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Rich Tomitz thinks big for the St. James-Smithtown Little League

by Steven Zaitz - December 29, 2022

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Rich-tomitz-action — Rich Tomitz, above left and below right, in his element, coaching members of the St. James-Smithtown Little League. Photo by Steven Zaitz

Throughout his tenure as president of the St. James-Smithtown Little League, and over the course of his life, Rich Tomitz has always been a big dreamer.

Rich Tomitz, above left and below right, in his element, coaching members of the St. James-Smithtown Little League. Photo by Steven Zaitz

So much so, that when his friends and associates tell him that he is out of his mind or he is wasting his time with his latest ambitious project or idea, he has a simple response for them: “It’s my time to waste.”

Thanks to this defiant determination, hundreds of Zoom calls and a dash of Tomitz’s legendary enthusiasm and panache, there are now two gleaming artificial turf baseball fields for the kids of Smithtown and beyond to enjoy.

With the help of Town of Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim’s (R) office, the Smithtown Parks, Buildings & Grounds Department and internal fundraising campaigns, Gaynor Park and Veterans Memorial Park in St. James have been modernized. What the naysayers labeled a pipe dream, Tomitz turned into reality.

“Both fields are beautiful,” Tomitz said. “It took a lot of phone calls and favors that I had to cash in, but we got it done. Ed Wehrheim and the Smithtown parks department were very supportive and getting these fields redone was truly a team effort.”

In addition to being more resistant to bad weather, the project resulted in the fields getting enhanced safety features, dugouts and backstops. Even the surrounding playgrounds and landscaping got makeovers, thus improving quality of life for non-baseball kids, too. Personalized bricks adorn the area behind home plate at Gaynor and serve as a nostalgic touch to players and families, past and present.

“There is nothing quite like building a park where our young residents can enjoy and build lifelong memories,” Wehrheim said. “This was truly a private and public partnership and was a great example of what can be done when there is community collaboration.”

Tomitz, a former Wall Street worker, took over SJSLL in 2017, and he has devoted much of his time to the kids of this community for close to a decade as a board member. The league serves over 600 area boys and girls from ages 4 to 13 and competes in the national Williamsport Little League tournaments for baseball and softball every year.

“I’ve known Rich since the sixth grade, and he’s always had the gift of gab,” said Peter Famighetti, who is treasurer of SJSLL and grew up with Tomitz in New Hyde Park.

“To know him is to love him, and I really think that it took somebody like Rich to bring all the necessary parties together along with effective fundraising to get the wheels in motion for the new fields,” Famighetti said.

Tomitz’s wheels didn’t stop turning there.

Rich Tomitz with members of one of the St. James-Smithtown Little League teams

With the upgrade to Gaynor and Veterans Memorial parks, he has been able to realize another dream — having the New York State softball championship tournament held locally.

Tomitz, Peter Russo, Sean Singh and Eric Hanson coached the 11-and-under Smithtown softball team during their state championship run in Rochester this past summer and while there, they had a group epiphany — we could host this tournament in our town and make it extra special.

After four months of negotiating with multiple parties locally and in Rochester and again working closely with Wehrheim, Tomitz and his project team struck a deal to move the tournament here.

In July of 2023, the state softball championships for 10U, 11U and 12U will be held on the new fields in the town, and it promises to not only be exciting, nearly month-long competition, but a family friendly extravaganza for Smithtown and visiting families from across New York state.

“This is a huge opportunity for Smithtown and our league to showcase where we live as well as our new fields,” Tomitz said. “We plan to make it a great family experience and I think that will not only be great for the kids, but also for the restaurants and hotels. Smithtown is the greatest place in the world to live and we can’t wait to show our New York state neighbors what we have to offer: baseball movie night on the outfield grass, ‘50-foot-long subway sandwiches,’ balloon animals … you name it, we’ll have it.”

