Tags Posts tagged with "Northport Tigers"

Northport Tigers

By Steven Zaitz

The Northport Tigers Boys Lacrosse team advanced to the Suffolk County Division I championship game with a hard-fought 9-6 win over Smithtown West this past Monday. They faced Ward Melville at Northport on Wednesday (results not available at press time). A win will give them a chance to take on the Nassau County Champion — Syosset or Farmingdale on June 19.

The Tigers were led by midfielders Tristan Triolo and Casey Fortunato both of whom had two goals, and got outstanding goaltending by Andrew Tittman, who recorded 15 saves on 21 shots. Troy Riley had two goals for the Bulls.

After Smithtown took a 2-1 lead midway through the first quarter, Northport exploded for three consecutive goals in a three-minute span to earn a 4-2 halftime lead.

“Our midfielders stepped up today,” Triolo said. “Against Smithtown East, our attackers scored most of the goals, but today it was the middies.”

Midfielder Jack Helrigel also chipped in with a goal, as did attackers Mike Meyer, Jim Atkinson, Ryan McCarthy and Drew Miller. Miller’s goal came midway through the fourth quarter and restored a two goal lead for Northport after the Bulls had two quick ones within a minute of each other, to cut the lead to one.

After Miller’s goal, Smithtown West asked the officials to check faceoff specialist Tyler Kuprianchik’s stick for illegal pocket depth — a rare challenge that turned out to be successful.  The Bulls were awarded a two-minute man-up situation. 

They failed to capitalize.

“That was a little disrespectful to the game, in my opinion,” Triolo said. “Tyler has been taking face-offs all game. Of course, his stick is going to be messed up. It didn’t really matter because they didn’t score anyway.”

Kuprianchik won 67% of his face-offs on the evening, providing precious extra possession time for the Tigers.

“Tyler was great, and Andrew (Tittman) was unbelievable in goal for us. He made all kinds of great saves,” Triolo said. “It was a great team win and now we get to play a home game for the County Championship. It’s crazy.”

The stakes get higher from here with county and Long Island Championship games in the offing, and with them, a new level of crazy.

By Steven Zaitz

The Houdinis of Huntington pulled off yet another escape — and it was the bullpen that wrote the final act.

The Blue Devils fended off a wild seventh inning comeback attempt by the Northport Tigers and won by a score of 4-3, May 27 in Huntington. Devils starting pitcher Palmer O’Beirne was brilliant again, going 6 1/3 innings and striking out nine. Closer Alex Bellissimo got the last two outs with the bases loaded to end the game.

“That last inning was definitely a lot of pressure, for sure,” the senior Bellissimo said. “But the whole time I was thinking that I’ve got to close it out for Palmer because he pitched a great game. I just stayed relaxed and tried to execute my pitches.”

While Bellissimo was relaxing, everyone else in attendance was on the edge of their seats — in the dugouts and in the stands. As the afternoon settled into early dusk, the other extra-curricular activities around the Huntington High School Athletic Complex had ended.  Lacrosse players, cheerleaders and other members of the student body began to buzz around the ballfield to watch these two fiery rivals play this seventh and deciding inning. They were in for a treat.

Three weeks prior to this game, Huntington stunned Northport with four runs in their final turn at bat to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 6-4 victory. Northport was looking for a little payback.

But O’Beirne, a junior, was perfect through three innings in this rematch and had given up only three hits and a run through six. He came out for the seventh inning having thrown 95 pitches and immediately showed signs of fatigue by giving up a single to Richard Kershow to start the inning. He had struck Kershow out twice before.

“I got two strikes on him and tried to finish him off with a curve,” the 6-foot-3-inch fireballer said. “I left it up a little bit and he was able to get it into right field for a hit. I wish I stuck with my fastball there.”

After getting sophomore Owen Johansen to fly out to right, Tiger first baseman Joe Gonzales lined a double to right center, bringing the potential tying run to the plate and knocking O’Beirne, tired or not, out of the game, as he reached his pitch count maximum of 105.

“I would have liked to have been out there to finish the game,” O’Beirne said. “I was counting pitches in my head instead of focusing on getting the batters out.”

So O’Beirne, who was named after Baltimore Oriole pitching great Jim Palmer, moved over to first base and his teammate Bellissimo was called upon to put out a smoldering fire — and things were about to get even hotter.

Northport shortstop Ray Moreno drove in Kershow with a single to right. Speedy leftfielder Tom Tini, who saved two runs the previous inning with a spinning circus catch, legged out an infield hit on a very close play at first base. Gonzales came in to score on Tini’s hit and Huntington’s lead was suddenly just a single run.

