The similarities between Pleasantville and its rival Briarcliff are stunningly apparent on first glance. When I walked onto Parkway Field about an hour ago, I realized the only familiar name/face was the coach. I soon found out why.
The Panthers reached the Class B final in 2008 and seemed to be a likely contender in 2009. They had 17 seniors in uniform, including the dominant tandem of Jack Bramswig and Nolan Robinson.
Well, a year after their run fell short in the semifinals because of an incredible effort on the ground from Sleepy Hollow, the same Panthers are retooling. Their jump ball days of Robinson to Bramswig are over, replaced by the old and reliable power game.
Who will operate that power game remains a mystery. We’ll get to that in a bit. But Pleasantville coach Tony Becerra was clearly unnerved by last year’s gouging at the hands (really, the feet) of Sleepy. He pursed his lips and said, “We need to put the focus back on defense.”
No matter what side of the ball you mention, Becerra has few returning players to work with. The four captains all played last year and will fill major roles this year: TE/DE Conor Fraylick, TE/LB Eric Akalski, FB/NG Anthony Fortino, and FB/DT Michael Lanza.
Lanza will move from guard to fullback this year and earn his share of carries. That leaves another returning player, junior Michael Minerva, as the only real returning offensive lineman.
Two juniors will compete for the QB position, but both could play. They’re very different. John Conway is tall and more of a classic dropback thrower. Danny Schulman doesn’t remind you of a typical QB, but he’s a runner who will be an asset running the Wing-T.
The defense will return a couple players who join the captains and wreak some havoc. Stetson Bates emerged late in the season at CB, but another breakout player is Jordan Carty. He started as a sophomore but didn’t play in ‘09, partly due to injury. Carty could contribute as a running back and defensive end.
Despite the players that are in place, it was clear Pleasantville faces plenty of uncertainty. I knew within a few minutes that Becerra probably won’t really know this team until a few weeks into the regular season. What really tipped me off was when I asked him to name a few younger players he hopes will contribute.
“A lot of them,” he said. “They have to.”
Two guys he mentioned were senior HB/CB Skyler Leen and sophomore HB/S Nick Greto. But with the numbers of open positions in the depth chart, they will have company soon. Very soon.
Despite the inexperience, the Panthers have a streak they hope to continue. They’ve won a league championship the last three years, but Becerra knows: “No one expects us to get back there.”
“I told my guys, I don’t have to tell you your identity,” he added. “People have already decided it for you. No one expects anything from us.”
Maybe. At least not yet.
15 Comments
Pleasantville clearly is in rebuilding year. I say one , maybe two wins.
They are in a rebuliding year but they’re schedule is not incredibly hard. Besides edgemont and croton they have alegit chance to win all the other four games….so they could end up with two but i think they’ll get 3or4. All of their games are gonna be low scoring but they dont have last years offensive fire power as last year so they’ll be able to compete.
rebuilding year when the rest of the league (almost the same set up as last year) had their rebuilding year last year when Pville and Bcliff were among the best. Don’t count out the Small Class B league, 6 pretty darn good teams. Crazy to think about 8 years ago most of these teams were all in C together.
this team is gunna be in an underdog role all year but watch them be the class B sleeper. Coach Becerra is a hell of a leader and can get this team to overachieve if they believe they can.
Briarcliff is the biggest joke, they recruit their players, same with Kennedy.
We have a solid defense behind standout corner Stetson Bates, he’s class B’s Darelle Revis.
Batey Island, you heard it here first.
Seems like Kennedy is going to be the first team to get trapped on Batey Island.
Batey Island? More like Schulman Island. Having watched their preseason its been the consensus that Danny Schulman is one of the most sound defensive players on the team even with a slight height disadvantage.
pville is gonna run it this year.
Don’t believe the hype Pleasantville is nothing without Bramswig and Robinson. Shutdown corner? what a joke pville has no chance in this league.
OK Bcliff your just bitter because you havent beat Pville in 3 years and you wont beat them again for the next ten years you guys are steroid taking dirt bags
thank you football, and bcliff 11 how are kaltner and ledermans cycle’s going i heard kaltner’s moms caught him.
uh Bcliff is clean, we’ll take you in football, basketball (easily no one can refute that), and baseball.
Clean sweep for this bears this season boys.
briarcliff and pleasantville should not worry about which of the two is better.. because they are both mediorce teams in section one.. and will always be
o and sleepy i forgot your a big powerhouse right? sorry bout that…... be quiet like sleepy is anything better than these two schools
please Biagnick- Big Jesse and Panther Pride.. your obviously ill-informed. Kyle O’loughlin is the real defensive back that you should be bloggin about. This kids a freak athlete and makes big hits. Schulman is a great corner, but a even better QB. Very strong arm, with great accuracy. Conway has the lead in the depth-chart, but young schulman’s skill set will overwhelme everyone soon enough. Also, Bcliff 11 lets not get too cocky with fball and baseball… pville has Mike Lanza and he’s gonna be a stud this yr. in both sports.
bcliff recruits players? REALLY? funny cause i dont recall that…