“I’m ecstatic about the softball tournament coming to town,” Wehrheim said. “Hosting these types of major tournaments was a big part of why we invested in the renovations of these parks. The tournament will be great for tourism and will generate an uptick in commerce and small businesses. It will put our park system on the proverbial map and inspire our community youth to engage in the sport of softball. We’re excited to host so many families and looking forward to welcoming the tournament to Smithtown.”

Singh, whose daughter Jiselle is the starting shortstop for the champion 11U softball team, would love to repeat the triumph in 2023 in front of a hometown crowd.

“I’m honored to be a part of something so special,” coach Singh said. “Rich is a pillar of the community and of the league, and he has gone above and beyond to help our athletes grow and develop. When I moved out here, he shared his vision of rebuilding the Smithtown softball program from the ground up and when he asked me to help him do this, I knew I could not say ‘no.’ The result was the first-ever state softball championship in Smithtown’s history and now we’re hosting it, it’s a really special achievement.”

Tomitz’s daughter Nadia, who just turned 11 and plays second base for the champs, beams with pride over her dad and the efforts he has put forth for the team, the league and the town.

“I love my dad and he’s the best,” Nadia said. “He’s always on the phone, talking about something and trying to do good things for all the kids. He never stops talking about this stuff.”

Even with the tournament secured, Tomitz’s talking has just begun. Over the next few months, he will focus on securing vendors, sponsors, entertainment and housing just to name a few. Plus, he still has the regular business of the Little League to deal with. Despite all of that, he intends to take his place in the dugout as part of the coaching staff of the 11U team that is looking to repeat as state champions.

“We want to win two in a row,” he said. “And I want to be there for every second of that.”

Win or lose, it surely will be time very well spent. For his enterprise on behalf of SJSLL, TBR News Media is pleased to name Tomitz a Person of the Year for 2022.

Close games turns into a rout for Smithtown West Bulls

by Steven Zaitz - December 22, 2022

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A malfunctioning fire alarm caused a 48-minute delay in the middle of the third quarter of the Smithtown West vs. Northport boys basketball game on Saturday.

A close game before the stoppage turned into a rout for the Bulls, as they won 68-41. Northport was ahead 31-27 at halftime and were down by only four with 3:07 left in the third quarter when the alarm bells began to sound.

Smithtown West exploded with 31-8 after play resumed, including an 11-0 run to end the third quarter.

This was a part of a 19-2 run that spanned the end of the first half to the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.

Jack Melore scored 26, including 4 three pointers, for the Bulls who remain undefeated at 5-0. Center Patrick Burke had 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks for West. Northport’s Andrew Miller scored 18 points, 14 in the first half, as the Tigers dropped their first game of the year and are 4-1. Brendan Carr had 8 points and Emmett Radziul had 6 for Northport.

As for the delay, first responders from Hauppauge and Central Islip were on the scene within minutes and approximately a dozen fully-uniformed firefighters investigated the premises accompanied by Smithtown Central School District officials. It was determined that a faulty smoke detector caused the alarm — the second time in a week such a situation had occurred.

According to SCSD Director of Facilities Dan Leddy, the fire alert system for the entire district is currently being modernized with Smithtown West High School the first building to have a new fire safety monitoring system installed. This work should be completed district-wide before the end of the 2022-23 school year.

Northport varsity cheerleaders excel in weekend double dip

by Steven Zaitz - December 9, 2022

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The Northport varsity cheerleaders competed in two separate competitions in two different states this past weekend and came out with two bids to compete on the national stage.

On Saturday, Dec. 3, they boarded a pre-sunrise bus to the Universal Cheerleading Association’s Pocono Regionals held in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where they competed in two separate divisions — Game Day and Traditional. Cheer teams from all over the Northeast strutted their stuff, and Northport placed 3rd in the Game Day category and 9th in Traditional.

Based on this performance, they earned bids to compete in both categories at the U.C.A. championship held in Walt Disney World in February 2023 — the first time an N.V.C team has ever accomplished this.