Right fielder Rocco Stola drew a walk, loading the bases and more importantly, putting the potential tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position with only one out.

Northport catcher Mike Catrone stepped up to the plate.  He had driven in a run with a well-struck liner in the previous inning but was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double. But Bellissimo got him to pop out to third and the Devils were one out away from victory — the late spring daylight now fading as the drama came to its crescendo.

Number three hitter and centerfielder Dan Thompson was the last hope for Northport.

“Getting that pop out was huge and took some of the pressure off,” Bellissimo said. “But I still had one more out to get.”

With two strikes, Thomson smoked a humpback liner to straightaway center field.  The pinging sound of aluminum on rawhide set off alarm bells over the now-hushed diamond. Centerfielder Kyle Colleluori, who seems to find a way to contribute every time he steps on a baseball field, ranged over a few steps to his left to snag the liner before it could find the grass. Ballgame over. Blue Devils win.

“Off the bat, I thought it was hit pretty good and maybe they just took the lead,” said the relieved reliever Bellissimo. “But I turned around and saw that Kyle was there, as he always is. What a great win!”

With the victory, Huntington and Northport, along with Bay Shore and Connetquot, sit atop the League II standings and are scrambling to best each other for playoff seeding.

“In our league, almost anyone can beat anyone,” O’Beirne said. “There are no guarantees.”

If these two teams meet again, it will be in the League II playoffs, and if recent history is any indication, there is one thing that can be guaranteed — that game will have another seventh inning storybook ending.

Who will author it?

Ward Melville co-captain Rachel Ehrlich broke the ice for the Patriots in the second quarter as did teammate Abigail Foster with goals in the Suffolk Class AA semifinal round against visiting Northport April 21.

Northport sophomore Marryn Gruhn’s shot on goal found its mark but the Patriots prevailed to advance to the county championship round.

Northport senior Bridget Bost had nine saves on the day as Ward Melville’s Elyse Munoz, a sophomore, stopped eight.

Ward Melville the top seed will face undefeated Sachem East the No. 3 seed at North Babylon high school April 24. Game time is 3 p.m.

by -
0 1377

By Steven Zaitz

Often times, a football game is just a football game.

But there are instances when it is a lot like chess, with the guys in the headsets matching wits and probing for weakness. Other times, the game is just an all-out street brawl, with both sides trading haymakers until one is left standing.

On rare and glorious occasions, it is all three.

Saturday’s Suffolk Conference II semifinal game between the Northport Tigers and the West Islip Lions was just such an occasion, as West Islip survived a late Northport rally and emerged with a 21-14 victory. The game featured wild swings of momentum and emotion, bloodied uniforms, in-game adjustments, and impossible escapes.

The outcome having enormous consequences for both sides — a trip to the Conference Championship and a chance to own a piece of the Suffolk County Crown — only added to the drama. The pressure was palpable on the field, on the sidelines and in the bleachers.

West Islip senior Joe Constantino, who is listed as a quarterback, but does most of his damage on the ground and with his brain, rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns to lead West Islip.

“Joe is a special athlete,” said Northport Head Football Coach Pat Campbell. “He’s probably the best running back in Suffolk County and he’s playing quarterback. He’s got a really nice lean and as good a tackling team as we are, we could never get a full shot on him. That’s what they always said about [NFL greats] Walter Payton and Barry Sanders.  You could never hit them square. That’s how Joe runs.”

But Constantino would have to wait to take center stage, as West Islip Head Coach Steve Mileti elected to kick to Northport to open the game — a big early gamble by Mileti because Northport had scored on 75% of its first possessions in the regular season. Mileti’s risk was rewarded.

After a three and out and a poor punt gave West Islip the ball at the Tiger 30-yard line, in came Constantino.

“Joe is probably the best kid I have ever coached,” Mileti said.  He’s just a magician with the way he handles everything and he’s amazing to watch.”

That is quite a statement, as Mileti has been around the Lions program for 30 years, first as a star linebacker and then an assistant coach starting in 1997. He took the reigns as head coach in 2009 and he has built a program that is a perennial winner, developing many fine players over the years.

On third down and six, Constantino faked a jet-sweep handoff to running back Ryan Behrens. He then burst through the middle just past the fingertips of Northport linebacker Owen Johansen and scampered to the Tiger two-yard line.  Three plays later, he outflanked the Tiger defense and walked into the end zone to give West Islip a 7-0 lead.  It was the first time the Tigers had ever trailed in a game this year.

