GSC Drops to 0-5

This season has been a very frustrating one, watching the team continue to improve each week, but also continue to fall short.

The Wolves dropped an 18-14 contest at Grady High School and this weekend fell to Lincoln HS by a score of 32-20.

Grand Street will take on Canarsie HS this Saturday at noon in the Wolves Den.

GSC defeated by New Utrecht

Prolonging the rude awakening that a jump in divisions has been, the Wolves lost on Saturday to a hungry New Utrecht by a score of 28-6. Turnovers negated what may have been two scoring drives, but the Wolves played hard and vow to come back strong against rival Grady next week.

The GSC Wolves Junior Varsity defeated New Utrecht on Sunday, 12-6, for the win on their opening day.

Grand Street falls to Wagner 36-14

Game two started better than game one with the offense marching down for a score on its first possession.
However, the Wolves dropped another tough one to Staten Island rival, Susan Wagner High. Grand Street is 2-1 in their series vs. Wagner having lost in the postseason in 2002 and defeating Wagner in the 2007 opening game 28-8.

GSC plays at New Utrecht next Saturday.

GSC Junior Varsity opens their season next sunday also vs. New Utrecht.

Next Game

The Wolves will be playing at Susan Wagner High School on Staten Island this weekend. Game time is 1pm.

The Wolves will be wearing their new away "whites", which were purchased with funds raised this past offseason. Thank you for your continued support.

Wolves Drop home opener to Midwood 30-20

Despite a valiant effort at a late fourth quarter comeback, the Wolves dropped their home opener and 5 level debut to Midwood by a score of 30-20.
After a Midwood score, Michael Thompson returned a Kickoff 73 yards for a touchdown. Justin Andujar scored on a QB sneak after a Tyrese Defreitas interception. Andujar scored another rushing touchdown late in the fourth, but the Midwood Hornets were able to run out the clock after an unsuccessful onside kick attempt by the Wolves. Mo Brown also intercepted a pass for the Wolves.

The Wolves take on Wagner High School, on Staten Island, next Saturday at Noon.

2008 Schedule

Many requests to find out when the games are:
http://www.psal.org/psalsports/school/psal_schoolschedule.asp?sportid=005

to check out game coverage, including game of the week predictions, message board, and scores:
http://www.nycsportsnews.com/

Home Opener - Sat. September 6th - noon

The GSC Wolves will open their 08 campaign this coming Saturday September 6th at Noon at the Wolves Den in Bushwick. Calling all fans to come down early, tailgate in the parking lot and bring a lawn chair for exclusive on field seating.

In week one, the Wolves will face the Midwood Hornets, one of the oldest football programs in New York City. The Wolves will have home games later this year vs Fort Hamilton, Lincoln and Canarsie.

Please come and enjoy a day of high school football.

Scrimmage vs. New Dorp/Columbus on Saturday 9am - August 30

We will be scrimmaging New Dorp and Columbus on Saturday morning at 9am on New Dorp's field. Columbus and possibly others will also be participating.
**A little throwback pic of the Wolves vs. South Shore during 2004 playoff game.**

Back from Camp

Back from camp and ready for school to start. (I think)

Some thoughts from camp:
* Team worked hard and is heading towards having a formidable offense and defense.
* Senior leadership is strong, but must be consistent.
* Some first year players have been impressive at times, but must also remain consistent.

I have also posted some pics from camp.

Our Thoughts are with team mate Tyrese DeFreitas.

FOOTBALL STARTS SUNDAY

In honor of the start of the season On Sunday August 17th at 730am.

You will not practice without a medical and parent consent.

GSC Alumni Report to College Camps

Aug 9th was the start date for most college programs in the area. Jeremiah Brown began the season as the third free safety on the Wagner College depth chart, Kadeem Huggins at Defensive End at CW Post and Chris Basile at Syracuse. Chris is looking forward to games this year at both Penn State and Notre Dame.

Lekhem Rose, Adonijah Delancy & Gerald Reece are working their way through the NCAA clearinghouse to play down at Virginia Union.

Jamal Puranda, Christian Robinson and Brandon Charlotten are gearing up for practice at Globe Tech CC.

Pictured above is JB's new locker at Wagner College.

