Half Hollow Hills East Varsity Football/2010 Preview

A big smile emerges from Half Hollow Hills East varsity football Head Coach Kevin Hill when he talks about the size of this year's squad. With over 40 varsity players and 46 more on junior varsity, "It's the best numbers we've had in years," Hill said.

Good thing. The injury bug is already rearing its ugly head.

With opening game less than two weeks away, the Thunderbirds' offense is currently without two key players, senior quarterback Robert Merckling and senior running back/linebacker Shawn Charles. Merckling is day-to-day with a bone bruise near his knee, while Charles will probably be sidelined with a pulled hamstring for at least another week. Add to that junior running back/linebacker Ryan Coyle's hip injury (he's out for about three weeks), and Hill has his hands full piecing together his offense as he tries to improve on a 2 – 6 record from last year.

"We're looking to make little steps," said Hill, who returned to the sidelines in 2008 —with long-time friend and assistant Bobby Schwarz—after coaching the varsity in the early '80s. "In 2008, we went 1 – 7, 2-6 last year. This year, we want to win half our games. We had some tough losses last year." (Close losses opening week against Centereach 21-20, and a 41-33 loss in week six against eventual playoff-bound Bay Shore punctuated a season of strides and setbacks.)

Preseason is always a time for optimism, and for Merckling, who has been on varsity since 2008, this summer is no different. The quarterback sees a much-improved team over last year's, and shares his coach's belief that better times are around the corner. "We're working harder, and improving on our basics … the blocking and tackling," Merckling said. "We lost some size, but we've picked up speed."

One of the speed players is running back Rasheed Williams, who will see plenty of action whether or not Charles is 100 percent by game day. While Charles is a bigger, more straight ahead back, Williams will use his quickness to elude tacklers. It's a nice balance that Hill and Merckling will have in their offense. And much-needed depth. So too at the quarterback position, where junior Justin Ashley has been getting more reps in practice with Merckling sidelined. "I'm getting used to the speed of the [varsity] game," Ashley said. "That's the biggest difference between varsity and junior varsity. The reads and the way everything moves." "He's a hard worker," Hill said of Ashley. "He'll see action." But clearly, Merckling is a big key to Hill's plans.

"He's our captain, our leader," Hill said of his signal caller. " He'll do whatever it takes to make a play and win a game. He's like so many of our kids. I tell the parents, 'Are we struggling as a program? Yes. But these are great kids and we're slowly turning this around.'

"We're building confidence, and the players continue to work hard. They're in the weight room during the off season getting bigger and stronger. And they're walking down the hallways with their chins up and chests out. We look across to the great job that Hills West has done with their program and that's where we're trying to get to."

The Thunderbirds kick off their season at home September 7 against Centereach.