It only takes a quick visit to the back fields of Poly’s campus to see the famed Varsity Football team. Every day, this committed group of winners works to improve their game skills and to build their confidence.

Even before the official start of the season, the boys were hard at work. During the long summer months, team members came to Poly six days a week where they practiced for up to nine hours a day, focusing on learning their updated offensive and defensive plays, lifting, and exercising.

The team consists of almost 40 members, ranging from 8th-graders to seniors. All players are extremely dedicated, practicing nearly every day year-round in both rain or shine. This year, they are led by Seniors Bobby Coll, Will Nipon, Joe Charles, Adonis Brooks, Jason Blissett, and Michael Licata, whose guidance is sure to contribute to the team’s success.

Under the leadership of Head Coach Kevin Fountaine and Coaches Kevin Burke, Davonte Wheeler, Mike Camardese and Paul Suarez, the team is focusing on improving their agility, strength, and endurance on and off the field. Poly’s new Director of Sports Performance Richard James also helps the players train with the main goal of making them bigger, faster, and stronger.

Junior Stefel Smith said, “We’ve improved a lot. The season is going well despite setbacks like numerous injuries and the loss of teammates from last year. But we are ready to have a great year. We really think that this season will be a great one.”

Senior Kevin Rosa agreed, saying, “We have a lot of young players on the team who really stepped up for us and made a big impact. I think that we can potentially win a championship if we keep the same intensity and spirit that we always had since the start of our season.”

The football team won against Riverdale with a score of 39 to 20 at the annual Homecoming game. Their training, commitment, and savvy new plays helped propel them to a victory over one of our strongest rivalries. We hope the team continues this momentum into their championship season and makes Poly proud. Good luck to this squad of champions.