High School Football

BY BOB HERZOG

The best thing about Thursday morning’s practice at Suffolk Division I contender Longwood – and undoubtedly throughout Long Island – was that it was the first day teams were permitted to wear shoulder pads and that some contact was allowed.

The worst thing about Thursday morning’s practice? That pads were on and that some contact was allowed. Inevitably, an overzealous player would go a little too far and bring a ballcarrier or receiver to the ground in drills where only modest contact was called for.

So while the Longwood coaches could be heard yelling, “Run to the ball! Eleven hats to the ball!” none of those coaches wanted any of his defensive charges to totally level an offensive player. But, oh, the temptation sure was there. Especially since the Longwood kids were feeling frisky in their spiffy new practice jerseys replete with numbers, purchased through the team’s fund-raising efforts.

“It’s football. It’s physical and it’s the first day the kids have pads on,” Longwood coach Chris Meyer said. “The hardest thing is to control them. They want to go full bore. But we still have got to teach them the fundamentals. When the full pads go on and full contact is allowed [on Monday], it’s even worse. They’re harder to control.”

Meyer hopes to challenge Floyd for Division I supremacy with his third-seeded squad that is led by quarterback Eddie Wess (above, left), cornerback/wide receiver Nick Esposito, linebacker/tight end Nick Mauceri and the team’s best player, Moses White, a hard-hitting fullback/linebacker (above, right).

“We’ve got very good seniors, but only 15 of them,” Meyer said. “It’s a junior-laden team and we’ll have to rely on them. Can we get the juniors to understand what we’re doing? They’ll have to play.”

They’ll just have to wait, like everybody else, to really start hitting.

Next stop: Babylon.

BY GREGG SARRA

The third day of training camp took us to Suffolk's south shore where we checked in with West Islip. The Lions have been one of Long Island's hottest and winningest programs over the past 10 years. They've been a Big Four finalist in each of the past three years, losing to the Long Island Class II champion twice and once to the Suffolk titlist in those playoffs.

There is no question that West Islip is all about success. But when does winning only mean something -- when you win the big one? That's the motivation behind this year's West Islip squad. They are tired of being beaten in the county final or the semifinals. They want more. And the Lions believe they can achieve that goal as the team is loaded with experience at key positions.

Coach Tim Horan spent some time with me discussing the program's success. He talked about how close the Lions came against cross town rival East Islip in the Suffolk Division II championship game and how that experience will serve as fuel and motivation for this year's playoff run. Horan is more than comfortable taking it one game at a time. He certainly won't look past Newfield, in the season opener. The Wolverines were a playoff team last year and offer an early season test that will give Horan an idea of where these Lions stand.

Senior wide receiver Kyle Gelling scored his first touchdown in last year's championship game against East Islip and he's looking forward to the season. Gelling ran routes and sounded very optimistic about the Lions outlook. He told me that the Lions will take no opponent for granted and that they are well aware of top-seeded Riverhead and its explosive team. Gelling is one of a host of talented skill positions guys at West Islip. He's a 6-4, 210-pound kid with great speed and reliable hands. Senior halfback Nick Cestaro brings speed to this backfield and he looked great slashing in and out of the scout defense. Senior wide out Mike McCormack is the perfect compliment to Gelling and that gives senior quarterback Scott Mattera plenty of options on offense.

The West Islip practice was as intense as one could be with players dressed in just their helmets, t-shirts and shorts. They start full contact drills on Thursday. Believe it, West Islip will be in the playoff mix at the end.

BY MARCUS HENRY

It was a simple scenario for Sayville senior offensive tackle Mike Maneri at practice Wednesday. Field a punt and the team wouldn't have to run "gasers" at the end of practice. For those who aren't familiar with the term gaser, it is a conditioning drill typically run at the end of practice. A team lines up on the sideline and runs the width of the field (53 1/2 yards) and back. But the team has to do it in a certain amount of time. Needless to say, it isn't a fun thing to do.