“A lot of bad things happened in the first five minutes of that game,” Campbell said.  “We had a missed assignment, a bad snap and a bad punt on our first drive and that set them up. When you’re playing a good team like that, you can’t do those types of things.”

Against Constantino who now drew first blood, this is especially true.

“A lot of people call our team small and it’s true that we are smaller in size than most teams, so any little thing we can take advantage of, we have to go try and get,” said the humble superstar senior Constantino. “Watching film, seeing what the other team does is very important because so often that stuff shows up in games.”

After another Northport three and out, the Lions took over at midfield.  On a fourth and two play from the Tiger 35, Constantino used a hard count to get right end Cole Ronan to jump offsides and give the Lions a free first down — a costly mistake.

Eight plays later, Konrad Maciejny scored from the one-yard line.  The Tigers were in a two-touchdown hole, the game was well into the second quarter and they had yet to gain a first down.  Constantino had landed another punch and the Tigers were reeling.

Northport and West Islip would go into halftime separated by 14 points. The Tigers were wounded for the first time since 2019, but would they lay down and die?

“During halftime, we definitely talked about being more disciplined,” Campbell said. “It was about a matter of re-focusing and cleaning up the little mistakes that were costing us. Sometimes I can tell by the look in their eyes that the kids become a little shell-shocked in a situation like that.  It’s my job to remind them what they’re capable of.”

Campbell is referring to the Tigers greatest strengths — stopping the opposing offense and running the ball.  They stopped the Lions on three plays to start the third quarter. Anthony Canales had one of his 22 (yes, 22) tackles on this drive and almost caught Constantino in the West Islip end zone.  This was a game of so many ‘almosts’ for the Tigers and their hardy supporters.

After an 11-yard punt return by Rafe Carner, Northport was set up deep in Lion territory.

On the Tigers second play from scrimmage in the second half, running back Rocco Stola ran a sweep left. He saw enemy shirts in the hole he was supposed to hit, bounced it outside and in a flash, was gone. A lightning strike 27-yard touchdown, and the Tigers were suddenly back in business, down by seven with a whole half of football remaining.

“That play was supposed to go inside the tackle, but the blocking developed where I thought I could get to the outside and I did,” Stola said. “It got us back in the game and swung the momentum to us.”

It was now Constantino’s turn to make a counter move.

On the next drive, he ran the ball four times for 40 yards and completed a pass for 20 more, moving to the Northport 10-yard line.  On one of those runs, he was swung down hard by the Tigers’ massive sophomore Johansen for a loss of five but bounced up off the artificial turf and called the next play. Constantino was pounded hard by all 11 Tiger defenders all afternoon, who are all big, fast, and mean.

“He’s what? 165, 170 pounds?” Campbell asked rhetorically.  “But he is tough, and he gets right up every single time.”

After Carner made a splendid, touchdown-saving, open field tackle on Behrens at the Tiger 10-yard line, Constantino again showed his moxie, instincts and escapability.

On a play designed to go left, Ronan sealed it off so the slippery quarterback cut right. Ronan chased but Constantino ran away from him and fellow lineman Dan Lugo.  He angled to the goal line and pierced through nose tackle Ryan Farrington and Stola like they were twin turnstiles, and then bounced off linebacker Andrew Miller and Carner. He kissed the end zone pylon with the nose of football after a headlong dive.  It was a feat of ballet dancer and bulldozer all wrapped up in a 10-yard touchdown jaunt.

And just as Northport had thought they wrested momentum to start the half, Constantino had wrested it back, restoring West Islip’s two touchdown lead with a huge chunk of clock now gone.

“I immediately saw that defensive end [Ronan] coming at me, so I knew I had to cut back to the right,” Constantino said. “I saw a little opening and as soon as I did, I caught a glimpse of the pylon out of the corner of my eye and went for it.  It worked out well.”

For West Islip, yes.  Not so much for Northport.

“We should have stopped him on that play,” said Canales, who is a candidate for both the Collatta and Burnett awards presented to most outstanding linebacker and defensive player in Suffolk County. “We had four or five chances to get him, but he’s a shifty runner. Hats off to him.”

“We came out in the second half and flipped the script, but then they flipped it right back and we were running out of time,” Campbell said. “They stacked the box against us, and at some point, we had to adjust our game plan.”

The Tigers, whose vaunted running attack averaged 300 yards rushing per game in the regular season, had a grand total of 81 against West Islip. Gaining the first move advantage by scoring two early touchdowns freed the Lions to deploy more defenders closer to the line of scrimmage, taking away the strong suit of Northport’s offense.