The travel-weary troupe were back at it early Sunday morning in a Suffolk County competition and placed 4th in their first local competition of the season. Host school Longwood came in first.

The team is made up of seniors Kate Sheahan, Hailey Trudwig, Hailey Smolcnop, Stephanie Downey, Bridget Caulfield, Maddie Cianelli, juniors Olivia Robert, Alexa Ehrlich, sophomores Allie Bartholomew, Alexa Garrison, Emily Nichols, Sophia Stern, Lorena Della Vecchia, Brooke Wenger, Lindsay Grabowski and eighth-grader Marley Caccamo. It is led by Coach Steph Walsh.

Opening night is a whale of a start for Northport boys basketball

by Steven Zaitz - November 30, 2022

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In an impressive opening night performance, the Northport Tiger boys basketball team crushed the Pierson High School Whalers, 77-44, in a non-league matchup.

Senior guard Emmett Radziul hit seven three-pointers in eight attempts and finished with a game-high 25 points, despite not playing very much at all in the second half against the visitors from Sag Harbor. The Tigers had a 44-19 lead at the break.

Northport junior point guard JoJo Cipollino, making his first varsity start, had 12 points and five assists. Listed at 5 feet 11 inches, he wowed the crowd with entertaining dribble penetration and dishes to open teammates. Despite making his debut as a Tiger starter, Cipollino insists he wasn’t nervous.

“Coach (Andrew D’Eloia) had a great game plan so collectively we all felt we were well prepared,” Cipollino said. “Once the game started, I just concentrated on what I had to do.”

Power forward Andrew Miller had nine points and was rested in the second half. The 6-foot-5-inch Owen Boylan and swingman Timothy Fitzpatrick both had seven.

The Tigers played without stars Brandan Carr and Jonathan Alfiero, both of whom were major contributors to last year’s Tiger team that made it to the Suffolk County Final game against Half Hollow Hills East. The Tigers lost that game to the Thunderbirds, but if this opening night win is any indication, they have restocked the cupboard for another run at that title.

Northport opens its conference schedule at home against West Islip on Friday, Dec. 9.

Tigers end 2022 at county final

by Steven Zaitz - November 21, 2022

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Despite taking a two touchdown lead just four minutes into the game, the Northport Football Tigers were beaten, 35-14, by Bellport in the Suffolk County Conference II final at Stony Brook University last Friday.

Christian Raio returned the open kickoff for a touchdown, and Andrew Miller took a direct snap for a score after a Bellport turnover. After that, there was not a lot to cheer about for the Blue and Gold.

Donte Phillips ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns for the Clippers, and their defense forced two turnovers and also blocked a punt — all of which led to Bellport touchdowns. Jason Hunt blocked that punt and ran the ball into the end zone three plays later, making the score 14-6 in favor of Northport.

The Tigers fumbled twice more in the first half, and Bellport led, 20-14, at halftime. The second half was all about Phillips and the Clipper’s stifling defense. Northport generated only 110 yards of total offense for the game. Tiger quarterback Macklin O’Brien was 3 for 18 for 18 yards through the air.

Phillips, who is also a key member of the Clipper defense, wasn’t worried about the early deficit.

“After we got down by 14, we all had to take a moment and remember what we set out to do and how and why we got here,” Phillips said. “We never panicked, and in my opinion, we played our best defensive game of the year tonight.”

The Clippers (10-1) will play the mighty Garden City Trojans (11-0) at Hofstra for the Long Island Championship on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Garden City has won seven straight Nassau Championships and beat Bellport, 14-6, last year to win the LIC. The Trojans have won 29 straight games overall, dating back to 2019.

Northport overcame much adversity this year in losing their starting quarterback, Owen Johansen, midway through the season and had key members in and out of the lineup throughout the playoffs. They finished 2022 with a record of 8-3.

Northport Tigers lick Lindenhurst Bulldogs, advance to County Final against Bellport

by Steven Zaitz - November 18, 2022

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By Steven Zaitz

Almost exactly one year ago, the Northport Football Tigers held a two-touchdown lead against perennial power Lindenhurst and were six minutes away from playing for a Suffolk County title.

