Wrestling match canceled

For the second straight year the Shoreham-Wading River-Rocky Point dual meet will not take place. Due to the snow that's currently falling and is expected to continue to fall all night, the match was called early Friday. No make up date is scheduled. The Eagles and Wildcats missed out on their dual meet last year as well when Rocky Point canceled for undisclosed reasons.

Mount Sinai cheerleaders place 2nd

The Mount Sinai junior varsity cheerleaders placed second at the Long Island Cheerleading Coaches Association competition Dec. 14 at Half Hollow Hills West High School. Sachem North placed first while Plainedge and Freeport took third and fourth. The Mustangs will have two more competitions in January before the Hauppauge finals in February.

Congratulations to the Mount Sinai girls.

Brosco, Andrews named All-Long Island

Shoreham senior Bobby Andrews was named Suffolk County's Runner of the Year in Newsday's annual fall awards. Andrews was also the Suffolk Runner of the Year as named by the coaches association. Andrews completed one of the finest individual cross country seasons in school history, culminating in a trip to Oregon for the Nike Nationals. Coach Bob Szymanski was named Coach of the Year.

Also named All-Long Island was Shoreham junior Kaitlyn Brosco in field hockey. On a team where multiple players could score, it was often Brosco in the big spot who delivered. She was at her best in the Wildcats' run to the Suffolk County championship. She scored three goals in the Wildcats' playoff opener, one in the semifinals, two in the small school championship and one against Garden City in the Long Island championship. It was only the second goal Garden City allowed at the point in the season. She finished the season with 20 goals.

In girls soccer Dianna Marinaro was named second team All-Long Island. Marinaro, a South Florida bound senior, was earlier named first team All-State.

In football Longwood senior Moses White was second team All-Long Island as a linebacker. And on another note with White, I just realized Tuesday when talking to coach Chris Meyer at a basketball game that White was still 16 during the season. As a senior. Crazy. At his age, he really shouldn't be graduating until 2010. Imagine the damage he would do next year if he had another full season. And even still, he wouldn't even be 18 yet.

A plunge into the warm, Hawaiian waters...

By Joe Werkmeister

They had hoped for a better sunset to glisten against the Pacific Ocean touching the sky. But when Amy Linnen and Morgan Hoesterey saw the results of a diving/photographic expedition, the results were more than they imagined.

Linnen, a Mount Sinai graduate who became one of the most accomplished high school and collegiate pole vaulters ever, was living in Hawaii last year during the heart of training for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. She and Hoesterey trained together and decided to take a day off one afternoon. Photography was a hobby of Hoesterey and she had just gotten a new wide-angle, "fish-eye" lens. For a test run, the two decided to explore an area called China Walls, which is located on the southern tip of Oahu, Hawaii and sits on Maunalua Bay, which flows into the Pacific. A secluded spot, China Walls is not the typical tourist destination. Just perfect for the adventurous duo.

As a pole vaulter, and earlier in life a gymnast before height became an issue, Linnen was well accustomed to flying through the air. But she does admit, "Diving is not something I'm good at."

Linnen's definition of "good" is clearly different than most people, judging by the images of her dives brilliantly captured by Hoesterey.

From a spot roughly 10 feet high on a rocky cliff, Linnen dove about 30 times into the bay, each time trying a different dive. The swan dive, where she really looks like she's flying, is her favorite. The back-flip also developed into a fan favorite.

"I liked being behind the camera and she didn't mind being in front of it," Linnen said.

Looking back, Linnen admits diving off a cliff probably wasn't the smartest idea considering she was in the middle of training. The hardest part, she said, was getting back up after hitting the water. "I had to wait to be patient," she said. "I had to wait for waves to roll by."

To get back up she had to climb a rock wall, which was covered in sea urchins — which have round, spiny shells — among other creatures.

"The first time I never thought I would get back up," she said. After the second and third tries she found foot and hand holds which she repeatedly used to repeat the process all over again.

"It's amazing what one can accomplish with the support of a friend and a positive outlook on life," she said.

 

Pushing the limits has always been Linnen's way. It's how she could clear 15 feet in the pole vault, one of the most challenging feats in sports. While fear holds most us back, it drives Linnen to the do the unimaginable.

"At first I had a little fear," she said of diving into water that was no more than 8-10 feet deep and even shallower at times. "You have to get over a fear when you do certain things."

The day after her diving exploits, Linnen said she arrived at practice more focused. Mental preparation can be as important as the physical for elite athletes. Linnen's ability to focus separates her from most athletes. Even on the golf range, she says, she's intently focused on being consistent.

As she stared out at the water that day, a scene of tranquility, her athletic instincts took over. Landing in water was different than landing on her feet, but the dives quickly shaped into form. A career in diving, perhaps? Maybe not, but had she begun diving at a younger age, perhaps that would have been the sport for which she trained at the highest level. Water is a natural home for Linnen, who's also an avid surfer. In her pole-vaulting training she often incorporated many water activities into her regimen, the kind of "activities" that make diving off a cliff seem mundane.

"It keeps my soul happy in a sense," Linnen said of her aquatic life.

Part of her training included rock running, which involved sprinting under water with the weight of a heavy rock held against her chest holding her on the sea's floor.

 

While her competitive pole-vaulting career is likely over after her Beijing Olympic bid came up short, Linnen's involvement with the sport is far from finished. In her competitive career she attended the University of Arizona and Kansas. Now she's back east at SUNY-Cortland where she's finishing a degree in physical education. She's also volunteers with the pole vaulters on the track team as an assistant coach.

"With everything I learned," she said, "now it's my time to pay it forward."

After the team's first meet at Cornell a few weeks ago, the pole vaulters all performed well, prompting positive feedback for Linnen.

"It made me smile," she said. "It was reassurance that this is what I was meant to do."

Linnen arrived back on Long Island this week for the holiday break. She'll spend two weeks of her break working at Westhampton Beach schools as part of her field observations requirement.

For the first time in a long time, school is Linnen's top priority right now. While she never neglected her academics, it always fell a short second behind her athletic goals. It's a new challenge now, one she readily looks forward to, to put her full effort toward academics. Her first semester at Cortland went really well, she said, giving school "110 percent of my time."

During break Linnen said Hoesterey plans a visit to Long Island to stay with her. Born in California, Hoesterey has spent the last 10 years in Hawaii and hasn't experienced surfing in the frigid Atlantic waters during winter. Linnen said she can't wait for Hoesterey, whom she described as like a sister, to stay with her. During their adventures they plan to film it, a sort-of mini documentary. She's already made several films, which are on YouTube. A disclaimer before one video fittingly says: "Adventures with Amy, while extremely entertaining, are potentially hazardous, and should not be attempted by the faint of heart of by the weak of stomach."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMe83I9nPj8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWu_l8vjxCU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X6n_V4iCK0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr8RHYEkHw8

Each day presents a new challenge for Linnen. She wouldn't have it any other way.

"If there's no guided path, if there's no goal in mind, I feel kind of lost," she said.

Riding a Wave into winter

The fall season officially came to an end last weekend with the football Long Island Championship games. While no teams from our area made the dance, I was kept busy covering Riverhead for our sister paper, The News-Review. Our sports editor there, Bob Liepa, had a vacation coming these weeks, so I was on double duty laying out the sports sections for The News-Review and our North Fork paper, The Suffolk Times. So if the Sun Sports section is a little thin these weeks, that's why. There's only so much one man can do...

Here's how we covered the Blue Waves' undefeated season and Miguel Maysonet's Hansen Award with the front and back page of the paper:

Having covered the county and L.I. championship games of Riverhead, I could really appreciate just how tough a team the Blue Waves were this year. They didn't have a weakness and we're clearly the top team on the Island this year. If you didn't see them play this year, you missed out.

Now that the winter season is here, we have a lot to look forward to. Wrestling will be huge again this year with Longwood and Rocky Point having two of the deepest teams on Long Island. Shoreham obviously returns two studs with Keith and Neidhart. Miller Place also returns Buonaiuto.

On the hoops scene Longwood boys will be a county title contender. The Lions are off to a hot start with wins against North Babylon and Rocky Point. The Lions nearly put 100 on the board against the Eagles (92). 14 players scored in the game, which is no fluke. The Lions are as deep as any team anywhere. It doesn't mean they're the best team, but on any given night, any one of 10 players could probably lead the team in points. I look forward to seeing them in action.

Marinaro named All-State

Shoreham-Wading River senior midfielder Dianna Marinaro was named first team All-State in girls soccer this week, the third straight year she's earned All-State honors. The last two years she was second team.
Marinaro, who will play for the University of South Florida next year, was the only local player to receive All-State honors. The Wildcats had four players All-State last year.
Marinaro led the Wildcats to a 10-1-1 record in League VI this season and a berth in the Class A playoffs.

Longwood falls in semifinals

Longwood senior Nick Esposito/photo by Garret Meade

MIDDLE ISLAND--The Connetquot Thunderbirds advanced the Division I county finals with a 12-7 comeback victory at Longwood High School Friday night, ending the Lions season at 7-3.
The Lions held a 7-6 lead until Connetquot rolled off a 13-play, 77-yard drive with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter. Joseph Zuco capped off the drive with a touchdown from a yard out. The two-point conversion was no good.
Longwood took over 1:10 left, no timeouts and 67 yards away from the end zone. With under 30 seconds left Lions quarterback Eddie Wess was intercepted on a desperate heave down field to end the game. One kneel down made it official.
Amazingly, Connetquot will face Lindenhurst in the finals after the Bulldogs upset top-ranked William Floyd.
A Colonials-Lions rematch was not meant to be.
Connetquot struck first against the Lions on the second play of the game. Ryan Anderson threw a screen right to Jon Sternbach who took the ball 45 yards down the right sideline. The extra point kick was blocked by Sherif Saad, which looked like would be a pivotal play once the Lions' 7-6 lead looked like it might hold up.
Longwood grabbed the lead late in the second quarter on a long pass by Wess to Tommy Scala down the right sideline. The pass went for 53 yards and the extra point by Jaelisa Rehal gave the Lions the one point lead.
Longwood picked up only three first downs in the second half.

National Signing Day

Today is the first day of the early signing period for high school student-athletes. Rocky Point invited local media this morning to watch three students officially sign National Letters of Intent. All were lacrosse players:

Matt Palasek — Johns Hopkins University

Abigail Ross —  Long Island University, C.W. Post

Aimee Capps — University of Connecticut

More Rocky Point students are expected to sign in the future. The early signing period ends Nov. 19. After then the earliest date students can sign is April 8. Some sports — field hockey, track, cross country, soccer and water polo — can sign beginning Feb. 4.

For full coverage of NLI, check out next week's North Shore Sun.

Smit named Swimmer of the Week

Mount Sinai graduate and Olympic medalist Julia Smit was named the collegeswimming.com Collegiate Swimmer of the Week for NCAA Division I women based on her performances from Nov. 2-9.

A Stanford junior, Smit was honored for the fourth time in her career (twice as a freshman, once last year).

Smit dominated at the two-day Anteater Shootout hosted by UC Irvine. She won five individual events in the 100 free (twice), 200 back, 200 IM and 400 IM. She recorded NCAA 'A' standard times in the 200 IM (1:56.06) and the 400 IM (4:06.89). Her three other victories were 'B' times. Her time of :48.48 in the 100 free moved her into fifth place on Stanford's all-time top-10 list for the event.

Smit returns to the pool with Stanford Nov. 28-30 in Toronto, Canada for the Bell Invite.

One team left in football

Longwood is the last football team left among local teams. The Lions will host No. 3 Connetquot Friday night at 6 p.m. The Lions had to wait to see what day Floyd wanted to play before setting a date. Both teams will play at the same time so one team can't watch the other. The Lions weren't sure if Floyd would opt for the Friday game because of problems they've had controlling their crowds as was evident when Longwood played there in Week 2.

But the Colonials went with Friday night so that's when Longwood will go as well. Their games are the only two Suffolk County playoff games that night. It's the first time I can remember semifinal games being played on a Friday. It's been something people have complained about with all the playoff games happening at the same time on Saturday. So this is a good opportunity for football fans of other teams to head out and watch some real competitive Division I games. It should be fun and I'd expect pretty big crowds at both games.

Can anyone beat John Glenn?

For some reason, I never remember fearing the vaunted Knights of John Glenn during my high school days. Perhaps I just didn't pay close enough attention. But it seems like any time one of our local school faces Glenn in the playoffs, it's always the Knights coming out on top. The latest example was Wednesday when Glenn beat Shoreham in girls soccer. So I decided to go back and look at some of the recent playoff matchups between Glenn and one of our local teams:

Fall 08

Girls Soccer: Glenn 2, SWR 1, Class A Quarterfinals

Spring 07

Boys Lax: Mt. Sinai 15, Glenn 6, Class C Championship

Baseball: Glenn 4, SWR 3, Class A first round

Baseball: Glenn 8, Rocky Point 6, Class A semifinals

Winter 07

Girls Basketball: Glenn 38, SWR 36, Class A semifinals

In boys basketball Glenn didn't face any of our teams in the postseason, but they were seeded second in the bracket, higher than any of our teams.

Fall 07

Girls V-ball: Glenn 3, Mt. Sinai 0, Class B Championship

Boys Soccer: Glenn 3, Mt. Sinai 1, Class A semifinals

We'll very likely be able to add two more this fall in favor of Glenn. The Knights should play either Shoreham or Mt. Sinai in football in the first round and should win. The girls volleyball team will also win again against Mount Sinai assuming the Mustangs can beat Bayport Saturday.

Cross Country times

The cross country county championship is Friday at Sunken Meadow State Park.

Here are the race times:

Girls Class B/C/D: 1:30

Boys Class A: 1:55

Boys Class B/C/D: 2:25

Boys Class AA: 2:50

Girls Class A: 3:20

Girls Class AA: 3:45

We should have county champs in the boys and girls B/C/D race. The Shoreham boys should have no trouble winning their race. In the girls B/C/D it'll be either Shoreham or Mount Sinai.

In the Class A race keep an eye on Miller Place to see if the Panthers can win a title. They came close last year and will be close again.

It's playoffs, so that means rain!

It wouldn't be the playoffs without weather wreaking havoc on the schedule. So as the rain pours down on Long Island, teams will be forced to wait another day to get their games in.

The field hockey and girls soccer games will now be Wednesday at the same time, 3 p.m., weather permitting, of course.

The girls tennis playoff matches were also pushed back to Thursday at 3 p.m. The semifinals and finals of the individual tournament will be Wednesday at noon.

Thoughts on Week 7...

Not the best week for local football teams. SWR, Mt. Sinai, Miller Place and Rocky Point all went down, although two of those were expected (SWR, Mt. Sinai, who faced the top two D-IV teams). Of course, the lone winner was old reliable, Longwood. The Lions continue to assert themselves as the best team next to William Floyd in D-I. It's hard to remember the last game the Lions lost to a team other than Floyd... 

Actually, it was Brentwood in 2006 that did it. The Indians won that day, 8-6, on a game played on Sunday after postponed a day. I remember how it was such a big game, yet nobody showed up. It was a cold, windy Sunday and the place at Brentwood was lifeless. Longwood had a late field goal attempt to win it and missed. Anyway, I talk about Brentwood because it was the Lions and Indians Saturday afternoon on Longwood's homecoming. These Longwood-Brentwood games have been such close battles the past few years, but this one was anything but close. The Lions dominated, 45-13, and led at the half 29-0. 

The win improves the Lions' record to 6-1 with one game left against a weak Sachem East team. Give the Lions credit for putting the weaker teams away early. While they haven't always extended leads late in games, the Lions have built big leads that have been too big for teams to overcome. It's much better than falling behind and having to fight and crawl back.

With Floyd's win Saturday against Connetquot, the Colonials are all but locked for the top seed. A win for Longwood would lock the two seed. From there, several scenarios could unfold. But look for Connetquot, Lindenhurst and Northport to vie for the three/four seeds and a first-round home game. The next three spots will likely go to Sachem North, Brentwood and Pat-Med. Melville and Whitman are still in the mix at 3-4 for a possible eight seed.

I didn't cover the Longwood game this weekend in person, figuring it would be a lopsided game as it was. I headed out to Sayville for a big D-III showdown between Miller Place and the Golden Flashes.

While the Flashes held on, 17-13, to take control of the division, the Panthers put up a good fight and should come away with confidence that if they were to face again, they could definitely win, especially if at Stony Brook. A turnover and a few mistakes cost the Panthers. That's what happens against real good teams on the road. You can't give a team like Sayville an opportunity for easy scores. 

The Flashes will likely end up as the top seed after Harborfields somehow lost to East Hampton. It looked like Harborfields would go 8-0, but were shocked by East Hampton, 7-0. So the Flashes should have the power point advantage over any other 7-1 team. Miller Place, with a win this week at Huntington, still may fall to a seed lower than four. It's tough to call, but it would seem improbable the Panthers get a seed higher than four at best case scenario. 

Sayville, Harborfields, Hills West and Hauppauge would appear to be your top four. If the Panthers finished as a five and had to play, say, at Hauppauge, that's not a bad first-round matchup. Of course, in the 4-5 game means playing Sayville on the road in the semifinals. What the Panthers really want to avoid is playing Hills West in the first round. Miller Place coach Ron Petrie maintained that the Colts are the best team the Panthers have faced this year.

Mount Sinai defeats Rocky Point

The Mount Sinai girls soccer team won its Class A outbracket game Saturday afternoon at Rocky Point, 2-0. Junior Alley Abbruzo scored both goals for the Mustangs, who advanced to face top-seeded and defending county champion Islip Tuesday. The ninth-seeded Mustangs improved to 10-6 and have won three straight after losing to Bayport, 4-1, Oct. 17.

Islip has won the county championship each of the past three seasons.

Oh, and one more note: Islip hasn't given up a goal since Sept. 19, a 2-1 loss to Sayville. That's nine straight games (8-0-1) without surrendering a goal. In total, the Bucs have given up four goals this season, all of which came in the first three games.

Playoff Brackets Posted!

We'll start with boys soccer.

The brackets are pretty similar to how I predicted earlier. Mount Sinai did earn the No. 2 seed despite falling into a tie with Miller Place. So good news for the Mustangs, who won't have to face Comsewogue until a county championship. Miller Place meanwhile gets Sayville in the first round. Yikes! Here's the rule with Sayville in soccer: You never, ever want to play them. I don't care what their record is.

So here it goes:

1. Comsewogue

vs.

8. Bayport-Blue Point vs. 9. Harborfields

5. Sayville

vs.

4. Miller Place

3. Hauppauge

vs. 

6. SWR

7. Westhampton

vs.

2. Mt. Sinai

The outbracket game is Monday and the first round games are Thursday with the semifinals to be played Monday, Nov. 3. The county championship will be Thursday, Nov. 6 at Dowling Sports Complex.

I'd feel real good about Mt. Sinai winning its first game against Westhampton. The Hurricanes have struggled down the stretch and I think the Mustangs got their bad game out of the way Wednesday at Shoreham. 

Our other two schools, however, I think are prime for one and done. I never pick against Sayville and Shoreham has been very inconsistent the last three weeks. If they play like they did Wednesday, they can win. If not, Hauppauge can run away with that game.

Onto FIELD HOCKEY:

Three local teams made it as expected.

1. Sayville

vs.

8. Huntington

5. East Hampton

vs.

4. Rocky Point

3. SWR

vs.

6. Bayport-Blue Point

7. Harborfields

vs.

2. Miller Place

I like all of our teams to win Tuesday and advance to the semis Thursday. The real confusing part of the bracket is how in the world Miller Place earned a higher seed than Shoreham-Wading River. Shoreham led Division III all year until at the very end, Miller Place jumped the Wildcats in power points. If anyone cared about field hockey, this would be causing a major stir right now. But it's field hockey, so I'm sure no one has noticed outside of Shoreham or Miller Place.

But Miller Place finished 12-2, 14-3. Shoreham finished 13-1, 15-2. OK, so Shoreham had a better record. But why would something like better records matter in determining standings? It comes down to power points. So MP gets the edge with 170.o10 to Shoreham's 166.43.

But look closer. Who did Miller Place lose to? Shoreham. TWICE! 

Miller Place is a very good team that can win a county championship, but the Panthers have no business finishing ahead of Shoreham and to do so makes an absolute mockery of Suffolk County field hockey. Last I checked the Wildcats were defending county champions. And the Wildcats have won six of the last seven games between the two schools, including in the playoffs last year. Now this lower seeding doesn't hurt the Wildcats that much. It just means they have to play at Miller Place as opposed to home in the second round. But it's still perplexing and shouldn't be.

You can argue the power points could work into Miller Place's favor had Shoreham played a significantly worse schedule. They did not. The Wildcats' only loss came to Rocky Point, 1-0. The Eagles are pretty good this year, right? Seeded fourth in the playoffs?

Breaking down their schedules, Miller Place played:

SWR: 13-1

Rocky Point: 11-3

Pierson: 12-2

Port Jeff: 7-7

East Hampton: 7-7

Comsewogue: 5-9

Hampton Bays: 2-12

SWR played:

MP: 12-2

RP: 11-3

Port Jeff: 7-7

Riverhead: 7-7

East Hampton: 7-7

Comsewogue: 5-9

Southampton: 3-11

So Miller Place's opponents went: 57-41, a .582 percentage

Shoreham's opponents went: 52-46, a .531 percentage

One more note: SWR outscored opponents 54-7. MP outscored opponents 50-13.

Sorry, but that's nowhere near enough to give Miller Place a higher seed after losing TWICE to Shoreham. Unbelievable.

Onto GIRLS SOCCER:

1. Islip

vs. 

9. Mt. Sinai vs. 8. Rocky Point

5. SWR

vs.

4. John Glenn

3. Harborfields

vs. 

6. Bayport-Blue Point

7. Hauppauge

vs.

2. Sayville

Should be a quick girls soccer postseason. I like RP over Mt. Sinai for the right to lose to Islip. SWR should take care of Glenn and then the Wildcats will fall victim to Islip. 

I'd be shocked to see anything but Islip playing Sayville for the county title.

Boys Soccer Playoffs

In my previous post I broke down my prediction of the Class A girls soccer playoffs. So here come the boys.

Mount Sinai missed a big chance to win the League VI title outright Wednesday with a loss at Shoreham-Wading River. So the Mustangs are co-champs with Miller Place which makes it interesting as to which team earns the higher seed. The teams split the season series with 1-0 wins. Mount Sinai won the more recent game Saturday at home. We'll see Friday.

As with the girls, the No. 8 and No. 9 will play each other for the right to face the No. 1.

Here's how I would align the bracket:

1. Comsewogue (14-0, League V)

vs.

8. Westhampton (7-6-1, League VI) vs. 9. Bayport-Blue Point (6-6-2, League VI)

5. Sayville (10-4, League V)

vs.

4. Miller Place (9-2-3, League VI)

3. Mount Sinai (10-3-1, League VI)

vs.

6. Harborfields (6-6-2, League V)

2. Hauppauge (11-3, League V)

vs.

7. Shoreham-Wading River (8-6)

Harborfields makes it official

The Harborfields girls soccer won Thursday afternoon against Westhampton, 5-0, to clinch the League VI title, which had been held by Shoreham-Wading River the last two years. The Wildcats finished in second place with a very respectable record of 10-1-1, the same record that won them the league title last year.

Harborfields really came out of nowhere this year to go 11-0-1. In League V last year the Tornadoes went 2-9-1 to finish last. A young team this season, the Tornadoes should be tough again next year. While their poor record last year is partly attributable to playing in the ultra-competitive League V, it's still hard to imagine how they made such a dramatic turnaround so quickly. Rocky Point had a much better season a year after playing in League V, but not to the same level. Rocky Point went 2-8-2 last year and finished 8-4 this year, losing to Harborfields and Shoreham twice.

The brackets for girls soccer will be posted Friday, but as of Thursday night, here's my rough prediction of how things might look. Nine teams will get in, so the eight/nine seeds will play an outbracket Saturday for the right to play the No. 1. As for that No. 1, does it go to Islip or Sayville?? Tough call. I'll go with Islip since the Bucs beat Sayville 4-0 in their last meeting.

So here's how I would align the teams:

1. Islip (10-1-1, League V)

vs.

8. Hauppauge (6-5-1, League V) vs. 9. Mt. Sinai (7-5, League VII)

5. John Glenn (10-2, League VII)

vs.

4. SWR (10-1-1, League VI)

3. Sayville (10-1-1, League VI)

vs.

6. Rocky Point (8-4, League VI)

2. Harborfields (11-0-1, League VI)

vs.

7. Bayport-Blue Point (9-2-1, League VII)

Now, does Harborfields, since its the only unbeaten team receive the top seed, even though Islip and Sayville are the superior teams? It could happen, but I doubt it based on the fact that Islip and Sayville have clearly been the two best teams in Class A since like, 1945. But with an unbeaten record and League VI title, Harborfields does deserve the No. 2 seed.

Thoughts on Week 6...

Two weeks to go in the high school football season and things are taking shape. With eight teams making the postseason this year, it's created a lot more meaning to the end of the regular season for many teams which otherwise would be running out the string.

The Longwood Lions improved to 5-1 in Division I and are in prime position to earn the No. 2 seed for the second straight year. The Lions played a terrific first half against a good Lindenhurst team Friday night with their only mishaps coming on the opening kickoff which the Bulldogs returned for an touchdown. Later in the half Eddie Wess threw a late pick after completing a 40-plus yard pass to Nick Esposito, halting a drive that nearly resulted in points the other way for Lindenhurst. The Lions made too many mistakes in the second half, but had built enough of a lead to withstand it. It was a similar game to Week 1 against Connetquot where the Lions built an early lead, couldn't add on, then had to hang on for dear life. Lindenhurst never really threatened to win the game Friday — their last touchdown came on the last play of the game — but it was still closer than you would have liked. 

I've liked the passing defense the Lions have shown this year. You'll remember William Floyd came out throwing against Longwood in Week 2 and had little success. Lindenhurst didn't have much success either until late in the game when the Bulldogs relied on short passes, which the Lions were willing to give up as they played a protective Cover-3.

The Lions finish the regular season against Brentwood at home Saturday for homecoming and then go to Sachem East. I don't see the Lions having too much trouble in either game and should finish 7-1, which means they don't have to face Floyd until the county championship. Of course, even if the Lions slip to a three seed, they still wouldn't face Floyd until the county championship.

What's important to keep an eye on is where Sachem North lands. The Flaming Arrows are 2-4 and finish against Pat-Med and Lindenhurst. Sachem could very well end up in the seven seed and come to Longwood in the first round. That's a very scary first round matchup and one the Lions would be very happy to avoid. Longwood coach Chris Meyer would much rather see a team like Northport in the first round. Even Pat-Med or Brentwood would be a more welcome sight.

The Miller Place Panthers also improved to 5-1 in Division III after a high-powered win against Deer Park Saturday, 47-28. It sets up a huge showdown Saturday at 5-1 Sayville, the team regarded as the best in the division. The Panthers will likely need a win to earn enough power points to receive one of the top four seeds. I think if the Panthers finish 6-2, it won't be enough for a seed higher than five or six, which is hard to believe. Hills West will finish 5-3 and will have more power points than Miller Place at 6-2, unless the Panthers can beat Sayville.

Harborfields has two easy games left so expect the Tornadoes to earn the top seed with an 8-0 record. If Sayville wins its next two, the Golden Flashes will be seeded second. Kings Park, Hills West, Miller Place, Islip and Hauppauge will all be fighting for power points to finish as high as possible. I like Rocky Point to grab the eighth seed, although the Eagles are only 2-4.

Playoffs nearly here; who's in, who's out?

Incredibly, the playoffs are just about upon us already in high school sports. While football still has a ways to go — we enter Week 6 this weekend — the remaining sports will conclude this week with playoffs to start shortly after.

So here's a breakdown of each sport and what local teams are in or out.

GIRLS SOCCER

IN: Shoreham-Wading River, Rocky Point

The Eagles (6-3) clinched a playoff berth, their first since 2005, with a win Wednesday against Miller Place. The Eagles travel to unbeaten Harborfields Friday with a chance to boost their potential playoff seeding. The Eagles can do Shoreham a big favor with a win. If the Eagles can defeat Harborfields, it would set up a potential winner-take-all for League VI Tuesday at Shoreham. The Wildcats (8-1) need to beat Miller Place Friday to give themselves a chance at winning the league title, their third straight, Tuesday. Harborfields and Shoreham both play one game after Tuesday, but face weaker teams they should handle. If Harborfields beats Rocky Point, the best Shoreham can do is be co-champs.

BUBBLE: Mount Sinai, Miller Place

The Mustangs lost Wednesday, 3-2, against John Glenn to fall to 5-4 in League VII with three games remaining. They'll need one more win to clinch a playoff spot, their first since 2006. The Mustangs face a tough test Friday at Bayport-Blue Point, but should clinch against Southampton Saturday. The Mustangs beat Southampton, 8-0, in their last meeting Oct. 10. They end Oct. 23 against Mattituck.

Miller Place (4-5-1) dug itself a hole with a 0-0 tie last Saturday against East Hampton. The Panthers needed a win and must now beat Shoreham and Westhampton to clinch a playoff spot. The Panthers loss to Rocky Point Wednesday might have been their last chance to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Panthers could tie Shoreham and get in with a win at Westhampton. Don't expect the Wildcats, though, to bring anything but their 'A' game to Miller Place Friday.

OUT: Longwood (1-8-1)

BOYS SOCCER

IN: Miller Place, Mount Sinai, Shoreham-Wading River

The Panthers and Mustangs will face each other Saturday night in a game that will go a long way in determining the League VI champion. Miller Place sits at 7-1-3 and Mount Sinai is 8-2-1. The teams are tied in points so a win Saturday is crucial. Both teams still have to face Shoreham-Wading River, which is no easy task.  Miller Place faces the Wildcats Monday while the Mustangs meet the Wildcats Wednesday. Mount Sinai also faces East Hampton while Miller Place ends the season against Westhampton.

The Wildcats looked like a contender to win the League VI title, but stumbled by losing four of five games and lost its coach, Louis Manoussos, replaced by Sal Mignano. But the Wildcats are 2-1 under Mignano and clinched a playoff berth Thursday night with a 6-0 thumping of Amityville. The Wildcats (7-5) won't win the league title, but can still make noise in the playoffs and will be seeded lower than they really should be.

BUBBLE: Longwood

Longwood sits at 5-5-1 in League I and needs two wins in its last three games to clinch a playoff spot. With Brentwood looming in the season finale, that means the Lions need to win their next two games against Ward Melville and Sachem East. It won't be easy. The Lions lost to Melville, 3-1, their first meeting and tied Sachem East, 1-1.

OUT: Rocky Point (1-8-2 League V)

FIELD HOCKEY

IN: Shoreham-Wading River, Miller Place, Rocky Point

All three teams are in the Class B playoffs. The only question is where the teams will be seeded. Miller Place faces Rocky Point Friday for a pivotal game that will determine which team gets a higher seed. Shoreham will likely finish first in Division III once again. 

GIRLS TENNIS

IN: Longwood, Mt. Sinai

Correction to earlier post: The top four teams get in from the upper divisions, so Longwood (5-5) and Mt. Sinai are both in (4-6), but will likely face outbracket matches to get in to the 16-team tournament.

OUT: Rocky Point, Miller Place, Shoreham-Wading River

Miller Place (8-4 League VI) and Rocky Point (7-5 League VIII) needed to win their leagues to earn a spot in the 16-team tournament. Shoreham was winless entering Thursday in League VII.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

IN: Mount Sinai

The Mustangs benefitted the other day when Babylon lost to fall to 8-3. The Mustangs are 9-2, but still have to face John Glenn once more, which means they'll have at least three losses as well. So it shapes up for the Mustangs and Babylon to face off in the last game of the season to determine which team earns the home-court advantage in the first round of the Class B playoffs. The teams will then meet in the playoffs to determine who faces Glenn in the county championship. Babylon beat Mount Sinai in the first meeting this season. Mount Sinai beat Babylon in the playoffs last year. John Glenn will face Bayport. The Knights likely won't be tested until at least the Long Island championship, possibly later.

BUBBLE: Rocky Point, Miller Place

One team will be eliminated Friday when the teams face each other at Miller Place. The winning team will then likely be eliminated shortly after. The Panthers are 3-6 in League VI and need to win their last three matches. The Eagles are 3-5 with four matches left and need to win three of four.

OUT: Longwood (2-7 League I), Shoreham-Wading River (2-7 League VI)

MP grad boots 47-yarder

From U of Albany Athletics:

ALBANY, N.Y. – University at Albany’s Herb Glass booted a 47-yard field goal, tying the third-longest kick in school history, in last Saturday’s 32-24 loss to New Hampshire, the nation’s 10th-ranked team. The two programs met for the first time on the gridiron.

Glass, a redshirt freshman placekicker from Miller Place, connected on the longest field goal by a UAlbany player since 1991 in the first quarter. He has made all seven point-after attempts this season.

UAlbany (1-2) meets its third nationally-ranked opponent this year when the Great Danes travel to Delaware, last year’s national runner-up, on Sept. 27. The Blue Hens are No. 12 in the FCS Coaches poll and are ranked No. 17 by Sports Network.

A look back at Week 2

The marquee matchup in Week 2 was no doubt Longwood-Floyd. While the Colonials won to extend their unbeaten streak to 35, we saw firsthand what we thought coming into the season: The Colonials are still good, but nowhere near the juggernaut they were the past two seasons. So there is hope for every team in Division I. 

While obviously disappointed in the loss, the Lions know it ultimately comes down to who wins in November. In 2004 Longwood lost big in the regular season to Floyd, 42-12. Longwood followed that a month later with a 27-20 win when it really mattered in the  county championship. Beating a good team twice in the same season is never an easy task, although the Colonials have done it against Wood the past two seasons. (All together it's been six straight wins for Floyd over Wood).

Floyd opened the game in a spread formation looking to throw. I was a little surprised they stuck with the passing game so much especially when the Lions defended it well. We heard a lot about Vaughn Magee coming into the season and he didn't get many touches until the second half. Once he got rolling, the Lions had a hard time bringing him down. He had seven runs of 10 yards or more. If the two teams meet again, it'll be interesting to see if the Colonials come out looking to run or if they start with the passing game again.

The Lions did what they needed at the start of the game. Against any good team on the road, you want to get ahead early. The Lions did that on Walter Miles' 68-yard run on their first offensive play. That lead held up until 3 minutes remained in the second quarter. After guarding the passing game so well, the Lions finally got burnt on a 65-yard pass play. The Lions, though, were lucky to go into halftime tied after turning the ball over twice on fumbles in Floyd territory. After the first fumble, I was surprised the Lions didn't just take a knee. With :49.3 left in the half the Lions started on their own 15.  Needing to travel 85 yards in less than a minute, I didn't like the odds of anything good happening on that drive. And it nearly cost the Lions when Floyd got it back with :21.2 left and 19 yards away. Luckily Tommy Scala gave Longwood the ball back with an interception. This time, Longwood did just take a knee with :9.2 left.

I thought Longwood needed a good, sustained drive to open the third quarter. That didn't happen as the Lions gained only 3 yards before punting. Floyd got it back at its own 44. Field position was crucial. Floyd consistently started in good field position while Longwood started deep in its own territory. It's very difficult to consistently drive the length of the field on a tough Floyd defense.

Here's a breakdown of starting position for both teams:

Floyd:

Own 35

Own 34

Own 42

LW 29

Own 18

LW 37

LW 19

Own 44

LW 14 

LW 49

50

Own 40

LW 48

Longwood:

Own 32

Own 30

Own 4

Own 14

Own 26

Own 15

Own 10

Own 27

Own 32

Own 8

Own 30

WF 36

There you have it. The numbers speak for themselves. Of course, the one drive Floyd was pinned deep to start, at its own 18, the Colonials scored a touchdown.

Now, as for the rest of our local football teams:

After a nice win to start the season, the young Mount Sinai Mustangs fell against Port Jefferson, 17-9. The offense wasn't great for the Mustangs against Southampton, but their defense did the job and they got a spark with a special teams touchdown. Against the Royals the offense struggled again, only putting up nine points. These are the kind of struggles that are to be expected from a young team. If the Mustangs had won this game I would have thought a 5-3 season was possible. Now 4-4 is likely more realistic. Babylon took control of the division with a convincing win against Amityville. More impressive is that Babylon did it without their top player, Bryan Schweitzer, who I believe is injured. Not positive on the extent. Babylon may not lose a game this season. Glenn could be the only team left that can even give them a competitive game.

Miller Place rebounded with a nice win against Westhampton. Miller Place kept the ball on the ground with Zach Buonaiuto shouldering 20 carries. Joe Mancini ran in two touchdowns and Tyler DeRosa added two of his own.

If the Panthers can get their passing game going with the running game, they can be a tough team to beat.

Shoreham-Wading River earned its first win of the season at Wyandanch. Rocky Point fell to 0-2 with a loss at Harborfields. 

Wild scene in Mastic Beach

Not just on the football field, that is. With about four or five minutes left in the fourth quarter Friday night of the Longwood-Floyd game, things got a little hairy in the crowd. According to Longwood security, who always do a great job led by John Dee, about 10 Floyd fans were over on the Longwood side and started a fight. Surprise, surprise. Amongst themselves. Things quickly escalated and before you knew it, everyone in the crowd on that side gravitated toward the action. 

As security tried breaking things up, it only got worse. Each time it looked like the melee was controlled, it started back up. It was not a pretty scene and one that makes you wonder about the idea of starting games at 7 p.m. As a small group of Floyd fans were escorted away, they maturely chanted "Longwood's -------" I'll leave that to the imagination.

At least one Suffolk Police car drove out onto the grass where the kids were gathered to help control the crowd. It was clear, though, that William Floyd security had little control of the situation from the start. It's a problem Longwood coaches say happens at every game in Mastic.

For the Lions, they'll have to hope if they meet Floyd again this year, it'll be at Stony Brook in the county championship.

Week 1 First Impressions

We're one week into the 2008 football season and we've already learned a lot about the local teams. Only two local teams pulled out victories in Week 1, Longwood over Connetquot and Mt. Sinai over Southampton. The other three teams were handed lopsided defeats.

Two games really stand out: Hills West beating Miller Place so easily. With such an experienced group back the Panthers came into this season with high expectations. But the Colts provided a rude dose of reality. Division III is no D-IV. And while the Panthers came on strong at the end of last year, it won't necessarily translate into a top finish in D-III. Hills West was the superior team Saturday, winning 42-14, and the Panthers will need to regroup going forward. It's not over for Miller Place by a long shot, but the Panthers clearly need to get better if they have any hopes of making this a season to remember. They'll have a good shot to rebound next week when they travel to Westhampton. The Hurricanes are not as talented as Hills West. The following week the Panthers return home to face Eastport, another winnable game. The real test will likely come in Week 4 when they host Comsewogue.

The other game that stood out was Mt. Sinai's shutout against Southampton. The Mariners were seeded fourth in D-IV and I thought this would be a great early test to see where the young Mustangs stand. They responded with a terrific victory that now makes you think that this might not be just a rebuilding year for Mount Sinai after all. Sophomore Josh Morales scored two touchdowns in his varsity debut. Coach Vinnie Ammirato was very high on Morales coming into the season and he quickly showed why. With Port Jeff next week at home and Greenport the following week, the Mustangs have a legit shot at being 3-0 leading up to Week 4 showdown with Babylon. I'm not ready to put the Mustangs in the same class as Babylon, but that could be a more competitive game than we thought coming into the season. 

As with Miller Place, Rocky Point was handed an equally deflating loss at Sayville Saturday. A win here for the Eagles wasn't necessarily expected, but the way Sayville dominated leaves you little reason to believe the Eagles can make a serious playoff run. The Golden Flashes, who spread the field with multiple receivers, dominated the line of scrimmage on defense and offense. The offense for Rocky Point had little chance for success when defenders were over the line a second after the ball was snapped. The Eagles had some injuries to deal with on the line, so perhaps as the season progresses they'll improve. The Eagles did have some big plays with Justin Oliver and Matt Palasek. And Pete Vivonetto ran in two touchdowns on short runs. Other than that, there was little positive to take away.

Hills West plays Sayville next week which should be one heck of a ballgame. Go get your tickets now.

SWR lost big at Amityville, 40-6. No surprise there. The Wildcats don't have the horses to compete with the elite of the division.

Longwood had to hang on for dear life against Connetquot Friday night in the rain, nearly blowing a 20-6 lead. But after Connetquot scored with five minutes left to cut the lead to one, the Lions stopped the two-point conversion try that likely would have won it for the T-birds. Longwood wins these type of close games all the time, so it's no surprise they still pulled it out. Coach Chris Meyer said he seeded the T-birds third coming into the season, so he had a lot of respect for what they can do. As it is the T-birds ended up seeded sixth. But still, an important win for Longwood to start the season, especially with Floyd looming next week.

The concern for Longwood coming out of this win was the health of linebacker Moses White. He was shaken up on a play in the second half but stayed in the game. After the game he complained of numbness in his right side of his body. His symptoms sounded like some kind of pinched nerve, but the doctor and trainer were unsure exactly from speaking with White. The fact that the numbness extended through his entire body is what had the doctor unsure. If White has to miss any extended time, it's bad news for Longwood. He's not a guy that can be replaced. If he's ready to go, I like Longwood's chances of upsetting Floyd next week. The streak has to end sometime, so why not next week. Floyd hung on to beat Lindenhurst this week, 14-12, and was nowhere near as dominating as last season.

Should be a good one down in Mastic Beach Friday night.

Share your thoughts on Week 1 action in the comments section.

Welcome BACK!

OK, for any of you loyal bloggers out there who have been clicking this summer to see no updates, my apologies. Who do you think I am, Neil Best??

But with football season kicking off Friday with Longwood hosting Connetquot, the Sun Sports Blog is back in full gear, ready to provide tidbits of info, amusing links and video, and any content you'd like to provide all year.

The Sun's Football Preview hits newstands Friday, so pick up a copy. The last week of my life has basically been spent working on that. Hopefully there are no misspellings in headlines like last year's preview ('playmaker' was misspelled in a feature on Sean Kelly. Terrible, just terrible. For a writer that's like marching your team down field 80 yards only to throw an interception in the end zone.)

You'll notice a few polls on the left-hand side. Let us know who your picks are to win this year in football. I'll try to be coming up with different polls throughout the year. So keep coming back and spread the word.

Mount Sinai grad nominated for ESPY

Mount Sinai graduate Philip Scholz is one of four finalists for the ESPY award "Best Male Athlete with a Disability." Scholz, who swims at Loyola, will represent America in Beijing at the 2008 Paralympic Games. At the Paralympic Trials in April Scholz won four gold. He'll compete in the 50 free, 100 free, 400 free, 100 fly and 100 back at the games.

To vote for Scholz, follow the link below:
http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/specialsection/espys2008/#/voting/bestmaleathletewithadisability/

Outback Empire Challenge

We're here live for the 13th annual Outback Empire Challenge all-star football game. Only one local in the game with Lou Scala from Longwood. These games are always exciting should it be a good one. I'll provide some updates throughout for those of you who haven't made the trip to Hofstra. 

A nice crowd is filing in and we're just about ready for kickoff.

Long Island is set to receive.

The opening kickoff is a touchback. As always they have the old-fashioned canon that fires throughout the game. It's loud and always shakes me.

Long Island begins with Joe Sidaras of William Floyd at QB. Longwood fans know him all to well. Brock Jackolski is in the house as well starting at halfback, so a familiar duo leading the Long Island attack. Jackolski just picked up seven on his first run. So now it's 3rd and 3 for Long Island.

Jackolski picks up a first down for Long Island. First down.

Sidaras throws a nice pass over the middle to Trevor Perryman that picks up 27. Long Island is in New York City territory.

Sidaras on a keeper picks up another first down and Long Island looks like the typical Floyd attack.

1st and 10 on 32

Jackolski another run and picks up nine to the 23.

Sidaras completes a pass to Perryman for a touchdown, but a flag is down.

Flag is waved off, it's a touchdown, 19-yard pass with 9:53 left.

Extra point is good. 

7-0 Long Island.

Drive:

8 plays, 80 yards. 5 minutes, 7 seconds.

It has to be a strange feeling for most of the fans from Long Island to be rooting for the Sidaras/Jackolski combination. For the last three years they've completely dominated Long Island football. But that's in the past for one night at least.

New York is moving along. With two plays New York is already at the 35 of Long Island.

A sack by Luke Nawrocki and Reggie Robinson for a loss of three. It's fourth down for New York.

They'll go for it on fourth and six. But they'll pick up five on offside penalty on Long Island.

It's fourth and one.

Jeffrey Legree picks up the first down for New York with a QB sneak.

Legree keeps it on a run left and picks up a first down. It'll be first and goal for New York at the six. 5:40 left...

A fumbled snap on first down, New York recovers.

2nd and goal at the 7: A time-out first...

A loss of one for New York. Reggie Robinson delivers a crushing tackle.

3rd and goal at the 8.

A pass to the right corner to Khalif Staten is caught out of bounds just passed the corner.

It's fourth down at the 8. New York will go for it.

Legree scrambles and finds Shaahiyn Alston open for a New York touchdown with 3:23 left.

Extra point is good and we're tied at 7-7.

12 plays, 64 yards, 6:30.

So we're off to an exciting start here with both teams delivering touchdowns on their first drives. This was a high-scoring game last year with New York winning 35-27. We're on a similar path this year.

Steven Probst from Farmingdale is in the game now. He and Sidaras are both headed to Hofstra in a month, so it's fun to see how these guys perform in a warm-up before their college careers begin.

Probst completes his first pass to Jonathan Morgan. Long Island is at the New York 42.

We're at the end of the first quarter. 7-7.

When we start the second it'll be 3rd and 8 for Long Island at the New York 44.

A pass down the right sideline to Brett Tom is incomplete, so it's fourth down for Long Island.

And we have our first punt!!

A nice return by Dominick LeGrande who eluded a number of tacklers but didn't pick up a ton of yardage. He returns to the 30. A holding penalty will bring it back to the 20, however.

1st and 10 New York at the Long Island 20.

Scala is in on defense with the second unit.

New York picks up a first down at the 30.

Flag is down. It's going to be offside on Long Island, so it's a five-yard gain.

1st and 5 at the 35.

Scala makes his first tackle along with Ray Marcano on a run to the left side. A 3-yard pickup.

A QB keeper for no gain on second down.

3rd and 3. Pass is incomplete to right side.

It was close to a lateral pass on the screen, and if it was, it could have been a touchdown by Scala. He picked up the pass that drilled the receiver but the play was ruled dead.

There's 10:27 left and we have a time-out on the field.

Another screen pass tried on fourth down and it bounces to the receiver so Long Island will take over at the New York 37.

Sidaras is back in for Long Island at QB. He'll keep it on first down and pick up three.

A lateral right to P.J. Preziosa who throws down the right sideline to Jack Kensil to complete a 33-yard gain. 1st down Long Island at the 3.

Sidaras on a keeper but can't get in the end zone.

Sidaras on a play action finds Conrad Steward open in the end zone for a touchdown with 7:57 left. A 2-yard touchdown pass.

14-7 Long Island.

4 plays, 37 yards, 2:27

So normally in a football game New York wouldn't have gone for it on the fourth down it had. But in an all-star game it did and we've seen why that's not wise. Long Island quickly put it in the end zone to regain a seven-point lead.

Two plays in here for New York and it's third and eight at their own 34.

Legree looks to pass, can't find anyone and takes up the left sideline himself. He's out of bounds short of a first down so it's fourth an 2.

A QB sneak gives New York a first down at its own 44.

Willis Dendy takes the handoff up the middle and into Long Island territory.

It's 2nd and 1.

A loss of one and now it's 3rd and 2 for New York.

Legree picks up the first down with a four-yard run.

1st and 10 at 44 of Long Island.

LeGrande with a nice run left to the 33. New York is marching along now.

LeGrande again with a tough run left. He's a quick, agile QB who is hard to bring down.

On first and goal Legree charges up the middle on a QB keeper and he's just outside the end zone.

2nd and goal at the 1.

Touchdown on a QB keeper by Legree.

We are tied at 14 with :50 left.

14 plays, 67 yards, 7:07

A big kickoff return couple with a New York penalty gives Long Island the ball at the 40 of New York with :43 left.

The first pass by Probst down the left sideline goes out of bounds.

It's second and 10 with :37 left.

Probst is sacked for a five-yard loss. Long Island calls time-out with :28 left.

It's 3rd and 15 at the 45.

A draw to Jackolski and he gets to the 33. It'll be 4th and 3 with :19 left.

Probst on a keeper gets to the 25. Long Island calls time-out with :12 left.

It's a first down.

A long pass to the left sideline goes out of bounds. One last chance for Long Island.

They'll actually try a field goal here. This is 40 yards.

Jonathan Korn nails the 40 yard field goal as the half expires. It's 17-14 Long Island after one half.

After a monumental halftime, we're back in action here at Hofstra.

It'll new New York ball and after the return it's first and 10 at the 39.

It's fourth down for New York.

4th and 3 at the 46

New York picks up the first down into Long Island territory.

Scala with a nice tackle behind the line for a 3-yard loss.

Shaahiyn Alston was the runner.

New York completes a pass on second down to the left side although it's short of a first down.

Alston picks up the first down at the 35.

Almost intercepted by J.B. Andreassi but he got knocked into by a teammate.

It's 2nd and 10 at the 35.

Pass left by LeGrande falls incomplete.

It's fourth down and 5 at the 30.

LeGrande scrambles right and doesn't get the first down.

Long Island takes over on downs at its own 28.

Sidaras is back in at QB for Long Island and he completes his first pass. 

It's first and 10 at the 41.

Tashawn Arthur carries the ball up the middle to the 50.

Alex Rivas carries up the middle to the 42.

It's 2nd and 2.

With a blitz closing in Sidaras finds Perryman in the middle who picks up 22 yards to the 20.

Arthur carries for two yards as Long Island keeps punching away.

Incomplete pass to Perryman. 3rd down and 8 with 5:23 left in the third.

Sidaras keeps it and picks up two. It's fourth down.

A 33-yard field goal by Korn is good and it's good and it's 20-14 Long Island.

8 plays, 56 yards, 4:41

Travis Kennedy nearly intercepts New York's first pass.

It's 2nd and 10 at the 32 of New York.

Incomplete pass and now New York is looking at 3rd down.

Pass over the middle to an open Terrance Garner is dropped. 

It's fourth down with 3:25 to go.

New York is in punt formation.

New York punts but a flag is down. Long Island is flagged for illegally rushing (all-star game rule). It's a five-yard penalty and automatic first down for New York.

New York gets the ball at its own 37.

New York promptly picks up nine and moves up to the 46.

Darryl Whiting rushes up the middle for a first down across Long Island territory.

Whiting tries again and loses a yard.

It's second and 11. Handoff up the middle to Alston gains 10.

It's third and 1. Legree keeps it and picks up one. 

END of 3rd Qt. 20-14 Long Island.

It's first and 10 at the Long Island 38 for New York.

LeGrande on a keeper gets to the 30 for a gain of 8.

LeGrande scrambles right, cuts back left, eludes several defenders and picks up 7 for a first down.

LeGrande once again, looking to pass but scrambles up the right sideline to get another first down.

It's 1st and 10 at the 12.

Pitch right to Ricky Kruger goes nowhere. A loss of two.

Second down pass is incomplete.

It's 3rd and 12 at the 14 with 12:27 left.

Legree pass to Brandon Jones is complete and Scala makes the tackle.

It's fourth and four at the 6.

LeGrande is dragged down and just heaves a pass that is caught but short of a first down. The play goes as a sack.

Long Island takes over at the 15.

A pass by Probst is incomplete and it's third down for Long Island.

Probst is sacked by Jeremy Rosado. A real hard hit for a loss of two.

Long Island punts and there is no return. New York will begin down six with 9:01 left in the fourth with great field position. 

New York will start at the Long Island 45.

First two plays for New York back them up two yards. It's 3rd and 12 at the 47.

Third down pass to Khalif Staten is incomplete.

Fourth and 12 at the 47.

New York punts and it is fair caught by Long Island at its own 23.

First two plays go nowhere and it's 3rd and 10 at the 23. Sidaras gains eight to the 30.

It's 4th and 2 and we have a time-out Long Island with 6:06 left.

Long Island picks up the first down with a run by Jackolski. He gets 5. A huge first down by Long Island. Now they can run a few more minutes off the clock. We're under 5:30.

Rivas carries on first down and gets nowhere. 

It's 2nd and 10 at the 35.

Pass to Alec Blieberg goes for six on 2nd down. We're under 4 minutes....

Draw by Sidaras is stopped by Irving Williams. Long Island will punt with under 3 minutes to go.

New York takes over with 2:57 to go.

It'll be 1st and 10 at New York's own 22.

First pass right to Staten is caught and he picks up 8.

Legree on second down gets to the 33 for a first down.

On 1st and 10 we have movement before the snap. It'll be a false start so New York backs up five yards.

1st and 2nd down passes are incomplete.

It's 3rd and 15 at the 28.

Draw to Alston is stuffed by Billy O'Connor. The game comes down to this.

It's fourth down.

A 4th and 20 for New York with 1:00 left from the 23.

Legree scrambles and finds Alston, who somehow gets down the right sideline for a huge gain. There's 40 seconds left and New York will have the ball at the 21. It was a 57 yard gain.

Flag is down for delay of game, so it'll back New York up to the 24.

1st and 10 at 24.

Legree pass left is caught and out of bounds with :35 left.

2nd and 4: Pass caught by Stephan Benjamin.

Time-out with :29 left.

1st and 8. A leaping catch by Stephan Benjamin in left corner of the end zone has tied the game with :23 left. A fantastic catch.

20-20

Extra point: Michael Horowitz nails the extra point and New York somehow snags the lead, 21-20.

Twenty-three seconds remain for Long Island.

Malcom Brown takes the kickoff but can't get anywhere. He picks up 14 to get to the 29. Only 18 seconds remain.

Probst carries it and it appears the game is over. But six seconds will be put back on the clock.

FINAL SCORE: New York 21, Long Island 20

Jeffrey Legree (Fort Hamilton) is the MVP.

Joe Sidaras (Floyd) is the Player of the Game.

SWR vs. Skaneateles, Class C State Final

Live here again at SUNY Cortland for the Class C state finals between Shoreham-Wading River and Skaneateles, a rematch of last year's final.

In the Class B game Garden City just won a wild 12-10 overtime game against Brighton to make it 1-0 for Long Island. The Trojans, who were so dominant all year, looked like today wasn't there day for a long stretch. They trailed 4-1 late in the first half before mounting a comeback. But they could never pull away in the second half. A great effort by both teams.

We're about four minutes away from starting lineups.

Opening draw is between Stephanie Anderson and Caroline Dubreuil. Shoreham wins it.

GOAL 1-0 SWR, Jen DeVito scores right away from feed by Kaitlin Rochler, 24:44

SWR wins the next draw but Erica DeVito takes a whack to the head. SWR ball.

GOAL, 2-0, SWR Erica DeVito scores her first off a feed from Codi Mullen 24:03

GOAL, 3-0, SWR. Stephanie Anderson scores and the Wildcats are red hot to start, 23:37

The Lakers need a time-out already and we haven't even played two minutes.

SWR is 3-0 on draws and if the Lakers don't win draws, they don't win. It's that simple.

Just like that, the Lakers win a draw and now come down for their first offensive possession.

Brie Claire Drost forces a turnover on the end line and the Wildcats will try to clear, 22:52

Verbeeck throws a clearing pass right to a Laker, but then makes the save from point-blank range. 22:30

Katie Heinzer with a free position for Lakers, passes left and shot is saved. 20:00

GOAL, 4-0, Megan Gersbeck scores on a free position, 19:02

Skaneateles turns it over, a pass goes out of bounds, SWR will try to clear, 17:26

GOAL, 5-0, Rachel Wiederkehr scores off a feed from Maire Cordaro, 17:04

Verbeeck makes her third save.

Verbeeck makes her fourth save. 14:20

GOAL, 6-0, Erica DeVito scores on a free position, 13:30

This one might be over, folks. SWR looks unstoppable right now.

Stephanie Anderson gets whacked on free position attempt, 12:41, she'll get a second chance.

GOAL, 7-0, Anderson scores on the free position, 12:37

Drost another good play on defense to force a turnover, 11:39

GOAL, 8-0, Jen DeVito scores off a feed from Kaitlin Brosco, 11:22

Vintage Shoreham lacrosse right now. Absolutely dominating.

Going back to the last game it's now 17 straight goals.

Verbeeck deflects a shot out of bounds, 10:49

Free position shot by the Laker goes out of bounds, Lakers keep ball, 9:31.

Another free position saved by Verbeeck who now has six saves, 8:55

GOAL, 9-0, Cordaro scores on a great pass by Rochler on a free position. Rochler was set up on the right side and passed to Cordaro who just inside the left post. Cordaro faked a shot high and threw it down low for the goal, 8:08.

We have a TV timeout. 8:08. 

SWR appears on the verge of winning its second straight Class C title.

With 8:08 left in the first half we're one Shoreham goal away from running time. Amazing...

GOAL, 9-1, The Lakers get on the board with a goal by Maddy Morrissey, 7:14

Cordaro gets called for a charge on a free position, 5;37, Lakers ball.

GOAL, 10-1, Erica DeVito scores off feed from Stephanie Anderson, 4:05

GOAL, 10-2, Lindsay Angelillo picks up a loose ball to the left of cage and bangs it home, 1:45

SWR wins the draw with Rachel Wiederkehr

SWR going into a delay with under 2 minutes to go.

GOAL, 11-2, Gersbeck bounces a shot in on a free position, 1:16

So much for a delay...

Free position save by Verbeeck, Lakers are 0-4 on free positions, :45

Yellow card on Gersbeck, :25

HALFTIME: SWR 11, Skaneateles 2

Stats:

SWR,

Erica DeVito, 3 goals

Jen DeVito, 2 goals

Stephanie Anderson, 2 goals, 1 assist

Megan Gersbeck, 2 goals

Rachel Wiederkehr, 1 goal

Marie Cordaro, 1 goal, 1 assist

Kaitlyn Brosco, 2 assists

Kaitlin Rochler, 1 assist

Codi Mullen, 1 assist

Verbeeck: 8 saves.

Draws are 8-5 Skaneateles

SWR has converted 5 of 7 free positions. Skaneateles is 0-4.

2nd Half:

Drost makes another nice play on defense to force a turnover as we're underway in the second half, 23:50

GOAL, 11-3, Jenna Lotkowictz scores off a feed in front from Shannon Tierney, 22:54

GOAL, 12-3, Brittany DeLea scores in front of feed from Cordaro, 21:37

Lakers win the draw but lose it out of bounds, 21:20

GOAL, 13-3, Brosco breaks through a double team and ducks down low to score, 20:55

We've entered running time.

Yellow card on Margaret Shanley for a whack to Cordaro, 19:20

Free position, Cordaro's shot goes wide left, 19:10

GOAL, 13-4, Lotkowictz skips a shot in, 18:39

GOAL, 14-4 Jen DeVito off great pass from E. DeVito on free position, 16:15

GOAL, 14-5, Shannon Tierney scores off feed from Lotkowictz, 14:57

GOAL, 15-5, Anderson with a spin move in front to score, 10:15

Back to running time....

RP boys are also up 3-0 in the Class B final back on the Island.

This one here in Cortland is all but over. I'm headed down to the field to catch the rest of the game. Back with more in a bit!

21-5 FINAL.

SWR GIRLS ARE 2008 CLASS C STATE CHAMPIONS

SWR vs. Nanuet, Class C state semifinal

***Keep reloading****

Live here in Cortland, a day after two boys teams advanced to the state semifinals. Now the SWR girls will try to join them with a noon matchup set against Nanuet of Section 1.

It's a beautiful day here and the weather is not too hot like we had the past few days back on Long Island. 

My prediction for this game is SWR's firepower is too much for Nanuet to handle. I think the Wildcats will have this game in hand from the start. So we'll see.

Starting lineups have been introduced and the National Anthem played.

We're ready for action!

Stephanie Anderson will take the draw against Hannah Frey.

SWR wins the opening draw, but turns it over as Brie Claire Drost's pass sails out of bounds.

Brittany DeLea forces a turnover, SWR coming the other way, 23:56.

GOAL, 1-0 SWR, Jen DeVito scores on a free position, 23:24

Stephanie Anderson hits the right post.

Nanuet's K.C. Jentzen hits the crossbar, 22:09

GOAL, 1-1, Kelly Fanshawe on free position, 21:30

SWR calls an early time-out after the goal.

Nanuet wins the next draw.

Hannah Frey hits crossbar. 21:00.

SWR playing a little sloppy to start off. A few too many turnovers.

GOAL, 2-1 Nanuet, Frey scores in front off a feed from Lauren Kahn, 17:22

GOAL, 2-2, Brittany DeLea scores off feed from Erica DeVito, 16:38

Verbeeck makes her first save, 15:07

GOAL, 3-2, Nanuet, K.C. Jentzen scores, 14:32

GOAL, 4-2, Hannah Frey scores off feed from Lauren Kahn, 11:43

Mandatory water break...

Interesting note during that break, Vlahakis walked away from the huddle and let his team discuss things among themselves...

Nanuet wins the draw.

GOAL, 5-2, Hannah Frey scores off a feed from Lauren Kahn, once again, 10:59

SWR is in a ballgame here. This one isn't going to be as easy as thought.

GOAL, 5-3. Brittany DeLea scores her second on a free position, 10:23

Erica DeVito puts one in but a crease violation, 8:56

GOAL, 5-4, Kaitlin Rochler scores on a fast break on a feed from Codi Mullen. 7:08

Big save by Verbeeck after another Nanuet shot hits the post.

GOAL, 5-5, Megan Gersbeck scores from feed by Rochler. 5:07

Timeout Nanuet. 5:07

SWR with a couple shots, but nothing doing, 4:07

GOAL, 6-5 Nanuet, K.C. Jentzen scores on a fast break from Lauren Kahn again, 2:06

GOAL, 7-5, Courtney McGrath scores after SWR turns it over, assist by Kelly Fanshawe, :4.7

END 1.  Nanuet 7-5

Seven goals is the most SWR has given up in a first half since Bay Shore scored eight back in April. The Wildcats trailed that game 8-5 before coming back in the second half to win 14-9. The Wildcats will need a similar turnaround if they hope to play again tomorrow. Skaneateles is currently in control in the other Class C semifinal.

The last time SWR trailed after one was against Mt. Sinai May 12. The Wildcats came back to win that game, 12-11.

First-half stats:

SWR,

DeLea, 2 goals.

J. DeVito, 1 goal

Rochler, 1 goal

Gersbeck, 1 goal

Verbeeck, 4 saves.

Draws are 7-6 Nanuet.

SWR is 2-for-3 on free positions. Nanuet is 1-for-2.

Nanuet goalie Brianna Straut has three saves.

Nanuet's Lauren Kahn has four assists.

SECOND HALF:

Nanuet wins the draw.

GOAL, 8-5, Lauren Kahn scores, Kelly Fanshawe assist, 23:50

GOAL, 8-6, Anderson scores in transition, E. DeVito assist 22:50

GOAL, 8-7, Rochler scores in front, unassisted, 21:41

GOAL, 8-8, Brosco scores after draw off feed from E. DeVito, 21:29

GOAL, 9-8 SWR. After another draw win, Brosco scores again from Rochler 21:17

Yellow card on Frey after knocking into Anderson, 18:14

Verbeeck a big save on FPosition, 16:10

GOAL, 10-8, E. DeVito scores in transition, Brosco assist 15:59

SWR going into delay, passing the ball around perimeter. 

GOAL, 11-8, Rochler scores off feed from Cordaro, 13:30

GOAL, 12-8, J. DeVito scores off nice feed from E. DeVito, 12:00

Water Break, 12:00

GOAL, 13-8, Anderson comes charging down the middle and scores, 7:42.

SWR is in the middle of an 8-0 run. Nanuet has not scored since the opening minute of the half when the Golden Knights took their biggest lead, 8-5.

Verbeeck makes back-to-back saves with under 7 minutes to go.

GOAL, 14-8, Cordaro scores off a feed from Brosco, 3:42

Yellow card on Nanuet, #6. SWR gets the draw.

SWR has completely dominated the second half and will play Skaneateles tomorrow in a rematch of last year's state championship.

Headed down to field, back in a bit with more.....

14-8 is the final.

SWR meets Skaneateles at noon tomorrow for the Class C title.

Another delay...

SWR and Manhasset will now face off at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Stony Brook. Temperatures into the 100's today have forced the game to be postponed.

The Class C and A girls lax championships will now be played the same day as the boys lax championships. Tuesday is expected to be hot once again, and thunderstorms are again a possibility late in the day. So these games might not even happen tomorrow. 

If the boys are forced to play Wednesday, that means they have to play back-to-back games with the state semifinals scheduled for Thursday.

SWR-Manhasset, again

Shoreham and Manhasset will start it again at 4:30 p.m. Monday. The winner will play Section 1's Nanuet from Section 2. Nanuet defeated James O'Neill from Section 9, 21-5, Sunday.

The other semifinal is Section 3's Skaneateles against Section 5's Honeoye Falls-Lima. Skaneateles defeated Corning East, 13-5, and Honeoye won 12-4 against Amherst.

Thunderstorm delays action

The Class C championship between Shoreham-Wading River and Manhasset is in a delay because of a thunderstorm. We've been waiting here for about an hour and a half. It looks like the worst is behind, but after each lighting bolt another 30 minutes goes up. It looks like they're trying to wait it out, though, and the Class A game to follow will have to be pushed back to Monday.

The Wildcats lead 8-2 with 6:48 left in the first half. Stephanie Anderson, Kaitlyn Brosco and Jen DeVito each have two goals.

Hot, hot, hot

As you are likely well aware already, it's hot outside. And will be very hot, into the 90s Sunday for the girls Long Island championship.

This sounds good for the Wildcats, whose deep bench should allow them to stay fresher than Manhasset. Shoreham coach Bob Vlahakis has been hoping for hot weather all along. The Wildcats training for the last month has been geared specifically for this type of weather.

But now it's to the point where it's so hot, the game might not even start on time.

Section IX has rules in place for heat alerts, which can slow down a game or postpone it.

A Modified Heat Alert says "When the heat index reaches 88 (equivalent to T.H.I. of 73), practice sessions or contests must include:

a. Forced, Frequent water breaks (every 10-15 minutes).

b. Loose clothing, light colored shirts and tee shirts (mesh recommended) for practice sessions.)

c. Frequent rest breaks in shaded areas.

d. For football and lacrosse, mandatory water breaks every 15 minutes during which all players must remove helmets. ..."

A Full Heat Alert says "When the heat index reaches 95 (equivalent to T.H.I. of 78), NO physical activity is permitted. Team meetings are permitted."

Now since the game is hosted by Suffolk County, I presume that the Section XI Safety Chairman has the say on what to alert. So we'll see what happens. Either way, bring your sun screen.

Final eight teams in place in girls lax

Here's how the Class B and C 'Elite 8' shape up:

Class B:

3-Cathage

vs.

4-Union-Endicott

5-Brighton

vs.

6-Hamburg

2-Niskayuna

vs.

9-Saugerties

8-Garden City

vs. 

11-Rocky Point

RP/GC plays either Niskayuna or Saugerties in the semifinals Friday at 9:30 a.m. at SUNY Cortland.

Class C:

3-Skaneateles

vs.

4-Corning East

5-Honeoye Falls-Lima

vs.

6-Amherst

1-Nanuet

vs.

9-James O'Neill

8-Manhasset

vs.

11-Shoreham-Wading River

SWR/Manhasset plays either Nanuet or James O'Neill in the state semifinal Friday at noon at SUNY Cortland. An interesting note is East Rochester of Section V lost to Honeoye Falls-Lima. East Rochester had been ranked near the top of Class C all year. So good news for the Wildcats. Don't be shocked to see a repeat of last year's state final with SWR and Skaneateles. If the Wildcats can get past Manhasset Sunday, I don't think they should have too much trouble against whichever team they face.