly will tear it up in AA (Similar to how Shilling from Carmel threw all over AA 2 years ago). I’m not saying Ossining will have all of the pieces necessary to put together a great team, but having Connolly is a heck of a start and someone to build around.
...an O-line..
good luck Brian,you will do well at ossining,keep up the good work,
wow its a good thing Ridenhour & Washington left ossining because from reading the blog ossining were going to use them as FILL IN’S wow 2 of the best players on the team and they were going to FILL IN,,wow
I think the writer meant that Donqutae Washington and Darrick Espinal-Ridenhour would’ve filled the gaps left by graduated seniors. These two are really solid players and would have been stars of this team.
sing sing… It’s just like Laccetti filled in the hole left by James Brundage. It’s the same thing. Last year Laccetti rushed for 450 more yards than any other back on the team. Someone will need to pick up the slack. I’m not sure how that could be misconstrued.
Will be glad to see Brian playing for the Indians.
If anyone can revamp an offense to fit his talent it is Mickey Mouse.
Should be another exciting year in O’Town!!
they say who dat yea we dat ossining still going to be nice even wit out darrick and tae. the line did okay when the big dog went down but they should be better tho. they gotta remember its not how hard yu grind but the time yu put in t the grinding that makes a football player. take it from me ima hustla on the turf babyyyyy