But with a little over a quarter to go, would the Northport Tigers fight back or simply throw in the towel or start mixing in some throws? Anyone familiar with Northport athletics knows the answer, and no greater example of this fighting spirit came in the form of a fourth down desperation run by Rocco Stola.

With the Tigers facing a fourth down and two from their own 41 and the clock whittling away any realistic chance for a Tiger comeback, it was do or die for Northport. Lined up as a slot receiver, Stola came in motion to the right on a play called Wing Left 46 Truck.  Immediately pursued by four Lions at the snap of the ball, Rocco simply outran them but was ceding ground way behind the line of scrimmage in doing so.  He cut upfield sharply, rolled out of the tackle of a fifth defender before diving headlong out of bounds for a tremendously hard-fought gain of four.  The Tigers still had a pulse.

“There was no way they were stopping me,” Stola said.  “I knew the situation and they chewed up a ton of clock and it got late early for us, but I was getting that first down no matter what.”

“What a great run by Rocco,” Campbell said. “We didn’t block the edge as well as we should have, but he got outside and gave himself enough room to belly back and beat three or four of their guys and then spun past another. Incredible.”

But with less than five minutes to go and down by two scores, the Tigers would now need to put the ball in the air on almost every play.  Quarterback Conner Gallagher, who did not complete a pass in the first half, now held the fate of the game in his hands. He accepted the challenge.

Gallagher hit wide receiver Tristan Triolo with a 10-yard pass and then led Stola perfectly on an eight-yard slant pattern that the speedy running back turned into a 40-yard gain. With a pep now in his step, he scrambled for a first down and then hit Carner in the back of the end zone for a 15-yard score.  That cut the lead to 21-14 with a minute and a half to go.

With only one timeout remaining, the Tigers were forced to try an onside kick. West Islip recovered, took a knee, and the game was suddenly just over. Constantino and Mileti executed their magic act of a game plan perfectly and made the game, and Northport’s dream of a county title, disappear.

“They had a great game plan, ran time off the clock and took advantage of our mistakes,” Campbell said. “The total yardage was almost exactly even [188 to 174 for the Lions] and it was just a great, defensive, hard-fought football game.”

Coach Mileti echoed that last sentiment.

“Football is just a special game and we saw it out there today,” Mileti said. “It was two great programs giving everything they had, and we were lucky enough to come out on top.”

For the first time this year, it was the Tigers whose luck had run out.

Tigers are still playing!

Despite the lost to West Islip, the Northport Tigers football team will host Half Hollow Hills East this Saturday at 1 p.m.

This game will determine a Section XI, League III champion and will be the final game of the Tigers’ season. The original match that was scheduled between the two team back in March was canceled due to COVID-19.  The Thunderbirds lost to Bellport in their semifinal game, setting up the opportunity for this game.  Bellport will play West Islip for the second time in three weeks in West Islip, the winner capturing the Conference II championship.

by -
0 1232

By Steven Zaitz

The game of football is many things. One thing it is never supposed to be, is easy.

But that is what the Northport Tigers made these spring games look like, when they iced their fourth and final cupcake on Saturday, April 10, creaming Copiague 41-6. They finished the season 4-0 and outscored their opponents 140-25.

To an athlete, they know that while these four wins were nice, nothing worth fighting for is ever easy and the journey to greatness has only just begun.

“These kids never take a day off in their preparation,” said head coach Pat Campbell. “This is what these kids have been waiting for — this moment.”

The ‘moment’ that Campbell is referring to is a showdown with Suffolk County League IV champions West Islip on Saturday, April 17. The Lions beat Bellport 24-14 to earn that crown. 

Northport is seeded second in League III and Half Hollow Hills East is first because the Thunderbirds won five games to the Tigers’ four.  Hills East and Northport were supposed to play earlier this season, but the game was cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols.

Campbell is taking a “we play who is on our schedule approach” even though an argument could be made that Northport’s 4-0 Conference record should have been a factor in deciding the League champions. Hills East was 3-0 in league play and 5-0 overall.

“It is what it is,” Campbell said.

The Tiger defense, which allowed a microscopic 1.6 yards per rushing attempt this year, will have a stiff test against the Lions. They are led by breakout star quarterback Joe Constantino, who ran for 263 yards on Saturday and also threw for a touchdown.

