Brenner, a Warwick grad, was punting when he was leveled by a Maroons player. He hyperextended the knee on his kicking leg on the play and had to be carted from the field.

After being examined and told by doctors to take it easy, Brenner, a sophomore at the time, snuck away from the medical personnel and started testing his knee to see if he might he able to return to the game.

As the Spartans moved down the field into the red zone, Brenner thought his team might try a field goal. Brenner, who had placekicked as a freshman, was the backup, but the starting placekicker wasn’t too precise outside of 20 yards. That’s why he thought he might get tapped on the shoulder.

But the Spartans scored a touchdown. Since Brenner told head coach Greg Debeljak that he thought he could kick a field goal, Debeljak asked Brenner if he could kick off.

Debeljak knew then that Brenner never said no when it came to contributing to the team.

Brenner kicked, but not without a little pain.

“I almost fell over,” Brenner said of the kickoff.

Later in the game, with Case holding the lead, the Spartans needed a punt to pin Chicago deep in its own territory.

“Our backup punter was our starting middle linebacker and he had never punted in his life,” Brenner said. “The first time he tried, he had an 11-yard punt.”

So, Debeljak looked in Brenner’s direction. Again.

“We were trying to kill the clock and we had to punt for the last time,” Debeljak recalled. “Joe said he was OK to do it. He limped out there and unleashed a 55-yard punt that was downed at the 2. That pretty much sealed the game. His teammates carried him off the field.”

Brenner was a jack of all trades as a senior at Warwick. In fact, the L-L League Section Two coaches voted Brenner a First-Team All-Star at four positions: wide receiver, defensive back, placekicker and punter.

Most times, college players just play one position. But when Brenner arrived at Case Western Reserve, a Division III school in Cleveland, he again made use of his football versatility.

He went to Case thinking he would be a receiver. The Spartans, though, were set at receiver, so Brenner saw playing time at defensive back. When the team had tryouts for placekicker, he won that role. Little did he know that he would create one of his top college football memories just three weeks into his college career.

In a game against Washington University, Brenner unleashed a 51-yard field goal.

“That’s a memory that sticks out the most for me, being fresh on campus and making a kick like that,” Brenner said. “That was a game where my parents, both sets of grandparents and family friends were there, too.”

Big kicks were just the start for Brenner (5-foot-8, 170 pounds). As in high school, he found himself all over the field at different times over a four-year college career that recently came to a close.

As a sophomore, Brenner was a starting defensive back, kicker and punter. He led the team in punting average (37.5) and was named First Team All-University Athletic Association as a punter. He also kicked six field goals, four of them coming against Oberlin to set a school record.

In his junior season, Brenner started defensively and was 5-for-7 on field goals. He also made 50 tackles, fifth-best on the team.

This past season, Brenner started at corner but knew he would see time at receiver, too. After only two games, he was a starting wide receiver and played occasionally at defensive back. He also threw in a punt or two.

“I like being on the field,” Brenner said. “I like the opportunity to make plays and help the team.”

He certainly made the plays on offense, registering UAA highs in receptions (63) and receiving yards per game (85.5), which tied him for 27th in the nation in Division III. He caught six TD passes and was named to the All-UAA First Team as a receiver.

“Because of the numbers he put up this year, he could have easily done that over a four-year period (at wide receiver),” Debeljak said. “We wanted to get the ball to him. Teams would know that and try to take him out of the game. But he made a lot of plays every single game.”

Debeljak said that Brenner’s speed and quickness overcame any height disadvantage he might have.

“He had great physical ability,” Debeljak said. “Our whole game plan was matching him up with defenders in the open field because that was a huge advantage for him due to his quickness.”

Brenner will now turn all of his attention toward completing his degree in structural engineering in May.

Meanwhile, Debeljak will try and find someone to fill Brenner’s cleats.

“It will be tough to replace him,” Debeljak said.

That’s because it might take four players to do it.


Kevin Freeman’s e-mail address is kfreeman@lnpnews.com.