The four Brooklyn Tech players who were named to the Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge New York City roster were pumped up about their selections – especially after no one from the team made it last year.
Those emotions changed, though, when they found out the practice schedule.
“June 18?” Brown-bound cornerback Oyeleye Odewunmi said. “That’s prom. How are we going to do this?”
At first, the foursome – Odewunmi, linebackers Tarrance Taylor and Denzel McLarty and offensive lineman Antoine Cummins – thought it would be impossible to make the first night of practice Friday. But they desperately did not want to miss it.
“We wanted to make sure we had our spots on lock,” said Taylor, who will play at Morgan State next year. “We wanted to make sure we had our positions. We wanted to show that Brooklyn Tech came out here to play – we’re not just a smart school.”
So coach Kyle McKenna formulated a plan. The quartet was already going to prom in the same limo. Why not have it pick you up at C.W. Post, where the NYC and Long Island teams practice?
That’s exactly what they did. At about 7:45 p.m. on Friday night, the four players ran off the field to shower and change into their tuxedos. The prom, at Cipriani on Wall Street in Manhattan, started at 8 p.m., but their girlfriends begrudgingly agreed to be late.
“There were angry girlfriends, but we gotta represent our school,” Odewunmi said. “Football comes first. I’m not gonna tell them that though.”
Tuesday’s game at Hofstra will be the culmination of a great senior season for the four. Brooklyn Tech rebounded from a 3-6 season in 2008 to go 6-3 and make the playoffs. This is the most players from the elite academic school to ever be selected to the Empire Challenge and the game has particular meaning because former coach Jim DiBenedetto took his entire team every year.
“For all four of us, our coach has been bringing us out here since freshmen year,” Taylor said. “We’ve never had more than three people in a year. For us, it’s real special.”
McKenna said he wasn’t surprised how badly they wanted to make the first day of practice. It’s the kind of commitment level that the first-year coach has seen all season.
“They’re types that don’t want to miss anything,” he said. “They’re soacking up part of the experience right now and enjoying it. They wanted to be here. … They’re more of a team of hard-working, lunch-pail type guys than a team of all stars. Everything they did they kind of did on the backs of each other working hard and being a team.”
They took a picture at the 50-yard line in their tuxedos as a team and Tuesday they will suit up as teammates for the last time. It will be a particularly emotional moment for DiBenedetto, who has been involved in the game for years. The longtime coach stepped down at Brooklyn Tech before this year after 21 seasons.
“I’m really proud of them,” he said.