“They run a lot of Read Option and Quarterback Power,” Campbell said. “Constantino is a really good player and probably the best runner we’ve faced.  He’s got speed, he’s savvy and he’s quick.  It’s going to be a challenge for us. They are a very good and well-coached team.”

West Islip also has a steam-rolling offensive line that will smash you in the mouth without hesitation, and a stingy defense that gave up about two touchdowns per game. The Lions’ storied program has a long tradition of winning and is coached by the highly respected Steve Mileti.  They had a recent stretch of games that saw them win 22 out of 24 and they were undefeated this year.

“We all know the real challenges are coming up,” said running back, defensive back and co-captain Rocco Stola. “Our focus is on winning and we are super excited to play in this game against a top team.  I remember playing this kid (Constantino) in junior varsity, and we know what to expect, we have a history with him, and I have full confidence in our defense that we will put a game plan together to stop him. This is the chance to prove ourselves.”

The Tigers are eager to erase both the memories of an injury-marred 2-6 season in 2019 and a bitter playoff loss the year before against North Babylon when they fumbled late in the fourth quarter, just as it looked like they were going in for a winning touchdown.

“I’ve been thinking about getting back to the playoffs ever since that loss against North Babylon,” said co-captain and leading tackler Anthony Canales. “I am really fired up for
this game.”

Another motivating factor for the Tigers is the apparent lack of respect from major regional media and social media power ranking sites, that have seemingly ignored Tiger Nation’s overwhelming success this year.  Twitter prognosticator L.I. Sports Fanatic has already predicted that the Tigers will fall to the West Islip Lions in the first round of the playoffs.

“We don’t make it on to their power rankings, but we don’t care,” said Canales, who averaged more than 10 tackles a game despite sitting out large stretches due to lopsided scores. “They can have people ranked higher than us and predict whatever they want. We like being underdogs because we know that when we get out there, we have a good chance to win.”

Northport averaged more than seven and a half yards every time their offense snapped the ball. The defense very reluctantly allowed two and a half yards per play and gave up two touchdowns all year.  These numbers are absolutely staggering but despite all of that, the attention around these parts has been given to teams like Floyd, Sayville, Bellport and Lindenhurst.

Rafe Carner, Stola’s first cousin, ran for 224 yards and three touchdowns this year.  They have been playing sports together most of their lives and have always enjoyed pushing each other to excel athletically and academically. Like his cousin, Carner knows what is at stake in the coming days.

“Our expectations are to win a championship and that hasn’t changed since the beginning of the year,” Carner said. “This game is going to be tough, and if we win, the next one will be even tougher, but we’re going to do everything we can to make it happen.”

In other words — things are no longer easy, and the Tigers wouldn’t have it any other way.

by -
0 1343

by Steven Zaitz

By Steven Zaitz

[email protected]

Many eyes of the Long Island football universe were focused on the South Shore last Saturday, March 27.

However, there was an important contest that took place on the North Shore, too. The Northport football Tigers were back in business and business was booming.

Booming with pad-popping tackles and the pounding of bass drums.  Booming with explosive hits over the middle, running backs and quarterbacks thrown around like rag dolls and bellowing voices cheering from all corners of Tiger Stadium.  A March day in 2021 time-warped to a typical October afternoon in any other year, as Northport lowered the boom on crosstown Huntington, 23-6.

After taking a week off due to pandemic protocols, the Tiger defense was as ferocious as ever, stifling and suffocating Huntington’s offense. Making matters worse for the Blue Devils, they lost All-State running back Nasir Youngblood to a foot injury early in the second half. He was held in check even before the injury, finishing with 31 quiet yards on eight carries.

The leader of this band of mayhem-making marauders is linebacker Anthony Canales. But could he possibly top his superlative performance against Connetquot from two weeks ago?

Sixteen total tackles? Ridiculous.

Four tackles for loss including a sack? Silly.

Add in two passes batted down and five or six bone-crunching hits and we are talking about quite an encore from Opening Day, and outstanding enough to be one of Newsday’s top players of Week 3. 

“Anthony has great linebacker instincts, plain and simple,” said Head Coach Pat Campbell. “He knows how to fill a window and when he sees a gap that he can get through, he flies through that gap and gets there and makes plays.”

Canales, who celebrated Senior Day on this sun-splashed Saturday, doesn’t just put up gawdy numbers. He establishes and enforces an attitude on defense that makes an impression with the opposing team. For instance, early in the game Huntington receiver John Chirico came over the middle in an attempt to make a short reception. Canales separated the intended receiver not only from the ball, but from his mouth guard as well. The Northport side of the field hooted and hollered with delight and Chirico didn’t run that particular pass pattern for the rest of the day.

