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Steven Zaitz

Scene from the 2023 Long Island Fall Festival. Photo by Media Origin

By Steven Zaitz and Michael Scro

The 29th annual Long Island Fall Festival returned to Heckscher Park in Huntington for the Columbus Day weekend. 

Held from Oct. 6 through 9 and hosted by the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Huntington, hundreds flocked to enjoy fall-themed entertainment, vendors from local businesses, live music and an array of rides, food and wine and lively demonstrations for families.

Despite the inclement weather during most of Saturday, Long Islanders were treated to entertainment at the Harry Chapin Stage, a carnival, a variety of food vendors, including a craft beer and wine tent, as well as games and rides for young and old alike.

Performances by the Fat Nicky and the Snacks, Rusty Spur Band, Fleetwood Macked, The Electric Dudes and The Day Trippers  — a Beatles tribute band — headlined the weekend. Many youth and high school-aged acts graced the stage, too, including from the Nassau BOCES Long Island High School for the Arts, Munro Music of East Northport and Laura’s Dance & Fitness Studio of Huntington.

As fall weather settles in, the celebration proves each year to be a highlight for Huntington and Long Island, ushering in the crisp weather and keeping spirits alive and well to kick off the 2023 holiday season.

Michael Campoli celebrates his touchdown with Connor Henigman, No. 50, and Giancarlo Valenti. Photo by Steven Zaitz

By Steven Zaitz

It is difficult to determine which was more a bummer for Huntington High School and its football team this past Saturday — the unrelenting rain that drenched players, fans and guests of its Homecoming festivities, or the beatdown the Blue Devils suffered at the hands of the Northport Tigers.

Tiger running back Michael Campoli rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns as Northport defeated Huntington 30-13, Oct. 7. The Tigers improve to a record of 2-3 as the Blue Devils are still looking for their first win of the season as they drop to 0-5.

Northport’s game plan from the very beginning of the game was obvious — run the ball down the Blue Devils’ throats. The Tigers ran 11 straight plays after receiving the opening kickoff and all of them were on the ground. Campoli ran six times for 76 yards, and he finished the drive with a 9-yard score.

Northport would score again in the second quarter but this time it was the defense that registered the points. Linebacker Ben Pipolo would stop Blue Devil halfback David Djebi in the Huntington end zone for a safety and give the Tigers a 9-0 lead with just over nine minutes remaining in the half.

As the rain became more ferocious, Northport got sloppier with the handling of the ball. The Tigers fumbled twice on their next two possessions and the Devils took advantage of the second turnover. Djebi slipped a tackle and sloshed 38 yards down to the Tiger 1-yard line and quarterback Joey Zink snuck it in to make the score 9-6.

But another 11-play drive by Northport to close the half put them up 16-6. Quarterback Simon Blissett completed his only pass of the afternoon on the march, and it was a big one. He threw a rainbow down the right sideline to his brother Calvin for 28 yards to the 4. Campoli slid into the end zone on the next play.

Two explosive plays, one by each side, highlighted the second half. On the first play of the 4th quarter, Djebi broke four tackles on his way to a 91-yard touchdown run that made the score 23-13 but this was quickly negated by kick returner Luke Loiacono who broke a few tackles of his own while bringing back the ensuing kickoff 89 yards to the house. It was the final scoring of the afternoon.

Northport will attempt to win two games in a row for the first time this year when the team travels to Bellport this weekend. Huntington tries again to get into the win column when it hits the road to Deer Park.

By Steven Zaitz

The Hauppauge-Smithtown girls swimming and diving team, who are the defending New York State champions, defeated the combined forces of Huntington, Harborfields, Walt Whitman and John Glenn high schools last Thursday. The final score was 105-73, and it was Hauppauge-Smithtown’s 19th consecutive victory in Suffolk County swim meets, a streak that dates back to March 25, 2021.

The HASM team set the tone in the very first event, the 200-yard medley relay, as the senior twin sisters and team captains Makayla and Morgan Lee, senior captain Madison Dominger and eighth grader Julia Lucca finished the race in 1:57.92. They were the only quartet to swim this event in less than two minutes. It was the first of an 11-event sweep of non-diving events for the girls who are from Smithtown East and West as well as Hauppauge.

