At the end of the 2008 football season, Brown walked off the field with a 7-3 record (6-1 Ivy) and an Ivy League trophy to its name. But the Bears’ hopes of repeating as league champs this year received a crippling blow last Saturday as Harvard held off Brown 24-21. The Crimson, who shared the Ancient Eight hardware with the Bears last year, is considered to be among Brown’s toughest competition again this year. The weekend loss was the second of the year for Brown, which was defeated in a heartwrenching 21-20 loss to Stony Brook in the home opener. In that contest kicker Drew Plichta missed a 40 yard field goal wide right as time expired to end the Bears’ hopes of responding to Stony Brook’s go ahead touchdown with 47 seconds to go.
Yet head coach Phil Estes’ squad is poised to bounce back this weekend in the Governor’s Cup matchup with in-state rival Rhode Island, a contest that will double as Brown’s homecoming.
Brown will not enter that game unarmed—it returned 10 starters from last year’s squad, including six all-Ivy League selections and four first team all-Ivy Leaguers. All but one of Brown’s first team selections play on the offensive side of the ball, with senior receivers Buddy Farnham and Bobby Sewall and senior offensive tackle Paul Jasinowski returning to lead the offense. Jasinowski will provide experience to an offensive line that will be crucial to this year’s success, as the Bears are breaking in a new quarterback. Prior to his first snap against Stony Brook, junior quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero had not attempted a varsity pass for the Bears. Newhall-Caballero has responded thus far, completing his first 12 passes from scrimmage against Stony Brook and finishing that contest 29 of 45 with 267 yards. In his encore performance against Harvard, Newhall threw for 225 yards and a touchdown. Taking handoffs from Brown’s new quarterback is junior Zachary Tronti, another newcomer to the fold who had a solid debut, amassing 84 yards on 24 carries. The 6-foot-5, 285 pound Jasinowski is accompanied on the line by two other returning players, center Mark Callahan and guard Tim Danser—both seniors, as well as juniors Brian Ellixson and Patrick Conroy.
On the defensive side of the ball, Brown came into the season with all-Ivy League selections returning on the defensive line and at safety, but with questions at linebacker, where the Bears lost three of four starters. The line, buoyed by first team all-Ivy honoree David Howard and second teamer James Develin, is expected to be one of the stingiest in the league again this year. Brown surrendered a league-best 77.1 rushing yards a game last year, and hopes to once again force opponents to take to the air. The group has already made its presence felt, with Develin turning in a team-high eight tackles against Harvard and fellow returnee senior Peter Hughes recording two tackles for a loss and a sack against Stony Brook. Behind Howard, Hughes, and Develin, three new starters line up next to junior inside linebacker Kelley Cox, the lone ’backer with starting experience entering the 2009 campaign. Linebacker Andrew Serrano and Brendan Gallagher are not green, however, having recorded 22 and 14 tackles last year, respectively. Lurking in the secondary will be returning second team all-Ivy League selection senior Chris Perkins. Last year Perkins tallied 55 tackles and dominated opposing offenses, including a career day against Harvard. In that game Perkins was in on nine tackles, forced two key fumbles (one leading to a touchdown), broke up two passes, and had a tackle for a loss. The Bears’ safety earned Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week for his performance. Lining up next to him will be returner senior David Clement—already with a spectacular one-handed pick in the end zone against Stony Brook this year—and juniors Robert Gillett and Russell Leedy.
Last year, Brown kicker Robert Ranney turned in an all-Ivy League year both punting and kicking for the Bears. The special teams unit has missed him this year, with Plichta’s last second miss from 40 yards and his failed point after try earlier in the contest, contributing mightily to tipping the scale Stony Brook’s way.
Brown, as much as any team, knows that every little bit matters, having lost out to Harvard on the very last play as well. Newhall had two attempts to give Brown the win from the Crimson’s 10 yard line, but both passes were broken up as time expired on the Bears’ second straight heart-breaker. But with coach Estes, a 2008 finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award for the nation’s best coach, at the helm Brown will be ready to take on Rhode Island this weekend with an eye towards the rest of the Ivy League late.
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