Senior running back has strong performance against Lindenhurst and hits career milestone.
Alezandro Aponte started his senior season off as a wide receiver in Sachem North’s new spread offense, so his production at running back did not seem likely seven weeks ago.
Through injuries and personnel changes, Aponte found himself in the backfield again during Week 6 against Northport and Friday night against Lindenhurst.
Aponte, who carried 37 times for 181 yards and a touchdown in the 34-7 loss against the Bulldogs, now has 1,105 career rushing yards, good enough to rank No. 22 all-time in Sachem history. Considering the amount of running backs to go through Sachem since 1961, that’s noteworthy.
With just one game left in his career – next Saturday against Walt Whitman – Aponte can aim at breaking into the top 20. Next on the list is Tyler Andreassi (1,169) and Vincent Clark (1,296).
Aponte rushed for 841 yards as a junior and has 264 this season. He also has 10 career rushing touchdowns.
The 37 carries against Lindenhurst are tied for the fifth most in a single-game. The Sachem record is 45 by James O’Neal against Smithtown in 1995.
Sachem only had 45 offensive plays on Friday night, so Aponte accounted for 82 percent of total offense production.
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro