As we approach the 2013 season every high school football team on Long Island has question marks. People are wondering about the offense, the defense, the coaches, the returning seniors, the voids left by stars from last season. It’s all up in the air until opening kickoff on Wednesday.
Here’s a look at three things you need to know about Sachem East football before the 2013 season starts:
3. Who fills in for Steven Casali? Guess again. No one replaces the man, the myth, the legend, Steven Casali.
“He’s a once in a lifetime talent,” said Sachem East head coach Mark Wojciechowski.
But senior Kenny Whigham and a group of rushers will hold down the backfield and junior Connor Farrell will be the man in the middle at linebacker on defense.
A number of players will have to step up to carry the workload that Casali had for the last two years. On defense for instance, Farrell is supported by Zach Geer, Danny Corbett and Whigham. Circle those names, they’ll make the most plays on that side of the ball. Their success is vital.
2. Wolff, Wolff, Wolff: You know the name. Danny Wolff, the senior quarterback, led Sachem East to an appearance in the Suffolk County championship last season. He’s on the cusp of breaking almost all passing records at East and must have a strong senior campaign for East to be a playoff team again.
“He’s the hardest worker we have on the field,” said Wojciechowski. “He worked hard over the summer to be the leader. During the winter we had a long conversation about what he needed to do and he did everything we asked. He’s not afraid to chuck it. He has a lot of confidence and a lot of talent.”
Who are his targets this season you ask? Geer is a tight end that he’ll rely on, and receivers Dylan Foisey, Cody Solmosy and Tyler Stensland, among others, will also see plenty of passes thrown their way, according to Woj.
1. Consistency is alive and well: The program is only 10 years old, but the steps it has taken in the last two seasons are monumental. It’s a bonafide program with heart, soul and tradition. The athletes buy into what the coaches are saying. They have a core of younger players on the JV who dream of playing for Varsity one day. There are values preached, goals achieved and men being taught everyday at practice and on game day.
Sachem East football has appeared in the playoffs each of the last two seasons. With an eighth seed to start the year, they’re also a pre-season hopeful to grab one of the eight post-season spots in Suffolk’s Division I. There is an expectation that the Arrows make the playoffs and work as hard as anyone to get there.
“I hope we’re at a point now where we’re always considered a playoff team,” Wojciechowski said. “We work like we’re a playoff team, now we have to play like we’re one.”
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-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro