Sports

At the Peglegs’ varsity football preseason practices this summer, graduated seniors were not the only team members missing. Early last June, Brian Sacks stepped down as head coach of the boys’ varsity football team to care for his newborn child and take a coaching job in Long Island to be closer to his home. Replacing Coach Sacks as head coach is Mark Strasser, the Peglegs’ Assistant Coach from last season.

Last season, the Peglegs finished with a winning record of 6–4, finishing seventh in their division. The Peglegs are hoping for another successful season this year, with their new coach and new varsity members. As a result of their winning season, the team plans to make limited changes to their game plays.

Coach Strasser plans to keep the Stuyvesant defense unchanged. “The defense is basically the same. [Strasser] was our defensive coordinator last year, and he liked our system,” senior captain Nick Goldin said.

Although the defensive system will be the same as last season, Strasser plans to change up the offense. Stuyvesant is steering away from their shotgun-stance offense, where the quarterback stands at least five yards behind the line of scrimmage in preparation for a quick, usually short pass. This type of offense enables them to utilize the tight-end and full back positions, which were previously unfilled. “We’re going along with the changes. Coach [Strasser] has installed most of our offense, and it’s been working out well,” junior Gregory Dinkel said.

Strasser’s new offense will allow players who weren’t seeing much playing time before to play at the newly created positions. “We have guys moving to tight-end and full back that would’ve otherwise been borderline guys. It’s really an offense based around our personnel, so it works out for this year’s team,” Goldin said.

Strasser and the Peglegs are confident that their new offense will bring results. Since it is built around the current players’ strengths, the team has picked it up quickly, feeling they can use this offense to consistently score points. Instead of letting the coaching change damage them, the Stuyvesant Peglegs have adapted to the changes to improve their offensive system.