HIGH SCHOOLS / FOOTBALL PREVIEW / SUFFOLK DIVISION I:
REPORTED BY GREGG SARRA. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 13 Sep 1998:
SEEDINGS
1. Sachem: The Flaming Arrows are loaded, and a tough football camp in Fishkill has them ready for a title run. All-Long Island senior linebacker Jesse Brush (6-3, 255) will lead a team that finished second at 7-1 in the regular season but got upset by Brentwood in a semifinal game. Other key players back for the Flaming Arrows include senior center Jason Mauro (6-2, 240), quarterback Brian Oberst (6-foot, 200) and halfback Shaun Jordan (5-11, 190). Sachem has qualified for the playoffs for 17 straight years and has won five league championships during that span. “We have a young secondary and they need to come together for us to be there,” Sachem coach Fred Fusaro said. “I like where we are heading into the season.”
2. Patchogue-Medford: Forget the seeding for a moment. Patchogue is still the team to beat. The Red Raiders have won back-to-back LI Class I championships and return another large and experienced squad. Senior wingback Chris Robinson (6-4, 201) will take the position vacated by Derric Rossy, the Hansen Award winner as Suffolk’s top player. “I won’t treat this team any different than the rest,” Patchogue coach Bob Sconone said. “You just don’t replace the kind of kids we had that easily.” Junior quarterback Mike Cirigliano (5-8, 168), who is a threat to run or pass, will also return kicks. He has offensive tackle Matt Catapano (5-11, 279), who bench presses 405 pounds, to block.
3. Longwood: It is no longer the Life of Riley at Longwood. Marc Riley, the Lions’ superback for the past three years, 1996 Hansen Award winner and a two-time All-Long Island selection, has graduated and is playing at Maryland. The program must move in a new direction. “I think we got caught up in how great Marc was and didn’t expand in other areas of the program,” said Longwood coach Joe Cipp III, whose team missed the playoffs with a 5-3 record. “It was easy to sit back and watch Marc do it all.” The Lions will have experience at quarterback with senior Eric Hatkewitz (6-3, 205) and presence on the line with senior two-way tackle Steven Perretta (6-3, 265).
4. Brentwood: The Indians surged into the postseason with a dramatic 21-16 win in the season finale at Longwood. They went on to post a 19-7 win over Sachem in the Division I semifinals before losing at Patchogue. “We’re young but we have speed,” Brentwood coach Bob Kolar said. “These kids have to step up and fill some big shoes.” Senior offensive guard Tom Baldwin (5-8, 215) and senior tight end Joe Cleary (5-8, 190) are back with two-way tackle Steven Perretta (6-4, 255). Senior tailback Ulric McCloyd (5-7, 150) is a burner.
5. Floyd: The Colonials will rely on senior quarterback Joel Barone (6-2, 215) to move them into scoring position with his running and accurate throwing ability. From there, it will be up to All-Long Island kicker Jim Erwin, a senior, to put points on the board. “Joel is extremely dangerous in the open field,” Floyd coach Paul Longo said. “We have a shot to reach the playoffs.” Barone also is one of the more devastating tacklers in Suffolk. He averaged 10 tackles a game last season.
6. Commack: The Cougars have improved steadily over the past three years. Winless in 1995, Commack won three games in ’96 and were 6-1-1 and earned a playoff spot for the first time in 10 years in ’97. Don’t expect much as a sixth seed as heavy graduation has thrown it into a rebuilding stage. Senior center Don Bonacorsa (5-9, 200) and senior linebacker Mike DiPenta (5-9, 200) are the only two returning starters.
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 20 Sep 1998
Longwood 35, Brentwood 6: Longwood’s Fadi Abirafeh made all five extra-point attempts and pushed three kickoffs into the end zone fortouchbacks. Elroy Walrond had six tackles and Eric Hatkewitz had five tackles from the free safety position. Hatkewitz ran for two scores and threw for another.
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 27 Sep 1998
Longwood 41, Northport 0: Eric Hatkewitz was 12 of 15 passing for 253 yards and four touchdowns for Longwood (2-0). The passing yardage was the most by a Longwood quarterback this decade, according to coach Joe Cipp III. K’ai Watkins was the main recipient, catching six passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns, while Brett Wachter had four receptions for 55 yards and a score.
Sha-ron Edwards opened the scoring on Longwood’s second possession when he ran 77 yards for a touchdown. Watkins also led the Lions’ defense with seven tackles from his cornerback position. Northport is 1-1.
Longwood 44, Smithtown 7: Quarterback Eric Hatkewitz (6-for-12, 112 yards) ran for 126 yards on 13 carries and four touchdowns to lead Longwood. Sha-ron Edwards added 185 yards on 15 carries for Longwood (3-0). Joe Stellke had 12 tackles and a sack. Smithtown is 0-3. Oct. 4
Longwood stops PM’s record-tying streak:
By Jason Molinet. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 11 Oct 1998:
It was late in the fourth quarter when Patchogue-Medford football coach Bob Sconone turned his baseball cap sideways in comical fashion. But there was nothing humorous about the game unfolding before him.
