Topsy turvey first two weeks
Bethpage halfback #9 Matt Zuk runs past Lawrence linebacker #8 Ryan Fredericks in first quarter action. (Sept. 16, 2011) Credit: Bruce Adler
You have to love new beginnings, especially if you're a passionate fan of a program that rarely wins. There's always hope at the start of a new season. There's optimism. And it helps when a new coach injects vitality into a lifeless program. All high school players need someone, some thing to believe in. And when the new guy comes in and says he believes in his players and the future -- that kind of confidence builder can go a long way.
When was the last time Half Hollow Hills East, Sachem East, Stony Brook and Shoreham-Wading River opened the football season with two straight wins?
How about never!
"If the players don't believe in the system, you'll never win," first-year Half Hollow Hills East coach Mike Patrovich said. "No one wants to lose. But there's definitely a culture of losing that we have to break away from. We have to learn how to have them buckle down and get over adversity in tough times. Our job is to find a way to motivate our players and utilize their skill sets to be successful."
Patrovich and first-year head coach Mark Wojciechowski at Sachem East are certainly breathing life into their programs. Hills East plays at North Babylon and Sachem East travels to Commack next week. And first-year coaches Matt Millheiser at Shoreham and Kris Ryan at Stony Brook
"Our early success is so exciting," Millheiser said. "Last year was so horrible. We didn't win a game. I feel great for our players."
What makes the 2-0 start for these four schools all the more impressive -- they were all 0-8 last season -- a combined 0-32.
So much for the preseason seeds. How about five of the eight preseason top-seeded public school teams have already lost and we're only in the second week of the season?
East Islip in Suffolk II is the first top seed to begin the season with two losses since 1999. The silver lining for the Redmen -- North Babylon started the season in 1999 with an 0-2-1 record and then reeled off eight straight wins to capture the Long Island Class II championship. So it's far from over for the Redmen.
Top-seeded Seaford fell at home Saturday to West Hempstead, 28-20. The Rams ended Seaford's 44-game winning streak in the Nassau IV regular season. It was the second-longest league winning streak in Nassau history. Bethpage had won 51 straight games, part of a 54-0-1 streak, from 1992 to 1998.
Top-seeded Lawrence in Nassau III got waffled by perennial power Bethpage, which has struggled in recent years, 37-19. The Golden Tornadoes look as if they are back in top form after blowing out a team that no one thought would lose this season.
Top-seeded Floyd in Suffolk I dropped a hard-hitting 14-12 decision to Longwood Saturday. That is always a battle for bragging rights on the William Floyd Parkway. And Longwood will be reckoned with for the county title -- it may be time for the Lions. And Carey, the top seed in Nassau II, dropped a 14-7 decision to Mepham. Only Sayville in Suffolk III, Amityville in Suffolk IV and Freeport in Nassau I have withstood the assault on top-seeded programs through the first two weeks.
It's been a wild two weeks with unpredictable finishes and budding stars -- a real feel good beginning for those who've been down and got back up to taste victory.
What a start to 2011.
