Nice start for baseball teams

The league season got under way today for local baseball teams and three came away with victories. Rocky Point earned a 9-1 win against East Hampton, Miller Place beat Shoreham-Wading River, 7-1, and Longwood blanked Patchogue-Medford, 8-0.

The Eagles have gotten off to a strong start with three wins and no losses. They beat Comsewogue and Mount Sinai in non-league. Pitcher Tim Popko is already 2-0 on the year and won the league opener Monday with a complete game and six K's. Phil Rado has been red hot at the plate. Against Comsewogue he had three hits, against Mount Sinai he hit a 2-run homer for the team's only runs and against East Hampton he went 4-4 with two doubles and four RBIs. Now that's how you start a baseball season!

The Panthers won on the back of their ace, Thor Miller. That was a tough way for the Wildcats to have to start the season on a chilly, windy afternoon against a hard-throwing lefty. The next two games should be pretty competitive. Shoreham needs to make sure its gets at least one of the next two. In a league this competitive, starting 0-3 is far from ideal.

For the Lions they picked up a real nice win against the Raiders. As expected, the Raiders did not go with ace Marcus Stroman for the opener. With the win, behind a shutout by Jimmy Knudsen, the Lions are in good shape to get two of three in the series. That would be a perfect way for the Lions to open in League I, where plenty of tough games lie ahead.

145 Consolation: Volpe vs. Tompkins

Rocky Point junior Anthony Volpe placed third in the state at 145 by winning this match against Ryan Tompkins.

135 State Final: Dutton vs. Lenzi

Rocky Point junior Stephen Dutton won a 10-1 major decision against Fordham Prep's Andrew Lenzi at 135 pounds in the state finals.

VIDEO: Semifinal Highlights

Here are clips of Steven Keith, Stephen Dutton and Ernest James from the semifinals. All advanced to the finals along with Corey Rasheed and T.J. Neidhart. I missed Rasheed's match, so no video of that. And Neidhart wrestled at the same time as James, so you might notice him wrestling in the background.

Local Final Matchups

The finals are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. (at least I think, the semifinals started about 20 minutes earlier than scheduled).

Here are the matchups for our local wrestlers:

96 Pounds
Corey Rasheed - Longwood
vs.
Mike Soria - Kings Park

119 Pounds
Steven Keith - SWR
vs.
Justis Flamio - Mahopac

135 Pounds
Stephen Dutton - RP
vs.
Andrew Lenzi - Fordham Prep

160 Pounds
T.J. Neidhart - SWR
vs.
James Brundage - Ossining

215 Pounds
Ernest James - Longwood
vs.
Steven Butler - Port Jervis

LIVE: Wrestling Quarterfinals

We're set for the quarterfinals here in Albany and to start off is Corey Rasheed vs. Will Montgomery of Seaford at 96 pounds. Montgomery won a 1-0 decision to reach the quarters.

Here we go: Good match early on as both wrestlers fight for position. Rasheed gets the early two with about a minute left in the first. He's riding on top and maintains a 2-0 lead after one. An injury timeout delays the start of the second. Corey had some issue with his right hand, but it's quickly resolved. Rasheed starts the second period on bottom. Rasheed is having problems getting off bottom. He's slowly working his way toward the edge of the circle and gets out of bounds with :56 left in the second. He'll start on bottom again. A real rough period for Rasheed but he manages to gain a point. A late escape gives him a 3-0 advantage going into the second and he'll start on top for the third. Rasheed really survived a tough stretch.
A reversal makes it 3-2 with 1:13 left. We get a whistle and an injury timeout for Montgomery.

Rasheed gets another point to go ahead 4-2 but Montgomery ties it with under a minute to go. Rasheed quickly reverses to go ahead 6-4. An escape by Montgomery makes it 6-5 with :38 to go. This is quite the match. They'll have a neutral start with :38 after blood on the mat is cleaned.

They go out of bounds with :23 left and will start neutral. Rasheed is hit with a stall warning. The match is delayed again with blood on Montgomery. It was a good thing because he nearly had a takedown on Rasheed.

There's 14 seconds left. Rasheed hangs on and gets a takedown for the 8-5 win. A very impressive victory for the seventh-grader over a junior.

Meanwhile, Malik Rasheed was wrestling at the same time and pulled out a 3-2 win over Tim Schaefer, the No. 3 seed from Lancaster.

C. RASHEED, 8-5, OVER ERIC MONTGOMERY


M. RASHEED, 3-2, OVER TIM SCHAEFER


........................


At 119 pounds Steven Keith won a 12-3 major decision against Brentwood's Alex Gomez in a rematch of the county final. My original post on his match didn't save when I tried to publish, so I have to do this again...

KEITH, 12-3, OVER ALEX GOMEZ


...........................


Next up is Stephen Dutton vs. Josh Halladay at 135

Before that happens, another big development to note: The No. 2 seed at 189, Christian Boley of Brockport lost in the first round. Boley placed third in the state last year at 189 and was upset by Matt Loew of Wantagh. This clears the path for Buonaiuto to reach the finals against Austin Meys, who is the top seed. Buonaiuto will face CJ Floor of Port Jervis in the quarterfinals first. If he wins, he'll get the winner of Loew vs. Ken Hamilton of Niagara Falls. A big break for Buonaiuto, we'll see if he can capitalize.

Now we're set for Dutton.

Dutton gets the quick 2-0 lead and takes control of the match. Dutton is so fast on the mat it's hard for wrestlers to react to his moves. Add in his strength and it's easy to see why he's undefeated this year and has only lost three matches since entering high school. The first period ends with Dutton ahead 2-0. It's not often he leads a match only 2-0 after one period. But this is the state tournament and nothing is easy. Dutton starts the second on bottom.

Now he goes to work in the second and grabs a 5-0 lead. He's riding on top. He's working to flip Halladay on his back but they reach a stalemate with :35 left in the second period. Dutton maintains that lead going into the third period.

In the third period Halladay gets a point after Dutton is hit for a stall, which the Rocky Point coaches don't understand. It makes it 5-1 with a minute remaining. Now it's Halladay who's warned for a stall, but no point. Dutton gets in an awkward position and gives up another point on a stall. He hangs on for the 5-2 decision.

It's been awhile since Dutton had a match that close. He was never really challenged in the county tournament.

STEPHEN DUTTON, 5-2, OVER JOSH HALLADAY


That now makes our local wrestlers 13-for-13 today.


..........................



Next up, 145
Anthony Volpe vs. Luke Speno (Fox Lane)

Speno won a 17-1 tech fall in the first round against Tony Carlo of Monsignor Farrell. He is the four seed while Volpe is the five. Speno comes in with a 36-1 record. This could be the end of our perfect streak today.

Update on the semifinal matchups tomorrow: Malik Rasheed will face the wrestler he lost against in the county final, Huntington's Damon McQueen. Rasheed struggled against McQueen and will have a hard time beating him here. His brother Corey will take on Joe Barbato of Wantagh who is also a wild card. He fell as the No. 11 seed and he beat the No. 3 Alec Dierna in the quarterfinals. Steven Keith will face John Belanger of Shenedehowa. He is the No. 4 seed.

Now we're set for Volpe vs. Speno

Volpe takes a 2-0 lead early in the first and comes real close to getting a pin. He gets three back points to storm ahead 5-0. Volpe came out this period ready to wrestle. Wow. He jumps ahead 8-0 and is dominating the action. An electric first period closes with Volpe ahead 8-0. I'm sure that has to be one of the better periods he's had this season.
Volpe got two more in the second period and he's closing in on a tech fall with a 10-0 lead. The action is stopped, though, and the score is now 10-2. Not sure where those two came from for Speno. Volpe gets an escape to go ahead 11-2. Now he's just got stay smart and close it out.