For the first time in 23 games – a span of three years – the Red Raiders lost yesterday. Division I rival Longwood celebrated homecoming by taking down the Long Island giant, 19-0, before a rowdy crowd of 2,500.
“I feel bad for the kids, like I somehow let them down,” Sconone said.
Patchogue-Medford, which hadn’t lost since a 14-12 setback against Sachem on Oct. 5, 1996, entered the game needing one more win to surpass Central Islip’s 34-year-old Suffolk record. The Musketeers won 22 straight from 1961-64. Sconone and his players – with back-to-back Long Island Class I titles and 1997 Rutgers Trophy in hand – will just have to share the record.
“I feel we could have won 51 straight games,” said misty-eyed senior linebacker / running back Chris Robinson, the only three-year starter on the team. “We put everything into this game. Things just didn’t go our way today.”
So The Streak is history. A pair of big plays, a lead-footed punter and an unyeilding defense all contributed to the Red Raiders’ undoing.
Maybe the motivational tape – featuring the likes of Lou Holtz and Bo Schembechler – Longwood coach Joe Cipp III played for his team during the Friday night meeting made the difference. As if this team needed an excuse to beat the Red Raiders. The Lions remember the 34-7 beating they took a year ago and the 30-6 loss in the 1996 playoffs. Revenge lurked within every bone-crushing hit.
“This was payback,” said senior halfback / cornerback Sha-Ron Edwards, who had two sacks. “They physically beat us last year. This is why we spent all those hours in the weight room. This is what we worked for all summer. This was all that was on our minds. We wanted to end The Streak and beat Pat-Med.”
Neither team could muster a sustained drive. But Longwood (4-0) did get a mammoth run from junior halfback Jamie Fabian, who cut outside and hugged the sideline for a 46-yard burst down to the Patchogue 1 on Longwood‘s second possession. Fullback Joe Stellke (64 yards on 10 carries) finished the four-play, 60-yard drive with a dive into the end zone with 4:28 left in the first quarter. The point-after attempt went wide, so Longwoodwas left to cling to its 6-0 lead.
“When we went into halftime, I thought that was not going to be enough,” said Cipp, the 29-year-old son of legendary Bellport coach Joe Cipp Jr. “We needed to score again. But I had faith in my players. I thought if we played to our ability and didn’t give up, we’d come out on top.”
Cipp had good reason for concern. The Red Raiders (3-1) nearly scored before the end of the half. They drove from the Lions’ 47 to the 23 in the final 30 seconds, set up by junior quarterback Mike Cirigliano’s 14-yard run. Kicking into the wind, Robinson’s 41-yard field-goal attempt fell just short of the cross bar as time expired.
The Red Raiders let another scoring opportunity slip away when the snap sailed over the head of Longwood punter James Grabas (two punts of more than 50 yards). He fell on the ball at the Lions’ 19 with 3:42 left in the third and Patchogue took control. Sandwiched between a 3-yard run to the 16, Cirigliano took three shots at the end zone and failed. His first pass went through the hands of a diving Robinson. His last – on fourth down – was broken up in the end zone by Eric Hatkewitz and K’ai Watkins.
Cirigliano spent his time scrambling for dear life namely because right tackle Matt Catapano and go-to receiver Matt May were out with ankle injuries. Cirigliano completed 4 of 17 passes for 12 yards and rushed for 66 more on 19 carries.
Longwood made it 12-0 when Hatkewitz plowed 7 yards on a quarterback keeper, breaking though four tackles with 9:50 left in the game. The touchdown was set up by Edwards’ 16-yard run and subsequent personal foul, which moved the ball from the Longwood 49 to the Patchogue 20 in a heartbeat.
Minutes later, the Lions put the game out of reach when linebacker Joel McKay fell on Cirigliano’s fumble in the end zone.
PATCHOGUE-MEDFORD 0 0 0 0 0 LONGWOOD 6 0 0 13 19 L – Stellke 1 run (kick failed) L – Hatkewitz 7 run (kick failed) L – McKay fumble recovery in end zone (Abrafehi kick)
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 01 Nov 1998:
Longwood 48, Connetquot 12: Sha-Ron Edwards spent his summer cutting hair. This fall, the Longwood senior running back has been a cut-up on the field, too. Edwards demonstrated both talents yesterday while helping the Lions improve to 7–0, giving coach Joe Cipp III a haircut before the game, then rushing for 157 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries.
“He gave me a haircut high and tight, Marine style,” Cipp said. “We have breakfast early and have a little dead time, so I asked him to cut my hair. He cut it better than my regular barber.”
Edwards was the workhorse, but senior quarterback Eric Hatkewitz led the Lions to touchdowns on 4-of-6 possessions in the first half. He finished with 71 yards and a touchdown on six carries, and completed 8-of-11 passes for 95 yards and another score. Led by linebacker Chris Fanning’s 10 tackles, the Longwood defense held Connetquot (2-5) to 39 yards rushing. Tackle Steve Perretta and Hatkewitz each had eight tackles.