Makayla Lee would go on to win the 200-yard individual medley, and Morgan Lee won the 100-yard butterfly. Sarah Lucca, only 13 years old, was victorious in the 50-yard freestyle, and senior teammate Sofia Burns won the 100-yard freestyle. Makayla would notch another win with Sarah Lucca, Olivia Chiofolo and Grace Bruder in the 200-yard freestyle relay, besting her sister Morgan, who was on the second-place foursome with Burns, junior Mary Schroeder and freshman Avery Wilcox. The margin of victory was barely more than one second.

“As a twin, it is always a competition with Morgan,” Makayla Lee said. “I beat her in that relay, but she is faster than me in other events. We are always pushing each other to be the best we can be.”

The Huntington-based team, which competed as HHWJ and is also known as HESHH (Huntington, Elwood, South Huntington and Harborfields), is now 2-2 in county meets and gave the state champs a push as well. They took the diving event, with Walt Whitman senior Venusmarlu Stewart taking home first place with 196.28 points; Ava Vandor, a sophomore from Harborfields, was second and HASM sophomore Caitlin Fleece finished third.

Between the two teams, there were 26 Suffolk County qualifying times — 21 of which were earned by HASM. The Lee twins, who attend Smithtown High School East, earned five of those. However, Makayla is not satisfied with just Suffolk County qualifiers.

“For me, I did not perform as well as I could, but I’m hoping to improve and qualify for states in our upcoming meets,” she said.

HHWJ got a strong performance in the 200-yard medley relay, finishing second with the foursome of Maria Petkovits, Catherine Muller, Julia Somers and Anna Knutson. Their time of 2:08.20 beat the county-qualifying time by three seconds. 

Sophomore Samantha Williamson snuck in just under the one-minute mark in the 100-yard freestyle to qualify for counties with a time of 59.88. After she was done on the diving board, Vandor along with Williamson, Knutson and Angelina Cuthbertson swam a 1:52.57 in the 200-yard freestyle relay which was good for fourth, earning them the right to go compete at Stony Brook University, where the Suffolk County championships will take place later this fall.

Vandor loves every aspect of competitive swim meets.

“The whole environment of these swim meets is like no other,” Vandor said. “It is truly the best feeling to cheer on your teammates, push each other and race our hardest in the pool. Great teams like Hauppauge-Smithtown drive our competitiveness, and many of us had personal bests at this meet. We did great, and I’m so proud of my teammates.”

HHWJ had another chance to compete, against William Floyd, Oct. 3 (results too late for press time) and HASM will battle the combined forces of Half Hollow Hills and Kings Park Oct. 5.

By Steven Zaitz

A soggy day got even soggier for the Northport Lady Tiger soccer team, as it dropped a 2-0 decision to its top-of-the-table rival and reigning New York State champion Ward Melville this past Saturday.

The Lady Patriots scored one very early and another very late to secure the win and, in between, used a suffocating brand of defense that allowed Northport nary a chance to even sniff a scoring opportunity. This was an especially impressive feat by Ward Melville, considering Northport had obliterated Walt Whitman two days earlier, 7-0.

Lady Pat senior Peyton Costello scored on a penalty kick in the 16th minute of the game, her eighth goal of the year, and freshman Aliyah Leonard knocked in a header off a gorgeous centering pass from Marissa Tonic with 13 minutes remaining for the knockout punch. Leonard was able to get a large piece of not only the ball, but Tiger goalkeeper Kaleigh Howard’s arm, as Howard was rising up to catch Tonic’s curving crosser. Howard never gained control and the ball squirted free and over the goal line.

The Lady Patriot defense did the rest. Fullbacks and sisters Adriana and Ale’ Victoriano were twin terrors on the backline with Sarah Jablonsky, Samantha Ruffini and Tonic at center midfield. The Patriots forced Tiger stars Madison Howard, Jamie Inzerillo and Brooke Heffernan into slippery decisions and often missed connections as Ward Melville goalkeeper Kate Ronzoni had a reasonably easy day at the office.