But a missed extra point, a ton of costly penalties and two late scores by the Bulldogs were all part of a disastrous 4th quarter sequence that ended the Tigers’ season on that cold, wet and dreadful night on the Great South Bay. Northport would need to wait fifty-one weeks for a chance at retribution. They would have it.

In a stirring performance, led by backup quarterback Macklin O’Brien’s three touchdown tosses and a relentless pass rush that registered nine sacks, the Tigers crushed Lindenhurst this past Saturday, 21-7 in Northport, to advance to the Suffolk Conference II Final against the Bellport Clippers. This high-stakes game will be played at Stony Brook University on Friday, November 18.

O’Brien, filling in for Tiger star QB Owen Johansen, who broke his ankle against Bellport and was lost for the season four weeks ago, had his best day throwing the ball. He completed 7 of 9 passes for 149 and three scores and did not turn the ball over — a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3.

Despite the pressure growing with each passing round of the playoffs, O’Brien has remained cool and collected on the field and off. “I just try to stay focused and keep improving,” said the lanky senior. “When I first stepped in for Owen, I had some pretty big shoes to fill but with each week, I’ve gotten more comfortable.”

The Tigers lost that game against Bellport, when O’Brien was thrust into the spotlight midway through the first quarter. Since then, The Tigers are 4-0 in games he has started.

“Macklin works hard, and he’s always worked hard, that’s just the way he is,” said Tiger Head Coach Pat Campbell. “He’s a really good athlete and I know some people felt the sky was falling when Owen got hurt, but nobody in our room felt that way. Good teams pick each other up and rely on the guy next to them and I think having that mentality from everyone —players and coaches — has fostered success for the whole team and for Mack.”

The opening drive of the game was a symbol of this success for O’Brien as well as their All-Suffolk tight end Andrew Miller. Miller took a short rollout pass from O’Brien and rambled 56 yards down the far sideline on the very first play from scrimmage. Miller would score three plays later beating double coverage in the back-right corner of the end zone and the Tigers led 7-0 barely two minutes into the game.

Despite this explosive start, the rest of the first half was kind of a snooze-fest, as the teams traded fruitless drives in and around the middle of the field for the better part of two quarters.

However, with less than a minute to go in the half, Lindenhurst quarterback Christian Capogna scrambled for 20 yards to the Northport 12-yard line. On the next play, Bulldog superstar Chris Carson, who is a finalist for the Hansen award that is given to the Most Valuable Player in Suffolk County, caught a touchdown pass at the pylon with six seconds remaining in the half. This tied the score at 7-7 and took a lot of the air out of the blue and gold balloon going into halftime.

But it would get refilled in short order.

After stopping Lindenhurst three and out to start the second half, the combination of O’Brien to Miller would do damage again as they connected on a 38-yard TD strike down the middle of the field. Miller beat his man, safety Dominick Artale, on a simple post pattern and O’Brien lofted a perfect rainbow to Miller just as he crossed the goal line.

Miller had his second touchdown catch of the day and the Tigers took the lead back with just three minutes gone in the 3rd quarter.

“Macklin has adjusted great, and he’s been very focused since he took over the offense,” said Miller. “On the second touchdown, I made a move to get the defender to flip his hips and Mack threw a great ball that led me right into the end zone.”

Miller had 4 receptions for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns on the day. He also had a big third down run with a 12 yard rush up the middle, keeping a drive alive in the third quarter. This led to a 31-yard TD dart from O’Brien to wide receiver Nick Valenti, giving the Tigers a 21-7 lead. It was quite a day for Miller, but his offensive output is only half the story.

The senior is also a big part of the Tiger defense that took up residence in the Bulldog backfield all day. In addition to the nine sacks, one of which was by Miller, Northport limited Lindenhurst to a puny 110 yards of total offense and there would be no blown leads for the Tigers this time around.

