SEASON IN FULL SWING by Coach Jim Massaro
On a beautiful fall night in early September we started our quest for yet another try at a state championship. This year things would be a little different around Section One. You see, for years the section was divided into three leagues with each having at least two powerhouse teams in it, and four to five weaker teams. But this season the section has gone to the Piner System. What that means is that each team gets rated on the previous season. Since we finished last season number 1 we were naturally ranked number 1 again this season. The only problem with this system is that there is no adjustment for graduation. It doesn't matter how many top athletes have graduated, only how you finished the season. For programs like ours, this is really not a big problem. Because of the strength of our JV program we always have good numbers and a great talent pool to draw from. Other schools, which happen to have a great year, can get hurt with this system due to the fact that they might have a group of talented football players for that one season and then nothing to fall back on for the next year. So with high ranking they could be overmatched-but as we know, every system is not without flaws. With all this being said, we were ranked number 1 and our first seven games are being played against all the teams that made the playoffs last year.
After having a great camp we realized that we had some great athletes to fill the shoes of those who graduated. We opened our season against Brewster-always a tough game, and a great test for our young team. One big question mark we had going into the season concerned starting a sophomore as quarterback. Knowing that he would be going through some growing pains, we tried to keep it simple and pound the team with the ground game. You see, we have six running backs who could start on any other team in the section (what a problem to have). And that's exactly what we did-pillaging over 300 yards on the ground for a 45-0 victory.
Next up Port Chester High School. They were much bigger than us but they had no answer for our speed. Speed is one aspect of our game that we work on all year. A training cycle never goes by without speed work as one of the main focuses. In this game, one of our tailbacks had three carries for 198 yards and two touchdowns. In winning this game 36-0 we found out how physical our team can be. We have a bunch of kids who just want to hit. If one guy hits you, you better go down because there is a whole wave of defenders coming at you.
Game three was a big test for us. Because of the teams that we had played up to then, only Poughkeepsie High School could match our speed. And what a classic battle it was. We went up 13-0 on our first two offense series. But by the end of the first half we found ourselves tied 13-13. The battle raged on through the majority of the second half with each team taking shots at the other but neither one bending. With six minutes to go in the game, we put a drive together and went 63 yards to score a touchdown with three minutes left on the clock. After having the extra point block, we had a slim 19-13 lead. Here comes Poughkeepsie. After returning the kick-off to the 40, they started their drive. With time running out and that blocked extra point looming large we needed a big defensive stand. First and ten from our 20 the quarterback dropped back to pass. Looking for his tight end over the middle, he fired the ball, but luckily he did not notice our safety breaking on the ball, and yes, intercepting to seal the victory.
Week four was against Horace Greeley. This was a team that we have faced many times in the playoffs, with each of us taking turns knocking the other out of the playoffs. Here is a team that we felt very confident against, we knew they could not handle our speed. But in the first half they did a damn good job. Going into the half we were leading 6-0. So with some minor adjustments and some choice words of motivation from the head coach, we exploded on them in the second half scoring on five straight drives and defeating Greeley 36-0. Not taking any of this early success for granted we know we have a whole lot of football ahead of us. And who knows? Maybe we will be playing on Thanksgiving weekend for another shot at the state title.