The Pine Bush Bushmen took their skill players to a 7-on-7 tournament in Cortland and wound up winning the tournament.

That victory improved the Bushmen’s morale entering the 2026 football season.

“Now they’re coming out juiced up and are like, ‘we want to (play) now,” Bushmen quarterback Michael Morley said. “We can’t wait for Week One; we can’t wait for Week Zero. We can’t wait for the scrimmage, which is awesome. People were aiming to get to the end of the season, but now people are excited to just go play football, which is awesome.”

The Bushmen enter the season with a young roster, strong program numbers, and a goal of taking another step forward under fourth-year coach Rich Ormsby.

“It’s great to have more buy-in from the players,” lineman Christian Bryant said. “That’s really important. All great teams are player-led, so it’s great to have more guys who want the same thing I want.”

The Bushmen finished 3-7 last season and will look to build on that experience with a group that Ormsby believes is ready to compete in a challenging Section 9 landscape.

“We are a young team with strong program numbers and a group that has worked hard throughout the offseason,” Ormsby said. “Our goal is to improve every week, play disciplined football, and compete with the best teams in Section 9.”

Pine Bush will have to replace three contributors from last season in Ryan Russell, Jemire Bey-Dominick, and Kumori Pratt.

The Bushmen return a deep group of players, including Ruben Simpson, Noah Schorling, Christian Bryant, Johnny Chukwu, Michael Morley, Eleazar Laryea, Jerome Jones, Ryan Curtin, Triston Bernard, Connor Laird, and Jaden Christophe.

Pine Bush also welcomes five newcomers to the varsity roster: Jace Robinson, Vin Valetutti, Maddox Miranowicz, Connor Amiel and Jeremiah Franco.

“We have, I believe, 28 juniors and some of them did play on varsity as sophomores,” Morley said. “We’re trying to see the juniors, how they do, how they fit into the varsity lineup. JV to varsity is a very big step up, so we have to see how they are going to hit and how to they’re going to be under pressure.”

With a young roster and several new players, Ormsby said the team is eager to put its offseason work to the test.

“We have a tough, young group that is eager to get on the field in 2026,” Ormsby said. “Section 9 is filled with outstanding programs, coaches, and players, and we are excited for the opportunity.”

For the Bushmen, the emphasis will be on steady improvement, disciplined play and developing a young group capable of competing with the top teams in the section.
Bryant, who has been on the varsity team since he was a freshman has seen the change in the program over the four years.

“My freshman year, leadership wasn’t always there, but as I got older, I started to form myself into a leader,” he said. “Not just the team as a whole, we’ve been coming together a lot more as a community.”

The Bushmen last won a Section 9 championship in 2019, the last season before the canceled COVID-19 season. The Bushmen feel ready to prove they belong amongst the best teams in Section 9.

“I want a championship,” Bryant said. “I want it all.”