Defensive linemen Matt Diaz and Nick Tzimas each had three sacks and All County linebacker Tim Cleary had one. Safety Michael Campoli had nine total tackles, and linemen Thomas Kraus and Matt Lugo had seven each in what was a master class in defensive football. Campbell has pushed all the right buttons this year in increasing reps for guys who had reduced roles before Johansen’s injury. Tzimas, who just started playing organized football this year, is one of those guys.

“It’s been a bit of a learning curve, especially in the beginning,” said Tzimas, who is also a star lacrosse defenseman for the Tigers. “It’s very cool to be able to make an impact and it seemed like every play at least one or two of us was chasing down their quarterback.”

Lindenhurst switched up their offensive alignment on the fly, trying in desperation to find anything to generate sustained drives. Nothing worked.

Carson, who can do anything asked of him on a football field, is primarily a wide receiver. But Lindenhurst Head Coach Nick Lombardo had him running a wildcat-type offense at quarterback for a good chunk of the second half. He was bottled up for much of what must have been a frustrating day, his last in a Lindenhurst uniform.

“We didn’t play Lindy-tough football today,” said Carson. “There is nobody to really point the finger at. It was all of us and there really is no excuse for it.”

The Tigers manhandled the Bulldogs in the regular season meeting, beating them 19-0 in early October. Dominating a team of this caliber by a composite 40-7 is no small feat and thus they are rewarded with their first trip to a final such as this since they won the Large School Championship in 1991. They beat Bellport 28-9 that day and the rematch comes 31 years later with the stakes just as high.

“We’ve had a nice year and a lot of success so far,” Campbell said. “The way the chips have fallen this year, we’ve had to overcome a lot of adversity. The kids are the ones that make it all happen and I’m just interested to see where it all ends up.”

As the Tigers face the team that dealt them their last loss, knocked out their star player and in many ways, set them on their current trajectory, the entire Suffolk County High School Football universe will be watching with interest as well.

Northport wins in overtime playoff thriller

by Steven Zaitz - November 9, 2022

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When a guy makes a costly error on the baseball diamond and comes up to bat in the ninth inning and gets a big hit to win the game, the broadcaster will invariably say that baseball is a game of redeeming features.

We don’t hear that phrase used in football very much.

Northport senior defensive back Nick Valenti found out on Saturday that the gridiron also can be a place for redemption.

With a minute left in the third quarter of the Tigers opening round playoff game against Connetquot, Valenti was burned in man-to-man coverage for an 80-yard touchdown by Thunderbird wide receiver Tommy Malvagno. It cut the Tiger lead to 28-21 and sent an inconsolable Valenti to his bench to stew.

“I was pretty upset about giving up that TD,” said Valenti, who the week before, returned an interception for a touchdown in the regular season finale against West Babylon. “We just made a huge play to go up by 14, and I gave it right back to them.”

That huge play was an 84-interception yard return for touchdown by Tiger linebacker Matthew Lugo who plucked a pass out of the air that was deflected by teammate Andrew Miller. The momentum was with the Tigers and their roaring fans. After Malvagno’s explosive play, that momentum flipped right back to the Silver and Red, down by only one score heading to the fourth quarter.

“Nick was being aggressive there and jumped in,” said Northport head coach Pat Campbell. “He (Malvagno) gave him a little juke, got past him and they made a play. But Nick makes plays for us too.”

Valenti has made plays all year. He has 13 catches for 185 yards as a receiver, has been very stingy in coverage and also had that game-changing pick against the Eagles on the road in North Babylon. Would he get another opportunity to help his team advance?

Connetquot would tie the score midway through the fourth by the end of regulation, both teams had overcome 14-point deficits. The game would need to go to overtime; the winner advancing to the semi-final round of the Suffolk II playoffs. The loser’s season would die on the Tiger Stadium turf.