“He cleaned that kid up”, said Campbell. “The thing about Anthony is that when he gets there, he gets there with bad intentions.”

The entire defense has had plenty of bad intentions in both Tiger wins this year. It’s a hard-hitting and speedy bunch that is always on the attack, giving offenses absolutely no room to operate. Defensive Linemen Cole Ronan, Dan Lugo and Ryan Farrington were in the Devils’ backfield all day long, disrupting whatever Huntington tried to do.

“Our defensive line eats up blockers like crazy,” Canales said.  “It makes it easier for me to run downhill and get the ball carrier.  That’s what I love to do.”

They have allowed an average of 93 total yards in two contests and a grand total of six points. Those points scored on this day by the Blue Devils was a garbage time touchdown when the game was no longer in doubt.

The likeable linebacker had extra motivation as Huntington has always been an archrival of Northport, as the two schools sit five miles apart.

“We took this game personally,” Canales said. “There is no way we were going to let our crosstown rivals beat us, especially on Senior Day. No way!”

The Tiger offense, which was very run-heavy in the opening win against Connetquot, had a nicer balance to it against Huntington. Quarterback Conner Gallagher had six completions for 73 yards, including a super accurate rainbow to senior running back Rafe Carner for an 18-yard touchdown in the 1st quarter.

“We were practicing that play all week and we liked the matchup we had in that down and distance,” Gallagher said. “Once Rafe had a step on his defender, I tried to drop it in. Rafe made a great catch.”

“Conner had to make an adjustment because Rafe got knocked off his original route,” Campbell said. “It was a nice throw and a good, athletic play by Rafe.”

Gallagher had another touchdown on a quarterback sneak and Northport is 2-0. They have again cracked Newsday’s Top Ten Power Rankings and their next matchup is at Smithtown East, who got bullied by Bellport 46-14 on Saturday — but all is not roses for the Tigers.  Starting Center Joe Keller-DelPrete suffered a knee injury in the third quarter and was replaced by Canales’ brother Andrew. Keller-DelPrete is one of the team leaders and when he went down the festive atmosphere of the afternoon became muted.

“He’s one of our big-time leaders, an energy guy, a vocal guy and he’s going to be hard to replace,” Campbell said. “But you have to be a ‘next-man-up’ type of crew and I think we are.”

Another issue the Tigers need to address is the fumbling of the football. They have lost six of them in their two games.

“We have some things we got to fix for sure,” Campbell said. “You don’t win a lot of football games turning the ball over as much as we have. It’s a lack of focus and it has to be our primary job – to take care of the football.”

So far, the defense has bailed them out of dicey situations caused by these turnovers.  One of those defenders, sophomore Owen Johansen had eight tackles, including a safety. Huntington, who made it obvious that they were playing their first game of the year, sloppily snapped the ball over its punter’s head and Johansen tackled him in the Devil end zone.

“That was a big momentum shift for us,” Johansen said. “I think the tide really turned for us after that.”

Johansen’s not kidding.  After his play made the score 16-0, senior Rocco Stola showed off one of the many tools he has in his football tool belt — his blazing speed.

He took the free kick 69 yards straight up the middle, blew past three or four white-shirted Blue Devils for a touchdown.  There wasn’t a Huntington player within 15 yards of Stola when he crossed the goal line.

“Perfect blocking,” said Stola, who plays on all three units of the football team. “As I saw the kick coming towards me, I knew I had to score. I thought I was a bit late for a split second, but I ran my fastest, I saw the hole and I wasn’t going to let anyone catch me.”

“We all knew he was gone as soon as he touched that ball,” Canales said.

Rocco’s run closed the scoring for Northport at 23 and put a ribbon on this one, for all practical purposes.

Oh, and in that game on the South Shore, Sayville beat Floyd. But lest people forget, there are good football teams north of I-495 as well.

By Steven Zaitz

Sixty regulation minutes was not enough.

The extra 10 in overtime could not decide it either.

When the Northport Tigers field hockey team invaded Smithtown East March 22, the matchup pitted two of the elite teams on Long Island. They needed a shootout to decide it, and it was Smithtown East goaltender Gianna Festa who stood tall.

She did not allow a goal in the shootout, stopping all four Northport attempts. Dani Brady, one of Long Island’s top players scored on her mano y mano with Northport goalie Natalie McKenna, who was also excellent, that decided it for the Bulls.  The final score was officially 2-1.

