Coney steps up as lead receiver for Naugatuck
Editor’s note: This article appears in the special Thanksgiving football section published the week of Nov. 28, 2014. It has been updated to include statistics through games played Nov. 21.
There was a time when Bryan Coney would think a little too far ahead of himself. Before he could cradle the ball in, he would have a tendency to try and turn to get past the defender — leading to dropped passes.
“It might have been a focus issue in the past or I was just trying to do too much before I even caught the ball,” Coney admits. “But I worked extremely hard to become the best receiver I could and my confidence level is so high this year. I just go up and get it.”
The 2013 All-State defensive back has become the most reliable receiver in the Naugatuck Valley League and the Greyhounds’ go-to guy.
The transformation actually began last year when the wide receiver caught 33 passes for 786 yards and 13 touchdowns, including five catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns on Thanksgiving Day.
Coney is involved in one of the most exciting offenses in the league under second year head coach Craig Bruno and he leads the team with 44 catches for 1,018 yards and 19 touchdowns this season.
“Kids like Bryan are the reason I’m still in coaching,” Bruno says. “Not only is he a great football player, a great teammate and a team leader, he is such an awesome kid on and off the field.
“I think the world of him and have developed a close relationship because he is such a genuine person. He has worked so hard to become the kind of player that he is. He has caught 1,000 balls and ran numerous routes. It’s that kind of work ethic that has made him the success that he is.”
Six times through nine games this year, Coney has led the team in receptions in spite of being double and triple covered at times. He has two seven-catch games and four five-catch games with yardage totals of 149 twice, 137, 119, 117 and 107.
“It’s so much fun playing in this type of offense,” Coney says. “This is a receiver’s dream and Bruno is such a great coach. If you make a mistake he will go right back to you showing the confidence in his players that only makes them better and believing in themselves.”
Coney was already a dangerous defensive back before he became the receiver he is today.
“It does help to play a defensive back position because it allows me to look for the signs that the receiver is going to get the ball,” Coney says. “Playing that position I can pick up on that and alert my linebackers and cornerbacks and I’m usually about 85 percent right.”
Coney has two interceptions this year and returned a fumble for a touchdown this season versus Crosby. The fumble was a backwards pass that everyone initially thought was dead.
“The fumble recovery for the touchdown was my first defensive score of my career,” Coney says. “I picked it up and initially thought the play was dead. Then Kevin Robinson came over and tried to take it away from me to score, that’s when I realized the ball was live and I took it in.”
As efficient as Coney is on the defensive side of the ball, the senior wide receiver has a chance to leave his mark as one of the best pass catchers in school history.
Heading into the Thanksgiving showdown with Ansonia, Coney has 77 receptions for 1,804 yards and 32 touchdowns in his career.
“I get a lot of balls thrown my way and Jason Bradley is an amazing quarterback but we have a solid core of receivers which takes a lot of pressure off me, especially if I’m double covered,” Coney says.
Besides the Greyhounds’ go-to guy, Bradley has formidable targets in Jalen Datil (22 catches, 396 yards, seven touchdowns), C.J. Wall (15 catches, 354 yards, four touchdowns), Maleek Brooks (seven catches, 185 yards, four touchdowns) and Chris Quarles (14 catches, 260 yards, three touchdowns).
Coney and the rest of the Greyhounds will be focused heading into Thanksgiving.
“It seems like ever since the Wolcott game (a 45-38 loss) there has been a whole different attitude,” Coney says. “We don’t ever want to feel that way again. We are more focused and realize we need to get it done on each and every play going forward. Ansonia is a huge game for both teams. We just need to come out and be focused for every single play of that game.”