Overtime rules dictate that the teams trade possessions until one team outscores the other in the exchange. Each possession starts 20 yards from the end zone.

Northport got the ball first and mustered only a Billy Griffiths’ field goal to take a rickety 31-28 lead. The Thunderbirds could now win the game with a touchdown.

“I wasn’t exactly comfortable with only getting three points there,” Campbell said.

With the way Connetquot moved the ball, the coach’s concern was justified. The T-birds had 366 yards of total offense on the day and only needed another 20.

Pepitone started his counterattack by pitching the ball left to running back Michael Buttino. Buttino was hit immediately by Tiger safety Christian Raio, and Valenti looped around Buttino’s back and batted the ball out of his hand. Northport linebacker Thomas Kraus fell on the ball and the game was over.

But the celebration had just begun.

Led by Valenti and Kraus, the entire Tiger team stormed down the field towards the scoreboard, in a wild, jubilant display — a massive and jumping sea of blue and white. Legendary Lacrosse Coach Carol Rainson-Rose, who also serves as occasional public address announcer, was gleefully saying something over the microphone but was being drowned out by the raucous crowd and blaring marching band.

Valenti was redeemed.

“I really did some thinking on the sidelines and my teammates told me to keep my head straight and make the next play,” said the relieved Valenti. “So, it felt great to force that fumble and send them home.”

One of those teammates was running back Michael Campoli who broke off another huge run — a 54 yard touchdown late in the first half to get Northport on the board. The Tigers trailed in this game 14-0, the second week in a row they were in such an early hole.

“I gave him (Valenti) a little tough love,” said Campoli, who finished with 112 yards on the ground. “I told him to not let that play define who he is and that he is still a great player.”

With Connetquot still leading 14-7 late in the second quarter after Campoli’s TD burst, T-bird quarterback Nick Pepitone, who threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns, floated a long pass against a heavy wind into a crowd of blue shirts. Tiger DB Evan Gaumont picked it off and returned it to midfield. RB Andrew DeMarco scored moments later, tying the game at the half. Miller had a big 30-yard catch and run to set up the score.

“Andrew Miller was flat out dominant on both sides of the ball,” Campbell said. “He was the best player on the field today and I would say it was the best game of his career. He’s just a great, great player and one of the best kids I’ve ever had the pleasure to coach.”

Miller had 103 yards receiving, including a touchdown, sprung Campoli with a kick-out block on his touchdown run, led the way on Lugo’s pick-six, and terrorized Pepitone all day long from his defensive end spot.

“I think this game was one of my personal bests,” said team captain Miller, who will attend West Point Military Academy in September of 2023. “It fills me with joy to continue playing with this group of guys and we have a lot more to give. We have a great opportunity this week against Lindenhurst.”

Ah, yes, Lindenhurst. One of Northport’s oldest and most heated rivalries, this will be a case where both teams will have revenge on their mind. Last year, on a cold, misty night in Lindenhurst, the Bulldogs scored two touchdowns in the last five minutes of the game to stun Northport and deprive the Tigers of a chance to play for the county championships. The Tigers are still bitter about this loss.

This bitterness sweetened somewhat six weeks ago when Northport blanked the Dogs, and their all-purpose superstar Chris Carson, 19-0, at Northport.

“Lindenhurst is a very tough team, they are well-coached, and Chris Carson is one of the best players in our league,” Campbell said. “I’ve heard all the talk about how they want payback on us because we shut them out, but we haven’t forgotten what happened in the playoffs last year either. I’m not going to say anything more about that. We’ll let what happens on the field decide it.”

Smithtown West boys soccer on to finals after shootout win

by Steven Zaitz - November 2, 2022

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In a bitterly fought match that went scoreless for 100 minutes of regulation and overtime, the Smithtown West Bulls beat the Northport Tigers, 1-0, in the Suffolk County boys soccer semifinal on Monday. The game was decided by penalty kicks — the last of which coming from a surprising source.

