HS football preview: Brownsville
Castor striving for reversal of fortune at Brownsville
Brownsville will be playing football under its fourth head coach since the 2023 season began.
Cody Castor intends to stick around a lot longer as he tries to get the Falcons football program back on track.
Castor, a Uniontown graduate who starred for the Red Raiders and played four years at Penn State, has the transition underway at Brownsville.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 just trying to raise the floor,无毛视频� Castor said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e worked really hard to try to build them up as athletes in the weight room, trying to teach them schemes offensively and defensively, how we can come together to make this the best we can.无毛视频�
Castor takes over a team that has gone a combined 1-37 the past four years but the past doesn无毛视频檛 matter to him as he tries to instill a winning attitude into his players.
无毛视频淲e talked the other day and said if you want to be the big dog, and everybody wants to be the big dog, you无毛视频檝e got to knock off a big dog to do it,无毛视频� Castor said. 无毛视频淲e can无毛视频檛 just hope we transform into it, we无毛视频檝e got to come into some of these games wanting to take it away from teams.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 just doing the best I can everyday with these kids, trying to make myself better as we go along, evaluating my own choices to see how I can improve for what these kids need, and just trying to push them and I think it无毛视频檚 already been a very positive thing early on.无毛视频�
Castor does have a veteran quarterback to lean on in 6-foot-4 senior Kaden Wimmer who quarterbacked the Falcons to their lone win of the last four years in 2023 although he didn无毛视频檛 play a full season in 2024.
无毛视频淜aden Wimmer is someone who took snaps early in the season last year as quarterback and he无毛视频檚 shown the strong ability to be able to handle that position again this year,无毛视频� Castor said. 无毛视频淗e throws a really nice ball. He无毛视频檚 a tall kid that can see over the top of everything. We无毛视频檙e hoping he can have a big impact for us.无毛视频�
Wimmer has pushed himself to take on a leadership role for the team.
无毛视频淗e stepped up at one of our most recent practices out on the field and spoke to the team following that and I was extremely happy to see that coming from him because I think he is naturally a little bit of a quiet kid,无毛视频� Castor said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e been trying to call three kids up at the end of every practice just to make sure the players are communicating with each other and taking some ownership of their team. When he stepped up with two other teammates I was very excited to see him do that. I think he was overcoming some of that quiet nature and showing his ability to lead.无毛视频�
Castor is already familiar with Wimmer and several key players on the football team through being an assistant boys basketball coach last season.
无毛视频淓xzavier Vargas, Kaden and Jaiden Praster are three seniors that I was able to work with on the basketball team,无毛视频� Castor said. 无毛视频淰argas is a returning running back. He无毛视频檚 a little bit shorter than most of our players but he is not lacking in heart and explosiveness. He无毛视频檚 definitely able to be fast and aggressive and hopefully will be assertive in the running game for us.
无毛视频淛aiden Praster is someone who catches the ball really nicely that I无毛视频檓 really excited for. Knowing those three have a good relationship from playing together in multiple sports, I无毛视频檓 looking forward to see what we can put together for them for their senior year.无毛视频�
Brownsville has several more skill players of note.
无毛视频淪ome other people that have really stood out to me are Maxime Dieudonne, Cynseir Douglas and Silas Patterson who are also very good multi-sport athletes at our school,无毛视频� Castor said. 无毛视频淚 can see Max and Silas as receivers and Cynseir as a running back as well as in the slot. Max and Silas both run track on the four-by-100 relay and are extremely fast kids. Cynseir is also a wrestler and has had some really incredible gains over the summer in changing his physic a little bit.
无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 been a big priority for me this summer with the kids is trying to teach them how to use the weight room properly. We just finished maxing out last week and I无毛视频檓 really excited to see some of the numbers the kids are starting to put up as they无毛视频檙e getting confident with their bodies.无毛视频�
A consistent sore spot for the Falcons in the past has been the offensive and defensive line.
Castor is depending on a trio of players to help out in the trenches this season.
无毛视频淥ne of our returning seniors is Anthony Ricco. He无毛视频檚 our center and he无毛视频檚 done a really good job in the past as I无毛视频檓 able to watch film,无毛视频� Castor said. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 a very strong young man with lots of returning experience.
无毛视频淲e also have two other seniors, Kam Shumar and Blake Olesko, who无毛视频檝e been working with us over the summer. I无毛视频檓 hoping with their size and seniority that they无毛视频檒l be able to help us as we move people in the running game.无毛视频�
Castor无毛视频檚 goal on defense is to have his team play well as a unit.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e still looking for a leader on defense,无毛视频� Castor said. 无毛视频淚 think some strong pieces of it are going to be all 11 playing together. We have some strong young men that I无毛视频檝e mentioned in the senior group and Max and Silas and Cynceir with their speed should be able to run to the football and finish plays in the open field.
无毛视频淪ome young sophomores on the team, Stevie Campbell, Thomasray Stimmell, Alex Remington and Logan Ross, have done really well also, so I无毛视频檓 hoping they can be contributors on the defensive side of the ball.无毛视频�
Castor无毛视频檚 squad doesn无毛视频檛 have a lot of depth which means the Falcons will have plenty of two-way players.
无毛视频淔or about the last three weeks we无毛视频檝e had about 20 to 30 kids, including some middle school kids working out,无毛视频� Castor said. 无毛视频淪o I am excited about how much involvement we无毛视频檝e had through the summer. But I definitely envision people playing on both sides of the ball as the numbers are not as high as I无毛视频檇 like them to be.
无毛视频淏ut I无毛视频檓 also trying to have a role for everyone on our team to the best of our ability. If they无毛视频檙e ready to play their role safely and protect themselves and help the team, it无毛视频檇 be great if we could balance out the reps that are going to come across a game through all of our roster.无毛视频�
With a new coach comes a new offense and defense, and the Falcons are trying to pick up Castor无毛视频檚 system.
无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檙e learning it. We无毛视频檝e been focusing on trying to repeat our installs offensively and defensively, so we无毛视频檝e been able to put those in recently and we intend to repeat them during heat acclimate and the first install of camp so that the base offense and base defense are really well understood by the kids,无毛视频� Castor said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 more about how we run them than how many things we can run right now.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 definitely been a teaching thing. We had them up in the classroom and I spent about a half an hour on the board trying to see what they were able to retain and asking them to come up and fill in information. It无毛视频檚 going to be a process because it is new to them and I told them straight forward it doesn无毛视频檛 matter how well I know the stuff, it无毛视频檚 how well you guys know it. We无毛视频檝e got to be able to try to start picking this up as best as we can. We无毛视频檙e going to give opportunities, trying to teach on the board, through some film and on the field as well.无毛视频�
Castor has welcomed some outside help in an attempt to inspire his players further.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e had some great coaches working with them and one of them is Amonti Marsh, a former Brownsville athlete,无毛视频� Castor said. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 been talking to the kids after practice the last couple days about stacking good days and I think that无毛视频檚 a really good message for us right now. The message I无毛视频檝e been trying to relay is do the best you can until you know better and then do better.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e definitely in a learning phase, trying to understand how we support each other on the football field and knowing the assignments of yourself and those nearby you.无毛视频�
Brownsville, as it has since the 2022 season, will play as an independent and its schedule includes Fayette County rivals Uniontown and Albert Gallatin. The Falcons have a nine-game slate.
Castor无毛视频檚 coaching staff includes Bill Rouse, Ken Silva, Amonte Marsh, Jeremy Ulery, Nick Seto, Tyton Brunner and Joe Hough.