69.0°,
Overcast Sewanhaka improves to 4-0
Posted
Sewanhaka's John Militano plows through North Shore's defense for some of his 55 yards in last Saturday's 42-0 Conference III home victory.
Kathy Leistner/Herald
Junior Brian Wint scored two touchdowns, one on an electrifying 65-yard punt return in the opening quarter, to lead undefeated Sewanhaka to a 42-0 rout of visiting North Shore last Saturday.
Senior captain Devin McRae also scored a pair of touchdowns for the Indians, who improved to 4-0 in Nassau Conference III. Senior quarterback James Wighaus was 6-for-12 for 67 yards and a touchdown and senior John-Marco Militano ran for 55 yards on 10 carries.
Sewanhaka scored all the points it would need early in the first quarter when seniors Jeffrey Joseph and Jordani Thomas sacked North Shore quarterback Louis Mastellone and jarred the ball loose. McRae pounced on it in the end zone for the score. Senior kicker Jean-Pierre Tuberquia, who was 6-for-6 on conversion attempts, split the uprights to give the Indians a 7-0 lead.
George Kasimatis, in his first year as head coach at Sewanhaka, is pleased with the team’s progress at midway point of the season. “We don’t talk much about winning and losing, but rather about being the best you can be each time you step on the field,” Kasimatis said. “We’re building on the foundation that the previous coaches laid out here. The boys have bought into it.”
After McRae’s score, the Vikings went three-and-out and were forced to punt on the ensuing possession. Wint took the ball on his own 35-yard line, started to his left, followed a wall of blockers to the right and then cut back down the center of the field for the score.
Sewanhaka was dominant in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Joseph, who is following in the footsteps of great Sewanhaka linemen like Bilal Butt and Sajjad Chagani, sophomore Christopher Jean and senior Miguel Ponce were outstanding as the Indians controlled the line of scrimmage. Militano, McRae, and junior linebacker Shireem Cobb wreaked havoc on the North Shore offense all afternoon.
With time for just one more play in the opening half, and a commanding 21-0 lead, Sewanhaka took over on downs at North Shore’s 35-yard line. Wighaus dropped back and found Wint at the 15. Wint nearly went to a knee while spinning away from defenders, and then juked a few would-be tacklers before finding his way into the end zone. McRae and Cobb both had touchdowns in the second half to close out the scoring.
The logjam among 4-0 teams in Conference III will be broken up a bit as the Indians travel to Lynbrook to take on the undefeated Owls this Saturday at 3 p.m. Plainedge has yet to be beaten as well.
Kasimatis believes the team-first philosophy is one of the keys to Sewanhaka’s success. “We preach it and show it every day in practice,” Kasimatis said. “The coaches tell the boys that if we strive to reach common goals as a team, all the individual stuff will be satisfied. Those accolades come at the end of the year.”
Comments about this story? TBellissimo@ liherald.com or (516) 569-4000, ext. 204.
Report an inappropriate comment
Comments