In a game that saw five yellow cards and countless hard tackles and collisions, West goalkeeper Landon Schneider came out of his net, where he played brilliantly the entire match, to score the game-winning penalty kick. After five successful penalty kicks by both teams, Northport missed on its sixth attempt.

Having been replaced in goal for the penalty kicks by backup Brendan Madden, Schneider stepped in for the sixth and game-winning kick and calmly drilled it into the left side of the net.

Schneider and Northport goalkeeper Tommy Pace both made a number of acrobatic saves, but none was better than Schneider’s save of Richie Bender’s point-blank blast in the 95th minute that would have been a sudden-death victory for Northport.

Smithtown West (12-4-1) will now battle Connetquot (14-2-3) for the Suffolk AA Championship on Thursday Night at Comsewogue High School. Northport finished 12-6-1 on the year.

Northport field hockey wins county

by Steven Zaitz - November 1, 2022

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The Northport Lady Tiger field hockey team members are the Suffolk County Class A Champions for the third year in a row.

They beat the Ward Melville Patriots, 5-1, on Saturday at neutral site Newfield High School in Selden. It was the third time Northport has beaten Ward Melville to win the County Crown.

Superstar Olivia McKenna scored four goals, and her twin sister Natalie McKenna made eight saves to lead the Northport, who will play for the Long Island championship against Massapequa on Nov. 2 against Massapequa in a rematch of the 2021 L.I.C.

Charley Mason scored for the Patriots, who finished the season, 17-2 with both losses coming at the hands of Northport. The Lady Tigers remain undefeated in 2022 and have won 51 straight games, dating back to March 2021.

Northport Tigers triumph using class, commitment and character

by Steven Zaitz - October 26, 2022

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This past week, the Northport High School football team showed the world that their credo — Class, Commitment, and Character — isn’t just a trio of noble-sounding words.

They embodied it.

Two Saturdays ago, the Tigers not only lost a game to top-ranked Bellport and a share of first place in Suffolk County Division II, but also the services of their all-star quarterback, linebacker, and field general on both sides of the ball, senior Owen Johansen. He is out for the season with a broken ankle.

Johansen was injured early in the game against the Clippers when their star player, Donte Phillips, ripped Johansen down by his facemask and the Northport quarterback got his ankle rolled over and broken by Phillips, who never let go of the mask throughout the course of the play. It was an over-the-top, dirty tackle.

Phillips was called for unnecessary roughness, and Bellport lost 15 yards. But Northport lost its heart, soul and leader as Johansen’s brilliant high school football career was now over.

As the misery of that Saturday afternoon faded into the next week, there was not a single member of the Tiger football family that outwardly expressed any malice towards Phillips or Bellport. There was no complaint filed with Section XI about the flagrancy of the foul or the severity of the injury. Instead, there was a lot of talk of ‘it’s football, injuries happen, and we have to move on.’

That’s class — and it starts from the top.

“Owen is a fantastic football player,” said Northport Head Coach Pat Campbell. “He’s a phenomenal quarterback, probably one of the best defensive players I have ever coached, and he’s a great teammate and leader. It [stinks] that he got hurt, but it’s a team game. Guys are going to have to step up.”

Senior Macklin O’Brien took over as quarterback in Bellport and showed flashes of competence. He directed a long, first-half drive that he finished himself with a 14-yard touchdown scramble. But the Tigers would lose, 21-7, and next up on their schedule on Oct. 22 were the always powerful and well-coached West Islip Lions, who like the Tigers have a record of 4-2.

“Mack has been taking snaps with the first team in practice since August and he works his butt off,” Campbell said. “Nobody on the outside has really ever gotten the chance to see it, but everybody in our locker room knows that he’s a great quarterback.”

It was now time for O’Brien to prove it in a game against a quality opponent.

He would start the day spectacularly, engineering a 75-yard touchdown drive that included two nice throws and an off-schedule scramble for 15 yards that was reminiscent of his fallen friend and teammate Johansen.

