When the boys lacrosse season began, there were more than a few observers who expected
Ward Melville (East Setauket)'s game at West Islip to be a preview of the Section 11 final at the least – and perhaps the first step in the coronation of the next state Class A champion.
Now, though, Wednesday shapes up an unexpected battle for survival for Ward Melville.
The Patriots will be short six players who will be midway through their five-game suspension for violating the school’s code of conduct. Nine other players received one-game suspensions for an alcohol infraction at an April 16 party that left them watching from the bleachers this week during a 13-8 victory over
Smithtown West.
Smithtown West was state-ranked at the time of Tuesday’s face-off, but the Bulls are still light years away from the challenge West Islip will post to a short-handed Ward Melville squad. The Lions, riding an 11-game winning streak since a surprising opening loss to
Sachem North (Lake Ronkonkoma), have won three of the last four New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class A championships.
The raw ability of the state’s top-ranked team, their home-field advantage and WM’s suspensions could create the perfect storm – a beating bad enough to demoralize No. 3 Ward Melville, still just a one-loss team at this juncture, and start a tailspin that could continue with another short-handed affair against No. 16
East Islip (Islip Terrace) and then a season-ending game against No. 17 Sachem North.
On the other hand, there could be reason for hope. Ward Melville has been carrying a 36-player roster this spring, which is great for practice purposes but offers limited game opportunities for the end of the bench. Some of those guys are now gaining experience that will benefit them later this spring and all of next season. Against Smithtown West, sophomore Brian Droesch made 12 saves in his varsity debut, and little-used junior midfielders Tyler Hegarty and Sean Cleary scored three goals apiece. Cleary also tacked on four assists, and the defense limited the Bulls to their third-lowest scoring output of the season.
"Depth is one of our strong points, but I didn't think we'd have to go that deep," coach Mike Hoppey told Newsday. "To hold that offense to eight goals without six of our top seven defensemen is great. This one makes you proud."
Boys basketball: All-state team announced
Chris Secky has completed an unprecedented drive for five.
The
Maple Grove (Bemus Point) senior has earned his third New York State Sportswriters Association player of the year honor this week in boys basketball to go along with two in football. The five career awards easily make him the most feted athlete in NYSSWA history. Secky averaged 21.3 points per game as the Red Dragons captured the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D championship. He was the Class C player of the year two seasons ago and shared Class D honors last season with Ryan Creighton of Greenport.
Also repeating this season as a player of the year is
Will Bartlett of Federation Class B champion Collegiate. The 6-foot-6 senior averaged 18 points a game.
The other players of the year are Tennessee recruit
Tobias Harris of Half Hollow Hills West in Class AA, Virginia signee Will Regan of Buffalo Nichols in Class A and Darale Young of Buffalo's OTC Middle College in Class C.
Two deaths touch Section V
Jack Foote and Peter Glavin, two veterans of the Rochester sports scene, died last week.
Foote, 68, began his coaching career by handling three sports per year for nearly all of his 33 years with the Rochester City School District, mostly at Jefferson (Rochester). Even in "retirement," he took on a slew of responsibilities at various schools, as an officials assigner and with the Section V football committee.
He was a mentor and sounding board for many young coaches, such as former Aquinas (Bronx) and Canandaigua Academy head football coach Dave Nieman, who guided the Little Irish to two state championships.
"Jack was the ultimate mentor; he was always trying to teach younger coaches," Nieman told the Democrat and Chronicle. "He wouldn't jump in, he would allow me to do what I was going to do, but when we would sit down and talk about it, he would have me think about why it didn't work. He showed me the short-term gains of wins are not always in the best interest of kids. He was always thinking big picture."
Glavin's most visible role in recent years had been as meet director since 2005 for the McQuaid Invitational, a large and meticulously organized cross country meet that draws 200 schools from across the northeast and Canada to Rochester each autumn.
He remained very close to the McQuaid program after graduating from the school in 1980 and also organized several USATF cross country and track series through the years. He was honored in December at the USA Track and Field annual meeting in Indianapolis for his support of cross country, with 1996 Olympic decathlon champion Dan O'Brien making the presentation. Glavin, 47, had been diagnosed with brain cancer in late 2008.
Heroes and highlights
* Panas (Cortlandt Manor) coach Sharon Sarsen recorded her 300th girls lacrosse win. Her 300-114-37 mark (with eight Section I championships) is in addition to a 445-69-36 record with 10 sectional and four state titles in field hockey.
* Shoreham-Wading River baseball coach Sal Mignano registered his 500th win with a 10-3 victory over Sayville. He’s 500-291 in 34 seasons, including a NYSPHSAA championship in 1987 and has six sectional titles.
* Cornwall Central (New Windsor) softball coach Rick Miller scored his 400th career win with a 5-4 victory against Goshen. Miller, 59, is 400-162 in 26 seasons at Cornwall.
* Stephanie Siriano put on a memorable slugging show for Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, belting a grand slam and two other home runs during a 14-1 win over Clinton. Siriano finished with a career-best seven RBI and pitched a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts.
* Goalie Tyler Trueman made 13 saves as Ithaca remained unbeaten with a 14-4 boys lacrosse win over Section IV rival Corning East in a battle of state-ranked teams.
* Joe Wood scored his 100th varsity goal en route to five goals and three assists for the day as the Bronxville boys beat Sleepy Hollow 16-3.
* Trish Gorman, who scored her 100th varsity goal earlier in the game, tacked on the winner in the second OT as Hackley edged Horace Mann 11-10 in girls lacrosse. Also reaching the 100-goal milestone were Sleepy Hollow junior Jennifer Angevine with an eight-goal day vs. Irvington and Edgemont’s Haley Dumke with a hat trick against White Plains.
* Pleasantville’s Lindsay Gilfeather scored five goals in a 17-7 win over Greeley, pushing her career total to 150.
* Carey senior Patti Callahan (20 strikeouts in 11 innings vs. Massapequa) and Floral Park sophomore Samantha Giovanniello (20 strikeouts in 10 innings vs. Sewanhaka) threw extra-effort softball no-hitters on the same day on Long Island.
John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at johnschianosports@gmail.com.
