Why not this team? Why not us?

With the first opening game win in over a decade against Boston Latin on Sept. 5, the football team is poised for a program changing season, according to senior Nathan Noel. Noel said that after last year’s winless season and lackluster team unity, a change needed to be made.

The work required to even get to the point of competing in games took a huge amount of effort and commitment, according to junior Zach Sheola.

“Once the season ended, me, Tim Campbell and Ben Solomon started going to the gym 4-5 times a week,” Sheola said. “We all gained about 35 lbs, and this year we’re all a lot better.”

According to Sheola, it wasn’t just those three juniors who increased their workouts. The entire football team has been in the weight room since the season finished, working together to ensure the left side of the record column would never house a zero again. On Friday, Sept 5th, their hard work began to pay off as they walked away from White Stadium in Franklin Park victorious.

Junior and captain Max Bochman said that in addition to workouts, the team came in with the mindset that they wanted to change their play style, according to

“[The new offense] uses a lot of misdirection to keep the defense guessing. Quick pitches, triple options, and counters are really huge for us,” Noel said. “[Junior Kay Takinami] had a touchdown last week for us on a counter. As a linebacker, you’re taught to read the guards, and during a counter it’s the tight end and the tackle that pull, so that really throws off the defense.”

The biggest advantage the team has over its competition is speed. Although Brookline is frequently undersized compared to its competition, its new offensive and defensive packages make the Warriors dangerous to play against.

In addition to the new game plan, senior and captain and quarterback Daniel Gittleman-Egan said that he is back with a vengeance after a concussion kept him sidelined for two years.

“I’ve missed almost two years of football, which is huge. That’s a lot of skill development lost. I think coach really prepared me,” Gittleman-Egan said. “We’ve been working out all spring and summer, running drills, working on footwork, working on passing, working on running, so I really felt as soon as I was out there, it was just continuing what we’ve been doing the whole time. It felt natural and that’s why I love football.”

For Gittleman-Egan and the team, this season has been more than simply playing with a new plan. The team is working to change how the community views Brookline football in general.

“We’ve been stressing all along that we want to do this season differently in order to change the culture surrounding football at BHS,” Gittleman-Egan said. “We want to start a new legacy here, so it’s more than just elation from winning the game. We are so psyched that we could be the team to start something new here.”

Not only did the team get the result they wanted in the season opener, but their high flying offense is averaging 26 points per game, up from the 14 points per game they averaged last year.

According to senior and captain Tyler Patterson, the team’s improvements should be attributed to much more than simply the new offense.

“I think there’s a passion and camaraderie on this football team that is unrivaled by any team that we’ve had in recent history,” Patterson said. “It’s something pretty special what we’re doing right now, and we hope people start noticing what we’re trying to do and continue to support us.”

According to Gittleman-Egan , the team fed off of the perpetual support of the fans and each other when they needed it most.

“During the game there was just great energy; from the guys, from the fans especially,” said Gittleman-Egan. “There were times when we were struggling a bit, and we felt inspired by the fans and inspired by our buddies just cheering and giving us inspiration to keep on going and keep on fighting.”

According to Bochman, two strong showings have validated their offseason effort and confirmed that the talent on this team is capable of changing the football culture at BHS.

“Hopefully we can build on it and move forward,” Bochman said. “We’re really trying to build this program from the bottom up, and it’s going to take some time, but I think we have the right players and coaches to do it.”

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