Day 1 of summer practice is all about possibility. For Oneonta High School football, that means building on last year’s success, when the Yellowjackets returned to the Section IV Class B playoffs for the first time since 2017.
With a strong core of returning players and a hungry group of underclassmen, there was a palpable sense of excitement in the air on the crisp August morning.
This year, OHS football is back to Class C, owing to the school’s student population, but head coach Will Neale knows it’s just as competitive. They’ll have to contend with perennial powerhouses Windsor and Chenango Forks.
“We’re used to changing classes. We just need to focus on improving and beating the opponent in front of us,” Neale said.
Returning at quarterback, sophomore Chase Jervis is confident in the team’s foundation. He said he believes they’re ready to use their speed in both the pass and run game — getting outside the tackles as much as possible, spreading the field with lateral movement. He trusts his group of receivers and backs, and believes the Yellowjackets can make it back to the playoffs.
“Oneonta football is ready to go,” Jervis said.
There’s also returning senior Nason Renne, a defensive nose guard and right tackle. He didn’t start playing football until he moved to Oneonta from Portland, Oregon in his sophomore year. While he has a natural agreeability, he’s looking to tap into some aggression in the trenches this season.
“I’ve got to learn to get angry, you know — hit people,” he said through a laugh that communicates he’s still trying to talk himself into it. He said he likes playing offense most, where lineman don’t often get much credit, but where their work helps their teammates shine.
The players split up in groups by position, running through the fundamentals of the game: body positioning, down technique, hip swivels ù all of it non-contact and helmet-only for now. Coaches encourage them to work on the basics, yelling out “Get low!” “Use your hands!” “Hustle!”
It’s a familiar and welcome time of year for veteran coaches Dave Bishop, Jason Neer and Thomas Marks. They’ve changed the old model of grueling two-a-days to a single four-hour block to better attend to the attention span of the latest generation, they said. But the roots of the game stay the same: Block, run, pass, tackle.
“We’re faster this year, and more experienced. We’re looking to play powerful too, using our strength,” Neale said.
Neale has a gentle but commanding familiarity with the players, making sure they understand what they’re doing — and more importantly, why. When a group of linemen were talking to each other and missed an instruction from another coach, he went over and made sure they understood the drill — up and downs — without reprimanding them.
Captains hadn’t been named yet at the time of this writing, but one name that kept buzzing around practice was Grayson Brockington, a do-it-all playmaking senior who lines up at wide receiver, outside linebacker, and even punts for the Yellowjackets.
“My goal this season is for us to be division champions,” Brockington said. He smiles through the side of his mouth, not entirely comfortable with the attention he’s been getting, preferably to lead by example on the field.
He’s been playing football since the fourth grade, and it shows. The fluidity of movement on the turf comes naturally to him, and coaches instruct other players to “Do it like Brockington” during drills. He’s fast, but runs under control; he’s quiet, but speaks up when his teammates need a leader.
Oneonta will get to test its mettle in a scrimmage with Bainbridge-Guilford, Cobleskill-Richmondville and Walton on Saturday, Aug. 30.
The team’s first game will be Friday, Sept. 5 at Greene, and the home opener, which is also Alumni and Hall-of-Fame Weekend, will be Saturday, Sept. 13 against Johnson City.