Maneri failed in his first attempt to field a punt. But Sayville coach Rob Hoss had a heart and gave the team an choice; run five gasers and call it a day or Maneri could have another shot at fielding the punt. If he dropped it, the team would have to run 10 gasers instead of five.

It took a little convincing, but the team opted to let Maneri try it again. And the senior prevailed, although it looked as if he might have trapped it. Nonetheless, it was a gratifying moment as Maneri's teammates mobbed him after making the catch.

"It just shows how much of a team we are and how much we rally together," senior running back Nick Meo said of the team's reaction to Maneri's catch."

Maneri was prepared for the moment as he practiced fielding punts before practice began yesterday. Needless to say Maneri was fired up by the team's reaction after he made the catch. "We're brothers, that's our motto; Brothers forever," Maneri said. "We're like one big family."

Hoss looked at it as a reward for his hard working team. "This is when kids come together," Hoss said. "When does a linemen go out and field punts. It shows team unity."

As for the season, practice was running smoothly for the Golden Flashes, who finished 6-3 last season and are the No.1 seed in Division III. With so much talent returning, including quarterback Dillon Boos and running backs Meo and Charlie Podguski, Sayville is ready to contend for the Division III title.

"I tell the kids all the time we have great expectations," Hoss said. "But we've been here before. We were the No.1 seed in 1998, 2004, 2005 and we are the one seed again. We want to be the No.1 seed."

BY GREGG SARRA

John Jansen -- remember the name. the senior linebacker at Wantagh led the Warriors in tackles in 2007 as the team won nine straight games before losing to Bethpage in the Nassau Conference III final. Jansen and a host of Wantagh teammates made it priority No. 1 to prevent a letdown in 2008.
"We're in a terrific conference with a lot of great teams and it's going to take an icnredible effort to win the county title," Jansen said during the morning practice session. "We're confident that we put in the time in the off-season to give us an edge."
Jansen said the team worked out as many as six times a week throughout the summer, including grueling beach workouts and passing scrimmages at St. Anthony's. The majority of the team participated over the first six weeks of the summer and it helped bring a strong carmarderie and pride to the unit.
"We pushed each other and we mixed some fun in there," Jansen said. "We have a common goal and everyone understands it's a team effort."
Speedy backs in seniors Vinny Polo and Joe Biscardi will make Wantagh a running threat at all times. And throw in the strong arm of junior quarterback Kyle Ambury, who told me he wants to throw it 20 times a game, and you have a dangerous offense. Ambury looked sharp throughout practice and his arm strength will allow head coach Keith Sachs to stretch the defense and find plenty of space for his receivers.
"Our offense will give defenses a headache," Ambury said. "We have quite a few weapons." These Warriors will score alot again this year -- but it's a matter of how they do it -- on the ground or through the air.
Wantagh is an excellent all around team but the conference includes some other heavyweights. We'll visit Bethpage and Lawrence over the next two weeks and give you the inside scoop on those powerhouse programs.

The N-Zone's new high school video series covers Floyd football, which enters the year on a 33-game win streak:

BY BOB HERZOG

The afternoon session of Brentwood’s two-a-day program emphasized special teams and defense when I showed up on Tuesday. But that doesn’t mean the speed that has coach Steve Perretta smiling this year was under wraps.

There was no contact in the drills, so watching senior Jamie Jennings return kickoffs was like watching a game of flag football where no one could grab the flag. The kid is that quick and that elusive. “A Reggie Bush type,” Perretta said. “He’s not an every down back but he’ll do a little bit of everything.” That includes play defense where Jennings’ quickness in coverage was also on display (above).

Perretta likes senior wide receivers, Gabe Manzuetta, Kevin Kuhlmeier and Alex Usera, who will give junior quarterback Alex Corporan a choice of targets. There’s also hard-running junior fullback Darius Allison. “Those two juniors could be the top players at their positions in Division I next year,” Perretta said.

