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By Joseph Staszewski
Brooklyn Daily
Thomas Jefferson’s return to the football field after a tumultuous off-season was a victory for the program, even if it wasn’t quite a win for the team.
After the 16–12 loss to visiting DeWitt Clinton in Public School Athletic League football Saturday afternoon, Orange Wave coaches David Rivera and Gus Cyrus said the team’s performance was better than expected after just two weeks of practice.
“It was a great day, positive all around,” Rivera said.
Jefferson was forced to forfeit its first two games because of lack of participation and eligible players after former head coach Stephen Edwards was removed from his post and Cyrus chose to leave along with him. Another forfeit would have meant the cancelation of the season.
The players, who boycotted the team in support of Edwards and Cyrus, were happy to just be back on the field. But they were upset to see a 12–8 third-quarter lead slip away. Junior running back and team captain Janathan Troche called the game a homecoming no matter the outcome, but recognized that moral victories mean only so much.
“I feel good, but I’m not satisfied,” he said. “For a season opener, it was a good season opener.”
Jefferson (0–3) watched unbeaten Clinton, which scored on its opening drive, march 75 yards in 14 plays to go head for good on a 4-yard rushing score by quarterback Brandon Harris with 4:05 left in the game. Clinton converting both 2-point conversions was the difference.
“We were up and they came out of nowhere and scored. It’s tough,” said Delano Caton, who rushed for both of Jefferson’s touchdowns.
Edwards was booted in May after he was late to a workout that needed to be supervised by a licensed teacher. Junior Christian Valles Rivera chipped his tooth lifting weights and later reported it to the school, leading to Edwards’s firing. Cyrus left in August out of loyalty to Edwards and that prompted the players to miss workouts and practices in hopes of getting their coaches back.
Cyrus, who handles the game-day coaching duties, finally agreed to come back as an assistant two weeks ago after Rivera, also the school’s athletic director, took over the squad and agreed to bring Edwards back if he’s cleared by an investigation of the workout incident. They have both worked tirelessly with the rest of the staff to get the team back on the field.
Despite the rough times, the program has been able to pull things together quickly.
“A lot of work, getting about three or four hours of sleep at night,” Rivera said. “Just a lot of phone calls, a lot of e-mails, a lot of questions and a lot of work. It’s just aging me pretty much.”
Jefferson now has a bigger team numbers-wise at 31 than it did last season, but many of the players have not played football before and were recruited in the hallways. Others like running back Caton and fullback Shem Neil Brown are learning different positions. But they impressed Clinton.
“I thought they were physical, they were tough and they were resilient,” said Governors coach Howard Langley.
Cyrus still feels they have a playoff team, despite having three losses to dig out from. For everyone involved with the program, just getting back on the field and competing well was a victory in itself.
“It’s a learning experience for all of them,” Cyrus said. “I told them to hold their heads up.”