Four years ago this fall Kyle McKenna took over the Brooklyn Tech football program, replacing legendary coach Jim DiBenedetto.
McKenna’s mission was to build on what DiBenedetto accomplished in 24 previous seasons, continue the Engineers’ winning tradition.
He struck gold with a few freshmen who have grown into impressive rising seniors, Division I prospects in the making that have fit in well at the academic-first school while also refusing to accept second-class status among the PSAL’s top programs on the gridiron.
The three – defensive end lineman Thomas Plonski, defensive back/wide receiver James Gales and wide receiver Kyvaune Brammer – have been making the rounds at camps and scouting combines, and have garnered a slew of scholarship offers.
The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Plonski has offers from Old Dominion, Buffalo, James Madison, Villanova, Fordham, Marist and Wagner. He has been to Madison and Fordham, plan to see Villanova soon and has drawn interest from Rutgers, UConn and Syracuse as well.
“The major part is education, location and just the coaching staff, the feeling I have about them,” said Plonski, who had 57 tackles and seven sacks a year ago.
Gales, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound speedster, has Albany and Fordham while the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Brammer has landed offers from Marist, Fordham and Buffalo.
“Once the season starts and we start playing, you’ll see we have even more than them,” McKenna said.
Plonski and Gales entered last fall established up-and-comers after solid sophomore seasons. Though Brooklyn Tech didn’t enjoy the season it was expecting, going 4-5 and losing in the first round of the PSAL City Championship division playoffs, the two remained productive. Brammer, meanwhile, enjoyed a breakout campaign, with 17 receptions for 368 yards and six touchdown catches.
“He wound up being the first guy to get an offer,” McKenna said of Brammer. “Being his coach, it didn’t surprise me. I know the type of athlete he is. He had a really good game against Curtis, he showed a lot of things, and with that and the rest of his highlight film, and also going to camps and combines, that showed people a lot.”
“He had a good junior year on a team that didn’t necessarily pass the ball a whole lot. When he had opportunities to catch the ball, he did a lot with it. I did see Thomas and James garnering more attention going into the offseason, but he’s a very good football player and he has good grades.”
The trio became fast friends, workout partners determined to lead the program one day. This coming fall will be their time to do so.
“It’s the year we’ve been waiting for, for four years,” Plonski said. “Ever since we came in as freshmen, we knew we were going to be something special. … We worked really hard and we’re getting results now.”