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YONKERS, N.Y. -- The Yonkers Riverside High School football team is two weeks into official summer practices and the reality of the coming season has the players checking and correcting each aspect of the game.
"We have some speed and good athletes, but it's our line work on the offensive side that has to get better," Riverside offensive center and defensive lineman Adonis Familia said. "We know we can be better than we were last year. We want to be a winning team."
Riverside joined three other Yonkers high schools -- Roosevelt, Yonkers and host Lincoln -- at a mid-week scrimmage Thursday. After finishing the three-hour round robin practice, the Rams were already thinking about Saturday's scrimmages at Mount Vernon High School.
"We're getting some good reps here," Stefan Bannister said. "We all know each other on the Yonkers teams, but we know we'll face even tougher teams coming up."
The Rams are not lacking for leadership with several returning starters led by Familia, Bannister, Terry Hairston, Ikechukwu Chima, Felix Fermin, Carlito Stinson and Ibrahim Simreen.
"We want to move the ball and if our line does its job we think we can score," Chima said. "We know it takes hard work. We know we can win games. Last year we won only one game, so we have to improve."
The Rams, who showed some improved offensive work during the all-Yonkers scrimmage and were upbeat after the local challenge, open their season against visiting Sleepy Hollow on Sept. 8 at 1:30 p.m.
"We have to be ready and we will be," Familia said.
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