Playoff Positioning:
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 11 Oct 1998:
Finally, the race for playoff positioning in Division I is coming into focus. Longwood and Floyd each have rolled to 4-0 starts. And two-time defending champion Patchogue-Medford – even after yesterday’s 19-0 loss to Longwood – still is the team to beat.
But the most intriguing matchup of the week had to be Sachem at Connetquot in a battle that would separate contender from pretender. After two straight losses to open the season, top-seeded Sachem has new life. The Flaming Arrows emerged with a 21-13 win over the Thunderbirds and even both teams’ records at 2-2.
“We still have not put our starting 11 on the field because of injuries,” said Sachem coach Fred Fusaro, whose team will host Longwood on Saturday at 7 p.m. “But I think we’re playing better, which is encouraging.”
Longwood beats Sachem :
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 20 Oct 1998
Last week it was Patchogue-Medford, this time Sachem was humbled. Longwood (5-0) football continued its roll with a convincing 31-14 win over host Sachem late Saturday. Senior halfback Sha-Ron Edwards rushed for 183 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries, pacing a Lions attack that amassed 295 yards.
Longwood shut down the Flaming Arrows (2-3) in the second half, breaking the game open late in the third quarter when junior cornerback DaQuan Hardy, making his first start, intercepted a Sachem pass at the Longwood 40. Edwards capped the ensuing drive with a 15-yard scoring run to put the Lions in front 28-14.
DIVISION I – Late Saturday LONGWOOD 7 7 14 3 31 SACHEM 6 8 0 0 14
S – Harned 22 run (kick failed)
L – Edwards 7 run (Abirafeh kick)
L – Hatkewitz 2 run (Abirafeh kick)
S – Harned 1 run (Harned run)
L – Edwards 12 run (Abirafeh kick)
L – Edwards 15 run (Abirafeh kick)
L – FG Abirafeh 37
Longwood Defeats Lindenhurst:
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 25 Oct 1998:
Longwood Stays Unbeaten. Eric Hatkewitz and Sha-ron Edwards totaled 325 of Longwood‘s 465 total yards of offense in a 32-14 win over Lindenhurst.
Hatkewitz’ 50-yard run midway through the third quarter gave Longwood (6-0) the lead for good at 20-14. Hatkewitz (8 carries for 135 yards; 4-for-6 passing for 105) also scored on runs of 46 and 4 yards and threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Edwards to open the scoring in the second quarter. Edwards ran for 120 yards on 12 carries, including a 44-yard fourth-quarter touchdown, and caught two passes for 65 yards.
Lindenhurst (2-4) kept the score tied at 14 on a pair of touchdown passes from Erik Conroy. The quarterback connected with George LaFlare on a 37-yard score and hit Eddie Raiford on a 79-yard pass in the second quarter.
Hatkewitz also led the defense, which allowed 177 yards, 50 on the ground. Hatkewitz made 10 tackles and had two sacks. Chris Fanning (9) and Dan Sable totaled 16 tackles and each had a sack.
Sha-Ron Edwards Runs For 157 Yards:
By Gregg Sarra. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 01 Nov 1998
Longwood 48, Connetquot 12: Sha-Ron Edwards spent his summer cutting hair. This fall, the Longwood senior running back has been a cut-up on the field, too. Edwards demonstrated both talents yesterday while helping the Lions improve to 7-0, giving coach Joe Cipp III a haircut before the game, then rushing for 157 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries.
“He gave me a haircut high and tight, Marine style,” Cipp said. “We have breakfast early and have a little dead time, so I asked him to cut my hair. He cut it better than my regular barber.”
Edwards was the workhorse, but senior quarterback Eric Hatkewitz led the Lions to touchdowns on 4-of-6 possessions in the first half. He finished with 71 yards and a touchdown on six carries, and completed 8-of-11 passes for 95 yards and another score. Led by linebacker Chris Fanning’s 10 tackles, the Longwooddefense held Connetquot (2-5) to 39 yards rushing. Tackle Steve Perretta and Hatkewitz each had eight tackles.
Longwood Win Another Romp:
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 08 Nov 1998
The Longwood football team continues to run roughshod over Division I opponents.
Yesterday, it was Commack that felt the brunt of the Lions’ attack. Longwood totaled 405 yards rushing and scored seven touchdowns in a 49-0 wipeout of Commack in a Division I regular-season finale.
The Lions (8-0) not only ran up and down the field, they punctuated an undefeated season by running out the clock.
Halfback Sha-ron Edwards led the Lions with 112 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns, and quarterback Eric Hatkewitz added 95 yards and two scores on five carries.
Hatkewitz, a senior who plays free safety on defense, made seven tackles and intercepted a pass, and junior cornerback DaQuan Hardy had seven tackles. Longwood kicker Danny Sable completed the day’s work by making all seven of his point-after kicks.
Top-seeded Longwood will host a semifinal playoff against No. 4 Sachem at 1:30 p.m. Saturday Patchogue-Medford Prevails. In a preview of next week’s semifinal, Patchogue-Medford handed previously undefeated Floyd its first loss of the season, 36-14. The loss dropped Floyd into the third seed and forces the Colonials to again travel to No. 2 Patchogue-Medford at 1:30 p.m. Saturday for a semifinal contest. Both teams have 7-1 records.c
Playoff Preview:
By Gregg Sarra. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 12 Nov 1998
Division I: So many storylines for this division. All four semifinalists have a telling story. Patchogue-Medford (7-1) is looking to cop a third straight title and defend the Long Island Class I championship. The No.2 Red Raiders host upstart and third-seeded Floyd (7-1), which won seven games to open the season before losing to Patchogue last week.