Practice Starts on Sunday - Email Nile

First official practice is at 730am on Sunday August 17th. It would be wise to take this last week to get in the best shape possible and work on specific skills - like catching the football. All positions are up for grabs in 2008 and you could find yourself in a heated competition - whether you are a seasoned veteran and a rookie on the come-up. Several people have helped themselves in Big Apple, but lets see who remains when the pads are put on.
Make sure you are communicating with us if there are any issues.

Nile Quick may or may not be returning to the team this year. Help convince him to stay by sending him an email at nileischoesen@aol.com
Nile has a tough decision to make, but we can all let him know what he means to our GSC Wolves Family.

Less than a month to Hell Week

With Big Apple going strong, there are many faces that have not shown up to Big Apple once this summer. It is important that players get down to the evening practices to get information and prepare for the upcoming season. Some players are taking the opportunity to move up on the depth chart and grab a starting position. Former Wolves Chris McDonald (Globe Tech), Chris "Rev" Basile (Syracuse), Kadeem Huggins (CW Post), Jeremiah Brown (Wagner) and Gerald Reece (Virginia Union) have all been taking advantage of Big Apple to train for their upcoming college seasons. All players should make sure they are running and in shape for the start of practice on August 17th.

Back from Namath Camp

Tyrese DeFreitas won the most outstanding Running Back today at Joe Namath Football Camp. All the GSC players came to play in the camp's final scrimmage this morning. Everyone had a great time and is excited to be back for Big Apple on Monday.

Leave for Joe Namath Camp Sunday, Big Apple Starts Monday

We leave for the Joe Namath Football Camp on July 6th at 10am from the front of Grand Street. For everyone else, Big Apple Games starts at Grand Street at 5pm on Monday July 7th. It is important that everyone is there and checking in with Coach Gazzillo and Lightfoot to let us know what you are doing. Remember, there are only 6weeks until we begin practice, so get yourself ready!
If I have internet access, I will give some updates from camp....

By Popular Demand

I have been getting requests for these pics from last years Temple camp, so he you go. The feature Adonijah Delancy, Kadeem Huggins, Gerald Reece, Cristian Robinson, Jamal Powell and Jeremiah Brown.

2008 Boomer Game - NYC Wins!

Coach Longo, the coach of William Floyd HS and last night's coach for Long Island, did something he has not done in 3 years; he lost a game. NYC came from behind in the 4th quarter when Jeff Legree hit Stephen Benjamin in the corner of the end zone.
The video shows GSC's Jeremiah Brown making the game's last tackle.

Photos From 2008 Spring Game

Coach Batesky just sent me these pics from the spring game.

Don't forget about the Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge
Tuesday June 24th at Hofstra 730pm

Offensive Highlights on Youtube

check this link to view the 2007 Offense in Action!
Beware of the three-headed monster!

Highlights from NY NJ Classic

Kadeem Huggins is wearing #75
http://www.digitalsports.com/article/type/organization/typeid/37/id/29899.aspx

Our Former Future to Represent Us in the Outback Bowl

Jeremiah Brown and Kadeem Huggins will play one more game together before heading off to Wagner College and CW Post, respectively. One June 24th, the Wolves represent NYC on both offense and defense with Jerry playing strong safety (possibly a sneak preview to next year?) and Kadeem lining up at tight end. Kadeem's projected position at Post will be defensive end, so look for Kadeem to make the most of any catch he gets.

Both players played in the Brooklyn 44 Reilly classic with Jerry throwing the game winning touchdown (The Donny Play) and taking home the game MVP.

http://www.empirechallenge.com/

NY falls to NJ 33-22 in Nike NY/NJ Classic

Wearing #75 and playing only defense for the first time in his high school career, Kadeem Huggins stepped on to the field to represent New York state in the annual Nike NY/NJ classic. The early advantage seemed to go to New York because they were able to wear white in the blazing sun. The temp on the field reached 105 degrees at one point before game time. New York also featured Brooklyn standout Jeff Legree from Fort Hamilton and several players from Curtis HS in Staten Island.
Joe Sedaris and Brock Jakowski from William Floyd HS on Long Island also played for New York. They were coached by former GSC defensive Coordinator and current WFHS JV Head Coach Eric Sorenson.