Festa, who had 12 saves in addition to her four stops in the shootout, sparked a wild, equipment-flinging celebration seconds after making her final stop.  Brady, teammate Sydney Anderson and Northport’s Sophia Bica are all listed on Newsday’s Top 25 players of Long Island, but it was Festa that earned the Most Valuable Player of this star-studded affair, making several acrobatic saves throughout regulation, overtime and the shootout.

This game was a hard-fought war and the survivor — Smithtown East — has now equaled Northport’s record of 5-1. Ward-Melville, who beat Sachem East Monday, is atop the Suffolk County leaderboard with a record of 6-0.

By Steven Zaitz

The inside of the Brentwood High School gymnasium is wallpapered with a half-century’s worth of championship basketball banners. 

League titles, Suffolk County and Long Island crowns are all on display, as the facade behind the north basket at Stan Kellner Fieldhouse holds a rich hoops history.

The most recent decoration behind that basket is a Suffolk County Class AA Championship placard that the Indians earned when they scalped Northport Tigers by 27 points, right before the pandemic struck a year ago. They were Suffolk County champs in 2019 as well.

Short season or not, Brentwood seemed to be on a mission to roll right through anybody that stood in their way in 2021. They had been putting up massive scoring numbers and were winning by 40, 50 or 60 points every night, just for fun. Newsday’s top ranked player for Long Island, senior forward Jordan Riley, who has committed to Georgetown University, averaged an astounding 33 points a game, and he hit that exact mark in Brentwood’s first round win over Commack on Saturday, an 83-49 rout. This Indians team was seemingly an unstoppable force.

Insert immovable object here.

“We didn’t care about any of that,” said Northport junior power forward Dylan McNaughton.  “Once the whistle blows, it’s their five guys versus our five guys. We are Northport.”

In one of the biggest upsets in recent high school basketball memory, the Tigers slipped past the Brentwood Indians, 58-56, on Sunday, to win the Suffolk County Conference I championship in a defensive yet thrilling contest that came right down to the wire.

“Our guys believed in the plan,” said an elated but exhausted Andrew D’Eloia, head coach of Northport. “We played a great brand of help defense, we rebounded well and we limited our turnovers. We have good players, we executed and we believed in each other. That’s the only way to beat a team like that.”

Senior guard and team captain Patrick Healy led the Tigers with 19 points.  He and backcourt mate senior Robbie Kennedy, who had 10, poked and prodded at the Brentwood defense, exploiting small cracks and getting to the rim.

“They didn’t want to give us the ‘3’,” Healy said. “Robbie and I took what they were willing to give us.”

The Tigers only made five 3-point shots on eight attempts, both statistics well below their average.

“Our goal is to get a good shot on every possession,” D’Eloia said. “Patrick and Robbie did an excellent job of running the offense, sharing the basketball and when they had an opportunity to take an open driving lane, they did.”

Going strong to the basket against Brentwood is not for the faint of heart, especially for Kennedy who gave away significant height to the men who were guarding him.

“It’s like that every game I’ve ever played,” said Kennedy, who is listed at 5 feet 9 inches. “I’m always the shortest guy on the floor but I make up for it with confidence in myself.”

He had enough confidence to make what would be the final and decisive bucket of the game with less than a minute to go, and the score tied at 54-54. He drove to the basket against Brentwood’s Marquese Dennis and Billy Lucate, slid between them with a semi-Euro step and banked it in with a right-handed scoop.

“It feels amazing,” said Kennedy on his winning shot. “I’ve been here for four years and this is a great way to end my high school career.”

To get the opportunity to play in this historic title bout, Northport had to beat a game Ward Melville team on Feb. 27. They did that with a 45-32 win in a contest that took place at Northport High School. Healy led the team with 15 points and forward Jake Santamaria posted 10.

Although the final margin was 13, the game was tight for three quarters and the Patriots even enjoyed a four-point lead at halftime. That enjoyment was short-lived as the Tigers blitzed Ward Melville, 24-9 in the fourth quarter.

Santamaria had all 10 of his points in that decisive quarter, and McNaughton grabbed six rebounds and had 11 total boards for the game. In the two games, McNaughton, who also plays linebacker and quarterback for the Tiger football team, had 21 points and 22 rebounds.

“Dylan is a smart, skilled player with a great basketball demeanor,” D’Eloia said. “He’s a three-sport kid, and he competes hard.”

Against Brentwood, McNaughton caught an elbow in the face in the first quarter and played with a bloody nose plug for the rest of the game, a fitting metaphor for the hard-scrabble style that propelled the Tigers to victory and will now give them the opportunity to redecorate the walls of their gym.

