Published Tuesday, Aug. 26, 1997
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1997 season preview
Community support drew new coach to Brookfield
If the Brookfield High School football program's future is to brighten, new Warriors' head coach Jeff Bruno is hoping to borrow a page from the past. And he's optimistic regarding 1997, despite a collective three victories during the past two seasons.
``There's no doubt it's gonna happen,'' Bruno, 38, the former Springfield Local mentor, asserted. ``I've always felt that if enough people care, you can get anything done.''
A community-wide commitment to return Brookfield to its proud past is one of the intangibles that buoyed Bruno as the Warriors commenced camp.
``There have been so many people, so much support from the community (and) parents during the short time I've been there ... support and the willingness of people, who say, `Let's get back on track. Whatever it takes, let's do it.' It's been unbelieveable, it really has.
``Now, things like this don't happen overnight, but if you stay focused and keep your eyes on the goal, you're gonna get there.''
From a physical facilities facelift, to players' commitment to an offseason conditioning program, Bruno and Brookfield seem determined to improve.
``We're a very young team. We're gonna start an awful lot of sophomores and juniors,'' Bruno related. ``We're going through some growing pains; a new coaching staff and a new system has been put in. So they've gotta mature real fast to be competitive. How fast they mature _ both mentally and physically, as well _ will play a big part as to how well we're able to compete in (the Trumbull Athletic Conference).''
Leading the returning starters from a 1-9 overall, 1-6 TAC-8 contingent is versatile Chris Gerber, who may see action at wide receiver or quarterback as well as free safety.
Bruno said Springfield Local transfer Steve Blasko, an all-Inter County League selection, `` ... ha(d) the edge; he's the frontrunner'' for the starting quarterback slot to run the Warriors' spread-option.
``Both kids are capable of playing. Whomever doesn't get the starting nod (at quarterback) will be starting as a wide receiver, so we have the best of both worlds there,'' Bruno said.
Jason Sanata is slated to be the go-to guy in the 1-back set.
``He has pretty good speed. He ran track; he can go. He's not a speedster, but 6-1, 195 pounds as a sophomore _ I like that,'' Bruno admitted.
Other returning defensive starters include tackles Dan Paris and Shawn Johnson and linebacker Steve Wiley. Offensively, the returnees include wide receiver Tim DeMay, slotback Jerry Arthur and All-TAC-8 guard David Seese. DeMay may see double duty at strong safety.
Bruno also has been pleased with some newcomers, including speed-rush defensive end Rob Brink, offensive lineman Brad Henlen, and another pair of transfers, outside linebackers Dan Vojtko (Kennedy Christian) and Caeser Aulizio (Warren JFK).
``We'll try to base (the offense) on the running game out of the option (and) we're certainly gonna throw the ball quite a bit,'' Bruno said.
Defensively, he said the Warriors will use a 4-3, `` ... that's really based more on quickness and speed than it is on size and strength. It's a real attacking-style defense, using more lienbackers than big, strong defensive linemen. We really don't have any of those.
``We have a lot of questions. We really have a lot of unsettled positions,'' Bruno said early in camp. ``We have several people vying for positions to see who gets a shot. In sports, you never know 'til you get in a game situation who's gonna play when it's the real thing. So we're doing a lot of moving around.
``Our guys have been very receptive to the system, to the new coaches,'' he continued. ``When you're starting new, you always try to get that relationship between the staff and players early on, and we've accomplished that. They've been very receptive. Actually, mentally _ the X's and O's _ they've picked up the schemes; now it's not a matter of assignments, just physically executing, those kinds of things.
``They've been down the last two years,'' Bruno said. ``These guys don't want to repeat what's happened the last couple years; they're hungry to get things turned around and get back to winning the way Brookfield's known for. They've let that slip away the last couple years.
``Patience has never been one of my strong points, so I'd like to be a little further ahead,'' Bruno admitted. ``But we're better than we were yesterday and that's important. We're not where we'd like to be or where we're going to be, but we're better than yesterday and the key is to keep improving each day.''
Regarding the TAC-8, Bruno said, ``It's a tough league and Brookfield is one of the smaller schools, so we're just gonna have to come out ready to play week in and week out. And our non-league schedule is competitive, as well, so there's no `off' week ...
``We're excited and ready to get going. We're ready to test out the TAC-8 and see what it's all about.''
Bruno's assistants will be Chris Fahndrich, Dom Leone, Marty McCabe, Toby Gibson, Brad Shingledecker, Bill Lipps, Rich Pavone, and Keith Joseph.