Huggins in NY-NJ Classic

On Sunday June 8th, the all-stars of both New York State and New Jersey will meet up at Rutgers stadium for a border war of soon to be college football players. The Nike NY-NJ Classic, formerly called the Governor's Bowl, has never before had a representative from Grand Street Campus, but all that changed this year when TE/DE Kadeem Huggins was added to the roster. Many of Kadeem's former teamates, coaches and family will be attending the game on Sunday, which will be broadcast live on My9-WWOR-TV in New York and New Jersey. Kadeem will be attending CW Post on a full athletic scholarship in the fall. If you would like to purchase a ticket, you can email me at big.offense@gmail.com and I can see if some discounted ones are still available.
http://www.thefootballclassic.com/

Coming up on June 24th, #12 and #89 play one more game together....

Spring Football Ends with McKenna/Lightfoot Classic

Waking up at 5am to get to a 630am practice is hard for everyone, both players and coaches. But when it comes to May at Grand Street, baseball is usually deep into the city playoffs. So in 2007 we instituted the morning practice for Spring football and it has been a success ever since. This year we went with a 10 day offense and 10 day defense format, culminating with our spring flag football game

This year was a little different though. After the current players worked their way through the tournament, the met the 2007 Alumni in a battle of past versus present, with the rest of the team draped across the sidelines. Following that game, an all-star team was picked from the present team to play against the alumni.

The action was fierce. Midway through the game, Orlando "Ola" Tulloch proclaimed that the future is now with an ankle-breaking juke move after catching the ball. Joseph Otero also scored for the all-stars. All in all, Grand Street was the winner with a strong spring coming to a close.

Soon I will post the pics from the game, taken by Coach Batesky.

Sponsorship

Maurice Brown lives on the internet. It was three years ago that I received a random email from a Junior High School student that was interested in running track. He saw that Grand Street had a track, but was not sure if we had a team. I replied that we may have track team in the future and if we did, I hoped to be the coach. Mo Brown had a signature style to all of his emails always ending with “thank you in advance”.

Advance three years later and Mo Brown is a sophomore wide receiver and corner that has already earned 2 varsity letters. Plucked from the junior varsity during his freshman year, he has been a contributor on varsity since that time. Never hesitant to promote himself, Mo Brown (#10) wears a t-shirt with his current cell phone number printed on the back. Mo is all over myspace, with pages for the 2nd Coming and Team Gatorade, the latter of which came about after Mo wrote to Gatorade and let them know that he wanted to be sponsored. Since then Mo has received a shipment of Gatorade every month.

A big season is expected from Mo Brown. However, there are many things that Mo must worry about that other football players around the country don’t have to bother themselves with. Do I have a Metrocard to get to practice? Do I have a decent pair of cleats?

The Grand Street Campus Wolves Football program works hard to help our players reach a level playing field with those they play against and those that play the sport of Football around the country. In the past seven years, we have welcomed the NFL Play It Smart program to our school, we have hosted a football site for the Big Apple Games, players have participated in football camps organized by Temple University and The University of Buffalo, and nine football players have attended the Joe Namath Football Camp at Western Connecticut State on scholarships, with four more set to attend this year. The Grand Street Campus Autism Awareness Team helped to raise over $1000 this year through various events.

We need help from our boosters to help raise funds for our 2008 season. Please partner with us to bring the best sports experience we can to our team. Send an email to: big.offense@gmail.com and I will give you all the information about preseason or in-season sponsorship opportunities.

Former Joe Namath Scholarship Honorees Pictured - New Honorees Announced

Pictured from left to right: Lehkem Rose, Will Guillaume, Coach McKenna, Jeremiah Brown, Gerald Reece
In Front: Adonijah Delancy
The Joe Namath Camp Scholarships were announced today, along with the addition of the Eleven Arrows JNFC Scholarship. The total of Grand Street Football players attending the camp is now at four. With Jerry Brown and Kadeem Huggins working as counselors, Grand Street will have a significant footprint on this camp.

