Big stage for first field goal 

Before this season Danny Reiskin had never stepped foot on a football field, but last Saturday the Lawrence High School senior found the weight of a championship on his right foot.

With four seconds left in the Nassau County Conference III title game and Lawrence on the Plainedge 10-yard line trailing by two points, Reiskin was called on for as big a pressure spot as there is. Despite never attempting a field goal before, Reiskin entered Hofstra University’s Shuart Stadium turf with confidence and left the field a hero by nailing his kick through the uprights from 27 yards and clinching Lawrence’s third straight county championship, 28-27.

Josiyah Green made the snap, and Sean Moran had the hold.

“As I’m counting the steps everyone is like ‘Danny you’ve got this and I love you no matter what,’” said Reiskin on the encouragement he receiving from teammates while lining up for the big kick. “I said to myself I’m making this field goal and nothing is going to stop me.”

Reiskin spent his senior year balancing football and soccer, where he was an All-County player for the Golden Tornadoes and exclusively played the sport in the fall prior to 2013. He would spend 45 minutes at football practice before joining his soccer teammates and found no problem juggling the two sports.

“I think it was good because my soccer was keeping me in shape and the football was good for discipline,” he said. “Everything just tied together and it really affected me in a very positive way.”

Lawrence football head coach Joe Martillotti said leading up to the county title game he prepared Reiskin for a potential game-winning kick and could sense a major comfort level from him heading into the big moment.

“When it came time for the field goal I said ‘Danny are you good’ and he goes ‘I got this’ and he ran on the field,” said Martillotti, who has led Lawrence to three county titles and one Long Island championship since taking over the helm in 2010. “To me this is the best victory we’ve had. To me that is a bigger victory than the Long Island championship last year just because of the way it came down.”