NORTH MANCHESTER - When asked who he'd say was the top player on his Manchester Squires' defense this season, 2009 Times-Union Coach of the Year Brandon Baker wasted no time saying junior linebacker Seth Brubaker.
Brubaker has been named the Times-Union Defensive Player of the Year, leading a Squires defense that surrendered just eight points per game in the Three Rivers Conference.That defense helped Manchester capture its first TRC crown since 1998, tying Rochester's 6-1 mark, while also enabling the Squires to finish the season with an 8-2 record, its best record since 1998.
Not coincidentally, 1998 was also the last time a Squire was named Times-Union Player of the Year, with David Barrett being named the top offensive player that year. But coming off a season which saw Manchester go 5-0 for the first time since 1963, it was hard to ignore the Squires.
"I didn't really expect to do as well as we did," Brubaker said. "A lot of us had just set the goal of being .500 or better."
Considering Brubaker's first two seasons with the club ended with 4-6 and 5-7 marks, it's not hard to understand why he had set his goals low. However, following a 16-6 win at Whitko on Sept. 11, he and his teammates began expecting a little more from themselves.
"The Whitko game was a big one for us," he said about the win that left the Squires with a 4-0 record. "It was just hardly fought all the way to the end."
In that game, Manchester senior running back Brady Miller scored a 67-yard touchdown on the game's second play, but from there, the offense struggled.
"We played bad," Baker said of the Whitko game. "We definitely didn't do anything on offense and still won. At the end of the game, the guys found a way to win."
Along with a good defensive performance, which included Manchester sacking Whitko senior quarterback Gabe Starkey 15 times, Brubaker also ran for a 43-yard touchdown late in the game, icing the win.
As a running back, Brubaker averaged 7.6 yards a carry, rushing for 304 yards and six scores, while also catching 12 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns.
However, as fun as picking up touchdowns was, it's the defensive side of the ball that Brubaker preferred.
"I like both a lot, but defense is probably my favorite," he said.
And it wasn't just Brubaker playing on both sides of the ball, making Baker's job even more impressive this season.
"We started 10 kids on both sides of the ball in the first two games, and we had a lot of injuries," Baker, who now has a 25-37 record after six seasons at Manchester, said. "Conditioning was a huge concern for me, especially in the beginning of the year when its hot and muggy. The weather was good, and that helped out. We also push the kids hard in the preseason for a reason. They hate it, but now I hope they see why."
And Brubaker does.
"I hated it, but I understand it and it pays off," he said. "Toward the end of a few games, you could see the other team wearing down."
That work seems to have paid off for the 5-foot-11, 170-pound Brubaker, who posted 41 solo tackles, 42 assisted tackles, two sacks, nine tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick this season.
"He's just so aggressive and was a big asset for the team," Baker said of Brubaker. "He's not the biggest kid, but he is one of the toughest players we have."
Along with being tough, Brubaker credits the instruction of the team's senior class for being a big help this year.
"The seniors were a big part of it," Brubaker said. "When you'd mess up, they'd let you know about it, then you wouldn't want to do it again."
With those seniors gone, but Brubaker returning next year, Baker hopes to keep this season's success a common occurrence and not an anomyly.
"We did the same thing this year that we've been doing," Baker said. "Now they're starting to get experience and understand what we're trying to do.
"One of the best things was they began to overome the losing mentality," he added. "In past years, if we got down, they would begin to hang their heads, but they didn't do that this year. I hope that continues. I hope this wasn't a one-year wonder."
