Varsity Insider

When Don Polverari stepped down after last season, Brewster’s football job had opened again. The last two times were inopportune for Ed Mulvihill, a man who had always wanted that job and wanted to coach the team he had played for in high school. But the timing had never been right.

“In the back of my mind, I always wanted to,” Mulvihill said. “When Brian (Walsh) left, the timing just wasn’t right. When Don took over, I thought Don was a great choice and I thought he did a great job. Now, with him leaving, my kids just graduated college, so the timing was perfect.”

Finally, the Brewster High School graduate had his wish. He jumped at the opportunity, and was appointed as Polverari’s replacement Tuesday’s at a district board meeting.

The 47-year old has served as Brewster’s varsity baseball coach the last six seasons. But he has also coached football 25 of the last 26 years, either at the lower levels or as a member of the varsity staff. He coached eight seasons under Brian Walsh, including in 1997 when the Bears made their first of two trips to the Carrier Dome in a three-year span.

Mulvihill has also coached the JV basketball team the last 15 seasons, but said he would give up the position to focus on football and baseball.

Mulvihill said the team won’t change much offensively. He plans to run an offense that is a hybrid between what Brewster used under Walsh and Polverari. He also plans on tweaking the defense, but will adjust based on the personnel.

He said the pressure is on to succeed immediately, but not from the community.

“It means a lot to me that we do well. I’ll put a lot of pressure on myself,” Mulvihill said. “It’s kind of a football town. We haven’t had the success we wanted. I hope things change.”