But for this year, Corporan and Allison will complement a fast-paced attack that is a departure from Brentwood’s style of a year ago. “Our strength is our team speed. We run and catch the ball well. We’re real good at the skill positions,” Perretta said. “Last year, we were a big bruising team.”

Next stop on Zog’s tour of football camps: Longwood.

BY BOB HERZOG

There’s a lot to be excited about at Sachem North this year. The Flaming Arrows are the No. 2 seed in Suffolk’s Division I and have a legitimate shot at dethroning Floyd, which has not lost a divisional game in five seasons. They are led by quarterback Craig Geoghan (above, left), tailback Anthony Quezada and tackle Cong Tian.

You can see the bounce in the players’ steps when they run their drills, even though it’s only the second day of practice. You can hear it in the way they yell between exercises and encourage each other. You can tell they believe they are on the verge of something special. And coach Dave Falco doesn’t discourage that kind of optimism. “We’ve been working hard all summer and we’ve got a lot of talented kids back,” Falco said on Tuesday.

But the Sachem North football family received a jolting reality check last month. Senior starting fullback/linebacker Phil Mastrogiacomo (above, right) was seriously injured on July 15 when a car driven by his best friend, Geoghan, plowed into a parked construction truck. Geoghan, blinded by the morning sun as he made a turn en route to the high school for a morning workout, was uninjured. But Mastrogiacomo suffered a shattered femur, torn deltoid, dislocated clavicle, snapped tendons and ligaments in his shoulder, blood in his brain from a concussion that delayed surgery for six days and most serious of all, a lacerated liver.

Yet guess who was on the sidelines Tuesday, the first day on the field for the Flaming Arrows after Monday’s weight-room and check-in session? Mastrogiacomo, right arm in a sling and using one crutch, the scars on his leg still visible from the surgery, maneuvered among teammates and coaches, sometimes gazing wistfully at the practice field, other times engaging teammates and coaches in animated conversation.

“Football and wrestling have been my life forever,” he said. “I can’t even think about my senior year without one of them.” Though Mastrogiacomo says he dreams of being back for what could be a key showdown at Floyd on Friday night, Oct. 17, realistically, said Falco, the liver injury will likely keep him from returning to the football field. Still, Mastrogiacomo plans to attend every practice, go to camp upstate with the team next week and be on the sidelines for every game “unless I have a doctor’s appointment.”

He said, “The hardest part was hearing I couldn’t do sports,” yet Mastrogiacomo’s spirit and sense of humor are intact. “That’s my joke,” he said, with a grin. “When the players complain in practice I say, ‘I shattered my femur, stop bitching.’

Falco closed an impressive and active morning session on Tuesday by telling his players, “Today is about fundamentals and how do we practice.”

It was about something else, too. It was about showing as much fight as a fallen teammate.

Next on Zog’s tour of football camps: Brentwood.

BY GREGG SARRA

Two football coaches meetings in a week. Hold on, check that -- two very good coaches meetings in the past week. I proposed that the coaches in both counties get more involved in our Large and Small schools polls. And the majority voted that we will have two polls in 2008. We'll have our Newsday poll for media members only and we'll have a coaches poll. As Borat would say, "Very nice!!"

Now, here's something that can be even more exciting and add to our extensive coverage of high school football. We're going to try and produce the county leaders in several statistical categories. I always thought it was cool to see who the county leader was in rushing yardage. And everyone wants to know stats -- our very own Andy Slawson is famous for knowing every stat imaginable. Stats are fun. And I really think the football coaches want to give this their best shot.

So here we go. Rushing, receiving, passing leaders. Total touchdowns, rushing touchdowns, receiving touchdowns and passing touchdowns will be compiled. On defense, we'll have total tackles, interceptions and fumble recoveries.

Ambitious? Yes. Impossible? Absolutely not.

It's just another thing to look forward to our high school coverage this year.