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Northport High School

Lady Tigers beat Pat-Med; advance to Suffolk semis

by Steven Zaitz - February 22, 2023

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Rich Castellano, the legendary Northport Lady Tiger Basketball coach, had many reasons to celebrate on Saturday.

He notched his 736th victory, padding his mind-blowing total as Long Island’s all-time winningest coach. By doing so, his team’s record improved to 20-1 on the year and they advanced to the semi-final round of the Suffolk County Playoffs with their breezy 71-28 victory over Patchogue-Medford.

It was also Castellano’s birthday — and his players showered their hard-driving skipper with gifts of championship-caliber play pretty much from the opening tap in what was the Tigers final home game of the year.

“It was a great birthday present,” Castellano said. “But we still have a lot of work to do.”

Northport was far from overworked on Saturday against the Lady Raiders as the 43-point margin of victory would suggest, but the Lady Tigers never take a day off.

Tough-as-nails senior point guard and captain Payson Hedges scored on a driving layup in the opening moments of the game and had seven points in the first quarter, as Northport took a 15-9 lead after one. Hedges also made several nifty passes to junior Kennedy Radziul, who led all scorers with 18 points and sophomore Claire Fitzpatrick, to highlight the first quarter.

“Payson is such a complete player,” Castellano said. “She makes the correct pass every time and she sees angles on the court that only a good point guard is able to see. She also gets rebounds when she needs to and plays great defense. I think she gets the number one star in this game.”

Hedges had five assists and seven rebounds to go along with her 13 points. As she typically does with the sharing of the basketball, she shared the credit with her tight-knit Lady Tiger teammates.

“Our whole team had a great game today,” said the cross-over lacrosse star Hedges. “We stayed focused and played hard all the way through.”

Coming in as heavy underdogs, the Lady Raiders were dealt a harsher blow to their chances when their best player Diamond Pertillar suffered an ankle injury early in the second quarter that sidelined her for the rest of the contest. Pertillar is Pat-Med’s leading scorer, averaging 16 points a game.

After Pertillar’s injury, Northport built a 35-15 lead. But the Tigers didn’t escape the first half without a painful scare of their own.

Oft-injured senior guard Emma Kezys, who has been with the varsity program since the Lady Tigers won the Suffolk County crown in 2020, hobbled off with a knee injury with only 15 seconds remaining in the half. Kezys, who missed 11 games earlier in the year with a concussion and has also missed time with various knee injuries over the past two seasons, was expected to be available on Wednesday — results not available at press time — when Northport took on William Floyd in the Suffolk semi-finals which was played at Longwood High School in Middle Island.

“Emma is the heart and soul of the team, and she gives 110% all the time,” said Castellano. “She goes out there and in the first five seconds she’s on the floor, she takes a charge. That’s just the way she plays.”

Despite her latest injury, Kezys is confident that she will be cleared to play on Wednesday.

“This game is a big deal and I’ll be ready,” said the four-year letterman. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

With the Kezys injury and a lead that ballooned to 40 points with two minutes left in the third quarter, Castellano removed his starters and gifted every one of his active bench players with some playoff experience.

The younger kids didn’t miss a beat.

Sophomore Isabella Bica, whose sister Sohpia was also a 10th grader on the 2020 championship team, played 14 minutes and hit a three pointer in the third quarter. Freshmen Jillian Ryan ran the point and had a couple of buckets, and sophomore guard Lily Beamer also got a chance to run the offense. Eighth-grader Ava DeMarco also logged some time and earned a rousing ovation from her teammates simply for making a free throw as time wound down. The Tiger celebration had begun.

Castellano then got a chance to insert players who have been brought up from Junior Varsity for the playoffs. Eighth-grader Riley Cash, freshmen Ella Johnson and Grace Gilmartin and sophomore Sophia Lang, who made a three pointer on her only attempt, all got the pleasure of finishing the ballgame.

Starter Fitzpatrick, who is still only a sophomore but is a three-year starter, finished with 12 points despite sitting for most of the second half. She was giddy to gift Castellano yet another win, but she wants to shower him with more.

