There’s something to be said for a team that has some regular season loses under its belt before heading into the post-season.
In Sachem’s case it has paid dividends over the years. In five of Sachem’s seven championship seasons it had a previous regular season loss to a team it beat in that year’s semifinals or championship.
Rewinding to 1977, Sachem lost its Week 1 game against Patchogue-Medford, 16-8, and eventually beat the Raiders, 21-16, to capture the program’s first title.
Two years later Sachem won its third title in a row, but used the spark from a 27-25 Week 5 defeat against West Islip as fire for its eventual, 19-17, victory over the Lions in that year’s final.
In 1986 Sachem lost to Lindenhurst, 15-12, in Week 6 and beat the Bulldogs, 28-7, in the semifinals, eventually advancing to win the championship that year.
In 1995, and most famously, Sachem had two regular season losses, both to teams they eliminated in the playoffs. In Week 1 that season Lindenhurst got the best of Sachem in a 22-19 loss, and Longwood beat the Flaming Arrows, 35-14, in Week 5. Sachem beat Lindy, 22-14, in a semifinal overtime thriller to advance to the finals and eventually pounded Longwood, 21-0, to win its sixth title.
Lastly, and most recently, Sachem lost to Floyd, 42-14, in Week 6 of this year’s regular season. The team looked beaten worse then it had in any previous regular season game going back about five years. Turn the page to November 24 and the team Sachem had for its 28-7 championship victory against Floyd was vastly different. It was physically stronger, tougher and would not take no for an answer.
Same kids, same coaches, rejuvenated mentality and now the swagger of a champion.
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro