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Smithtown East

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The Newfield Wolverines charge the field. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East quarterback Kevin Melore hands off to senior running back Dean Shaffer in the Bulls season opener on the road against Newfield Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East’s Kevin Melore dumps a screen pass over the middle in their Div. II season opener against Newfield Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Newfield sophomore Eric Dougherty breaks to the outside in the Wolverines season opening win against Smithtown East Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Newfield running back Devin Aviles eludes a would be tackler in the Wolverines season opening win against Smithtown East Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Maxwell Martin takes off with a keeper. Photo by Bill Landon
Newfield quarterback Maxwell Martin takes off with a keeper. Photo by Bill Landon
Newfield senior quarterback Maxwell Martin runs to avoid Smithtown East defensive back Joe Saccone in the Wolverine’s season opener against Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East QB Kevin Melore passes to Dean Shaffer in the Bull’s season opener on the road against Newfield Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East’s Kevin Melore fires over the middle in their Division II opener against Newfield Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Newfield senior Hunter Hughes #22 looks to evade Smithtown East’s Nick Karika in the Wolverines season opener against Smithtown East Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Newfield senior Hunter Hughes #22 breaks free and runs for extra yardage in the Wolverine's season opener against Smithtown East Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Newfield sophomore Eric Dougherty breaks free in the Wolverines season opening win against Smithtown East Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Newfield running back Devin Aviles #4 finds a hole in the Wolverines season opening win against Smithtown East Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior running back hits Dean Shaffer hits a hole in the Bull’s season opener on the road against Newfield Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East freshman running back Dean Shaffer hits a hole in the Bull’s season opener on the road against Newfield Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior running back hits Dean Shaffer hits a hole in the Bull’s season opener on the road against Newfield Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior Anthony Weidtman makes the reception in the Bull’s season opener on the road against Newfield Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior Anthony Weidtman runs to the outside avoiding a Newfield defender in the Bull’s season opener on the road against Newfield Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior Anthony Weidtman makes the reception in the Bull’s season opener on the road against Newfield Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Newfield's kickline team performs during the game. Photo by Bill Landon
Newfield's kickline team performs during the game. Photo by Bill Landon
Newfield's kickline team performs during the game. Photo by Bill Landon
Newfield’s band plays from the sideline in the Wolverines season opening win against Smithtown East Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon
Newfield’s band plays from the sideline in the Wolverines season opening win against Smithtown East Sept. 13. Photo by Bill Landon

Newfield’s offense struggled early on being held scoreless in the first half in its Division II season opener against visiting Smithtown East Sept. 13. The Wolverines were able to gain traction in the second half, and it was wide receiver Hunter Hughes’ reception from quarterback Maxwell Martin on short yardage to tie the game on the final play of regulation.

After a scoreless first overtime period Martin found Hughes again from 5 yards out when the senior made the catch and again found the end zone for the game winner.

Martin threw for 106 yards on 15 attempts and Eric Dougherty rushed for 46 yards on 7 carries.

The foot of Smithtown East senior Anthony Weidtman had field goals 45, 43 and 42 yards along with 2 points after scores for 11 points.

The Wolverines will look to build on their momentum when they hit the road Sept. 21 against Bellport. Game time is 2 p.m. Smithtown East is also back in action Sept. 21 when they travel to Deer Park for a 1:30 start.

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Smithtown East sophomore Bridget Campanelli makes the play at 1st in a Suffolk class AA quarterfinal on the road against West Islip May 22. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East’s Courtney Hohenberger a senior in her 5th year on varsity from behind the plate in a Suffolk class AA quarterfinal on the road against West Islip May 22. Photo by Bill Landon
Courtney Hohenberger a Smithtown East senior and 5 year varsity player keeps the ball out front in a Suffolk class AA quarterfinal on the road against West Islip May 22. Photo by Bill Landon
Courtney Hohenberger a Smithtown East senior a five year varsity player smacks the ball straight away in a Suffolk class AA quarterfinal against West Islip May 22. Photo by Bill Landon
Hanna Brozyna a senior at Smithtown East drills the ball against West Islip in a quarterfinal double elimination game May 22. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior pitcher Marina Amicizia easily grabs the infield pop-up for Smithtown East in a class AA quarterfinal on the road against West Islip May 22. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior Marina Amicizia smacks a grounder for Smithtown East in a class AA quarterfinal on the road against West Islip May 22. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East conference on the mound May 22. Photo by Bill Landon
Marina Amicizia a senior throws the runner out at first for Smithtown East in a class AA quarterfinal on the road against West Islip May 22. Photo by Bill Landon
Hanna Brozyna a senior at Smithtown East tracks down a fly ball against West Islip in a quarterfinal double elimination game May 22. Photo by Bill Landon
A fast ball from Smithtown East senior Marina Amicizia a four year varsity player in a class AA quarterfinal round against West Islip May 22. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East junior Sammi Swenson a 4 year varsity player easily throws the runner out at first against West Islip May 22nd. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East junior Sammi Swenson a 4 year varsity player hits a dribbler down the 3rd base line against West Islip May 22nd. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East junior Sammi Swenson slides safely home for a 2-0 lead in the opening inning on the road against West Islip May 22nd. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East’s Savannah Coffelt with a deep shot to centerfield in a class AA quarterfinal on the road against West Islip May 22nd. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East junior Tori Hussey hits one deep in a class AA quarterfinal on the road against West Islip May 22nd. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior Savannah Coffelt grabs the pop-up in foul territory against West Islip May 22nd. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior Savannah Coffelt in her 5th season on varsity smacks one to left field in a class AA quarterfinal on the road against West Islip May 22nd. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior Savannah Coffelt in her 5th season on varsity makes the play against West Islip May 22nd. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior Savannah Coffelt throws to 1st against West Islip in a Suffolk class AA playoff game May 22nd. Photo by Bill Landon

Smithtown East’s softball team broke out to a two-run lead in the top of the first inning and West Islip answered back in the bottom of the inning in a Suffolk Class AA quarterfinal round May 22, but from there the Bulls bats went silent. West Islip crept ahead scoring a run in the third, fourth and sixth inning to win the game 5-2. In double elimination play the Bulls, the No. 5 seed, went to the loser bracket where they hosted No. 11 seed Lindenhurst the following day in a must win game to stay alive in the postseason.

The Bulls won out against Lindenhurst, and will face Bellport May 25 to see if they will move on in the bracket May 25 with start at 2 p.m.

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Smithtown East junior Tori Hussey hits a fly ball in a home game against North Babylon May 14. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior Savannah Coffelt, a five year varsity player handles a bunt and fires to first base in a home game against North Babylon May 14. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East junior Sammi Swenson drills one deep against North Babylon at home May 14. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East junior Sammi Swenson hits a long ball against North Babylon at home May 14. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East junior Sammi Swenson tosses the ball to second base for the out against visiting North Babylon May 14. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior Hanna Brozyna, a 5 year varsity player throws in from outfield in a home game against North Babylon May 14. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior Hanna Brozyna makes the catch against North Babylon at home May 14. Photo by Bill Landon
Freshman outfielder Kayleigh Makarick makes the play for the Bulls in a home game against North Babylon. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East sophomore Jackie Pedley makes the play for the out against visiting North Babylon May 14. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East junior Sammi Swenson is greeted at the plate after a home run against visiting North Babylon May 14. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior Hanna Brozyna, a 5 year varsity player makes the catch in a home game against North Babylon May 14. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East junior Caitlin Wilkinson with a big hit against visiting North Babylon May 14. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East’s Caitlin Wilkinson fouls one off to stay alive against visiting North Babylon May 14. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior Brianna Nelson unloads from the circle against visiting North Babylon May 14. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior shortstop Ashley DeGiorgio fires to 1st base in a home game against North Babylon May 14. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior shortstop Ashley DeGiorgio grabs the infield grounder against North Babylon May 14. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior shortstop Ashley DeGiorgio drives in a run against North Babylon May 14. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior shortstop Ashley DeGiorgio turns the double play at home against North Babylon May 14. Photo by Bill Landon

Smithtown East managed a one-run lead after the opening inning, but the North Babylon bats came alive in the top of the second, scoring three and from there the Bulls’ bats went silent. North Babylon plated two in the top of the fifth as Smithtown East scored a run in the bottom of the second, but it was too little too late as the Bull’s fell 6-3 in a home game May 14.