In the other semifinal, No.4 Sachem (5-3) goes to top-seeded and undefeated Longwood (8-0). Don’t be deceived by Longwood‘s 35-14 win over Sachem. That game was tied at 14 at the half and this one will be close. Remember, Sachem coach Fred Fusaro sacrificed the first game of the season (a loss to Patchogue) when he suspended 14 players for violating team policy and said if his team responded to the punishment appropriately it would overcome the loss and the end would justify the means. Now Sachem is in the playoffs, and it’s a new start. Longwood has had a great season, rebounding after a non-playoff year and the graduation of Hansen Award winner Marc Riley. This promises to be a classic.
High School FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS / Longwood Turns Back Sachem:
By Jim Baumbach. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 15 Nov 1998:
Longwood coach Joe Cipp III has heard it before.
Watch out for Sachem. The Flaming Arrows are better than their record.
So Cipp said he fully prepared his team to stop fourth-seeded Sachem – record, reputation and all.
“We felt if we could stop them from getting those long, time-consuming drives, we’d be all right,” Cipp said.
Things turned out fine for top-seeded Longwood, which was able to stop most potential Sachem scoring drives en route to a 31-28 win yesterday in a Suffolk Division I semifinal game. Longwood (9-0) will play third-seeded Floyd (8-1) in the final 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Longwood.
Longwood was the aggressor throughout, scoring first and never relinquishing the lead, although it was never ahead by more than 10 points. The Lions scored the game’s first touchdown on its first possession when Eric Hatkewitz sent a pitch to Sha-Ran Edwards, who ran 6 yards into the end zone to cap an 11-play, 80-yard drive that took 4:44. Edwards, who rushed for 164 yards on 22 carries and scored twice, also rushed three times for 18 yards during the drive.
The Flaming Arrows offense followed with a two-play, 52-yard drive that only took 57 seconds. Shaun Jordan ran 48 yards to tie the score.
Longwood took a 17-7 lead in the second quarter when Daquan Hardy scored on a 2-yard run and Dan Sable kicked his first field goal of the season, a 37-yarder.
“I never had to chance to kick one before today,” Sable said. “We always seem to score touchdowns.”
Sachem then scored when Paul Torregrosa broke free for a 63-yard touchdown run that capped a five-play, 80-yard drive to make it 17-14.
“We just didn’t expect to stop Sachem and then have them find some way to score on an 80-yard run or something,” Cipp said.
The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter. Hatkewitz scored on a 4-yard run for the Lions and Sachem‘s Nicholas Miller returned an interception 70 yards to make it 24-21.
Longwood then took a 31-21 lead early the fourth quarter on Edwards’ 12-yard run. But Sachem came right back. Torregrosa scored on a 11-yard sweep right, capping a 10-play, 68-yard drive to make it 31-28.
Longwood then faced its biggest challenge.
“I told them that they had to drive the ball while taking up time,” Cipp said. “We had the lead, so there was no need to press. We just couldn’t give it up.”
With 7:22 left, the Lions ran a 15-play drive that ended on downs at the Sachem 20 with 1:03 left. The long drive, which took over six minutes, was made possible by Edwards.
On a second-and-7, Edwards found an opening for a 20-yard run. But a clipping call against Longwood brought it back to the 10-yard line.
The call didn’t phase Edwards. He followed it with a 27-yard run along the right sideline to keep Longwood moving.
“He’s a competitor,” Cipp said. “And this is the time of the year when competitors shine.”
SUFFOLK DIVISION I SEMIFINAL At Longwood SACHEM 7 7 7 7 28 LONGWOOD 7 10 7 7 31
L – Edwards 6 run (Sable kick)
S – Jordan 50 run (Onorato kick)
L – Hardy 2 run (Sable kick)
L – FG Sable 37
S – Torregrosa 63 run (Onorato kick)
L – Hatkewitz 4 run (Sable kick)
S – Miller 70 INT (Onorato kick)
L – Edwards 12 run (Sable kick)
S – Torregrosa 11 run (Onorato kick)
Longwood Routs Floyd:
By Jim Baumbach. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 22 Nov 1998
DIVISION I LONGWOOD 43 FLOYD 12
“Which way to Hofstra?” Longwood coach Joe Cipp III asked his team minutes after it defeated third-seeded Floyd, 43-12, to win the Suffolk Division I title yesterday.
The top-seeded Lions all turned, pointed east and yelled in unison, “That way!”
Based on its play against Floyd, it might be correct to assume that Longwood has had the directions posted to the site of the Long Island Championship for quite some time. Longwood plays Massapequa at 1:30 p.m. Friday.
“This was the goal all season long,” captain Steve Perretta said. “Everything we did was to get there.”
Said Cipp: “You can’t explain this feeling right here. It just feels so great that the kids worked so hard to get to this moment.”
From beginning to end, Longwood (10-0) kept rushing the ball at the Floyd defense, which looked tired at times. Longwood gained 412 yards on 55 carries, paced by Sha-Ron Edwards’ 133 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries.
“We thought that if we could go right at them off-tackle, we would have success,” Cipp said. “And we did.”
Edwards and his teammates started the ground attack from their first possession.
Edwards, who played with a sprained right ankle, capped an 88-yard opening drive that lasted 3:48 with a 14-yard scoring run. Longwood began at its 12-yard line and needed just nine plays to reach the end zone. All nine plays were rushes by five different players. “We have a lot of weapons,” Cipp said.
“It’s great to know that when I’m tired other guys can come in and do the same job that I do,” Edwards said.
Longwood didn’t stop there. After three unsuccessful offensive plays, the Colonials lined up to punt on fourth-and-8. However, Jim Erwin’s punt was blocked by Elroy Walrond, giving the Lions possession on Floyd’s 15-yard line. “We usually try to go to the outside to block a punt, but I saw the inside was left open,” Walrond said. “I went for it and got lucky.”
Four plays later, with 5:23 left, Edwards scored on a 3-yard run to make the score 13-0.
After Floyd turned the ball over on downs on the Longwood 25, the Lions went on a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive that lasted 2:21. Jamie Fabian (83 yards on 12 carries) finished the drive with a 34-yard run to give Longwood a 19-0 advantage with 11:50 left in the half.
Floyd, which was playing in its first title game ever, got on the board courtesy of Maceo Clinton’s first of two 81-yard touchdown runs. But Longwood quickly shot back with a 30-yard field goal by Dan Sable with 33 seconds left in the half. The Lions then benefited from a Floyd mishap.
Sable sent the ensuing kickoff to Mike Williams, who fumbled the ball at the Colonials’ 15-yard line. The Lion’s Nick Garone recovered and on the next play Edwards scored on a 14-yard run. Quarterback Eric Hatkewitz ran in the two-point conversion, giving Longwood a 30-6 halftime lead.
“They’re too good a team to turn the ball over to,” Floyd coach Paul Longo said. “They’re a tough enough team to beat without doing that.”
Longwood started the second half right where it left off when, on its first possession of the half, DaQuan Hardy rushed 53 yards into the end zone with 6:33 left in the third quarter. After Clinton, who led the Colonials with 193 yards on 14 carries, scored on another 81-yard rush with 6:04 remaining, Edwards capped the victory with a 35-yard run with 4:23 left.
And that left Longwood with one unanswered question: Which Longwood player is going to tell the bus driver how to get to Hofstra? SUFFOLK DIVISION I FINAL – at Longwood FLOYD 0 6 0 6 12 LONGWOOD 13 17 7
LONG ISLAND FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS / Perretta Force on Line:
By Jim Baumbach. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 24 Nov 1998
CLASS I MASSAPEQUA VS. LONGWOOD
Game time: Friday, 1:30 p.m. Where: Hofstra Stadium Hempstead
ON LONGWOOD: The Lions won their first Suffolk Division I title since 1993. They then lost to Massapequa in the Long Island Class I final. They are averaging 37.3 points per game while allowing only 9.3. Sha-Ron Edwards is the top running back. ON MASSAPEQUA: This is not uncharted territory for the Chiefs, who won back-to-back Long Island Class I titles in 1993 and ’94. They have an outstanding offensive line, a strong pass rush and an experienced leader in senior quarterback Brad Lyons.
Ask Steve Perretta why the widespread lack of recognition for the offensive line doesn’t bother him and the Longwood tackle has a three-word answer.
“The lineman’s prayer,” he said.
Before every game, Perretta and his fellow linemen stand on the field and recite the following: We work the hardest, we’re known the least. But who cares, for we are the reason.
It’s certain those same players will be saying that prayer around 1 p.m. Friday, a half-hour before Longwood (10-0) plays Massapequa (7-1-2) for the Long Island Class I Championship at Hofstra.
Perretta first learned it when he made the varsity team as a sophomore the same year Joe Cipp III took over as coach. Cipp brought the saying along with him after hearing other coaches use it.
“It was taken from the late coach {John} DeLuca of Sayville,” Cipp said. “It’s basically trying to instill an attitude that we’re not going to get the most recognition, but we’re going to work the hardest. And that’s OK.”
Although the prayer is second nature to Perretta and his teammates, he said it still gets the line psyched to open holes long enough for the halfbacks to run through. “It gets us ready to go,” he said. “We’re pumped after we say it.”
In addition to the prayer, Perretta has definitely bought into Cipp’s system. The 6-3, 265-pound senior said he didn’t really start serious weightlifting until after his sophomore year. The added strength has increased Perretta’s stamina in games.
Now Perretta is a force on both offense and defense, continually opening up holes with massive blocks as well as being one of the county’s top defensive tackles. That’s why Division I football programs such as Maryland, North Carolina State and Wake Forest are giving him a look.