Northport had outscored its previous five opponents by a combined 21-2. Saturday in Setauket, however, was a different story for the Lady Tigers as they mustered only two shots at Ronzoni’s net. 

For the Patriots, it’s business as usual. Only one team scored against them all season and it was non-league Syosset. Ward Melville won that game anyway 7-2. So far this season, nine other teams have tried and failed to slip one past Ronzoni — including Northport.

“Our team is a mix of such good players from different club teams in Suffolk,” senior captain Tonic said. “Everyone works so well together, and we have such a great defensive shape.”

Ward Melville remains undefeated at 9-0-1 and has used that defensive shape to achieve a goal differential of 32-2 this year. Northport falls to 7-2-2. 

The game was played just hours after historic amounts of rain fell across Long Island and while the rain had tapered off considerably at game time, it was still played under slick conditions. Northport wasn’t using it as an excuse.

“Ward Melville has a very strong defense,” said junior captain and striker Madison Howard, who is Kaleigh’s sister. “I think we came out a little tentatively because there was a lot of hype surrounding this game. But if and when we see them again in the playoffs, we’ll know what to do.”

With their unblemished 8-0 record in Suffolk Division I, Ward Melville has a simple focus — repeat as state champs.

“We have a completely different team now than we had last year,” Costello said. “We are very young but still very hungry to win it all again.”

Northport, also with lofty aspirations, is now a respectable 6-2-1 in the division and currently seeded fifth. The top two teams in the conference will earn a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The victory by Ward Melville was a big step toward that pot of gold, but Northport is not done chasing that rainbow.

“We always try to stay positive,” Madison Howard said. “We will win as many games as we can and see where we end up.”

With opponents including Connetquot and Commack in the coming days, the Lady Tigers hope to crank up the machine again and render this loss a wet and wild one-off. 

Ward Melville intends to keep the good times rolling with upcoming games against Bay Shore, Connetquot and Walt Whitman.

By Steven Zaitz

On the first day of spring in the year 2021, the Northport Lady Tigers lost a field hockey match.

It was a chilly day on the campus of Smithtown High School East as the Lady Bulls and the Lady Tigers would need an overtime session and a shootout to decide a victor.

Smithtown East’s Dani Brady, who is now a junior at the University of Maryland, netted the winner against Northport’s future hall of fame goalkeeper Natalie McKenna and this set off a wild celebration for the Lady Bulls with Brady at the bottom of a raucous pile.

Fast forward two and a half years later to the first day of autumn, 2023, and the Lady Tigers still have not lost a game since that long-ago day in St. James.

Last Friday, senior forward Kenzie Bliven rattled off three goals in a four-minute span of the first quarter to help defeat the combined forces of Bay Shore and Islip by a score of 4-0. It was the seventh win of the year for Northport, who have now won a mind-blowing 62 games in a row. The team is also seeking its third straight New York state championship and fourth straight Long Island championship, as there was no statewide tournament in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Northport besieged Bay Shore/Islip goalkeeper Sabrina Frazer with 23 shots on goal as Bliven, who leads the Lady Tigers with seven goals this year, worked relentlessly at the goalmouth to hammer away at her natural hat trick. Senior Makenzie Maniscalco added a goal in the second half for the Lady Tigers, and freshman sensation Julianna Tietjen had three assists while junior Lily Beamer had one.

Senior Grace Wickard and junior Mariselle Camillone split time in goal for the shutout. Northport has outscored its opponents by a combined 20-1 so far this season despite losing a star player such as McKenna, her sister Olivia McKenna, Emma McLam, Sydney Wotzak, Mackenzie Sweeney, Emma Fabrizio, Mallory Bennett and Julia Cavallo, who are all spread across the country enjoying life as college freshmen. 

In an oddity of the scoreboard, the Lady Tigers have scored either four goals or two goals in all their games this season. But despite the relatively tame output on the scoreboard, Northport has relied on its trademark watertight defense to sustain the winning streak.

Northport put its streak on the line away to the Commack Lady Cougars Wednesday, Sept. 27, when the Lady Tigers went for a 63rd win in a row. The result was too late for press time.