The bright spot for the Bulls was Sammi Swenson, who ripped a homer over the centerfield fence driving in a run. With the win North Babylon stays atop the League III leaderboard with West Islip in second place and at 11-4 the Bulls are third, two games back.

Smithtown East plays its final game of the regular season May 16 where they’ll host Newfield before they ready their bats for postseason play. Game time is set for 4 p.m.

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Smithtown East junior forward Katie Bigliani lays up for the score Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue sophomore forward Annalise Russo fights for a rebound Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East eighth-grader Ava Mueller passes inside for an assist Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East junior guard Brianna Durland drives to the basket Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East junior Brianna Durland scores two of her team high 12 points Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue eighth-grader Danielle McGuire pushes the ball up court Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue senior guard Julianna Watson lets a three pointer fly Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue senior guard Julianna Watson shoots Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue senior guard Julianna Watson drives the baseline Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East junior Brianna Durland shoots and scores another two of her team high 12 points Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue’s Samantha Andresen lets a three pointer fly Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue senior guard Julianna Watson shoots for three Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior guard Katie Illari scores from long range Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior forward Kayla Syrbe battles down low Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East sophomore guard Paige Doherty drives drains a three pointer Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue sophomore forward Samantha Andresen sets up the play Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue sophomore forward Samantha Andresen grabs a rebound guarded by Smithtown East junior Katie Bigliani Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue sophomore forward Annalise Russo battles in the paint Jan. 31. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

The Comsewogue Warriors girls basketball team came out strong for the first three quarters Jan. 31, but visiting Smithtown East Bulls put their foot on the gas in the final 8 minutes of play outscoring Comsewogue, 19 to 13, to snatch a 40-33 victory.

Smithtown East junior Brianna Durland led the Bulls in scoring with 12 points. She was followed by junior Katie Bigliani and sophomore Katie Illari who banked seven each.

On the Comsewogue side, sophomores Samantha Andresen, Annalise Russo and eighth-grader Danielle McGuire all notched seven points apiece.

With the win, Smithtown East improves to 6-7 in league with three games remaining before the postseason. The Bulls are set to take on the undefeated North Babylon Feb. 5 at 5:45 p.m.

The loss drops Comsewogue to 3-10 in league with three games remaining in the regular season, the last game of which is on the road against Huntington Feb. 7. Tipoff is at 5:45 p.m.

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Wolverines face top-seeded Smithtown East in the out bracket on the road May 15 at 4 p.m.

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Bobby Vath fields a bunt and gets the throw to first in time for an out. Photo by Bill Landon
Left fielder Chandler Giovinco smacks the ball deep. Photo by Bill Landon
Ryan Wappaus grabs the ball for a Connetquot out at first base. Photo by Bill Landon
Brandon Baez grabs a strike behind the plate. Photo by Bill Landon
Kyle Johnson grabs a throw from catcher Brandon Baez for a pickoff at second base. Photo by Bill Landon
Bobby Vath throws a heater from the mound. Photo by Bill Landon
Third baseman Dylan Johnson waits at the bag. Photo by Bill Landon
Short stop Kyle Johnson tosses the ball to first. Photo by Bill Landon
Dom Spinelli hits a grounder. Photo by Bill Landon
Center fielder Mike Manzolillo gets under a high flying ball for an out that retires the side. Photo by Bill Landon
Kyle Johnson makes contact at home plate. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Although the double-elimination game didn’t go as planned, Bobby Vath got by with a little help from his friends.

The first-inning showing was all visiting Connetquot needed to get past Newfield, 3-0, in the first round of baseball playoffs May 14. With a runner in scoring position a Vath pitch was drilled deep to left field for a ground-rule double and a 1-0 lead. Three pitches later, a passed ball at the plate put Connetquot ahead 2-0.

“I went back into the dugout after the top of the first, and they were right there ready to pick me up,” the senior said of his teammates. “So I was ready to go back out there in the second and fight for my team.”

Newfield was unable to answer in bottom of the inning, and unfortunately for Vath, an RBI-single gave the Thunderbirds an insurance run in the top of the second.

Newfield was able to get the bat on the ball after that, but when the Wolverines did get on base, Connetquot’s defense answered the call to keep them there.

Vath found his rhythm in the third, and despite Connetquot putting two runners on base in the top of the sixth, the senior didn’t give up a run the rest of the way. He struck out the next two batters in that inning to get out of the jam.

“He settled down after that first inning and started throwing outs, working off his fastball and had good command of the game,” Newfield head coach Eric Joyner said. “That’s just vintage Vath — he’s a great competitor.”

Newfield faces an unexpected opponent Tuesday, May 15, after top-seeded Smithtown East was upset by No. 17 Bay Shore, 7-4.

“Our approach has to be the same — come out of the gate hot, protect the baseball and throw strikes,” Joyner said. “We’ll have to execute a little better offensively tomorrow than we did today.”

Despite Newfield being the No. 8 seed, Vath said to him and his Wolverines, it doesn’t matter what seed they are, or what number they’re facing.

“We’ll definitely get the scouting reports from the other coaches who’ve played [Smithtown East], because that helped us in this game too, but their number doesn’t scare us,” Vath said. “We’ll go in there with the mentality that if the 17thseed beat the No. 1 seed, anybody can beat anyone on any given day.”

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Marc Barbiglia rips the ball to right center field. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Marc Barbiglia is used to giving Smithtown East fans something to cheer about.

On Tuesday, the senior’s bat was the difference maker. Barbiglia belted a two-run single to right center with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning to help the Bulls to a 7-5 road win over Walt Whitman. 

Winning pitcher Tyler Loft walks off the field after striking out three. Photo by Bill Landon

Tyler Loft, who earned the win, took over on the mound in the bottom of the sixth, allowing no runs on no hits, striking out three and walking none.

“Whitman’s a very good team — they’ve got very good pitching, they played well, they battled, but we just came out on top,” said Barbiglia, who leads his team in RBIs (14) and is batting a .415 on 41 at bats. “We just wanted to play strong defense, stay behind the pitcher — we know he’s got great stuff — we stayed positive out there, kept the ball in front for easy plays.”

Loft said his team was in similar situations through two close wins over Half Hollow Hills East (7-6 and 8-7) back in April. He said he knew his game was all mental.

“I stayed confident, believed in my pitches,” Loft said. “I felt great out there today. I was hitting my spots [with] whatever the catcher was setting up — it was one of those days.”

Smithtown East let a three-run lead slip away when Walt Whitman scored in the bottom of the fourth, and the Bulls came out scoreless in the top of the fifth still leading 3-1.

Michael Ciminiello dives into third base safely. Photo by Bill Landon

The Bulls gave up four more runs before head coach Ken Klee summoned Nicholas Harvey to take over on the mound with one out. He walked his first batter, working with his twin brother Justin his battery mate, but the pair was just warming up. Nicholas Harvey struck out the next batter for the second out, and Justin Harvey fired the ball to second base in time for the Walt Whitman runner to be tagged out to end the inning down 5-3.

Walt Whitman gave the Bulls a gift in the top of the sixth when a passed ball at the plate helped sophomore Michael Ciminiello score from third to make it a one-run game, 5-4.

“[Whatever the record is you] go in and play hard — you can’t take any team lightly,” Ciminiello said. “You go out there, do [your] best and keep playing the game.”

