Let’s get it cranking…

It figures. I went to Mamaroneck in the afternoon instead of the morning, only to find out that the player I mainly went to see, quarterback Andrew Benkwitt, wasn’t there. He had a death in the family and missed the afternoon practice because he was at the wake, so I didn’t get to watch him play.

But I heard more than enough.

“He’s the best quarterback in the section,” Mamaroneck coach Harry Peterson said, the first thing he actually said when I shook his hand. “I don’t BS anyone. If he’s not the best, he’s definitely in the Top 5.”

Those weren’t exactly the words I expected to hear. It’s not that I doubted the hype I’d been hearing about Benkwitt. I wasn’t expecting everyone to be so up front about it, that’s all.

Benkwitt is being strongly recruited by Temple, Hofstra and Stony Brook, and a bunch of other I-AAs are expected to get on board once they see his senior tape.

Both Peterson and JV coach Mike Chiapparielli (who coached Benkwitt as a state champion pitcher in baseball) raved about how good his feet are and how accurate his arm is.

Benkwitt is working a lot with Mamaroneck assistant Bill Brodie, whose father is former San Francisco 49ers quarterback John Brodie. Bill’s brother-in-law is former NFL QB Chris Chandler.

“Whenever we have a question, Bill just gets on his cell phone and makes a call,” Peterson said. “With Bill we know Andrew is getting an NFL style of coaching; the right way to play the position.”

Mamaroneck wisely installed a shotgun offense that allows Benkwitt to sit back in the pocket and deliver the ball. His arm strength and accuracy are superb. But what should separate him this season is his confidence. Being a state champion in baseball, pitching the winning game, does that.

Plus, the Tigers used the offense for the last two games last season and scored over 60 points. There will be carryover, especially now that they’ve spent the whole offseason perfecting it.

Gabe Yizar and Patrick Joyce, both basketball players, will be his primary targets, and he’ll be protected by the biggest offensive line Peterson said he’s had in a long time.

“We’re about 235 on average across the line,” Peterson said. “We graduated a lot of guys. But we have a nice team coming back.”

I’ll definitely get back to Mamaroneck next week and watch Benkwitt first-hand. So far, I like what I’m hearing.

At Rye now. Will report back soon.

Just spent a little time at New Rochelle. I must say, my brain hurts.

The two-time Class AA champs went through a full-squad walk-through of the seemingly hundreds of defensive formations, adjustments and reads they use. Watching it was like being in a hospital as the chief of medicine led rounds with the intern doctors.

They went at a slow pace, didn’t use a ball and continually huddled up and went into formations. Every play DiRienzo would stop, pick out a player and ask a question:

“If the tight end releases, where does the safety go in this formation?”

Even though the players were wearing helmets, I could still make out the blank stare they were giving their coach.

I pride myself on being somewhat of a smart guy. But I don’t think I could hack it in New Rochelle’s defense. I’d probably be better off as a doctor.

But hey, New Rochelle gets results. Rarely does the first-team defense allow a touchdown. Part of that is that it has overwhelmingn talent. But the level or preparation and knowledge is about as high as any other team. Maybe the highest.

After the 25-minute drill, DiRienzo gathered his defense around and stressed why they just did what they did.

“If we’re not all in the right spots, we don’t have a chance to succeed,” he said. “Remember back in Kingston. Monroe lined up empty and ran jet. We were in the right spots. When we finally got into the right spots, the same play went for a 2-yard loss.”

It seemed simple. Just listen.

Not much else to report from camp. Super 11 selection Ian Solomon is out with knee problems but is expected to play in the season opener against Carmel.

Demtrious Borden is coming along really well, DiRienzo said, and could be headed for a big season. How much time it takes him to adjust to varsity is the only thing that might hold him back early on.

Off to Mamaroneck and Rye. Will check back in with more updates.

We had pretty extensive coverage of the first day of football camps yesterday in the Journal News.

I wrote about how the goals and expectations at Eastchester are dramatically different this year compared to last.

Harold Gutmann went over to Nyack and learned about a team that returns just about every key player from last year’s 5-4 team.

Meanwhile John Jay has to replace just about everyone as it moves down to Class A after a terrific run in AA. Jake Thomases has the story.

Finally, Alex Myers visited Harrison, where it’s trying to move past a sluggish 2007 season.

Rick Carpiniello also checked in with a column about the elimination of the three-games-in-11-days playoff system that football employed last season.

Check back later on for updates from camps. I have an appointment in the morning but will hit a few camps in the afternoon.