By Steven Zaitz

The Northport Tigers Football team defeated the Smithtown Bulls on Sept. 14 in a rare Thursday afternoon matchup.

In observance of the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, schools throughout Long Island moved up football games to Wednesday and Thursday last week. The short rest was not an issue for the Tigers, as junior quarterback Enrique Hernandez tossed two touchdown passes and senior running back Giancarlo Valenti rushed for 211 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown. 

Tiger junior tailback Christian Campoli, who left the previous game early with an injury, was back in the lineup and it was he who was on the receiving end of both of Hernandez’s scoring throws. Lucas Santangelo rushed for 120 yards for Smithtown East, and senior quarterback Jake Fields was 8 for 17 for 65 yards and had a rushing touchdown. 

The game started off with a bang for the Tigers as Campoli ran a down, out and up on the right sideline and hauled in a floater from Hernandez for a 63-yard touchdown on only the fifth play from scrimmage.

Smithtown East would begin the second quarter with similar explosiveness. Santangelo took a handoff straight up the gut for 66 yards on a 2nd down and 2. 

A great hustle play by Campoli’s brother Michael stopped Santangelo at the 1-yard line, but Fields would tie the game on the very next play with a quarterback sneak. The half would end with the score 7-7.

It would become untied after Northport’s first possession of the third quarter when Hernandez threw a perfect strike to Christian Campoli for a 34-yard touchdown to put Northport up 14-7.

Valenti would put the game away midway through the 4th quarter when he blasted through the middle for a 49-yard touchdown, to make the score 21-7 in favor of the Tigers. 

Northport is 1-1 on the season as Smithtown East falls to 0-2.

By Steven Zaitz

The air was like soup and the astroturf near its melting point, as the Northport Tigers and North Babylon Bulldogs fought a hotly contested battle of attrition to open the football season this past Saturday.

Temperatures soared and tempers flared as momentum swung wildly throughout the course of this sweaty, sticky, hard-hitting mess of a game. There were almost as many players gasping for air, for both teams, as there were empty water bottles strewn about the sidelines.

At the climax, against a gassed group of Tiger defenders, North Babylon junior tailback Jawara Keahey delivered the death blow to the home Tigers with his fifth touchdown of the day — a 33-yard run around right tackle on third down and 13. Keahey, who rushed for a Long Island-best 258 yards on the day, slithered through a small hole at the line of scrimmage, broke a tackle attempt by Tiger defensive back Tommy O’Brien at the 10, and outran three other Northport defenders to score with a little over a minute remaining in the game to win it. The final score was 33-27 as the Bulldogs rang up 368 yards on the ground.

“That run was heartbreaking,” Northport head coach Pat Campbell said. “We had a chance to stuff it at the line of scrimmage, but [Keahey] found a crease, broke it to the sideline and was off to the races.”

O’Brien had a chance to stop Keahey before he scored, but could not.

“I had him and should have wrapped him up and brought him down,” said junior O’Brien, making his first varsity start. “I’m going to learn from this experience, and I know that it won’t happen in the future.”

Also making his first varsity appearance is junior quarterback Enrique Hernandez, who had a double order of unenviable as he is replacing the graduated football and baseball star Owen Johansen, and he had to do it against this snarling Bulldog defense.

“After that first drive, I felt pretty natural and comfortable,” Hernandez said. “It was the most physical game I’ve ever been a part of, and I think we had a good chance to win. We just need to fix a few things, and we’ll be fine.”

Hernandez looked like a seasoned veteran on Northport’s first possession, as he led the Tigers on an 80-yard, 11-play touchdown drive that was capped off by an 8-yard dash up the middle by senior Giancarlo Valenti. Senior running back Michael Campoli juiced up an already frenzied crowd with a 40-yard run on the second play from scrimmage. Hernandez then got the Tigers into the red zone with an 11-yard keeper. Five plays later, Northport led 6-0.

The Bulldogs bit back on their second possession. North Babylon quarterback Chris Stumpf completed a pass to Keahey for 29 yards midway through the second quarter and shortly thereafter, Keahey was doing the first of his five touchdown celebrations after he waltzed up the middle virtually untouched. It made the score 7-6 in favor of the Bulldogs, and it marked the first of three lead changes on the day.

