Farmingdale's Krumenacker wins 200th

When Farmingdale coach Buddy Krumenacker's team defeated Valley Stream Central, 26-20, yesterday for his 200th career victory, the Dalers' veteran coach thought, "What about the first one?"

"I was kind of curious but I couldn't remember. I'll find out," Krumenacker said after his 123rd victory at Farmingale, where he has been head coach since 1993. He won 77 games at Hempstead from 1978-88 and has won 10 Nassau championships, five Rutgers Trophies and one Long Island Championship (in 2001 when Farmingdale defeated Floyd). He is the eighth coach in Long Island history to reach 200 victories.

Some of them were more memorable to Krumenacker than his first -- or last, for that matter. "[Yesterday] we just found a way to win. It was anything but pretty," Krumenacker said. "There was nothing good about the afternoon, except that we got the win. No hugs and kisses afterward."

But Krumenacker recalled a game in 1980 when his Hempstead team faced Lynbrook when both were undefeated. "We were trailing at the half and I asked the kids, 'What do we need to do different in the second half,' " Krumenacker recounted. "A running back named John Bridges said, 'We don't have to do anything different, coach. We're going to beat them.' That was the moment that changed that program.' "

At Farmingdale, he inherited a hugely successful program from Don Snyder (237 career victories). "I took over something that already was rolling and kept it moving," he said. "It speaks volumes about who comes through the program at Farmingdale. We've got tough kids that come to play every week."