“I would love to give him a Long Island Championship for his birthday and for everything he does for us,” said the precocious 10th grader. “He absolutely loves us with his whole heart and would do anything for us, and to get him ‘The Chip’ this year would be amazing.”

And that would be a very happy belated birthday present for Northport’s coaching Grand Poobah Castellano. The man with most famous yet ever-graying mustache in Suffolk agreed.

“That would be a great gift.”

Commack Cougars claw Northport Tigers

by Steven Zaitz - January 19, 2023

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The first three quarters of the Northport Tiger Boys basketball game, Commack had three completely distinct personalities.

The first quarter was essentially a standoff, as the Cougars won it by two. Commack dominated the second quarter, winning it by nine to take a commanding 32-21 lead into halftime.

But Northport made a huge third quarter charge, outscoring Commack 23-11 to take a skinny one-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, the final quarter was all too similar to the second, as Commack — propelled by a strong finish that was led by junior guard Nick Waga — improves to 9-1 in the conference by beating Northport 62-55. They have won nine straight conference games and move into second place behind the undefeated Smithtown West Bulls.

Northport drops to 7-3 in the conference which is good for fourth place in League I. Coupled with last Thursday’s loss to Bay Shore, it was the first time the Tigers have lost back-to-back league games since February of 2019.

Waga led the Cougars 28 points including a huge three pointer with two and half minutes remaining in the game which broke a 52-52 tie. Senior guard Chris McHugh had 14 points and was two rebounds short of a double-double.

Senior swingman Brendan Carr led the Tigers with 22 points, hitting four shots from long range. Junior forward Owen Boylan had all 12 of his points on three pointers.

The Tigers had a non-league game on Sunday against Nassau County’s Sewanhaka, which they won 42-38 and resumed their league schedule against Lindenhurst on Tuesday, Jan 17, and won, 70-25.

Battle of the unbeatens: Northport vs. Whitman

by Steven Zaitz - January 12, 2023

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When perennial powers Northport and Whitman squared off on Monday evening, not only was it a battle of unbeaten girls basketball teams, but it was also the night of the annual cancer awareness event in Northport called Score for a Cure.

Girls on both teams wore pink warm-up gear and had the names of people in their lives who have been touched by cancer hand-written on their shirts.

Legendary Northport Coach Rich Castellano took the microphone to thank the girls, coaches and fans for their support and fundraising efforts, as he has been stricken — and beaten — the dreaded disease twice in his lifetime. The all-time winningest girls basketball coach in Long Island history is one of the pioneers of the Score for a Cure program.

However, when the brief ceremony was over and the game had begun, there wasn’t a heck of a lot of scoring of the basketball. Neither team registered a point until Whitman Lady Cat Iris Hoffman hit a three pointer for the visitors with almost five minutes gone in the first quarter. Both teams combined to miss their first 11 field goal attempts.

“I can’t remember such a low scoring first quarter,” said the affable Castellano. “I thought we might make history and have a zero-zero game.”

Castellano’s hyperbole aside, he wasn’t far from the truth as the mighty Lady Tigers, who average 65 points a game, had a lonely field goal and a couple of free throws in the first quarter and trailed 8-4 after one.

The second quarter was vastly different.

Hard-nosed point guard Payson Hedges started to find cracks in the Wildcat defense, finding forward Kennedy Radziul inside for a layup and sophomore swingman Claire Fitzpatrick on the wing for a three pointer to start the period. Hedges stole the ball from Hoffman and scored on a driving layup to cap a 10-0 run with three minutes left in the half. Fitzpatrick would make another three-pointer — as would junior guard Kaylee Walsh — and Northport would lead 24-12 at the break.

“We haven’t really been defended better than we were defended tonight,“ Castellano said. “But we started to run some screens down low and Payson was very good at getting the ball to the right person.”

In the first half, starting shooting guard Brooke Kershow was uncustomarily not one of those people, having missed on all four of her field goal attempts.

