Champions Week: Christian Brothers Academy
ALBANY, NY (NEWS10) -- Football is back. High school teams are back on the gridiron getting ready for scrimmages this weekend, and then week zero next weekend. To get you ready for the upcoming year, we're bringing back "Champions Week", previewing the upcoming season for each of our Section 2 defending champs. We start in Class AA with the CBA Brothers, fresh off a three-peat.
Three years under head coach Bob Burns, three section titles. The CBA football program has become a dynasty in Class AA. They're not expecting to slow down this season. "I mean, top to bottom full roster, I think we're as good as any team I've had here," said head coach Bob Burns.
It all starts with culture, and with 13 seniors who have done a lot of winning back in the fold, this Brothers team has plenty of leaders to set the tone. "It's not about slogan or signs or anything like that. It's about what's tolerated on a day in and day out basis within the program," said Burns. "What I mean by tolerated is, you know, I have older guys that have been through it now with me for three years. They police everything for me. So what the expectations are on a daily basis for every position, for every unit is basically policed by them because they know what the standard is."
The Brothers don't just bring back a lot of seniors, they bring back a lot of starters. On the offensive side of the ball, CBA has seven starters back.
One starter they lost? Quarterback Donald Jones. His replacement? His younger brother Archie Jones. But Archie isn't inexperienced. He was one of three quarterbacks that got reps last year. "His experience last year was invaluable," said Burns. "He threw 100 passes for us within the season and he got great experience in the state playoffs, in tough games where he actually had to make plays."
"It just makes years, like light years of difference," said Jones. "Having the ability to play, especially under those other dudes who had so much more experience, you learn from them. To carry it over into this year and potentially help the kid that's under me is everything. Especially getting late in the season, it was just an amazing experience, just getting that far and just knowing what I got to do to get there too."
Archie didn't just learn about quarterbacking from his brother. He learned about leadership. "We're different types of leaders if you really want to break it down," said Jones. "He taught me so much, really. He kind of brought my love for the game actually, watching them when he was little. I really wanted to be like that. But we're a little different. He showed me so much of how to play and lead a team. If you can't lead them by vocalization, just going out on the field, just lead by example."
Then you have the defense, bringing back nine starters, led by senior linebacker Jake Marra in the middle. It's safe to say expectations for this unit are high. "From a defensive standpoint, I think we should be as good as any defense I've ever put on the field," said Burns. "That's, you know, that's saying a lot. I've got a ton of guys back that have played a ton of football. We're able to do more things than we've ever done because we haven't had to teach the basics over and over and over again."
The goals of the players are clear. "We made it to the section title the past three years in a row, and that's sort of the expectation, but we've always surpassed that," said Marra. "I'm hoping to win a state championship and so are all the rest of these guys out here."
Bob Burns has a simpler way of putting it, "Win every single game that we play," said Burns. "I say it to them all the time, the teams that I had that were capable of going out and winning every single game, it didn't matter how the game went. Sometimes you've got to throw the ball to win. Sometimes you've got to make a special teams play. Sometimes you've got to play defense. But the teams that are really, really good, no matter how the game goes, they find a way to win at the end. That's what I want this group to be."
The Brothers begin their season at home against Saratoga Springs on September 6. We'll have all of your high school football coverage on 1st & 10 every Friday night at 10:30 PM on Fox, and at 11:00 PM on ABC.