Football Preview

By Mark Herrmann. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 18 Sep 1988:

Sachem, customarily big and deep, is the favorite in League I. It has veteran tackle Peter Clark, quarterback John Calabria, linebacker Peter Nunziata and defensive back Andy Cassera . . . The most serious challenge could come from Connetquot, which has experienced quarterback Brian McMurry to go with an imposing line, or Patchogue-Medford, where Reifsnyder took a slumbering program and turned in a winning season. Among his key players are two-way lineman Mark Zumpol and fullback-linebacker Mike Pellerito . . . Floyd is counting on conditioning because it doesn’t have much depth. It does have tailback John Wilkins and wide receiver Glen Combs . . . Longwood‘s spirit has been bolstered by a new school, although its playing field isn’t ready yet. If the young offensive line develops enough to support tailback Ben Alston, the Lions will be a playoff team.

Tailback Matt Haggerty gained 242 yards on 32 carries and teammate Jeff Riggio gained 67 as defending Rutgers Trophy co-champions Ward Melville amassed 330 yards on the ground in its 20-13 win over Longwood in a non-league football game yesterday.

WARD MELVILLE 7 0 6 7 20 LONGWOOD 0 7 0 6 13

WM – Alston 24 pass from White (Sauerbrun kick)

L – Alston 85 punt return (Liotta kick)

WM – Haggerty 3 run (kick blocked)

WM – Riggio 3 run (Sauerbrun kick)

L – Alston 20 run (run failed) FLOYD 0 0 0 0 0 COMMACK 0 0 7 0 7 Sept. 25

Longwood stopped a two-point conversion run with five minutes left to preserve its 20-19 win over Patchogue-Medford. Longwood‘s Ben Alston rushed for 128 yards on 18 carries and Brian Walker had 104 yards on 8 carries. Brian Barnes had 12 assisted tackles.

LONGWOOD 7 6 0 7 20 PATCH-MEDFORD 0 7 6 6 19

L – Alston 5 run (Liotta kick)

L – Barnes 15 run (kick failed)

PM – Mantione 1 run (Burrell kick)

PM – Mantione 1 run (kick failed)

L – Walker 85 run (Liotta kick)

PM – Mantione 1 run (run failed) Oct. 2

Clint Plume recovered a fumble and raced 42 yards for a touchdown on Longwood‘s first series and Floyd went on to a 27-0 win. Longwood‘s Gary Bahnken injured his ribs and was taken to the hospital after Mark Richter’s touchdown with 3:36 left. After the play, both coaches agreed to stop the game. Floyd allowed only 68 yards and recovered three fumbles and had one interception.

FLOYD 7 7 0 13 27 LONGWOOD 0 0 0 0 0

F – Plume 42 fumble recovery (Richter kick)

F – Richter 5 run (Richter kick)

F – Brown 5 run (Richter kick)

F – Richter 22 run (game suspended) Oct. 9

In other Division I games: Longwood held Brentwood to 81 yards of total offense and Scott Schuster returned an interception for a touchdown in a 24-7 victory. Ben Alston had 102 yards rushing and Brian Barnes added 78, with both scoring second-half touchdowns to extend a 10-7 lead

LONGWOOD 3 7 7 7 24 BRENTWOOD 7 0 0 0 7

L – FG Liotta 47

B – Watts 57 pass from Fantauzzi (Fantauzzi kick)

L – Schuster 57 interception return (Liotta kick)

L – Barnes 1 run (Liotta kick)

L – Alston 20 run (Liotta kick) Oct. 16

Chris Lamb rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries to pace Connetquot past Longwood, 30-8. Connetquot gained 325 rushing yards

CONNETQUOT 13 10 0 7 30 LONGWOOD 0 0 8 0 8

C – Lamb 50 run (kick failed)

C – Padurano 10 pass from Dombrowsky (Marcotrigiano kick)

C – Lamb 15 run (Marcotrigiano kick)

C – FG Marcotrigiano 30

L – Byrum 5 run (Ventura pass from Shuster)

C – Braxton 15 run (Marcotrigiano kick) Oct. 23

In League I: Mike Murphy rushed for 184 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns as Sachem edged Longwood, 14-13. Murphy scored on a 68-yard draw play on third-and-18 in the third quarter to tie the game, and his score with six minutes left won the game. Ed Mallon’s interception at the Sachem 30 with a minute left stopped Longwood‘s final drive

LONGWOOD 7 0 6 0 13 SACHEM 0 7 0 7 14

L – Ventura 5 pass from Schusster (Liotta kick)

S – Murphy 68 run (Nentwich kick)

L – Barnes 27 run (kick failed)

S – Murphy 34 run (Nentwich kick) Oct. 30

Scott Schuster capped an 89-yard, 18-play drive in the second quarter with a 1-yard plunge for the only score in Longwood‘s 7-0 win over Smithtown East. Schuster and Brian Barnes, who gained 104 yards on 16 carries, combined for 64 yards on the drive. With 5:13 left in the third quarter, Smithtown East had nine plays from inside the Longwood 10 and failed to score. Defensive tackle Vinny Stewart made two tackles in the series

LONGWOOD 0 7 0 0 7 SMITHTOWN E. 0 0 0 0 0

L – Schuster 1 run (Liotta kick). Nov. 6