But during one important stretch in the third quarter, she righted herself and the Lady Tigers in a big way. After the Wildcats trimmed the Tiger lead to just three in the first 5 minutes of the second half, Kershow hit a long bomb from the wing, a driving, two-handed layup and a mid-range jumper for seven straight points in barely over a minute of basketball. It jolted the momentum back to the Blue and Gold and gave them a nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“I had a slow start, but it was sure nice to come out in the second half and help the team,” said Kershow.

Castellano, who has been coaching Northport for over 40 years, is a master of pushing the right buttons when he senses that a player would benefit from sitting and watching.

“I saw something was off with her shooting, so I gave her a breather,” Castellano said. “But Brooke is a great shooter and that little run of hers really turned the game for us at the end of the third.”

But Whitman wasn’t done. They whittled the lead down to three when sophomore forward Brianna Verga scored on a Euro-step layup with three minutes left in the contest to cap a 7-0 spree. The Lady Cats were one possession away from potentially tying the game.

But sharpshooter Walsh bagged a bomb from the left corner to give Northport a 40-34 lead with two minutes to go. Whitman called timeout and Walsh’s joyous teammates smothered her with hugs and high-fives.

“We are all so close as a team and never selfish with the ball,” said Walsh, who comes off the bench for Northport on most nights. “It’s great playing with the starters and knowing that they trust me with the ball. I felt pretty confident taking that shot and it felt great to see it go in, in such a big moment of the game.”

“If Kaylee has an open shot, I’ve told her a million times to take it,” Castellano said. “She is starting to not let the moments be too big for her and after making that one, I think it will help her confidence even more.”

Walsh’s three-bagger would be the dagger in what was a 43-36 final that saw no Lady Tiger score in double figures. Fitzpatrick had 9, as did Hedges who also had 7 assists. Radziul scored 8, Kershow 7 and Walsh’s two three-pointers were good for six. Hoffman led all scorers with 12 and Verga added 10.

What they lacked in offense, Northport made up for with defense and clutch shooting. They are now 9-0 in league play and Whitman drops to 7-1.

“Before every game, I write something on the whiteboard for the girls to think about,” Castellano said. “Today I wrote that I wanted them to find a way to grow. We didn’t play our typical game and we didn’t shoot particularly well, especially in that first half, but we were resourceful, played good pressure defense and hit big shots when we needed to steal back the momentum. So I think they read those words and we grew a little bit as a team tonight.”

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.

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 High School teacher inducted to New York State Veterans’ Hall of Fame

by Press Release - November 18, 2022

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Northport High School social studies teacher and veteran Darryl St. George was selected by Senator James Gaughran for the 2021 New York State Veterans’ Hall of Fame. Due to the pandemic, St. George was not able to receive the traditional celebratory ceremony at the time of his induction. On November 10, 2022, Senator Gaughran visited Northport High School to present Mr. St. George with his award during a surprise ceremony.

With many of St. George’s students and colleagues filling the high school commons, Superintendent of Schools Robert Banzer and Chairperson for Social Studies Sean Hurley welcomed Senator Gaughran in advance of Veteran’s Day, thanking him for his continued support of our schools. Senator Gaughran then spoke about the hard work of our veterans.

“We are very blessed in our country and in our community that we have people who step forward. They step forward to protect us, step forward to protect our democracy,” Senator Gaughran said. “In our community, we have a lot of great people who have done this and who have worked very hard to protect us and then go on when they come back to work in our community and to help not only fellow veterans, but to help educate and help move our society forward.”

While St. George was aware he had received this award in 2021, the ceremony came as a surprise as he was called to the podium as the NYS Veteran of the Year in Senate District 5. During his time in the navy and stationed in Afghanistan, St. George obtained the rank of 3rd Class Petty Officer, Fleet Marine Force (F.M.F. Corpsman) and earned many awards for his service.

When addressing his colleagues and students, St. George was emotional as he spoke about his hope for the future and how his students continuously inspire him. “Every day when I work with you students, that’s where I get my inspiration from,” he said.

According to the NYS Senate website, the Veterans’ Hall of Fame “was created to honor and recognize outstanding veterans from the Empire State who have distinguished themselves both in military and civilian life.”

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.

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