“North Babylon is a very senior-heavy team, and they like to run it down your throat,” Campbell said. “We got a taste of it today with their guys up front, and obviously their running back [Keahey] had a special kind of day.”

After an exchange of punts, Northport took advantage of a short field and took back the lead right before halftime. Junior Christian Campoli, Michael’s brother, caught a 6-yard touchdown pass at the front-right pylon to give the Tigers the lead, 13-7, on the last play of the first half.

“Enrique threw me a perfect ball with a lot of pressure in his face,” said Christian Campoli, who would later leave the game with a painful leg cramp. “He got hit hard and still was able to get the ball to me.”

Hernandez only completed three passes for 48 yards, but Campbell was very pleased with his performance.

“Enrique did a great job,” Campbell said. “He went toe-to-toe with that defense in a tough environment and took a couple of big hits. But he’s a cool cat, and he kept his composure. I believe that he is only going to get better.”

But would it be enough on this day? The 5-foot-7-inch, 150-pound Keahey would provide the answer.

He ripped off 56 yards on three carries to start the third quarter and finished the 10-play drive with a 1-yard plunge off right tackle to swing the lead back to the Bulldogs at 14-13. North Babylon forced a punt, and Keahey got right back at it. He galloped 47 yards to cap a two-play drive and put North Babylon up by eight — a double-barreled assault on the Northport defense to start the half and wrest control of the game.

But the Tigers were still a touchdown and a two-point conversion from tying the game after Michael Campoli, his brother Christian now ruled out of the game, blocked the extra point.

“I didn’t know how bad his injury was,” Michael said of his younger brother. “But I was playing angry — for him. I know what he means to this team, so I did everything I could to keep us in the game.”

After Valenti electrified the crowd with a 44-yard touchdown run, slicing through the middle of the tiring Bulldog defense for his second score of the day, Northport trailed by two. Campbell called Michael Campoli’s number to try and tie the score.

On a play called “wing sweep,” Michael Campoli followed right guard Connor Henigman and left guard Connor Farrington and lunged the ball over the goal line just as his knee hit the turf. The game was tied with just over three minutes to go.

“I told the guys in the huddle that there was no way they were going to stop me,” Campoli said. “And I was right. It was great blocking by the big guys up front, both of the Connors, and I just did the rest.”

Campoli finished the game with 91 yards rushing on 12 carries.

“He’s a warrior,” Campbell said. “He’s a quiet kid but he plays with a nasty streak.”

But North Babylon has competitors, too. The senior Stumpf picked a great time to complete his second pass of the day when he hit his tight end Jack Montecalvo on a bootleg for 27 yards to the Tiger 30. After a penalty, Northport had a chance to stop the Bulldogs on 3rd and 13 with a minute to go in the game and was likely headed to overtime if Northport could prevent a North Babylon first down. 

Keahey did them one better. He took the ball from Stumpf for the final time, made a subtle juke at the line of scrimmage and raced down the right sideline into the endzone — in his wake, leaving five exhausted Tiger defenders sprawled out like felled bowling pins. It was the final strike of the afternoon and, fittingly, it was delivered by Keahey.

“We got a little pinched in the middle, and he busted it outside,” Campbell said. “We have a lot of new guys on defense, and I’m thinking as the season goes along we’re going to learn on the job and get better. We have to.”

Northport will not have long to wait to show if they have taken lessons out of this one, as they play a rare Thursday afternoon game, Sept. 14, at home against Smithtown East. 

By Steven Zaitz

The Greenlawn Fire Department’s Fair, held every Labor Day weekend, is New York state’s longest-running fireman’s fair. It has run since the very early part of the 20th century.

The 2023 Greenlawn Fireman’s Fair grand marshal for the parade was coach George Kouroutis, who saved the life of a youth soccer player this past August. Kouroutis used an automated external defibrillator, restoring the young man’s heart rhythm and saving his life.

The fair ran for four days from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 and featured raffles, face-painting, a giant slide and food and drink for both young and old alike.

