The Record Blogs: Off the Record: Training camp report No. 21: Shaker High School

LATHAM -- Football fans, players and coaches have been waiting for 'that year' at Shaker High School for quite some time.

Shaker has not qualified for a Section II postseason game since 2005 and the Blue Bison last won an area title the year man first walked on the moon - 1969.

The Blue Bison know they still have a lot of work to do, but with a new excitement generated by first-year head coach Greg Sheeler, maybe, just maybe, 2010 will be 'the year' in Latham.

"With any change, there is going to be a new optimism," said senior center and linebacker Bryan Egan.

"We interacted a lot more," said senior tight end and defensive end Chris Sherwin. "We called each other, gave our cell phone numbers, texted each other and got together for workouts and lifting."

"There has been a winning attitude around the whole school and everyone wants to be a part of it," said senior quarterback Ben Capeless. "It started in offseason, people been lifting together."

The Bison return a solid number of skill players and they've converted former fullback Derek Gardella into an offensive guard, which should make Shaker beefier up front.

First-year head coach Greg Sheeler addresses his team after a recent practice at Shaker High School. (Photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

"The eye in the sky doesn't lie," has been a refrain at Shaker practices this season. Head coach Greg Sheeler has taken a page from major college and professional programs and video records as much of the morning session of practice he could during two-a-days. During lunch, the players would break their film and get back out in the afternoon and apply their classroom work on the field.

For more on that story, be sure to check out the Shaker High page in Kickoff 2010, a 48-page section which hits the newsstands on Thurs., Sept. 2, tucked inside every copy of The Record.

For video highlights from Shaker practice, visit www.troyrecord.com/video/sports

Shaker High School football players break off the line as they run sprints following a recent practice at the school.

Shaker playbook
COACH: Greg Sheeler
STARTERS RETURNING: 4 offense, 3 defense
2009 RECORD: 3-6
NICKNAME: Blue Bison
OFFENSE: Wing-T
DEFENSE: 4-3
LAST PLAYOFF GAME: 2005
LAST SECTION II TITLE: 1969 (Suburban Council)
DIVISION: Class AA, Liberty

Shaker, 2009 game-by-game results
SHENENDEHOWA, L 27-14
Albany, W 7-0
SCHENECTADY, L 20-6
La Salle, L 40-7
BETHLEHEM, L 20-13
Colonie, L 27-19
Columbia, W 30-20
CBA, W 21-0*
BETHLEHEM, L 29-28*
*Crossover games
Home game in CAPS

Shaker 2009 stats review
Rushing, Att., Yds., Avg., TDs
Conor Alund, 107, 868, 8.1, 9
Passing, Comp., Att., Yds., Avg., TDs
Ben Capeless, 30, 84, 449, 15.0, 3
Receiving, No., Yds., Avg., TDs
Eric Sinko, 16, 219, 13.7, 2
Scoring, TD, 2-pt, PAT, FG, Tot.
Conor Alund, 10, 1, 0, 0, 62

Shaker 2010 Roster
No., Player, Yr., Pos. Ht., Wt.
1, Sam Hyatt, Sr., RB-DB, 6-1, 180
3, Brendan Kisselback, Sr., RB-DB, 5-11, 165
5, Chris Landers, Soph., QB-DB, 6-2, 160
7, Ben Capeless, Sr., QB-DB, 6-0, 170
8, Carlos Mendez, Sr., TE-DL, 5-10, 195
11, Adrian Valentino, Jr., SE-DB, 6-2, 170
15, Jimmy O’Brien, Sr., RB-DB, 5-10, 180
17, Matt Whalen, Sr., K, 6-0, 150
19, John Canfield, Sr., SE-DB, 5-8, 160
22, Bernard Maxwell, Sr., RB-LB, 5-6, 145
24, Evan Alaxanian, Sr., TE-DE, 6-2, 185
26, Ian Schupp, Jr., RB-DB, 6-1, 155
27, Josh Fant, Sr., SE-DB, 6-2, 170
28, Marlon Gedeon, Jr., RB-DB, 5-9, 140
29, Brandon Souza, Jr., RB-DB, 5-9, 145
30, Kyle Bernard, Jr., RB-LB, 5-7, 155
34, Conor Alund, Sr., RB-LB, 6-0, 210
40, Steve Boldish, Jr., RB-LB, 5-9, 175
42, Joe Latza, Jr., TE-LB, 5-10, 165
47, Ryan Griffin, Soph., RB-LB, 5-10, 185
50, Cole Lawton, Sr., OL-LB, 5-8, 175
52, Derek Gardella, Sr., OL-LB, 5-11, 230
55, Jasiah Toussaint, Jr., OL-DL, 5-11, 215
61, Bryan Egan, Sr., OL-LB, 6-0, 190
62, Dominic Sposito, Jr., OL-DL, 5-10, 200
63, Luccas Serriano, Sr., OL-DL, 6-3, 285
64, Alex Arduini, Sr., OL-DL, 6-2, 220
65, T.J. Coates, Sr., OL-DL, 5-11, 210
66, Schuyler Huntington, Soph., OL-DL, 6-2, 210
68, Anthony Shea, Jr., OL-DL, 6-0, 220
71, Steven Brown, Sr., OL-DL, 6-0, 220
72, Jon Hewitt, Sr., OL-DL, 5-8, 160
74, Zach Eustace, Sr., OL-DL, 5-10, 190
75, Michael Monfils, Sr., OL-DL, 5-11, 185
78, David Morrison, Soph., OL-DL, 6-2, 225
79, Tony Walton, Sr., OL-LB, 5-11, 170
81, Shane Riley, Sr., SE-DB, 6-0, 165
85, Dan Phillips, Jr., TE-LB, 5-11, 140
86, Patrick Kane, Sr., SE-DB, 5-8, 130
88, Christian Sherwin, Sr., TE-DL, 6-3, 230
90, Jamison Kuhn, Jr., OL-DL, 5-9, 160

Shaker’s three keys to the season
1, Balance between running and passing attack on offense.
2, Be fundamentally sound on defense. "We’re not going to line up in 100 different blitzes," said head coach Greg Sheeler. "we need to tackle, cause turnovers and run to the football."
3, Make big plays and prevent big plays on special teams.

Shaker, 2010 schedule
Friday Sept. 3, vs. Colonie, 7:30 p.m.
Friday Sept. 10, at Schenectady, 7 p.m.
Friday Sept. 17, vs. Bethlehem, 7 p.m.
Friday Sept. 24, vs. Niskayuna, 7 p.m.
Friday Oct. 1, vs. La Salle Institute, 7 p.m.
Friday Oct. 8, at Columbia, 7 p.m.
Saturday Oct. 16, at Troy, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 22/29, Playoffs/Crossovers, TBA

Shaker High School players have been running up and down the hill behind the school in an effort to work themselves into football shape before the 2010 season starts Thursday night in Latham against archrival Colonie.