A few weeks after lastseason came to a close, Byram Hills sat down and dissected the Section 1 Class B finals.
Coaches and players admitted what they could have done better in a lopsided loss to Ardsley, noting mistakes in hindsight. Head coach Doug Carpenter was impressed with the way his team was able to have an "adult conversation," one that needed to happen before moving on.
Since then, feelings of disappointment havebeen replaced with determination. Their goals for the upcoming season are no secret.
"We're going for the section title," Carpenter said. "With falling in the section finals last year, and there not being a state tournament this year, our goal is to bring the title home, but there's a lot of really, really good teams in our way."
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Last season, the Bobcats went 7-2. Their only blemishes werea pair of losses to Ardsley.
This year, they've got high hopes and for good reason, too.
According to Carpenter, Byram Hills is returning nine starters on defense and eight on offense, including all-state players Matt Weiler, a running back and safety, receiver and cornerback Steven Franco, andoffensive lineman and outside linebacker Eli Ratzan.
In addition to that trio of two-way standouts, other seniors like David Gold and Hayden Fruhling have taken leadership roles andassisted with keepingmorale highduring quarantine.
Gold will be a staple on special teams as a kicker. Fruhling will remain a starter at safety or linebacker on defense while handling abigger role offensively as the quarterback. He replaces Nic Picca, another all-state Bobcat whograduated after last season.
The coaching staff has been bolstered by the addition of Steve Boyer as an assistant. The veteran three-sport coachguided Valhalla to the Section 1 Class C state semifinals last season.
"Our strength is going to be our skill position players. We bring back pretty much all of them — from the running backs to receivers, tight ends," Carpenter said. "We can be really strong there. We lost two really good offensive linemen, but we feel we have three other really good ones coming back."
As for those two remaining starting spots on the offensive line, as well as the few gaps on defense, Carpenter can't wait to see how the position competition pans out once practice begins.
"We have a lot of different types of athletes competing for those spots," he said. "Some are seniors that have been around. We have very promising juniors and seniors that have worked really hard. I'm excited just to see how the kids attack that competition. We've got some older guys that are excited for their time, but we also have some younger guys that are going to play for a spot."
History
Last season was the Bobcats' first-ever trip to the Section 1 finals during the state playoff era (1993-present).
Expectations
With plenty of returning starters from last season's team, Byram Hills plans on contending for the Section 1 Class B title once again.
The Bobcats have a competitive schedule, but the lessons they learned from last year should benefit them this time around.
"I think we were looking ahead a little bit, which is certainly disrespectful based on what Ardsley had done lately," said Carpenter said, alluding to Weiler's return from injury ahead of last year's Section 1 Class B finals and the eventual loss to the Panthers. "(Ardsley) coach (Dan) DiFalco is one of my best friends. He and his staff have done a great job, so to look ahead was silly. I do think myself, the staff, and the kids were guilty of it, and I think it happened in some other games too.
"If there's one thing we certainly needed to take with us, it's to try to focus on oneopponent — that week, that day — and not worry about anything else. In that sense, maybe not having a state tournament is a blessingbecause our obstacles are now in narrow focus."
Coronavirus impact
Like most teams, the Bobcats have been communicating regularly over Zoom for workouts and meetings.
To break the monotony and make it fun, they've also done an interactive trivia game over Zoom, adding a competitive way to go over the playbook, schemes, and other football topics.
Tentative schedule
Sept. 11: vs. Pleasantville, ppd.
Sept. 17: at Hen Hud, ppd.
Sept. 26: vs. Pearl River, ppd.
Oct. 2: vs. Nanuet
Oct. 10: at Putnam Valley
Oct. 17: vs. Westlake
Oct. 24: at Ardsley
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