“I’ve been working hard in practice behind Owen all year,” said O’Brien. “It’s just my nature to compete and try hard for my teammates and myself. I thought I played okay today, but now I just have to get better.”

Christian Raio would finish the drive with a four-yard touchdown run on his only carry of the day, and Northport would lead 7-0 with six minutes left in the first quarter and would take 7-6 lead into halftime. Johansen was on the Tiger sideline in a boot and waved his crutches around whenever the Tigers and O’Brien did well. In turn, the team wore a #8 decal on their helmets, Johansen’s number, to honor him. This is Tiger class now blended with a commitment to one another.

Lest we forget, the West Islip football program is as successful as there is on Long Island. They are also mixed up in this Conference II dogfight and needed this game just as much as Northport.

To start the second half, they ripped off a 16 play, 85-yard drive for a touchdown. Bruising running back Chris Piropato had 29 of those 85 yards, and he capped it off with a two-yard blast up the middle. West Islip took the lead for the first time, burning most of the third quarter and wresting momentum in doing so.

On Senior Day for Northport, the stands were packed, the state champion field hockey team had won a playoff game earlier in the day, and the 300-piece marching band, sounded like it was 600 during their halftime performance. But the stadium was now stunned into silence.

With a Tiger loss, West Islip would leapfrog Northport and at 4-3, the Tigers would be scrambling just to make the playoffs with only a road game against West Babylon left on its schedule. The Tigers would need to answer.

Tiger running back Michael Campoli would do just that. He ran off right tackle and followed a devastating lead block from fullback/linebacker Thomas Kraus. Fifty-seven yards later and 57 seconds after they lost the lead, Campoli gave it right back to them. It was now 14-13 Northport.

“I just try to help the team any way I can,” said the junior Campoli, who also contributes on defense and special team. “Kraus made a great block, and I saw a lot of green in front of me. He was the reason I scored on the play.”

“Lead blocking is always a fun time for me,” Kraus said. “I had a feeling we were going to get Campoli in the end zone on that play and we did.”

Michael Raio would get in the end zone again for the Tigers from four yards out with 5:29 left in the game. The senior halfback electrified the crowd with a 28-yard run and two plays later, would close the deal and give Northport a 20-13 lead. The party was on.

It was Raio’s third rushing TD of the year and after the Tigers got the ball back on downs, was looking for his fourth with the ball deep in West Islip territory. He ran behind Tiger tight end Andrew Miller and had enough yardage for a first down to seal the win. But linebacker Jordan Fileti got a desperation right hand on the ball as Raio ran by him. Lion Safety Dan Klein fell on it at the West Islip 10-yard line and down by only seven points, the Lions had new life in a now dead-silent stadium.

“I was sick to my stomach when I lost that ball,” Raio said, “One guy (Fileti) grabbed my arm as he was falling, and it came out. I should have had both hands on it.”

All Raio could do now was watch and root for his teammates on defense, as West Islip was 90 yards from tying the game with 2:15 remaining.

They would get a huge chunk of that 90 when Lion quarterback Patrick Keenan ran for 17 yards to start the drive and things started to get dicey for Northport. The Lions had all their timeouts remaining.

But Northport defensive lineman Justin Macke sacked Keenan on the next play and Tim Cleary, who is the de facto leader of the Tiger defense in Johansen’s absence, ended the threat with a leaping interception at the Tiger five-yard line. The Tigers had themselves an exhilarating and perhaps season-saving win, and they celebrated like it.

“That was a statement game,” said the senior linebacker Cleary, who had 13 tackles on the day. “We made some adjustments in the second half on defense, and we stopped them when we needed to.”

So, in the first game in the post-Johansen era, the Tigers rolled up 256 yards of offense, overcame a second half deficit — however brief — and withstood a late charge after a costly turnover to gut out a victory in a very important game.

This was a character win in the truest sense, and it was a great time for all three of Northport football’s principles to not just exist as painted words on a locker room wall, but really have them come to life.

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