Scholarship Winners for 2008:
Devon Lapierre - Offensive Tackle/Defensive End - Soph. 6'1" - 215
Tyrese Defreitas - Running Back/Linebacker - Soph. 5'8" - 175
Justin Andujar - Quarterback/Defensive Back - Jr. 5'8" - 170
David McCall - Offensive Tackle/Nose Guard - Jr. 5'11" - 300

First Alternate
Mo Brown - Wide Receiver/Defensive Back - Soph. 5'10" - 150

GSC Wolves 3rd Annual Golf Outing

It is 830pm and Quarterback Justin Andujar is tired. He woke up at 5am so that he could arrive at the Grand Street Campus field for a 630am practice. At 8am, Justin reported for his first period class and after a full day of honors classes, he reports to the weight room for an hour and half of lifting. Today, after lifting, Justin will travel to the practice bubble at Giant Stadium to participate in the New York Giants Quarterback Camp.
Justin has been a backup quarterback for two years and this is his year to run the offense.
Justin and the rest of the Grand Street Campus Wolves Football Team are no strangers to hard work. They know that their work will translate into wins and loses.

What Justin does not know is that he has been selected to go to Joe Namath Football Camp in July along with three others, on scholarships. He will be joined by his mentor and former teammate Jeremiah Brown, who will be coaching for the first time at the camp. Jerry Brown will be attending Wagner College in the fall on a full athletic scholarship. Also earning a full scholarship from last years team is Kadeem Huggins, who will be attending CW Post. After playing in the Wolves football program for four years, they understand the impact they have on those that will come after.
They know that the next game is never guaranteed.

The cost of operating a football team in New York City is expensive. The budget for football is small and teams are forced to charge dues for their players, many of which cannot afford it. In addition, things many teams take for granted, such as uniforms and buses, are things that we need to actively fundraise for.

Our boosters are the life-blood of our fundraising effort. Local businesses and individuals have been generous for the past two years when it has come to support for our annual Golf Outing. For the third time, on June 14th, we will have our outing at the Clearview Golf Course in Bayside, NY. We have a variety of sponsorship opportunities available, including event and hole sponsorships. Please help us to raise funds to give our players the very best in equipment and opportunities.

For information, please email: bigoffense@gmail.com

The Future Backfield?

"So, Coach Mack, who are the starting running backs?"
With the three-headed monster of Brian Mackey, Lehkem Rose and Adonijah Delancy all set to graduate, a significant group of upstarts look to take their place. Tyrese Defreitas, Michael Thompson, Anderson Smith and Arsenio Lee are returning veterans looking to fill the role. Rookie Brandon Shade was also impressive in spring practice. However, we won't find out until September who will get the start vs. Midwood.
Picture above: Michael Thompson and Tyrese Defreitas vs. Far Rockaway 2007.

300

Wolves Schedule Released

9/6/2008 home opener vs. Midwood
9/13/2008 At Wagner (Staten Island)
9/20/2008 At New Utrecht (Brooklyn)
9/27/2008 At Grady (Brooklyn)
10/5/2008 Vs. Lincoln
10/11/2008 Vs. Canarsie (City Champ runner up 2008)
10/18/2008 Vs. Fort Hamilton (City Champ 2006 & 2007)
10/25/2008 AT Brooklyn Tech (Downtown Brooklyn)
11/2/2008 At boys & girls (Brooklyn)

The Wednesday Playlist

The variety of music played in the Grand Street Campus Weight Room is vast. Teenagers are funny and on any given day the playlists differ, but in 2008 the Wednesday playlist has been consistent and has become the soundtrack to the team the players have dubbed "The Second Coming". The ones that are into the wednesday playlist the most are the Boxers, the ones that train with me on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5-630pm.
Wednesday Playlist
Saul Williams - List of Demands
Fishbone - Servitude
The Roots - Get Busy
Ghostface Killah - Toney Seigel aka the barrel bros
New Kingdom - Big 10 1/2
Foo Fighters - Down in the Park
Faith No More - Last Cup of Sorrow
Tv on the Radio - Wolf Like Me
Gnarls Barkley - Going On
Beastie Boys - So Whatcha want
The Roots - Rising Down
Lil Wayne + Birdman - Stunner like my daddy (Travis Barker Remix)
Jay-Z - Hello Brooklyn
Beastie Boys - High Plains Drifter
Freeway - It's Over
Jay-Z - Roc Boys
Fishbone - End The Reign

The "jet" is the winner

Steve "The Jet" Sherwood, of ESPN radio's Sports Journey radio program is the 2008 winner of "Stacking the Board". A check for $20 will be donated in Steve's name to help the fundraising effort of Maverick Gazzillo's elementary school in Queens.

