Suffolk IV football preview: Can SWR be stopped?
Kevin Cutinella will start at quarterback for Shoreham-Wading River. Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
Going into its Sept. 9 season opener, it will have been 1,029 days since Shoreham-Wading River lost a football game.
Behind blue-chip prospect Ethan Wiederkehr, a trusted quarterback in Kevin Cutinella and a dependable running back in Chris Gray, it may be some time before any team knocks off the Suffolk IV preseason No. 1 seed. Center Moriches will be the first to try.
Wiederkehr, who is headed to Northwestern, is the glue to the Wildcats offensive and defensive fronts. SWR has won 24 games in a row, including two Long Island Championships
Miller Place, which has made four straight appearance in the Suffolk III semifinals, drops into Division IV and becomes an instant threat as the No. 2 seed. Joe Filippetti and Shane White are multiyear starters at linebacker and will anchor the defense. Tyler Ammirato is a dynamic halfback who ran for 570 yards and nine touchdowns in 2015.
Third-seed Babylon is looking to return to its days atop the division. Senior Jason Carlock is an athlete who will be deployed as a receiver and a linebacker. Quarterback Scott Sasso enters the season has experience and is a dual threat.
No. 4-seed Glenn has lost only four games the last two seasons, but all have been to Shoreham-Wading River. Quarterback Kyle Tiernan leads an offense looking to spread the ball around, and 6-foot-5 Damien Caffrey looks to be a nightmare for opposing defensive backs to cover and for offensive lineman to block.
Mount Sinai made it to the Division IV semifinals last season, and returns dynamic halfback Michael Carneiro and an experienced quarterback in Jason Shlonsky.
Gene Morris joined Newsday's sports department in September 2012 and covers high school sports. He earned a journalism degree from Stony Brook University in 2010.