Matthew Weirtheim takes a cut. Photo by Bill Landon

With the 7-5 win Smithtown East improves to 14-1, but Klee said the goal is much bigger than that.

“We need to get better — that sounds like it’s nitpicking, but we want to be the best team,” the coach said. “But obviously the last couple of innings we showed grit to come back again for the second day in a row. It’s certainly a credit to the kids.”

Especially Barbiglia, who hit big for the second day in a row. He went 2-for-3 and scored the game-tying run in the sixth inning in a 3-2 win over Bay Shore April 30.

“Mark got that big hit that’s two days in a row — he’s the guy we know is going to come through in a situation like that,” Klee said.

The senior’s bat just keeps on cracking, and the crowd continues to supply some 
additional noise.

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Smithtown East's Alexandra Nicholson battles between Huntington defenders. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

There were threes all over the place Monday night, and just like the three “c’s” in Katie Seccafico’s last name, it seemed the senior was calling for them.

Huntington’s Katie Seccafico shoots. Photo by Bill Landon

Seccafico banked three triples on her way to a game-high 13 points in Huntington’s 45-37 League III win over Smithtown East Jan. 8. She had eight assists and four steals to go along with it.

“We spent a lot of time preparing for the face guard,” Seccafico said. “We had good communication on defense and that really helped us dropping back, letting everyone know where we are on the court.”

The guard scored her first 3-pointer to cap off a 17-0 Blue Devils run to open the first quarter, and added another by the halftime break. Senior Alexandra Heuwetter nailed two of her own to help Huntington to a 26-14 lead.

“At first, it’s not what we expected we thought,” Heuwetter said. “We thought they would face guard us, but they didn’t, and that gave us a lot of open shots.”

Smithtown East senior point guard Ceili Williams (13 points) also made her presence known, drawing fouls while driving to the basket and going 6-for-7 from the free-throw line.

Even with her team making shot after shot to extend the advantage, as Huntington outscored Smithtown East 13-9 in the third, sophomore forward Riva Bergman said she was impressed with her team’s defensive effort.

Huntington’s Alexandra Heuwetter scores on a layup. Photo by Bill Landon

“I think we’re ready for any challenge,” she said. “We slowed the tempo, we ran our plays and we were able to knock down shots.”

Huntington senior Nicole Leslie, who had not seen action early in the season due to injury, was at full strength in the second half and battled in the paint to lead her team with six points in the third. She finished the game with 12 rebounds.

The Bulls had their work cut out for them in the final eight minutes of play, trailing by 16, but refused to go quietly. Freshman Paige Doherty drained a three to make it a 12- point game, and Williams added her own to draw within nine points in regulation, but it was as close as Smithtown East would come.

“They’re big, they’re athletic, they’re strong, but I just told them I’m very proud of how the battled back — they didn’t hang their heads and give up at 17-0,” Smithtown East head coach Tom Vulin said. “We drew within nine points late, and if you get that next basket it’s a six or seven-point game and then you can do something.”

The seniors led the way for the Blue Devils, which move to 2-2 on the season to be even with Smithtown East, with Leslie and Heuwetter following close behind Seccafico with 11 points apiece. Huntington head coach Michael Kaplan has enjoyed seeing his team at full strength.

“Earlier in the year we had some injuries and sicknesses, so it was hard for us to practice at full strength, but we’re finally healthy,” he said. “We’re a young team considering we only have three seniors, and it helped that we shot well early on, but our three seniors really stepped up today — that really helped us.”

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Bulls come from behind in crosstown rival win

Smithtown West’s Chris Crespo leaps for a layup. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Defense was the difference-maker in a game of crosstown rivals Jan. 3.

Smithtown West held host Smithtown East to just 17 points through the first 16 minutes of play, and outscored the Bulls 31-14 in the second half to nab a 56-31 League II win.

“We always play hard — we’ve held our opponents to the least points in the county per game for the last two years,” said Smithtown West point guard Chris Crespo. “We play defense, and that’s how we win games.”