Listen to Steve Sherwood and Lake Lewis archived on www.sportsjourney.com

My Board - STACKED!

Who will win the Stacking the Board for Autism Awarness - NFL Draft contest?

Here is my entry to the fray. I have chosen based on where people might go, based on needs, BPA and trades. You might say some are a reach, but "a man's reach must exceed his grasp or what is heaven for?"...

If you are interested in playing along, see the OLDER POSTS for rules.

Enjoy Draft Day 1 with the new ten minute format!
1. Jake Long
2. Chris Long
3. Glenn Dorsey
4. Darren McFadden
5. Ryan Clady
6. Vernon Gholston
7. Leodis McKelvin
8. Matt Ryan
9. Sedrick Ellis
10. Keith Rivers
11. Devan Thomas
12. Brandon Albert
13. Derrick Harvey
14. Jeff Otah
15. Rashard Mendenhall
16. Rogers-Cromardie
17. Jon Stewart
18. Aqib Talib
19. Chris Williams
20. Kentwan Balmer
21. Mike Jenkins
22. Phillip Merling
23. Limas Sweed
24. Jerrod Mayo
25. Felix Jones
26. Deshon Jackson
27. Godfrey
28. James Hardy
29. Brian Brohm
30. Kenny Phillips
31. Dan Conner

Adam, I am your father...

You cannot dispute that these two look alike.

Mangini wants to know!

Today, while being interviewed by Adam Schein on Sirius NFL radio, Tracy Porter gave some insight into Eric Mangini's interview process for potential draft picks. When Porter, a defensive back prospect in Saturday's NFL Draft, was being questioned by Mangini at the team's facility, he was asked what his favorite TV show was. His reply was Family Guy. Mangini followed up by asking which episode he liked the best.
Mangini admitted he was also a fan.

Will We Run DMC?

With exactly one week before the NFL Draft, many of the experts are predicting that Darren McFadden will be a New York Jet. The smoke-screens and backdoor deals will be happenning all over the league this week as many teams look to trade up and some look to trade out of their spot. I for one would love to see Run DMC in a New York Jets uniform, but time will tell. Check my March posts to play Stacking the Board next week during the draft.

DJ's DubRock

Evening all,

I have just uploaded the first DJ's DubRock mix available on divshare, online filesharing service. Take a listen.
The entire mix (except 1 track) was created organically on two 1200's with records purchased from $1 boxes.
http://www.divshare.com/download/4236239-b01

artists in order:
Kris Krisopherson
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Dave Edmunds
The Eagles
Loggins & Messina
The Guess Who
Steely Dan
Joni Mitchell
Phoebe Snow
Billy Joel
Kenny Loggins
Poco
The Partridge Family
Steve Miller
Captain & Tennille
Christine McVie (of Fleetwood Mac)
Bonnie Raitt
Joni Mitchell
Gordon Lightfoot
Bob Seger

NFL Draft Game for Autism Awareness

As a member of the Autism Awareness Team at Grand Street Campus, I am currently working with my teamates on how to let people know about World Autism Awareness Day, which is April 2nd. I have created a fantasy-type game called Stacking the Board, that goes along with the NFL Draft. The directions are below. Please forward to any football fans you know and if they are interested they can follow the directions and play along. Even if you do not play along, just by forwarding this email you have helped me in letting people know that April is the month to find out more about Autism and what we can all do to help.
http://www.autismspeaks.org/press/world_autism_awareness_day_2008.php

I will donate $20 in the name of the person with the highest official point total.

Directions for Stacking the Board
Choose 32 players that you think will be drafted in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft.
Place them in the order that you think they will be picked.

Points will be given like this:
1 point if your player is selected anywhere in the first round.
5 points if your player is selected in the slot you predicted.
10 points if you pick three players in a row
15 points if you pick four players in a row
20 points if you pick five players in a row
(if you hit on five in a row, you start a new streak on the next pick)

In order for your picks to be official, I must receive them by 11am on April 26th (one hour before the draft starts) email them to big.offense@gmail.com

Email me for a scoresheet and list of some well thought of NFL Prospects.

The Re-up

I have decided to get this blog back in effect, so I am going to re-up with at least a few posts a week. Starting today with the first of many NFL Draft features. So remember to check back every so often.