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Camp Confidential: No. 14 Brooklyn Tech
Brookyln Tech coach Kyle McKenna has a veteran team hungry to make a mark in the PSAL.
Dylan Butler
MSG Varsity will visit the top teams in New York City during preseason camps and will unveil our preseason power rankings each day leading up to opening kickoff. In today’s edition of Camp Confidential, we take a look at No. 14 Brooklyn Tech.
LAST SEASON: 4-5; lost to Tottenville in PSAL Championship first round)
HEAD COACH: Kyle McKenna (4th season)
TOP RETURNING PLAYERS: ATH James Gales, WR/SS Kyvaune Brammer, TE/DE Thomas Plonski, OL/DL Benjamin Haye, ATH/DB Kareem Ellis
OUTLOOK: There’s a buzz around Brooklyn Tech these days, and for once it’s not just about academics.
The school’s varsity football team has high expectations this fall and the Engineers are hoping to let the city know the school isn’t just about smart kids.
“We feel like this is our year to do something special, to let people know that Brooklyn Tech is here and this is a great football program,” senior lineman Benjamin Haye said. “We’re not just a specialized high school.”
The hope is to excel on the gridiron as well as the classroom and coach Kyle McKenna believes the Engineers have the necessary ingredients to succeed.
“I think we have very good team speed, very good strength, but the biggest strength of this team is the accountability factor,” he said. “They’re accountable to each other and accountable to the coaching staff. They’ve gone a long way to build that idea of what is expected of then in house and following through on that. That’s why our expectations for ourselves are as high as they are.”
While the Engineers are hoping to put the rest of the PSAL on notice this year, college coaches have already taken notice.
Wide receiver/strong safety Kyvaune Brammer verbally committed to Buffalo, two-way end Thomas Plonski is Villanova bound and speedy James Gales has offers from Albany, Villanova, Monmouth and Fordham and is being recruited by Columbia, Princeton and Yale.
“We have a great senior class that has been working hard for the last four years and we have an excellent coaching staff,” Gales said. “We had an amazing offseason. We lifted, we ran and got a lot faster and a lot stronger.”
Brooklyn Tech also returns three offensive linemen, including the hard-working Haye, as well as gifted playmakers in Brammer and Gales, while senior Brandon Schneider replaces graduated Kevi Shyti at quarterback.
Anchoring the defense is Plonski, a three-year starter at end and McKenna likes his depth at defensive tackle, where he’s got a four-man rotation. Shutdown corners Gales and Kareem Ellis also return, while weakside linebacker Terrence Busby is much improved.
“He came on late last year and really showed us a lot of promise,” McKenna said of Busby. “He’s really put in a lot of work over the summer and we’re expecting him to be a Day 1 starter.”
And the Engineers are expecting to make noise from Week 1, a home contest against Brooklyn rival Thomas Jefferson on Sept. 8.
“We want to open up, shock everyone else and let them know we’re good,” Busby said.
Added Gales: “We circled [that game] ever since we got the schedule. That’s our ambition in the weight room, that’s what we strive for.”
2012 SCHEDULE
Sept. 8 vs. Thomas Jefferson
Sept. 14 at John F. Kennedy
Sept. 22 vs. Lehman
Sept. 29 at Fort Hamilton
Oct. 7 vs. New Utrecht
Oct. 13 at Grand Street
Oct. 20 vs. Canarsie
Oct. 27 vs. New Dorp
Nov. 4 at Boys & Girls
Check out our No. 13 team Saturday at 10 a.m.
Contact Dylan Butler at dbutler3@cablevision.com and follow @Dylan_Butler on Twitter
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