HS football preview: Brownsville
Castor striving for reversal of fortune at Brownsville
Brownsville will be playing football under its fourth head coach since the 2023 season began.
Cody Castor intends to stick around a lot longer as he tries to get the Falcons football program back on track.
Castor, a Uniontown graduate who starred for the Red Raiders and played four years at Penn State, has the transition underway at Brownsville.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just trying to raise the floor,鈥� Castor said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e worked really hard to try to build them up as athletes in the weight room, trying to teach them schemes offensively and defensively, how we can come together to make this the best we can.鈥�
Castor takes over a team that has gone a combined 1-37 the past four years but the past doesn鈥檛 matter to him as he tries to instill a winning attitude into his players.
鈥淲e talked the other day and said if you want to be the big dog, and everybody wants to be the big dog, you鈥檝e got to knock off a big dog to do it,鈥� Castor said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 just hope we transform into it, we鈥檝e got to come into some of these games wanting to take it away from teams.
鈥淚鈥檓 just doing the best I can everyday with these kids, trying to make myself better as we go along, evaluating my own choices to see how I can improve for what these kids need, and just trying to push them and I think it鈥檚 already been a very positive thing early on.鈥�
Castor does have a veteran quarterback to lean on in 6-foot-4 senior Kaden Wimmer who quarterbacked the Falcons to their lone win of the last four years in 2023 although he didn鈥檛 play a full season in 2024.
鈥淜aden Wimmer is someone who took snaps early in the season last year as quarterback and he鈥檚 shown the strong ability to be able to handle that position again this year,鈥� Castor said. 鈥淗e throws a really nice ball. He鈥檚 a tall kid that can see over the top of everything. We鈥檙e hoping he can have a big impact for us.鈥�
Wimmer has pushed himself to take on a leadership role for the team.
鈥淗e stepped up at one of our most recent practices out on the field and spoke to the team following that and I was extremely happy to see that coming from him because I think he is naturally a little bit of a quiet kid,鈥� Castor said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been trying to call three kids up at the end of every practice just to make sure the players are communicating with each other and taking some ownership of their team. When he stepped up with two other teammates I was very excited to see him do that. I think he was overcoming some of that quiet nature and showing his ability to lead.鈥�
Castor is already familiar with Wimmer and several key players on the football team through being an assistant boys basketball coach last season.
鈥淓xzavier Vargas, Kaden and Jaiden Praster are three seniors that I was able to work with on the basketball team,鈥� Castor said. 鈥淰argas is a returning running back. He鈥檚 a little bit shorter than most of our players but he is not lacking in heart and explosiveness. He鈥檚 definitely able to be fast and aggressive and hopefully will be assertive in the running game for us.
鈥淛aiden Praster is someone who catches the ball really nicely that I鈥檓 really excited for. Knowing those three have a good relationship from playing together in multiple sports, I鈥檓 looking forward to see what we can put together for them for their senior year.鈥�
Brownsville has several more skill players of note.
鈥淪ome other people that have really stood out to me are Maxime Dieudonne, Cynseir Douglas and Silas Patterson who are also very good multi-sport athletes at our school,鈥� Castor said. 鈥淚 can see Max and Silas as receivers and Cynseir as a running back as well as in the slot. Max and Silas both run track on the four-by-100 relay and are extremely fast kids. Cynseir is also a wrestler and has had some really incredible gains over the summer in changing his physic a little bit.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 been a big priority for me this summer with the kids is trying to teach them how to use the weight room properly. We just finished maxing out last week and I鈥檓 really excited to see some of the numbers the kids are starting to put up as they鈥檙e getting confident with their bodies.鈥�
A consistent sore spot for the Falcons in the past has been the offensive and defensive line.
Castor is depending on a trio of players to help out in the trenches this season.
鈥淥ne of our returning seniors is Anthony Ricco. He鈥檚 our center and he鈥檚 done a really good job in the past as I鈥檓 able to watch film,鈥� Castor said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a very strong young man with lots of returning experience.
鈥淲e also have two other seniors, Kam Shumar and Blake Olesko, who鈥檝e been working with us over the summer. I鈥檓 hoping with their size and seniority that they鈥檒l be able to help us as we move people in the running game.鈥�
Castor鈥檚 goal on defense is to have his team play well as a unit.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still looking for a leader on defense,鈥� Castor said. 鈥淚 think some strong pieces of it are going to be all 11 playing together. We have some strong young men that I鈥檝e mentioned in the senior group and Max and Silas and Cynceir with their speed should be able to run to the football and finish plays in the open field.
鈥淪ome young sophomores on the team, Stevie Campbell, Thomasray Stimmell, Alex Remington and Logan Ross, have done really well also, so I鈥檓 hoping they can be contributors on the defensive side of the ball.鈥�
Castor鈥檚 squad doesn鈥檛 have a lot of depth which means the Falcons will have plenty of two-way players.
鈥淔or about the last three weeks we鈥檝e had about 20 to 30 kids, including some middle school kids working out,鈥� Castor said. 鈥淪o I am excited about how much involvement we鈥檝e had through the summer. But I definitely envision people playing on both sides of the ball as the numbers are not as high as I鈥檇 like them to be.
鈥淏ut I鈥檓 also trying to have a role for everyone on our team to the best of our ability. If they鈥檙e ready to play their role safely and protect themselves and help the team, it鈥檇 be great if we could balance out the reps that are going to come across a game through all of our roster.鈥�
With a new coach comes a new offense and defense, and the Falcons are trying to pick up Castor鈥檚 system.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e learning it. We鈥檝e been focusing on trying to repeat our installs offensively and defensively, so we鈥檝e been able to put those in recently and we intend to repeat them during heat acclimate and the first install of camp so that the base offense and base defense are really well understood by the kids,鈥� Castor said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more about how we run them than how many things we can run right now.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely been a teaching thing. We had them up in the classroom and I spent about a half an hour on the board trying to see what they were able to retain and asking them to come up and fill in information. It鈥檚 going to be a process because it is new to them and I told them straight forward it doesn鈥檛 matter how well I know the stuff, it鈥檚 how well you guys know it. We鈥檝e got to be able to try to start picking this up as best as we can. We鈥檙e going to give opportunities, trying to teach on the board, through some film and on the field as well.鈥�
Castor has welcomed some outside help in an attempt to inspire his players further.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had some great coaches working with them and one of them is Amonti Marsh, a former Brownsville athlete,鈥� Castor said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been talking to the kids after practice the last couple days about stacking good days and I think that鈥檚 a really good message for us right now. The message I鈥檝e been trying to relay is do the best you can until you know better and then do better.
鈥淲e鈥檙e definitely in a learning phase, trying to understand how we support each other on the football field and knowing the assignments of yourself and those nearby you.鈥�
Brownsville, as it has since the 2022 season, will play as an independent and its schedule includes Fayette County rivals Uniontown and Albert Gallatin. The Falcons have a nine-game slate.
Castor鈥檚 coaching staff includes Bill Rouse, Ken Silva, Amonte Marsh, Jeremy Ulery, Nick Seto, Tyton Brunner and Joe Hough.