“I take so much pride in my play,” said Perretta, who is the Lions’ co-captain along with fellow lineman Chris Fanning. “When I make a block on the line and the running back enters the end zone, it makes me feel so proud.”
Sha-Ron Edwards, who scored four rushing touchdowns in Longwood’s 43-12 win over Floyd for the Suffolk Division I title Saturday, couldn’t be happier he is running behind a line that includes Perretta. “Without the line, we’re nothing,” Edwards said. “Not for nothing, they make our job easier.”
All the pride and satisfaction Perretta and his fellow linemen feel after every touchdown still doesn’t keep dreams of himself one day running into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown from entering into his head.
“I’ve recovered a couple of fumbles, but that’s it,” he said. “The linebackers talk about it sometimes, about scoring a touchdown. But those thoughts usually only last a couple of seconds.”
Asked why, Perretta gave the answer that keeps every lineman going.
“I just love blocking,” he said. “I love it.”
CLASS I Matchups
This is truly the battle of the beef. Massapequa’s offensive line is widely regarded as Nassau’s best. But the Chiefs are virtual midgets compared to a Longwoodfront five that averages 6-4, 275 pounds from tackle to tackle. That means if the Chiefs can’t rush between the tackles, which is their preference, they must find a way to get around the Lions’ massive front wall.
When these teams last met in the 1993 game, Massapequa scored two early touchdowns and emerged with a 12-7 victory, the first of two successive Class I titles.
Longwood halfback Sha-Ron Edwards has taken full advantage of his blockers by scoring 18 touchdowns and rushing for 1,183 yards. Massapequa will rotate running backs Peter Alosi and Mike Rapacki, but the Chiefs’ chances for a third title are likely to rest on the creativity of quarterback Brad Lyons.
Massapequa will try to combat Longwood‘s size and big-play scoring capability with the same ball control it used to edge Freeport in the Nassau Conference I final.MASSAPEQUA CHIEFS (7-1-2) Key Players: QB Brad Lyons (4), HB Peter Alosi (8), DL Tom Katsigiorgis (79). Turning Point: A 37-21 upset of top-seeded and defending champion Freeport in Game Four turned the Chiefs into the conference front-runner. They proved it was no upset by beating the Red Devils again for the title. LONGWOOD LIONS (10-0) Key Players: QB / LB Eric Hatkewitz (13), RB Sha-Ron Edwards (3), OT / LT Steve Perretta (60). Turning Point: Longwood has rolled through the season with an undefeated mark. The Lions were able to beat two-time defending Class I champion Patchogue-Medford and playoff-bound Sachem in consecutive weeks in the middle of the season. Nov. 27
LONG ISLAND FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS / Lions Are Kings / Longwood earns 1st LI crown:
By Mike Candel Nov. 28
Offense, offense, offense. Everyone knew about Longwood’s offense. The huge line. The quicksilver running backs. The big, strong, versatile quarterback.
The defense? No one was sure. It was lost in the shadow of an offensive juggernaut.
Until Friday.
When it mattered most – with an unbeaten season and a Long Island Class I football championship on the line – Longwood’s defense held firm and delivered a 22-19 victory over Massapequa before a raucous crowd of 7,011 at Hofstra Stadium.
The win climaxed a perfect 11-0 season for the Lions – leaving them as Suffolk’s only unbeaten team – and enabled them to go home with their first Long Island championship. Longwood advanced this far once before, in 1993, but lost to Massapequa, 12-7.
“We’re the best,” said John Cascione, the Lions’ senior center. “We proved it.”
With Cascione (6-0, 300) and his beefy friends on the offensive line – guards Jeff Kinney (6-0, 275) and Chris Fanning (5-11, 205), tackles Dylan Daniels (6-4, 300) and Steve Perretta (6-3, 265), tight end Brett Wachter (6-5, 245) – leading the way, quarterback Eric Hatkewitz ran for three touchdowns.
“Our line was blowing people off the ball,” Hatkewitz said. “We were running the option and no one was covering me. We kept ramming that play down their throats.”
Still, every time the Lions scored, Massapequa (7-2-2) had an answer. After Hatkewitz ran 27 yards for a 6-0 lead with 1:43 left in the first quarter, the Chiefs’ Brad Lyons fired an 88-yard touchdown pass to Jim Cerullo to tie the score 1:57 into the second quarter.
After Hatkewitz ran 15 yards for six points with 46 seconds left in the first half, Lyons sprinted 61 yards into the end zone in the first minute of the third quarter. And after Hatkewitz went 15 yards for another score with 3:40 remaining in the third quarter, the Chiefs’ Peter Alosi scored on a 4-yard run with 10:20 left in the game.
Both teams had three touchdowns, but Longwood had a 22-19 lead.
“They made their extra points and we didn’t,” Massapequa coach Tom Sheedy said.
Hatkewitz threw a two-point conversion pass to Wachter following the Lions’ second touchdown and ran for two points himself after his third TD. Meanwhile, the Chiefs failed to convert after their first two touchdowns before Tom Mazzola converted a kick after touchdown No. 3.