Northport girls basketball struggled from the opening tip off trailing in the Conference I semi-final playoff game on the road against Longwood until Sophia Yearwood swished a 3-pointer to tie the game at 23 all, late in the second quarter. It would be the only time Northport evened the score as the Longwood Lions stretched their legs clamping down on defense to contain the Tigers the rest of the way for a 55-39 victory Feb. 27 to advance to the final round.

Northport junior Sophia Yearwood led the way for the Tigers with a field goal and three triples for 11 points. Teammates Sohpia Bica banked nine, Emma Blanco netted six and Hannah Morawski added 5.

Northport capped their abbreviated season with a 5-2 League I record and 5-3 overall.

by -
0 88

By Steven Zaitz

Have a nice weekend!

That is exactly what the Northport Lady Tigers basketball team did, as they swept two games this past Saturday and Sunday in this breakneck sprint of a season.

At home on Feb. 20, they toyed with a short-handed Connequot squad, beating them at home by a score of 74-14.  On Sunday, they traveled to Sachem North and doused the Flaming Arrows, 72-54. The Lady Tigers are now 4-1 and have two games this week against league powers Walt Whitman and Commack.

As they have for most of this year, Juniors Sophia Bica and Sophia Yearwood led the way. Bica had 27 points against the Arrows and Yearwood added 20, including four 3-pointers. 

The game was close for three quarters. With Northport up by six with five minutes to go in the game, Yearwood hit freshman sensation Kennedy Radziul with a beautiful dribble penetration pass. Yearwood then canned two 3-pointers in a row from opposite elbows. The Tiger lead had now ballooned to 12 with only 3 1/2 minutes to go. It was flame-out for the Arrows.

“It is a great feeling to know that we can all have these moments where we can help seal the win,” said the team-first junior Yearwood.  “As a team we were moving the ball well which helped us get open shots. During practices we really focus on trusting one another and playing as a team helps us play with confidence during games.”

Radziul, who comes from royal Northport basketball bloodlines, had a combined 12 points over the weekend after being sideline in COVID protocol. Coach Richard Castellano was excited to see her finally hit the floor. Against Sachem North, she had five assists, six rebounds and three steals to go along with her six points and showed a great deal of poise and all around court awareness – especially for a freshmen.

“She dominated Junior Varsity last year,” said Castellano. “I coached her mother and her aunt and between those two, they have three Suffolk County Player of the Year trophies, so yeah, I’m happy and excited to have her out there.”

Kim Ruck, Kennedy’s mother and Cami Ruck, her aunt were superstar players in the early 1990s and played in an era when Northport won six straight county championships.

“It’s cool to know that I’m playing in the same gym as my mom and aunt,” Radziul said. “Against Sachem North, I was nervous but really excited and it helped to know that my teammates have been in close games before and I’m glad we were able to step up for the win.”

Two other players who have had a hand in many wins, Emma Blanco and Hannah Morawski were honored before Saturday’s game, as graduating seniors and exemplary leaders.

“Emma and Hannah have had to step up as our team captains during this very unusual season,” said Yearwood. “I am impressed with their level of commitment to the team. They have both worked hard to motivate and encourage us.”

“Through the years, I have been blessed with great leaders and role models,” Castellano said proudly. “Whenever we go to youth basketball camps, these girls are so loved in the community and are revered by the elementary school kids, who all want to become Lady Tigers one day. Emma and Hannah are perfect examples of this.”

In the 60-point win on Saturday, Connequot only had seven players available. The Tigers led 20-2 after the first quarter and the remaining three quarters were the same type of story. Yearwood had 17 points and Bica 12. Freshman guard Brooke Kershow came off the bench to score 10 and Junior forward Alexa Vassallo had nine in the rout.

Section XI has installed an abbreviated playoff system for this season that will crown bi-league champions only. As of press time, the Lady Tigers are battling with Walt Whitman, Sachem North and Commack for one of two playoff spots that are granted to League II. They will combine with the top two teams in League I. Longwood, who the Tigers beat in the Suffolk County Championship last year, Sachem East and Ward Melville are the leading contenders in that group.

Northport girls basketball was dealt a blow to their playoff chances when they lost to Walt Whitman Feb. 23 by a score of 45-32. They were outscored 16-4 in the fourth quarter. They will play Commack Thursday, Feb. 25, which will likely be a ‘do or die’ game with respect to gaining a playoff berth.