On three large projector screens inside the main hall at Villa Lombardis was an iceberg. From the onset it looked like any ordinary screensaver, but Sachem North football coach Dave Falco immediately explained the significance of the blue backdrop.
Placed inside the program handed out at the 39th annual Sachem Touchdown Club dinner was a sheet of paper that explained the iceberg.
“It takes more than eleven players to make a winning team,” it read. “The starting eleven may win a game, but it takes the whole team to win a championship, to go all the way.”
This theme didn’t arise until after Sachem won a Suffolk County and Long Island championship this season. With sayings like “win the day” and “not done yet” very present during key stretches of the season, it took finally winning the big one to understand what it takes.
“The team is like an iceberg,” the piece of paper continued. “You see the starting eleven… but underneath it all is that big, wide, strong base- the rest of the team. This is the part of the team that builds the character of a lasting winner. The more dedicated the man on the bench, the harder he works the more the group strengthens and the higher the iceberg pushes out of the water – the bigger it gets – the better the team.”
Sachem’s iceberg was fully floating Sunday night as the program celebrated its most successful season in its history. Hundreds gathered to honor a team that will undoubtedly be remembered forever.
Justin Rivera took home the Black Helmet, Defensive MVP and Co-Team MVP honors. He was lauded as a leader by Falco, defensive coordinator Dave Caputo and legendary coach Fred Fusaro, who presented Rivera with a helmet lamp and the Anthony Fusaro Memorial Scholarship.
“He was our leader,” Caputo said. “He was our intimidator. I knew in the county championship game that we were in business. Our guy stood toe-to-toe with their guy and their guy backed down. I knew right then that the title was coming back to Lake Ronkonkoma.”
“This is the quintessential Sachem football guy,” said Falco. “The weight room guy, the classroom guy, the work ethic guy. It’s really a special award. A lot of kids aim and shoot for this award as they go through the program.”
Fusaro created the the Black Helmet in 1981 and hand makes the helmet lamp every year. There is also a Black Helmet plaque that lives forever in the trophy case at Sachem North.
“This award goes to a kid who has to have that physicality, that it factor,” he said. “He has to be a leader. He has to be tenacious. From what I’ve seen of this young man play, he has all of those attributes.”
Malik Pierre was named Offensive MVP. He is the fifth player to win this honor in back-to-back years after Michael Botti, Walter Carey, Dalton Crossan and Michael Brantley. As a junior he split it with Trent Crossan.
“It’s about the person and the athlete inside,” said Sachem assistant Mike Maratto. “He never cared about carries, catches or playing time. It was always about what he could do for the team.”
For the first time since 1979, Sachem awarded its Team MVP honor to three players this year. Rivera, Pierre and Trent Crossan helped forge the culture of Sachem football in their leadership roles this season and for that Falco honored the team captains collectively.
“We could talk about stats and who scores, but to win a Long Island championship you have to have culture in your program,” he said. “The award this year is not about stats, it’s about the program and how far we’ve come and what we’ve created, created by the kids who have bought into the program.”
Anthony DiMatteo was named Outstanding Defensive Lineman. Teddy Konstantatos earned Outstanding Offensive Lineman honors. For the second straight year, Kevin Bragaglia was named Outstanding Defensive Back.
On Special Teams three players were honored as Players of the Year: Bryan Morris, Mike Licata and Lucas Ward, which make up the most consistent snapper, holder and kicker trifecta in Sachem history.
Jason McKenna was named Scout Team Player of the Year, while Anthony Service and Chris Biryla, who were extremely important for Sachem down the stretch of the season, were named Most Improved.
George Carrion won the Patrick Harkins Hustle Award and Michael Slattery was named the team’s 12th Man winner, an award that is now named in his honor.
Sachem will receive its championship rings at a ceremony in April.
Complete Sachem Football Awards rundown
- Team MVP: Trent Crossan, Malik Pierre, Justin Rivera
- Black Helmet: Justin Rivera
- Offensive MVP: Malik Pierre
- Defensive MVP: Justin Rivera
- Defensive Lineman of the Year: Anthony DiMatteo
- Offensive Lineman of the Year: Teddy Konstantatos
- Defensive Back of the Year: Kevin Bragaglia
- Special Teams Players of the Year: Bryan Morris, Mike Licata, Lucas Ward
- Most Improved: Anthony Service, Chris Biryla
- Scout Team Player of the Year: Jason McKenna
- 12th Man Award: Michael Slattery
- Patrick Harkins Hustle Award: George Carrion
- John Niski Community Service Award: Mike Wulforst
- Coaches Awards: Nick Accurso, Matt Ward, Jake Slater, Anthony Ross, Phil Koehler, Matt O’Leary, Bryan Gresalfi, Mike O’Donnell
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro