Teamwork at the heart of Farmingdale's LIC championship run
Farmingdale poses with the Class I Long Island Championship trophy in its win against Ward Melville in the Class I Long Island championships, Saturday, November 26, 2022 at LaValle Stadium. Credit: George A Faella
The story of the Farmingdale football team this season can best be summed up in five words: 50 players with one heartbeat.
This was how coach Buddy Krumenacker described his Dalers at the conclusion of an unbeaten regular season, and that heartbeat would prove unstoppable. Farmingdale went on to a stellar postseason run, its best in two generations of players.
Farmingdale shrugged off years of contending without ultimately prevailing to resoundingly capture its first Nassau I championship since 2015 with a 38-7 victory over defending champion Massapequa at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium. The Dalers outscored its three opponents in the county tournament 115-14.
But there was more. Farmingdale concluded its season with its first Long Island Class I championship since 2001 with a 42-20 victory over Ward Melville at Stony Brook’s LaValle Stadium. Featured back Tomaso Ramos capped a spectacular senior season with his finest game, rushing for 392 yards and three touchdowns, catching a touchdown pass and amassing an LIC-record 437 all-purpose yards. It was a perfect finish to a 12-0 season.
“We have great connections when we’re together on the field and it shows up,” Ramos said. “I just feel like we had [the chemistry] from the first day and we just had to stay determined. We had to get here and finally win.”
In the 30th edition of the Long Island Championships, Farmingdale was making its 10th appearance. But it went in with a record of 1-9 in the Island’s premier sporting event.
“This was a win for us, but it was also a win for all those teams that came before us and didn’t,” Ramos said.
Krumenacker, in his 30th season at Farmingdale, said afterward, “We've only got two [LIC] wins, but I'll tell you what: I want to be here 10 times and lose eight than not have been here. There’s no doubt about that.”
Farmingdale had an awesome blend of talents, any of which one could point to as being the reason for the sustained success of the season. The line of junior Daniel Canales and seniors James Sanders, Matthew Cangelosi, Matt Robinson and Ricky Folwark were the backbone of an offense that scored 548 points.
The elusive Ramos and junior Sal Posillico were an unrivaled rushing tandem. Senior quarterback Anthony Licci was a strike-thrower all season and at his very best down the stretch, completing 37 of 45 passes for 681 yards and nine touchdowns in four postseason games. The Dalers had athletic and capable receivers in seniors Joe Burriesci, Dillon Mehta and big-play defenders like senior linebacker Trevor Gayron. And placekicker Luca Cotto was as precise as a metronome.
“We had an amazing collection of athletes capable of big plays,” Krumenacker said. “That’s who we were this season. This was a special collection of players with a special connection to each other. It’s what made it work.”
If Farmingdale had a common inspiration, it was the coach. Krumenacker’s teams have a long history of contending and winning. Yet the players were all aware of the long stretch it had been since he’d taken a team to the Promised Land.
“He’s the kind of coach that you want to give it your all for,” Licci said. “We really wanted to do this, not only for ourselves but for Coach. We did it. We were able to make it happen.”
Road to the Long Island Championship
Nassau I quarterfinal - Beat Port Washington, 35-0
Nassau I semifinal - Beat Syosset, 42-7
Nassau I final - Beat Massapequa, 38-7
Long Island final - Beat Ward Melville, 42-20
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
