Not until Sunday night, after everyone else in Section III has taken their turn, will the Christian Brothers Academy football team set out on its 2017 campaign, capping off the Kickoff Classic in the Carrier Dome by taking on Henninger.
Ten months earlier, on that same Dome turf, the Brothers reclaimed the sectional Class AA title, requiring a fourth-quarter surge to deny Cicero-North Syracuse its first-ever championship in a 27-14 decision. CBA eventually reached the state semifinals before falling to Victor – ironically, on C-NS’s home field at Bragman Stadium.
To have that kind of glory again, and perhaps take it two steps further to a state championship, will require a lot of new players in key roles to step up on both sides of the ball to help the likes of Stevie Scott and Sirvocea Dennis,
Graduation hit the CBA roster hard. Dan Damico, Noah Jordan-Williams, DeAndre Dowdell, Reed Delfavero, Jaden Mitchell, Taylor Kirschenheiter, LeMar Peters and Matt Vavonese were among the 16 seniors who left, stars on both sides of the ball whose experience and toughness will be difficult to replace.
But it helps to have Scott on hand during that transition, a running back that combines power, speed and durability, yet stays humble, saying that all he wants to do is help his team win, whatever the role. Head coach Casey Brown said he has marveled at Scott’s maturity in the last year and the way he takes seriously both his work on the field and in the classroom.
In 2017, that role may get larger for Scott, who announced just before the start of practices that he’ll attend Rutgers University next fall following a junior campaign that included 1,269 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns.
With Damico gone, the Brothers knew that his talent, along with spirit, would prove nearly impossible to replace, especially on the defensive side. Sensing a need, Scott, who also starts at linebacker, bulked up, so now he stands at 245 pounds with a 6-foot-2 frame.
CBA has evolved into a run-first attack, but now the Brothers want to reestablish a strong passing game.
“We know people want to stack the box to stop Stevie,” said Brown.
Dennis returns at quarterback after starting every game in 2016. He gives CBA just what it wants out of the pocket – namely, a terrific athlete who can run at any time but can also fling it downfield to a large group of receivers.
Brown singled out wide receivers coach (and former CBA great) Bruce Williams with the work he’s doing with that unit. The likes of Tyler Kellison, Hassan Bridges-Bey, Francis Cannizzaro and Tom Marzullo lead a group where as many as 10 players could contribute.
Protecting Dennis, and blocking for Scott, is a front line anchored by guards Jake Vercillo and Eddie Niles. Brown said both tackle spots as well as the center spot remains up for grabs, and that holds true on the defensive line, too.
With new faces all over the front four, more will be expected of Scott and Jacob Maser at linebacker, while Dennis, at safety, will lead the secondary. Nate Torrence takes over the kicking duties after Matteson’s departure.
Unlike in 2016, when the team used a summer military-style boot camp to bond, this year’s squad used their participation in other sports, including the state Class D championship boys lacrosse team, to stay in shape and mesh before August practices. Brown said that each team carves out its own identity, so the same training or coaching methods can’t get used every year.
Favored again in the Class AA-1 division, the Brothers play all but one of its regular-season games against league foes, the lone exception a Sept. 16 trip to Elmira.
Scott and Dennis both said that the focus, as always, at CBA was on improving its own play, and not worrying so much about who it faced. That’s worked quite well over the years, and the Brothers hope the formula produces back-to-back sectional titles, not achieved here since 2004-05.