I got to Rye this afternoon just in time… just in time to watch the field hockey team practice.

Between writing my story for tomorrow’s Journal News and a slight problem with my home renovation, I got sidetracked this afternoon and didn’t get up to Rye in time for the end of practice.

I will tomorrow, I promise. The likely destinations are New Rochelle, Rye and possibly Mamaroneck. I’d like to check out the quarterback, Andrew Benkwitt, who’ve heard a lot about in the comments section and through an email.

The plan is to go to Rockland on Friday afternoon and/or early next week. I’d love to hear how the first day went at your school. If you have any insight please share.

As I walked over the bridge to Mount Vernon’s practice field this afternoon and up the hill, coach Ric Wright yelled out to me:

“C’mon Kev!” he said as he threw his hands up. “You couldn’t give me one day!”

“Sorry coach,” I said. “I had to make sure you were actually here.”

The Knights were there, about 50 players strong. Some coaches left but the core of the roster was still intact. The budget crisis that nearly canceled their season had very little impact on players leaving as some feared.

Mount Vernon only officially got word it would have fall sports last Monday. And it showed.

First, the field wasn’t painted.

“When I got here this morning, one of the guys said ‘You can’t start today. We’re painting the field today,’” Wright said with a grin. “I said ‘Oh, we’re starting today.’”

Today’s only the first day of camp everywhere but Wright already knows he’s woefully behind schedule. It’s OK, he says. He’s not going to rush things, even though he returns very little from last year’s team, which reached the Class AA playoffs.

And this list of positions he needs to fill on his wall doesn’t alarm him the least bit:

QB, FB, 3 RBs, WR, T, G, TE.

That’s just on offense.

“I told my coaches that we’re not going to rush it,” Wright said. “If I get to the first game I have only four plays I can run, that’s OK. Maybe I’ll have five plays. It’s OK. We’re going to be very vanilla. We’re starting from zero and are going to be slow and methodical. Who we are at the beginning of the season won’t be who we are at the end.”

Wright had a quiet confidence in his voice. He’s not one to pull punches with his team. The sense I got was that Mount Vernon is ready catch people off guard.

Even though he doesn’t have a No. 2. Or a No. 5.

I wasn’t sure what that meant when Wright said it. So I asked.

“When we have a stud player, a great running back, he wears No. 2 or 5,” he said. “Right now, nobody is going to wear those numbers. Not yet, at least. If there’s somebody deserving, they’ll wear it. That player might be here already. But I haven’t identified him yet.”

Just something to keep an eye on this season if you go to a Mount Vernon game. Check the roster.

The best talent Mount Vernon does have actually isn’t allowed to wear single digits. They’re linemen.

Eric Hill, Courtney Cameron, Robert Pope and Mitchell Jackson are all returning to the offensive and defensive lines. Those units are clearly the strengths of the team.

According to Wright, he’ll fill the spots in the backfield with no problem. It will start with a committee and then get narrowed down when somebody emerges. Andre Gaynor, a basketball player, will be a threat at wide-out. The defense has holes to fill in the secondary, but nothing that makes Wright panic.

Wright’s just happy to be here. After spending an hour in office peppering him with questions, he seemed even happier after I left.

Be back soon after I travel up to Rye. I’ll see where the day takes me from there.

I just left Mount Vernon a little while ago. A lot going on there, which I’ll post in a little bit.

If you’re on break and are looking for something to read (other than the active comments section of this blog), check out my story today on Carmel lineman Chris Watkins.

To me, Watkins was the best player who didn’t make Super 11. He’s a phenomenal lineman who’ll likely play football at the I-AA level.

Back soon with an update on Mount Vernon and then I’ll be heading up to Rye.

There’s no debating who the happiest man on a football field was today. And he’s got good reason.

I caught up with Tuckahoe coach John D’Arco at practice this morning. D’Arco has coached for over 30 years,most of which was at Eastchester. In that time he’s seen some of his best quarterbacks leave the district for Iona Prep – Brian Cummings, Scott Cade, Phil Treglia, Joe Spagnola, and so on. Cummings, as you might know, is one of the best Qbs ever in Westchester, going on to star at Maryland and getting drafted into the major leagues for baseball. They all left just as D’Arco hoped he’d be getting them.

Finally, one has come back.

As I mentioned the other day, Anthony Gentile has transferred from Iona Prep to Tuckahoe, his home district. The senior quarterback is projected to be one of the better passers in Section 1 this season.

I didn’t get to see Gentile throw any passes this morning since Tuckahoe is in the infant stages of practice. But you could just get a sense that he’s in command.