Smithtown West’s Michael Gannon scored a game-high 26 points. Photo by Bill Landon

Smithtown West’s Michael Gannon sparked the offense midway through the third quarter, draining his third 3-pointer of the game to put his team out front 32-18. Smithtown East struggled to contain the big man in the paint, where Crespo would consistently feed the 6-foot, 6-inch power forward, who battled his way to the rim time and time again.

“In this league you can’t sleep on any team though,” Gannon said despite his effort. “Anyone has a good shot at winning no matter who you play.”

The Crespo-Gannon combination was too much for East to contain, and Gannon banked 10 of his game-high 26 points in the final eight minutes. Crespo finished with 11 points.

Smithtown West head coach Mike Agostino wasn’t surprised at some points of the contest, saying he’s come to expect great things from Crespo and Gannon.

“Our point guard Chris [Crespo] is pretty good at getting the ball to the open player,” Agostino said. “He can find people, and he found Michael today and he was making shots.”

He said he thought the end results wasn’t indicative though of what his team is really made of.

“They’re very good, and they make you uncomfortable defensively — they throw you out of rhythm,” Agostino said. “We haven’t practiced for two days, and mentally you’re not out of rhythm, but physically you are, because you have to shoot every day.”

Smithtown East’s Chris Crespo guards against East’s Joe Neto. Photo by Bill Landon

Crespo still thought his challengers fought hard, saying he wasn’t surprised by the Bulls’ caliber of play, as both teams grew up together and know each other well.

“We know a lot of these guys, so you know what you’re getting, but when we play North Babylon or Copiague, it’s coach Agostino and coach [John] Tampori who do a fantastic job of prepping us before the game,” Crespo said. “[At]practice, they show us what to expect.”

Smithtown East head coach Keith Reyling said his team’s performance was not what he’d hoped it’d be for this point in the season.  Atop the scoring chart was James Peters with nine points and John Cawley with six.

“We don’t ever expect to get out-worked, and we were severely out-worked by the other team tonight,” he said. “That’s uncharacteristic of us. We’re usually a hard-working, blue collar type of team, so it was disappointing to see that they worked so much harder than we did.”

Smithtown East will look to redeem the loss when the Bulls hit the road to face Huntington Jan. 5 at 5:45 p.m. Smithtown West is scheduled to be back in action on its home court today, Jan. 4. A 4 p.m. tip-off time is scheduled.

“We play North Babylon on Thursday, so we have one day to prepare,” Gannon said. “We’ll practice hard and go out and play hard.”

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Smithtown East's Joe Neto scored five 3-pointers in a win over Centereach. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Smithtown East senior Joe Neto has a sweet outside shot.

The guard finished with five 3-pointers and a commanding 19 points to lead the Bulls over the visiting Centereach Cougars in a 54-36 League III opener Dec. 19.

Alex Zampieron goes up under the basket. Photo by Bill Landon

The Cougars were able to pull as close as within five points late in the fourth quarter, but a 14-9 fourth quarter sealed the deal.

“They were putting a little more pressure on me, forcing the ball out of my hands, but in the second half our spacing was great, our pace was great and everyone was moving the ball really well,” Neto said. “We found the open guy — we made a bunch of open shots and we made our layups.”

With 5:25 left in the first half, Neto hit back-to-back triples to put his team out front 21-7. Centereach called timeout, and made a defensive adjustment out of the huddle that helped the Cougars hold Smithtown East scoreless until the final second before the break, when Neto launched his second nearly half-court shot of the game for his fourth 3-pointer to that point. Smithtown East held a 10-point advantage, 24-14, heading into the locker room.

Centereach head coach Ed Miller said the guarded effort wasn’t what he expected.

“We actually just kind of woke up and started playing the defense we should have been playing,” Miller said. “We made a couple of adjustments where we should have been, positionwise, and the kids followed through on it.”