Then the moment of truth arrived for Massapequa’s offense and Longwood’s defense. With 6:34 remaining, the Chiefs took possession at their own 29 with a strong wind at their backs. Just a week earlier, they put together a 99-yard drive in the fourth quarter to beat Freeport for the Nassau Conference I crown.
“We expect to win every time we go on the field,” Sheedy said. “We’ve been great in the fourth quarter. I don’t think being behind at that point was a detriment.”
It was time for the test, time to see if Longwood’s defense could save the victory. The early returns weren’t encouraging. It took two plays for the Chiefs to get a first down at their 43. Three more and they had another first down at the Lions’ 44. Three minutes left.
“I wasn’t nervous,” Longwood coach Joe Cipp III said. “I really wasn’t. I was thinking we had to pressure {Lyons}, not let him set up.”
After Mike Rapacki ran for 2 yards, Lyons dropped back and fired a pass to Cerullo, slanting from right to left 30 yards upfield, but the ball sailed over the receiver’s outstretched hands.
“I threw a bad pass to Jimmy,” Lyons said. “He was wide open.”
Lyons went back to pass again on third down but before he could set up, he was sacked by defensive end Dan Sable for an 11-yard loss. It was Sable’s third sack of the afternoon.
“I go in on second-and-long, and third-down passing situations,” Sable said. “On that play, I lined up outside the tackle and went untouchded {to Lyons}.”
Fourth-and-19. Last gasp for Massapequa. Lyons dropped back once more and fired a long pass to Cerullo streaking down the left side with defensive back Daquan Hardy running with him.
“{Cerullo} is as fast as anyone I’ve covered,” said Hardy, who got turned around and didn’t see Lyons release the ball. “I stared at {Cerullo’s} eyes and his eyes almost popped out of his head. I spun around quick and the ball was just over my helmet. I swung at it and hit it. Then I swung again as I was falling and got another piece.”
The ball fell to the turf with less than three minutes left and with it went Massapequa’s dreams for a championship.
At that moment, a sign went up on the Longwood side of the field that read: “Lion Kings.”
And so they were.
LONG ISLAND CLASS I CHAMPIONSHIP At Hofstra MASSAPEQUA 0 6 6 7 19 LONGWOOD 6 8 8 0 22 L – Hatkewitz 27 run (kick blocked) M – Cerullo 88 pass from Lyons (kick failed) L – Hatkewitz 15 run (Wachter pass from Hatkewitz) M – Lyons 61 run (pass failed) L – Hatkewitz 15 run (Hatkewitz run) M – Alosi 4 run (Mazzola kick)
LONG ISLAND FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS / NOTEBOOK /
REPORTED BY MIKE CANDEL AND GREGG SARRA. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 28 Nov 1998
Joe Cipp III did a magnificent job of coaching Longwood to its first Long Island Class I championship, beating Massapequa, 22-19. However, it is unlikely Cipp will be chosen as the American Medical Association’s cover boy.
Although Cipp has walking pneumonia, he refused to let it stop him from coaching his team in its biggest game of the season. But his choice of clothing was astonishing. On a cold November day, in a biting wind, Cipp stood on the sideline wearing shorts.
Clearly this was a case of “do as I say, not as I do.” Sable’s big game
Longwood defensive end Dan Sable didn’t expect too much playing time in the Long Island Class I championship game against Massapequa. During practice last week, he was told the Massapequa offensive line was very big and that Longwood would combat size with size, opting to use Dylan Daniels (6-4, 300) instead of Sable (6-1, 190).
That doesn’t mean Sable didn’t contribute. He finished with four tackles, including three sacks, totaling 26 yards in losses.
“I just made the most of the playing time I had,” Sable said. “It was great to be a part of the win.”
Sable came into the game with four sacks and punctuated the season with a sack on the game’s final play.
“I got in untouched and got the quarterback’s legs,” Sable said. “And everyone else wrapped him up and took him out.”
To take home a title.
LONG ISLAND FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS / ‘Pequa Unable To Rally:
By Nick Lanteri. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 28 Nov 1998
Massapequa wasn’t the unbeaten football team . . . like its opponent. The Chiefs didn’t win all their games this season and have a 28-point average margin of victory . . . like their opponent.
Sure, the Chiefs had heard about the massive front line and all the points that Longwood had scored this season. But all that mattered little now, as only 6:34 remained in the Long Island Class I Championship with underdog Massapequa in possession of the ball trailing by only three points.
“We had {Longwood} where we wanted them,” Massapequa coach Tom Sheedy said. “Being behind wasn’t necessarily a detriment. The fourth quarter was our quarter all season.”
But quarterback Brad Lyons couldn’t pull off the comeback this time. An 11-yard sack by Dan Sable on a key third-down play at midfield sealed Longwood‘s 22-19 win Friday at Hofstra.
Longwood (11-0) had a sizable edge in time of possession (29:30 to 18:30) and had more rushing yards (322-90), but it was the big-play capability of Lyons that kept Massapequa (7-2-2) within striking distance. “We lived off of Brad’s arm this season,” Sheedy said.
His 88-yard touchdown pass to Jim Cerullo into the wind early in the second quarter pulled the Chiefs into a 6-6 tie. To that point, Massapequa had mustered only one first down.
