It wouldn’t be a championship for Sachem without mentioning Fred Fusaro in some way. The Sachem coaching legend was at the helm of the football program for 32 years, but the Flaming Arrows didn’t win a Long Island crown until 10 years after his retirement as head coach.
While Fusaro has won two Long Island championships in recent years as the defensive coordinator at John Glenn High School, his Sachem teams only had an opportunity to play in one Long Island championship, 18 years ago during the 1995 season. The Flaming Arrows came up just short. The current Long Island championship set up only began in 1992, so not all of Sachem’s previous teams competed in the same playoff structure.
Sachem coach Dave Falco made it a point to mention Fusaro during his post-game address to the crowd.
“This is for Coach Fusaro,” he said.
To get to this point, to be a champion, takes a team that buys into its program. That program was forged in 1971 when Fusaro took over as head coach and became vested with history and lore in 1977 when Sachem won its first title. Without the past, there is no present. Without Fred Fusaro there is no Sachem football in its current form.
Fusaro could not make it to the Long Island championship game this year because he was tending to something with his family, but he was certainly there in spirit and is as proud as anyone about this year’s victory.
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro