From the opening kickoff through the fourth quarter, Sachem North sophomore Kevin Bragaglia was a vibrant spark for the Flaming Arrows against their cross-town rivals, Sachem East.
Bragaglia ran back the first kick 83 yards and followed that with a key interception and clutch 50-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter.
Those efforts guided Sachem North to a 21-14 victory over Sachem East in this year’s Nor’Easter regular season battle Saturday afternoon at Fred Fusaro Alumni Stadium before about 2,500 fans in attendance.
North (4-0) held East (2-2) to zero first half points, stopping them on fourth down drives four times in the first 24 minutes.
East jumped on the scoreboard with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Danny Wolff to Brian Balsamo at 7:23 of the third quarter, narrowing the score to 14-7. Balsamo finished with nine receptions for 141 yards.
Malik Pierre, who finished with 7 carries for 99 yards, turned the jets on at the right time, rushing 68 yards to a touchdown on the first play of the next offensive series for North.
“Malik is that big time guy,” Sachem North coach Dave Falco said. “He can go at any moment. At the end of a game big time players look to come up big and that was big.”
That 21-7, two-score insurance, was needed since East was not done.
Wolff, who was 9-for-25 and threw for 155 yards, marched East downfield with five completions on its next possession, finishing on a 1-yard touchdown dive from the junior quarterback.
North held onto the ball for the final 2:55 and sealed the win with a key 12-yard rush from Tyler Andreassi on 3-and-2 with one minute remaining.
Sachem North junior quarterback Trent Crossan started the game, but exited during the first series due to a knee issue that has been hampering him for a couple of weeks.
O’Donnell has stepped in before to lead Sachem from the quarterback position. Last week he played the second half against Patchogue-Medford and last season he was there to take over during Week 5 against Connetquot after Crossan originally injured his ACL.
“It’s something I work hard on in practice, to make sure I’m ready for every game,” said O’Donnell, who has thrown two touchdown passes in two consecutive games this season. “It’s something I’ve done before, so I’m comfortable going in.”
As for Bragaglia, who is easily one of the best sophomore players on Long Island right now, his star continues to shine bright every week. From special teams to running routes on offense, he’s a do-it-all type player that Sachem is lucky to have for another two-and-half seasons. Through four games this year he has four interceptions on defense.
“He’s really emerging as one of our key players and another weapon on offense,” O’Donnell said. “If he’s making plays for us it just makes our team that much better.”
News and Notes
- This game was featured as a Great American Rivalry Series (GARS) contest sponsored by the U.S. Marines. Bragaglia was given the game MVP, and Sachem North was awarded a game trophy and championship hats.
- Former longtime Sachem JV coach Bill Batewell was inducted to the Great American Rivalry Series Hall of Fame, alongside former Sachem East lineman Tim Miller.
- Sachem North’s Steve Mills and Sachem East’s Brian Balsamo were honored as the Great American Rivalry Series Scholar Athletes of the Game.
- Sachem North now leads Sachem East, 4-1, in the all-time series between schools.
- Sachem North won last year’s GARS game against Brentwood at home also.
- Sachem East’s Steven Casali was held to 25 carries and 83 yards.
- Check Sachem Report on Sunday for football history columns and more!
RELATED: PHOTOS … View images from this year’s Nor’Easter
RELATED: Storify recap of #NorEaster12
RELATED: Batewell, Miller honored as HOF indctees
Scoring Summary
-SN: Bragalia, 83 kick return, no kick
-SN: O’Donnell to Bragaglia, 50 pass, Morris kick
-SE: Wolff to Balsamo, 30 pass, kick good
-SN: Pierre, 68 run, 2-pt conversion O’Donnell to Pierre
-SE: Wolff, 1 run, kick good
-Words and photos by Chris R. Vaccaro