At the end of the second, Volpe leads 11-2. Now it's 12-2. Speno earned a takedown with about :33 left in the third to close it to 12-4. Volpe started to relax a bit in the final period with the big lead.

The final score is 13-5 and Volpe is definitely excited as he flexes his arms to his fans in the crowd. He's on to the semifinals after a very impressive quarterfinal win.

VOLPE, 13-5, OVER SPENO

So now we're 14-for-14 with five matches remaining in the quarterfinals.

.........................


Next up we'll have two matches at the same time at 160 with Coggins and Neidhart.

Coggins is set to face John Paris of Amsterdam who comes in off a pin against Nick Matthews of Kingston.

Neither wrestler can take control in the first period. Coggins goes on his stomatch with about :10 left in the first and stays there to ride out the period. They're notted at zero going into the second where Coggins will start on bottom. He gets the escape for the 1-0 lead. He takes the 1-0 lead into the third period where Paris starts on bottom. He gets the escape to tie it at 1. A takedown with 1:20 left gives Paris the 3-1 lead. He closes to 3-2 with just over a minute left. A takedown makes it 5-2 and Coggins is in trouble. He starts on bottom with :42 left. Coggins goes down 6-4 for the first local wrestler's loss of the day.

PARIS, 6-4, OVER COGGINS

Neidhart is underway in his match vs. Pat Brady of Carthage. He gets a late takedown for a 2-0 lead in the first. Neidhart gets the pin in the second period to advance to the finals.

NEIDHART, PIN, OVER BRADY


.......................


So it looks like we won't have 9 state champions.... Coggins goes down 6-4 and now Neidhart, who lost to him in the county finals, has a chance to earn the higher placing. Of course, if Neidhart loses in the semis, the two could very well face again. Coggins will have a busy schedule now to fight for third. He'll wrestle again tonight and will need four more wins to claim third. He needs to win at least his next two matches for a chance to place.



Buonaiuto is taking on the sixth seed CJ Floor of Port Jervis. Buonaiuto takes a quick 2-0 lead and then gives up and escape. He goes ahead 4-1 and as usual is riding on top. He gives up another escape, though, and he seems confident in his ability to get points. Buonaiuto gets in trouble and loses back points. It’s 6-6 after one. He nearly got pinned.
Buoanituo recovers to dominate the second and get the pin with :43 left.

BUONAIUTO, PIN 3:17, OVER FLOOR


James also got a pin, so quick that I didn’t even see it happen. YIKES! Next thing I know coach Mike Picozzi is sitting next to me. I’m here looking for James and it’s already over.

JAMES, PIN, OVER SHERIDAN


.......................


That wraps up the quarterfinals for us. An awesome day of wrestling for local wrestlers as they combine to go 17-of-18. The only loss coming for Coggins, who was the top seed at 160. He'll try to bounce back for third place.

The semifinals begin at 10 a.m. Saturday.

LIVE: State Wrestling Championship

******KEEP REFRESHING*******


Just arrived at the Times-Union Center where wrestling has been underway for about an hour and a half. So far four local wrestlers have competed and all have won.

The results are as follows:

96 pounds: Cory Rasheed (Longwood) pinned Derrick Gray of Indian River in :36.

103 pounds: Malik Rasheed (Longwood) won a 10-5 decision against Zack Hammell.

119 pounds: Steven Keith (SWR) pinned Jim Widger of St. Francis in 1:15.

135 pounds: Stephen Dutton (RP) won a technical fall against Brian Latham.

The quarterfinal matchups are as follows:
C. Rasheed vs. Will Montgomery (Seaford)

M. Rasheed vs. Tim Schaefer (Lancaster)

Keith vs. Alex Gomez (Brentwood)

Dutton vs. Josh Halladay (Johnson City)
................


I just got to see my first match and Anthony Volpe against Mike Perry of Massena. Volpe jumped out to a fast 6-2 start and was in control throughout the match. Volpe didn't score in the second period, but was never in trouble. He got into a slightly awkward spot early in the third when Perry got ahold of his left leg. But he quickly recovered and got a reversal to go ahead 8-2. Volpe needed an injury timeout midway through the third. It looked like something with his left leg. But he appeared OK and finished off the match. Volpe gave up an escape with :42 left and then Perry got it to 8-4. Then he got a takedown with about :10 left, but couldn't add anything else with Volpe on his stomach.

Final Score: VOLPE 8 - PERRY 6


.................


Interesting note at the 135 bracket. Dutton was originally listed as the second seed in the bracket, but he's at the top spot now that the bracket is posted. A great quarterfinal matchup is Paul Liguori of Wantagh against Andrew Lenzi of Fordham Prep. Them facing each other in the quarterfinals seems a bit early. Lenzi won a state title last year and was the wrestler everyone expected Dutton to face before he was upset in the first round. Dutton beat both wrestlers this year and Liguori was probably the closest match of the year. He beat Lenzi at the Eastern States and didn't have too much trouble. An undefeated regular season really pays off when he gets that high seed and avoids having to beat both Liguori and Lenzi. And when he does face one of them, it'll be in the finals.


....................


160 Pounds: Coggins vs. Rob Grabher (North Shore)

Coggins gets a takedown with :46 left in the first period to go ahead 2-0. A late escape point for Grabher makes it 2-1 after one period. Coggins gets an escape early in the second to go back ahead by two, 3-1. He then reverses Grabher for a 5-1 lead with under a minute left in the second. He takes a 5-1 lead into the third period. An escape point gives Coggins a 6-1 lead. A takedown puts Coggins ahead 8-1 and he's in full control. Interesting note, Grabher was ranked fourth in Nassau at 152 in the rankings of Feb. 3. A nice job by him to get to the state tournament by winning the Nassau title.
Coggins held on 8-1 to make our local wrestlers 6-for-6 so far in the first round.

COGGINS 8 - GRABHER 1

....................

160: T.J. Neidhart vs. Darin Wignall (Depost/Hancock)

A scoreless first period, not many shots by either wrestler. Neidhart starts the second period on bottom and earns the escape point for a 1-0 lead. Neidhart goes ahead 3-0 with about 1:15 left in the second. Neidhart gets two more just before the second period ends for a 5-0 lead. A neutral start to the third period and Neidhart is being patient. He makes his move after about 20 seconds and gets another takedown for a 7-0 lead. Neidhart closes it out 9-0. And local wrestlers are 7-for-7.

NEIDHART 9 - WIGNALL 0

........................

Zach Buonaiuto vs. Josue Cardenas (Portchester)

Buonaiuto fell behind early 2-0 before taking a 4-2 lead into the third period. It was a slow start for Buonaiuto but he turned it on in the third period and won it 9-2. Video to follow.

BUONAIUTO 9 - CARDENAS 2

.......................

Ernest James vs. Patrice Castor (East Ramapo)

James takes a 2-0 first-period lead. In the second James takes a shot at Castor's right leg and earns the takedown. An injury time-out forces a delay with seven seconds left in the second period. Not sure what's wrong. Actually, it looks like a problem with Castor's head gear. He's got a crazy mask on that looks like some kind of hockey goalie helmet. You can't see any of his face. Wild stuff. The period resumes and James closes it out with the 4-0 lead. James starts down for the third period. James goes ahead 6-0. James rides on top the final period and twists Castor on his back to get the pin with 12 seconds left. James in jeopardy of the rare non-pin win. He's only had a couple of those this year. But he pulls it out in 5:48.

JAMES PIN OVER CASTOR, 5:48

Next stop: Albany

Wrestling fans should expect a great showing from Section XI and specifically local wrestlers from the north shore, at this year's state championship, which begins Friday at the Times-Union Center in Albany.

As noted in Friday's North Shore Sun, I'll be up in Albany blogging live during the two days. So to keep track of wrestlers from Longwood, Rocky Point, Shoreham and Miller Place, this is the place.

I'll be leaving early Friday morning, so I'll probably miss the early part of the first round. I'm hoping traffic won't be too bad...

The schedule is as follows:

FRIDAY
10 a.m.: Parade of Champions/National Anthem
10:30 - 2:30 p.m.: Preliminaries
2:30-4:30 p.m.: Quarterfinals
4:30-6:30 p.m.: Wrestlebacks
6:30-8:30 p.m.: Wrestlebacks

SATURDAY
9:30 a.m.: National Anthem/Special Awards
10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Semifinals & Wrestlebacks
12:30 - 2 p.m.: Wrestlebacks/Consolation Semifinals
2-3:30 p.m.: Consolation Finals
6 p.m.: Finals

If you log on before I get settled in at the Times-Union Center, check here for the early results:
http://www.nysphsaawrestling.com/results.html

Once again, the local wrestlers competing are as follows:
96 - Cory Rasheed, Longwood
103 - Malik Rasheed, Longwood
119 - Steven Keith, SWR
135 - Stephen Dutton, Rocky Point
145 - Anthony Volpe, Rocky Point
160 - Billy Coggins, Rocky Point
160 - T.J. Neidhart, SWR
189 - Zach Buonaiuto, Miller Place
215 - Ernest James, Longwood

County Finals Video

Here are videos of just about the complete matches of Steve Dutton and Billy Coggins vs. TJ Neidhart.

VIDEO: Wrestling County Championship

Here's a highlight package of all the local wrestlers in the county finals from Saturday. Six locals won titles with Steven Keith, Stephen Dutton, Anthony Volpe, Billy Coggins, Zach Buonaiuto and Ernest James.

Be sure to pick up Friday's paper

Friday's edition of the North Shore Sun will have extended coverage of this weekend's wrestling tournament, with stories on all the county champs from our coverage area. Also, a video package will be up on this site, as well as the Sun's homepage by Monday night or Tuesday. I still have to edit the video. So check back for that as well.

A few quick thoughts on the tournament:

• There really weren't many surprises. Going back to early December, of the 15 wrestlers ranked No. 1 in the county, 10 of them went on to win the county title Saturday. The only winners who weren't ranked No. 1 two months ago were Mike Soria (96), Nick Meinsen (125), Dan O'Malley (130), Ryan Rheaume (152) and Billy Coggins (160). Meinsen and Coggins were ranked second.
  

• Everyone seemed to enjoy Hofstra in terms of the actual facility. Space was very good (better than Stony Brook) and the seating brought fans right on top of the action. The seats looked pretty comfortable as well. It was interesting to watch the Hofstra staff transform the arena from its original six-mat format to a two-mat format for the finals. The staff worked very diligently to get everything in order, which included dissembling the stage for the main table, opening up all the closed seats, rearranging the mats and setting up the tables for press row. At that time the TV crew came in and starting running wires everywhere to get their setup in order. I sat back, watched and ate some pizza. 
  

• Next year could be problematic for a sight to host the tournament. Stony Brook won't be available yet next year as the construction remains on hold due to a lack of financing. But I've heard next year all the county tournament's are supposed to be the same weekend. And Nassau wants to use Hofstra. If that's so, where does that leave Suffolk?
  

• From what I could tell nearly all the wrestlers and coaches stayed in hotels nearby the arena rather than driving all the way home. Seemed to make sense, especially for schools like Mattituck, where it's more than a 2-hour drive to Hofstra. 
  

• I was a little disappointed with the attendance for the finals. It was a good crowd, but by no means close to a sellout in the 5,000-seat arena. As Hofstra staff was setting up the arena, I heard a man whom I presume to be the guy in charge of the operation, say a sellout was expected. I didn't think that was going to happen, especially considering the farther drive. But still, I thought the top sections of the arena would fill out a little more.
  

• I don't know if I agree with Ken Collado as the MOW. I know he's the only returning state champ, so that gives him a little extra cred, but I don't think he had the most dominant run through the tournament. The 112 class is a very tough weight, no doubt, but Collado didn't even record a pin or tech fall in the tourney. In the quarterfinals he won 2-0 against Longwood's Nicky Hall, who is just an eighth-grader. When you look at a guy like Dutton from Rocky Point, he barely broke a sweat in his four wins. Is that because his weight class is that much inferior or is he just that much more talented? I would argue the latter. Even guys like Buonaiuto and James were utterly dominant with four pins each. James pinned a guy in the finals who was undefeated. And even Keith, who won the award last year, could have been considered. He gave up one give-away point the entire tournament. But, I don't get to vote for the award, so my opinion doesn't matter....
  

• It was nice to see Longwood, one of the predominant wrestling programs in the history of the tournament, crown a county champ again. James was the school's first champ since Mike Tricarico at 189 in 2006. It was also the school's best team finish since 2002 when the Lions finished second to William Floyd. Now there's a school you don't expect to win a county title these days...
  

• Rocky Point's three county champs was also a first in school history. The Eagles had crowned two in a tournament before.
  

Another Boys Hoops Roundup...

We're down to the final stretch in high school basketball before the playoffs begin. So let's take a look at where boys team's stand and how the playoffs might shake up.

Only one local team has clinched a playoff spot and that's Longwood in League I. The Lions face first-place Brentwood at home tonight for a chance to earn a share of the league title. If the Lions can win out these next two games, including a home game against Sachem East, the real interesting question will be which team gets the higher seed? Brentwood or Longwood? The Lions would have the better overall record, but Brentwood played the tougher schedule. Longwood did beat St. John the Baptist, a team Brentwood lost to. An Indians win tonight makes it a moot point. Brentwood has won three straight against Longwood, all at Brentwood. Longwood won its last home meeting against the Indians last year.

Here are the current standings:

Brentwood 9-1

Longwood 8-2

Lindenhurst 6-3

Pat-Med 5-4

Floyd 3-6

Sachem East 2-7

Ward Melville 0-10

The only other local team with a chance to clinch a playoff berth is Shoreham-Wading River in League VI. The Wildcats are 6-7 and should get their seventh win when they play Mount Sinai Monday at home. Miller Place and Mt. Sinai are eliminated from contention.

Here are the standings:

East Hampton 12-1

John Glenn 10-3

Amityville 9-4

Bayport 9-4

SWR 6-7

Miller Place 4-9

Mt. Sinai 1-12

Westhampton 1-12

In League V Rocky Point is eliminated from contention with a 4-9 record.

Harborfields 11-1

Huntington 10-2

Kings Park 10-3

Comsewogue 7-6

Islip 6-7

Rocky Point 4-9

Hauppauge 3-10

Sayville 0-13

So let's take a look at possible playoff positioning:

In Class A the bracket is set up for seven teams, but we'll have more teams make it. As of now there are eight teams clinched with another two as possibilities. Shoreham should make it nine and an Islip win against Rocky Point would make it 10 teams. So we're looking at outbracket games to get in the dance. Shoreham will definitely be an outbracket team, playing either a Comsewogue or Islip.

My guess would be if 10 teams get in that the 9 and 10 would play an outbracket for the right to play the No. 1. Then the 7 and 8 would play for the right to play the No. 2.

Something like this:

9. Comsewogue

vs.

10. SWR

7. Amityville

vs.

8. Islip

1. East Hampton

vs.

9-10 Winner

4. John Glenn

vs. 

5. Kings Park

3. Huntington

vs.

6. Bayport-Blue Point

2. Harborfields

vs.

7-8 winner

That'd be a tough bracket right there.

Back to Class AA:

This is where things get real tricky. A lot of good teams without a couple really dominant teams as sure 1 and 2 seeds. This won't be easy to break down and the season's final few games will go a long way toward determining these final seeds.

So far 11 teams have clinched a playoff spot. The bracket is set up for 16 teams. From League I through IV there are at least one or two teams that stand one win away from clinching. So within the next few days we'll have a better picture of what teams are in. There are simply too many important games left to accurately predict how the seedings may fall. Among them are Longwood-Brentwood tonight, Hills West-Bellport, Whitman-Bay Shore and Copiague-North Babylon. These games all have huge ramifications toward playoff seeding and potential league titles.

It should make for an exciting prelude to the playoffs.

Girls Track Small School Championship

Here's a video of highlights from the girls track small school championship Jan. 31, won by Mount Sinai, its first winter track county title in program history.

Boys Hoops Roundup

Most teams have reached the midway point or beyond in the league season, so let's take a look at where the teams stand. I was down in Rocky Point tonight for the boys basketball team's big game against Comsewogue. The Eagles needed a win but struggled offensively in the second half and fell 63-53 to drop to 3-6 in League VI with five games to play.

Here's a look at League VI:

East Hampton 8-1

Amityville 7-2

John Glenn 7-2

Bayport 6-3

SWR 4-5

Miller Place 2-7

Mt. Sinai 1-8

Westhampton 1-8

So Mount Sinai is eliminated from postseason contention after tonight's loss against Bayport. Miller Place must go 5-0 to end the season to earn a repeat trip to the postseason. Shoreham still has a good shot to get in with games remaining against Miller Place (Jan. 31), Westhampton (Feb. 3) and Mount Sinai (Feb. 9). If the Wildcats can win those three games they'll assure themselves a .500 record and a very unpleasant first-round matchup, possibly even an outbracket game for the right to play that very unpleasant first-round team.

Not looking pretty.

Here's a look at League V:

Harborfields 7-1

Huntington 6-1

Kings Park 7-2

Islip 4-5

Comsewogue 4-5

Rocky Point 3-6

Hauppauge 3-5

Sayville 0-9

The Eagles must win four of their final five games for a 7-7 record and postseason berth.

Now some uplifting news, let's look at League I:

Brentwood 6-0

Longwood 4-2

Lindenhurst 4-2

Pat-Med 4-2

William Floyd 2-4

Sachem East 1-5

Ward Melville 0-6

The Lions are two wins away from clinching a playoff berth, but obviously are dreaming much bigger. I don't know if the Lions can catch Brentwood for the league title. They meet once more at Longwood, so the Lions will need someone else to knock them off as well. 

Right now, the Lions need to focus on getting at least the second best record. They can live with that. The goal is to be a top four seed in the playoffs. Finishing ahead of Lindy and Pat-Med would give the Lions a decent shot at that. The other teams in contention for the top four spots would be B'Wood, L'Wood, Bay Shore, Whitman and possibly Bellport. I'm not sold on League III teams. In my opinion, the winner of League I is the top seed, followed by the winner of League II as the second seed. Then the runner-ups will be the three and four, unless Bellport runs the table in League IV (The Clippers are 6-0).

A top four seed guarantees two home playoff games before the neutral court games at SUNY Farmingdale. The Lions have had to go on the road in the second round the last three years and have lost each time.

Saturday will be a huge game for the Lions when they travel to Pat-Med, a team they narrowly beat the first time around at home. Pat-Med got them one game last year and just beat Lindenhurst the other day. Marcus Stroman is tough to defend. With two losses already, the Lions have no room for error.

Matt Ross vs. Ken Collado

Rocky Point sophomore Matt Ross faces defending state champion Ken Collado in a League V dual meet Jan. 7 at Rocky Point High School. Collado won 7-3 in the 112-pound bout.

Period 1:



Period 2:



Period 3:

Stephen Dutton vs. Jesse Marro

Stephen Dutton faced his former team, Hauppauge, for the first time Wednesday in a League V dual meet at Rocky Point. Top-ranked in the county at 135, Dutton faced fourth-ranked Jesse Marro and won by major decision, 15-2.

Here's the entire match:

Period 1:

Period 2:

Period 3:

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.

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.