By Dylan Butler
There is a lot that’s old for the Springfield Gardens football team, the lockers, the weights, the jerseys. But it is what’s new that has the players thinking ahead to Friday’s opener at Erasmus rather than looking back at last year’s disappointing 1-8 season.
For the first time in two years, the Golden Eagles will get to play a home game at their school, as a brand-new FieldTurf surface replaces the old dirt and rock strewn field.
There’s also a new coach, as Charlie Yarborough takes the reins of a program reeling in recent years. After two years as an assistant coach under Rod Schatt, the program is in the hands of the former Junior Varsity head coach and the players could not be happier.
“He hypes us up, he makes us feel like we’re going to win,” said senior Brandon Rush, a three-year starting fullback/linebacker. “The way he talks about when he was in high school, he’s way different than Schatt. He motivates us to try harder.”
Yarborough, 26, took over as head coach in the spring when The Daily News published a report that alleged Schatt used a fake photo ID and took the New York State Liberal Arts and Sciences test for assistant coach Mike Aiken, who was also the school’s head basketball coach.
According to the article, Schatt allegedly took the test twice for Aiken, passing the second time after Aiken failed the test eight times before.
Schatt, who was working at Thomas Edison, has since been transferred to Grover Cleveland High School pending an investigation by the Board of Eductaion, while Aiken no longer works for the Board of Education.
“I’ve moved on,” said Aiken, who refused to comment about the allegations.
Schatt also declined to comment, saying only, “I wish Charlie luck, I wish him the best.”
Yarborough says he is reserving judgment about the former coaches until the investigation is completed. His players, though, had plenty to say.
“It didn’t surprise me,” said senior halfback/safety Wali Reynolds. “He’s pretty sneaky. [Yarborough] makes football fun again.”
“I wasn’t surprised at all,” added Rush. “To me, Schatt was sneaky.”
Rush said Yarborough has brought in a newfound optimism. He started a study hall last spring to make sure players remained academically eligible. As a result, the roster numbers are bigger than ever.
“He took the time out, he showed he really cares,” Reynolds said. “He’s really a kind-hearted person to take time out of his schedule for us. This year we have play books. He took money out of his pocket and bought us play books. Before we only had scraps of paper.”
Added senior two-way lineman Dwayne Brown, “That’s why we have more players this year. Last year we ran with the minimum. Now we have more kids so some get some rest so we can play to our full potential.”
According to Yarborough, who teaches math at the school, the players have taken ownership of their new field, making sure it remains clean. Rush, who is the only player on the Springfield roster to have played a game on the old field, and his teammates can hardly wait to play their first home game, Sept. 14, against Adlai Stevenson.
“The old field had holes in the ground and with the rocks,you were always falling down,” Rush said. “But this field is flat. It’s an easy run.”
For the past two years, Campus Magnet served as a home field for Springfield Gardens. The players had to get to the school extra early, pack their gear and board a bus just to host a game.
“I would go down when they were building it and say, ‘Almost there,’ I was real excited, I couldn’t wait. Its a nice bouncy field,” said Reynolds, who had Sept. 14, circled on his calendar since the football schedule was released. “I’ve been thinking about the first home game, to have a real crowd at Springfield.”
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by email at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