Prizes that raffled off included a big screen television set, a gas grill, sided of high-quality beef. The grand prize, which was awarded on Sunday evening, was $10,000 in cash.

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Northport celebrates winning its season opener against Comsewogue. All photos by Steven Zaitz

By Steven Zaitz

Students across Long Island squeezed one last day out of summer vacation Tuesday, Sept. 5, but the Northport Tiger boys volleyball team was certainly open for business.

The Tigers traveled to Port Jefferson Station and vanquished the Comsewogue Warriors in three straight games, barely breaking a sweat. The scores were 25-17, 25-17 and a final dominating game of 25-8 to close out the match.

It marked the debut of new head coach, Liz Capra — Northport Class of 2000, former lady Tiger volleyball star and University of Delaware graduate. She was the girls junior varsity coach last year and has now taken over from the departed Amanda DiPietro, who had piloted the team since 2008.

The Tigers dominated the match from wire to wire as senior middle hitters Brendan Fenlon and Peter Kucza imposed their size over the smaller front line of Comsewogue. Fenlon had eight kills and Kucza had six to go along with his seven blocks at the net. Setter Dylan Sofarelli had an eye-popping 23 assists as well as 6 digs.

“It felt like nobody could stop us out there tonight,” said Sofarelli. “There is no better feeling than that, and it was awesome.”

Capra was pleased about the way  the way the Tigers played as a team, considering that the season is in its infancy.

“It was a total team effort tonight,” Capra said. “We served very well, got the ball deep, and that kept them from easily setting up their offense.”

The Tigers took advantage by taking shallow returns and bombing away from every angle, spiking the ball almost at will against the outgunned Warriors.

Above, middle hitter Peter Kucza with one of his six kills. Photo by Steven Zaitz

“It’s a great way to kick off the year,” Kucza said. “Coach Capra had us prepared, she’s very knowledgeable about the game. We really had a good plan and once we started to get warmed up, we played really well.”

Getting warmed up was not exactly difficult for either team on this day, as it was 90 degrees outside at the start of the match and probably an extra 10 degrees inside the Comsewogue gym. In fact, the volleyball itself had to be switched out several times due to moisture accumulation and the floor had to be mopped frequently between points. None of these factors slowed down Northport.

“Coach DiPietro did such an amazing job of building a strong foundation for this program,” said Capra, who as a middle hitter won two Long Island championships and three league championships as a Lady Tiger. “It’s a privilege to get the opportunity to carry on the excellence of Northport volleyball as a former player to now, 23 years later, as a coach. It feels great to start off with this win.”

If Tuesday’s match result is any indication, it will be the first of many for Capra. When asked if she’s ready for perhaps a 15-year run of her own as coach, she displayed that she has already mastered yet another aspect of coaching — handling the media.

“We got to take them one match at a time,” she said.

That next match will be at West Babylon Sept. 7. Capra will make her home debut as coach against Patchogue-Medford on Sept. 13.

By Steven Zaitz

Country came to Commack.

Nathan Dean & The Damn Band moseyed onto the Hoyt Farm concert stage Saturday night, Aug. 26, and thrilled the crowd of about 300.

Playing mostly original material as well as crowd-pleasing covers from Shania Twain and Tracy Chapman, the foursome headed by Dean on lead vocals/guitar had the crowd, young and old, up on their feet and dancing in front of the stage for much of the evening.

Founded in Arizona in 2005, Dean’s group plays well over 200 shows a year and tours across the country. The quartet has shared the stage with artists such Dylan Scott, LOCASH, Big & Rich, Cody Johnson, Randy Rogers Band, Diamond Rio and Eric Church. The Dean band was recently nominated for three Josie awards for entertainer, artist and group of the year. The Josie Music Awards honors excellence and outstanding talents and creativity across the independent music industry.

In the month of August alone, the band has graced stages in places like Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Chicago, and Grand Junction, Colorado. The group features Dean, Jason Judd (lead guitar and backup vocals), Bill Bogan (drums and backup vocals) and Chris Duke (bass guitar).

The concert was the finale of the Hoyt Farm summer concert series for 2023.