“Our kids would embrace anyone,” D’Arco said. “They welcomed him right away and the transition will be nil.”

Gentile was in the shotgun for most of the plays I watched. D’Arco raved about his mobility and ability to tuck and run. His son, assistant John Jr., told me last week that he was in awe of the way the ball came out of his hand.

And Tuckahoe, according to D’Arco has the receivers for him to get the ball to. That was my fear at first. But the coaches confirmed that they have athletes and will use them. I think they’d be wise to get Alex Melendez, the sophomore, involved in that scheme. He seems like a pure athlete who’d thrive catching the ball and get ready to take over at QB next season.

I’ll go back to Tuckahoe later in the week when I can watch Gentile air the ball out a little.

Check back later for more updates. Wireless signals are far tougher to come by this year than they were during my camp travels from a year ago. So please be patient.

I wasn’t at practice this morning for two minutes before a coach made the statement I’ve repeated to myself for the last three years.

“This isn’t really the first day anymore,” Eastchester coach Fred DiCarlo said. “Every team has been working out and going to camps and 7 on 7s. This has become anti-climatic.”

You have to agree. Three weeks ago I watched some of the best teams in the area square off in full pads. Today, Eastchester was running through drills in helmets only because that’s what the state allows in the first three days of practice. Then you add shoulder pads. Then full gear four days later. A little silly.

It was still great to watch practice this morning. I’ll be writing a story for tomorrow’s Journal News on Eastchester, which has gone from Cinderella to serious contender in the span of 365 days. Last year nobody would have put them in the sentence with Somers or Ossining or Harrison. Now, the Eagles are a front-runner.

The running backs are the real question mark entering the season. Or, should I say WERE the question marks. Chris Perugini and Kevin Bronner have both put on at least 20 pounds and are a nice combo. Right now they’re as good as the starters from last season. But by midseason, they might be better.

There was a hole at fullback in the spring with Johnny Costanzo graduated. But a name to watch is Jimmy Romagnoli (sp?). He was a guard last year who barely saw the field. In the spring he went to DiCarlo and said he wanted to play fullback and was willing to do whatever it took. DiCarlo laid it out for him and he’s emerged as the starter.

“He’s just like Costanzo,” DiCarlo said. “He’s going to be very good.”

Romagnoli adds depth to an Eastchester teams that returns 14 starters, most of which are two-way guys. He allows Johhny Martin to only start one-way, which is crucial with Martin playing middle linebacker. Having one-way starters, DiCarlo said, was the key to last year’s success.

During camp these next two weeks, he hopes that he finds a few guys who can step in and avoid having to use guys both ways.

You see, these camps are good for something.

Be back soon with a report from Tuckahoe.

Ahhh. Finally.

As I say every year, today is my favorite day of the year in high school sports. It’s the first official day of preseason football camps. Yeah, I know every team works out year-round and today is almost an arbitrary starting point. But there’s still something special about waking up this morning and stepped onto the field. It signals that the season is actually almost here.

I’ll be hitting a bunch of camps throughout the day, starting with Eastchester (I’ve been assigned by my editors to do a story on the Eagles). I’ll also make a stop by Tuckahoe and Rye, and hopefully several other schools in between.

Check back throughout the day for blog updates and information. I’ll keep them each light so I can travel from school to school. Odds are my gas tank will be close to empty by the end of the afternoon. Perhaps I’ll even sneak in 18 holes at twilight. Yeah, I know I’m so ambitious.

As always, I’ll be accepting suggestions on which schools I should go to over the next two weeks. However, when making a suggestion please don’t forget the most important part: giving me a place to eat along the way. For example if you write: “Go to Scarsdale” you’d also want to include “…and eat a ‘Brian with bacon’ at Gianonni’s Deli afterwards. I’ll figure it out.

As I’m sure you already know we released this year’s Super 11 honorees this afternoon in the first ever live online broadcast. The recipients were:

Rob Lombardo, Somers
Maurice Easterling, Stepinac
Darlos James, Iona Prep
Ian Solomon, New Rochelle
Justin Autera, Mahopac
Mike Fasano, North Rockland
Anthony Davis, Nyack
Kyle Ramalho, Rye
Devonte Brailsford, Dobbs Ferry
Chris Alfano, Iona Prep
James Brundage, Ossining

I’ll embed the link to the videos we shot as soon as I can figure out the new system.

Did you watch it live on Mogolus? If so, I’d love to hear your feedback and any ideas you might have to improve it for the future.