Centereach’s Chris Witherspoon leaps for a layup. Photo by Bill Landon

Three minutes into the third quarter Centereach senior Chris Witherspoon hit a field goal and a pair of treys to close the gap to six points. Smithtown East retook to the court following an immediate timeout call, and with a different offensive look. Then 6-foot, 3-inch senior Alex Zampieron got the call, grabbing low passes and battling in the paint for each point. When he didn’t score, he drew a foul and made his time at the charity stripe count. He finished with a team-high seven points in the third to Witherspoon’s eight.

“When he got the ball he was making strong moves, and finishing,” said Smithtown East head coach Keith Reyling. “It wasn’t pretty, so even if we don’t play our best game we can still be successful. Sometimes
we don’t play the game like we practiced, and we go off script a little bit and that’s when things get away from us.”

Smithtown East opened the final quarter with a 13-point lead and again Neto swished his final 3-pointer of the game. Zampieron followed Neto with nine points in the win, and junior Chris Goria tacked on six.

Witherspoon topped Centereach’s scoring chart with 16 points. Next in line was sophomore Matt Robbert with five.

Centereach hosts North Babylon today, Dec. 21, at 4 p.m.

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Smithtown East's Allie Brady spikes the ball over Patchogue-Medford defenders reaching for the block. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East’s Brooke Berroyer smacks down one of her 11 kill shots. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

No. 3 Smithtown East’s girls volleyball team breezed through the opening round of the Class AA playoffs Oct. 30, taking down No. 14 Patchogue-Medford in three sets 25-13, 25-16, 25-13.

Senior outside hitter Brooke Berroyer, who had 11 kills and was strong from the service line, said she was surprised by what the Raiders brought to the court.

“They were better than I was expecting them to be — they had really good defense, their block are pretty big, but I think our defense played really well today,” she said. “Our setter, [senior Marissa Oliveri, who had 35 assists], was moving the ball around today, we had a lot of different hitters today, we were all hitting very effectively.”

Senior middle Steph Berdon went on serve streak with Berroyer to put the Bulls out front 10-4 in the opening set, forcing Pat-Med to call the first timeout of the afternoon. The break didn’t help the Raiders though, as Smithtown East surged ahead 21-11 as the visitors called for another pause.

Smithtown East’s Marissa Oliveri sets up a play. Photo by Bill Landon

Berroyer picked up where she left off, gaining more Bulls points from the service line until the score was 9-5. Junior outside hitter Katy Curran slammed a kill shot from high above the net before Pat-Med asked for another timeout.

The Raiders were able to keep pace from there, trailing by four points until the Bulls stepped on the gas and broke out to a 23-15 advantage.

Senior outside hitter Allie Brady also noted Patchogue-Medford’s defense despite the score.

“Their defense was amazing, it was tough to get the ball to hit the floor,” she said. “We had good communication and trust in each other and that built confidence.”

Oliveri continued to help set up plays as Smithtown East jumped out to an 8-1 advantage in the third, but pointed to her teammates, who she said lightened her load.

“I thought our passing was amazing — they were making my job easier, it easier for the hitters to get their swings on every ball,” she said. “They fought hard, and we had to step up our game and push through.”

Smithtown East’s Felicity Hoffert, who tallied 10 kills, tries to put the ball past a Raiders block. Photo by Bill Landon

With the help of junior right side hitter Felicity Hoffert, who finished with 10 kills, the Bulls edged ahead 19-11 before closing out the set.

Smithtown East has now won its last five games, and head coach George Alamia said he never doubted what his team is capable of, especially with many of his athletes prior experience in the postseason.

“It’s a playoff game; it’s a mentality, and we had that tonight,” he said. “We’ve been here before — a lot of these kids have been in long playoff runs — so they know that they can’t let up.”

Smithtown East is back in action Nov. 1 hosting No. 6 Ward Melville at 5 p.m.

“We’re pretty versatile with our offense — our top four hitters were right around each other 10 or 11 kills, not one person dominated our play,” Alamia said. “We’ll challenge them to get better in certain areas but our ball control is great, we pulled away with our defense in this game and that gives us a chance to win any round.”

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