Herzog: Labor Day game an idea worth repeating

On an exceedingly hot, humid first Monday in September some years ago, a chowder-thick New England accent filled the air as junior varsity football players ran wind sprints on a Suffolk County field at the end of a grueling practice.

"Labor Day is a day to labor, and by golly we will labor!" the man with the whistle growled.

My old JV coach would have loved yesterday.

Not only were the players laboring, but they were doing it in a real game, not a practice. It was a day when two high school football teams played the only game in town. Through an odd confluence of circumstances, Syosset hosted Uniondale in what is believed to be the earliest date a high school football game has ever been played on Long Island, and the first on Labor Day.

"It's a great concept. It's like our own Kickoff Classic," Syosset athletic director Rich Schaub said. Then, looking at a rare near-capacity crowd of about 1,100 fans, Schaub added, "What a football atmosphere. It's like a bowl game."

Indeed, there was more pomp than the circumstances of a No. 8-at-No. 2 opener might ordinarily have commanded. "If we had played it on the first day of school [Tuesday], we might've had a crowd of about 300 or 400," Schaub said.

Instead, the home bleachers were nearly full, and Uniondale's fans filled the small visiting bleachers and spilled out along the fence. Additionally, the game benefited the Wounded Warriors Project, which supports veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The coaching staffs for both teams, the Syosset band and its cheerleaders all wore white "Proud Supporter" shirts.

SEE PHOTOSSyosset 20, Uniondale 14

"The Wounded Warriors is a great organization," Uniondale coach Greg Didio said. "When Paul [Rorke, Syosset's coach] called me about playing on Labor Day, I said I was all for it. This was a great atmosphere for both sides."

This year's game was both Schaub's inspiration and a bit of serendipity relating to the dates of Rosh Hashanah and Labor Day. "The game was originally scheduled for [Saturday] Sept. 11,'' Schaub said. "But in Syosset, we observe the Jewish holidays on Thursday and Friday and the kids also leave early on Wednesday. I thought it would be unsafe for us to play a game without practicing for three days."

So that left either Labor Day or Tuesday. "That first day of school is chaotic. The kids can't find their lockers. How many would come to a football game after school?" Schaub said. "This seemed like a better idea. We made it at 11 o'clock so people could get home to their barbecue."

Even the weather cooperated, as if Section VIII had custom-ordered a picture-postcard sun-splashed afternoon. So did the two teams. They enjoyed knocking each other around so much that they played overtime.

SEE PHOTOSNassau football players to watch

There were big plays on both sides in Syosset's 20-14 win - including touchdown runs of 66 and 33 yards by Uniondale's William Stanback and a game-winning 22-yard touchdown pass from Alex Contino to James Cohan for Syosset.

"Everyone on the team loved the idea of playing on Labor Day," Contino said. "We liked looking up and seeing that big crowd."

Could a Labor Day high school football game become a Long Island tradition? The LIPA Expressway Bowl? The Pindar Wine Bowl?

"I'd love to play the home opener every year," Schaub joked.

But each school's schedule is determined by the coaches' preseason rankings, which change from season to season, meaning such a "bowl game" would have to rotate among different teams and locations.

Still, it might be worth it to work out the logistics. It would make the old JV coach smile.