Carey repeats as Rutgers Cup champs

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For the first time since the 1980s, there’s a Rutgers Cup repeat in Nassau County.

The Carey Seahawks, winners of 24 consecutive games and back-to-back Nassau Conference II and Long Island Class II championships, were again voted the most outstanding football team in the county at the annual Coaches Association awards dinner on Dec. 10. They became the first Nassau program since Hempstead (1984-86) to retain the Rutgers.

“It was a special group of kids, and you can’t put a better ending on it,” Carey head coach Mike Stanley said. “I’m really happy for them, and proud of them.”

The Seahawks received 139 points, including 38 of 56 first-place votes, while undefeated Lawrence, which won a third straight L.I. Class III title, finished second with 101 points. Syosset, the L.I. Class I champ, was third with 51 points, and Roosevelt, the Nassau Conference IV winner for a fourth consecutive year, received 15 points. Each first-place vote is worth three points, second is worth two, and third is worth one.

“I expected the vote to be tight,” Stanley said. “Lawrence is on an incredible run, and they had an outstanding season.”

Carey, which hasn’t tasted defeat since the 2012 playoffs, capped another perfect season on Nov. 30 with a convincing 41-7 victory over East Islip in the L.I. Class II title game. The Seahawks scored 28 unanswered points in the second half and held the Redmen to 99 total yards of offense. “We wanted to leave everything out on the field today,” senior Nick Spillane said during the postgame celebration at Stony Brook’s LaValle Stadium. “Our coaches always do a great job getting us prepared. It’s such a tremendous feeling.”

On average, the Seahawks outscored opponents 40.8 to 9.4. Led by Spillane, Conor Colasurdo, Mike DeLeo, quarterback Mike Catanese and a stout front five, they scored at least 40 in eight of 12 games. Their closest contest was a 21-6 victory over Garden City in the Conference II final at Hofstra on Nov. 22.

The defense, led by Colasurdo — the Piner Award recipient as the top linebacker in the county — Thomas Gallant and Jorge Cerquera allowed just 37 points over the last five games, starting with the regular-season finale.

“It’s really cool for us to be in a conversation as back-to-back Rutgers winners,” Stanley said. “The fact that it’s been 30 years since the last time it was done certainly shows just how difficult it is to accomplish.”