Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Carey football team brings everything it needs for practice — helmets, cleats, pads. But it’s the extra element the Seahawks have brought in preseason that has impressed head coach Mike Stanley.
The lunch pails.
“The thing I can say about the group in general is everyone shows up and gets to work,” said Stanley, in his 20th season at the helm. “It’s a good, hardworking group. They were that way in the weight room for us all winter and spring, and that’s how they were all summer as well.”
And it’s a group that enters the season with a bitter taste in their mouths following a 7-3 season that ended with a heartbreaking loss to Wantagh in the Nassau Conference III semifinals at Hofstra.
This year, Carey is the No. 2 seed in Conference II. It kicks off with a serious test against Long Beach and then hosts Baldwin for Homecoming in Week 2 before visiting Conference I’s Oceanside in an interesting crossover.
“We fell short of our goal last year. Not to take away anything from Wantagh, they were a great team, but for us, we kind of felt we just ran out of being healthy,” Stanley said. “But we still had expectations, we still had opportunities, and we didn’t finish it off. So, yeah, there’s definitely a bitter taste in our mouth, but we’ve got to turn the page in the new year.”
Helping the Seahawks turn the page is having one of Long Island’s best two-way players back for his senior year. That’s Justin DePietro, who led Carey with 81 tackles and four sacks last year as a linebacker and rushed for 918 yards and 14 touchdowns.
“He’s lighter, he’s leaner, and he’s faster, and that’s exactly what he needed to do,” Stanley said. “He took pride in working on his flexibility, working on his speed. He looks fast, he looks lean, and I think that’s going to make him a better player, no question.”
Sal D’Amato, who partners with DePietro as a linebacker, is taking first-team snaps at quarterback in the preseason, joined there by Gunnar Nelson.
“He’s a really intelligent kid, his football IQ is outstanding, and we trust him to run the operation,” Stanley said of D’Amato.
Jayden Radow returns as a game-breaking wide receiver, joined by Logan Alvizures, who will also play tight end. Lucian Roman and Paul McNamee have impressed in camp, and David Avila will also get some carries as DePietro’s backup.
“He’s so explosive,” Stanley said of Radow. “He’s gotten so much stronger. He did some good speed training in the summer as well. He’s a guy we have to line up everywhere because he’ll get a lot of attention as well.”
Leading the rebuilt offensive line is Matt Lemite, who will be a two-way starter on the line, along with Michael Carollo, who has emerged as a leader of that group, and Dara Milner, who has taken some reps at center.
“He rotated in last year, got some reps, some meaningful reps, and maybe even a start or two,” Stanley said of Carollo. “But he’s had a really good offseason in the weight room, he’s having a good camp.”
On the defensive line, Lemite is joined by fellow returning starter Charlie Jaime, with Avila moving to the line from linebacker.
“Charlie is an explosive player, not a small frame, not the biggest guy, but he works hard in the weight room,” Stanley said. “He’s got really good takeoff.”
The linebacking corps is as good as it gets, with DePietro and D’Amato leading the group, along with Alvizures.
“He becomes a quarterback of the defense a lot of times, him and Justin,” Stanley said of D’Amato. “They get us in and out of the right checks and the right fronts and coverages and stuff. Having both of them is like having an extra coach on the field.”
In the defensive secondary, Radow will bring his athleticism to free safety, Dan Assadi will be a first-year starter at corner, and Dylan Walsh and Roman will also play safety.
To read more from the Herald's 2026 High School Football Preview, click here.