“We couldn’t get anything going and now we had bad field position going into the wind,” Cerullo said. “We ran an out-and-up and I knew I could beat my man.”
He did. Lyons rolled to his left and lofted a perfect pass over the defender that Cerullo caught in stride. “After that, I knew I was going the distance,” Cerullo said.
It was one of many reasons why Massapequa took Longwood the distance.
Lyons provided the second quick strike on Massapequa’s first possession of the second half. He used a block from Vinny D’Agostino and broke in the clear for a 61-yard touchdown run that brought the Chiefs within 14-12.
Again, Massapequa couldn’t sustain the momentum and it fell behind, 22-12, late in the third quarter.
Massapequa’s defense, led by Eric Romeo’s team-leading 11 tackles and Peter Calvello’s two fumble recoveries, gave the Chiefs an opportunity at the end. Down by 10, Calvello recovered a Sha-Ron Edwards fumble in the fourth quarter. Massapequa converted the turnover into points when Peter Alosi took a pitchout and ran it 4 yards into the end zone. Tom Mazzola’s extra-point kick got the Chiefs within 22-19 with 10:20 left. But the Chiefs would come up short in their attempt to win their first Long Island crown in four years.
Helmet in hand and disappointment on his face, Cerullo looked across the field afterward and thought of what could have been. “We didn’t go down without a fight,” he said, before turning and walking toward the team bus.
ZELLNER AWARD / RUTGERS TROPHY / COLLOTTA AWARD / Longwood Takes Rutgers Trophy:
By Gregg Sarra. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, 04 Dec 1998: A97.
This one was easy. Longwood, the only undefeated, untied team in Suffolk this season, was the coaches’ unanimous choice for the Rutgers Trophy.
The Lions received 30 more votes than runnerup North Babylon to take home the trophy at last night’s Suffolk All-County football dinner at the Wyndham Windwatch in Hauppauge. Sayville finished a distant third.
“We were the only undefeated team and I liked our chances of earning the award,” Longwood coach Joe Cipp III said. “I’m very proud of everyone in the entire program. We had a team that knew how to take care of its business. It’s been a great season.”
It was quite a season. Longwood finished 11-0 and captured the Long Island Class I title with a 22-19 victory over Massapequa. The Lions had the highest-scoring offense (373 points) in Suffolk’s Division I and the stingiest defense, allowing only 93 points over the regular season and playoffs (10 games).
“We were tested in a night game at Sachem during the season {Oct. 17},” Cipp said. “We were tied at the half and came out for the second half and took the game away from them {Longwood won, 31-14}. That was probably when I realized how good we were.”
Longwood’s dream season was punctuated by a brilliant performance in Week 4 of the regular season when the Lions stopped Patchogue-Medford’s 22-game winning streak with a thorough 19-0 victory.
Longwood is the second school to earn the Rutgers Trophy for a second time in the ’90s. Harborfields took home the distinction in 1995 and ’96. The Lions were also Rutgers winners in 1993 when they captured the Suffolk Division I title but lost in the Long Island championship game to Massapequa, 12-7.
“Coach {Kevin} McCarthy did a wonderful job turning this program around and he never had the opportunity to enjoy winning the Long Island title,” said Cipp, who in a show of respect recognized McCarthy during the postgame Long Island Championships ceremonies. McCarthy left three years ago to take an administrative job in Sayville. “It started with him and he deserved a piece of this. Having him share in the moment made it all the more special.”
ALL-LONG ISLAND FOOTBALL TEAM / OFFENSE / COACHES OF THE YEAR: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]
REPORTED BY MIKE CANDEL AND GREGG SARRA. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 20 Dec 1998
Suffolk Coach of the Year, Longwood (11-0)
The soft-spoken third-year coach led Longwood to the Long Island Class I championship through a wondrous season that saw the Lions finish 11-0 and claim the Rutgers Trophy, presented annually to Suffolk’s top team. He joined his father, Joe Jr., as the only father-son duo to claim Long Island championships. Joe Jr. led Bellport to titles in 1992, ’95 and ’97. Cipp, 29, is one of the youngest head coaches on Long Island. “It’s been a wonderful ride to the championship,” he said. “I’d say that the coaching staff, the players and everyone involved with our program deserve the credit for the achievement.” He also was named coach of the year by the Suffolk County Coaches Association. REPORTED BY MIKE CANDEL AND GREGG SARRA
STEVE PERRETTA
Offensive Line, Longwood (6-3, 265, Senior)
The Longwood offense was in high gear when the line was moving the opposition off the point of attack. The right side of that line was a favorite spot for coach Joe Cipp III to send his vaunted running game. Perretta, at right tackle, opened holes that allowed the Lions’ backs to gain most of the team’s 3,043 yards on the ground. “He was our co-captain and someone I could turn to have the lines turn it up a notch and get us going,” Cipp said. “He was the main cog in an offensive line that dominated the line of scrimmage.” At defensive tackle, Perretta had 53 tackles, 3 for a loss, 3 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries. “He helped motivate the other players in the weight room during the summer and was a true leader,” said Cipp of his co-captain. “He had quick feet and was a strong run blocker.”