By Matt Deutsch
Herald writer

Many times last season, the Brookfield High football team nailed down a victory by driving a Spike through the heart of its opponent. Spike Bayus, that is.

The versatile and productive quarterback graduated, though, as did many of his teammates, leaving the Warriors with just three returning starters as they enter the 2000 gridiron campaign.

Guiding Brookfield's fortunes this season is first-year head coach Anthony Naples, who has spent the last three years as the defensive coordinator at Warren Harding. The first order of business for Naples is to help his young players gain as much experience as they can as quickly as they can.

"Obviously, a weakness we have is that we're very young," said Naples.

"We only have three seniors and 10 returning letterwinners. The flip side of that coin, though, is that our young kids want to learn, get better and do what's needed to win."

The three seniors in question are center/defensive tackle B.J. Arnold, tight end/middle linebacker David Eliser and fullback/middle linebacker Chris Koerner. Naples is counting on his group of juniors to pick up the slack, including at quarterback, where Gary Malgieri and Jeff Nasci are vying to succeed Bayus. The offensive line also consists mostly of juniors, including guards Joe Nagy and David Guerino and tackle Jordy Harris. Joining them is sophomore tackle Dale Johnson.

The Warriors' running backs are very young, led by the twin duo of sophomores Colin and Kyle Brubaker. Also expected to carry the ball are sophomores Julian Hayes and Lou Scudere. In addition, wide receivers Jake Mortimer and Venti Cozart are juniors, but have little experience at the position.

On the defensive side of the ball, Eliser will play middle linebacker, while Kyle Brubaker will fill another linebacker spot and Colin Brubaker is slated for an end slot. Junior Ryan Brant is the team's other end.

Roaming the secondary are junior strong safety Jeremy Matthews and free safety Venti, in addition to cornerbacks Hays and Scudere. In the special teams department, it has yet to be determined who will handle the kicking duties on a full-time basis.

Although the Warriors' youth and inexperience is evident, Naples believes that his team can be a contender in the tough and tumultuous Trumbull Athletic Conference-8 (TAC-8). Much will hinge, however, on how quickly his players are able to mature.

"We've talked to the kids about just getting better every day," said Naples. "Our goal is to be very competitive and win the TAC-8. I believe that's a realistic goal. I think we have the talent to get it done, we just have to gain experience fast."

Two of Brookfield's nonconference contests this season will be of particular interest to Mercer County football fans. Like last year, the Warriors will be meeting Sharpsville on the gridiron, but they will also be battling the Greyhounds of Wilmington. Naples welcomes teams of such high caliber to the Warriors' schedule.

"It's a great challenge," said Naples. "Wilmington and Sharpsville have great programs, and from what I understand, the Brookfield-Sharpsville rivalry is starting to pick up again. We're interested in playing those types of teams. Hopefully, we'll be at the point where we'll be competitive."

Naples's assistants this season are as follows: Toby Gibson (defensive coordinator), Michael Naples (offensive coordinator), Andy Dobosh (special teams), Randy Clark, Rob Brink and Bob Stefanoski.