Thursday, October 1, 2026
Phil Onesto has experienced South Side football from nearly every angle — as a player, a captain, a champion and, eventually, a coach who led the Cyclones back to a county title.
His connection to the program began when he was a freshman in 1998. Three years later, he graduated as a senior captain on South Side’s 2001 county championship team. Over two decades after that championship victory, Onesto stood on the sideline and coached the Cyclones to another county title in 2023.
Now, as South Side prepares to open its 100th football season at home Sept. 9 against Elmont, Onesto is beginning his 16th season as head coach — a link to some of the program’s most memorable chapters.
“I graduated from South Side back in 2002, so I’ve been part of the program since my first year in high school in 1998,” he said. “It’s a special thing, not just for the football team, but the school itself, the community, all the players that have come before.”
Through the 2025 season, South Side has compiled a record of 328-390-30.
Onesto has explored the program’s history, collecting photos and newspaper articles and talking with people connected to earlier eras. “I feel like every yearbook and every article I opened up was a new chapter in South Side history,” he said.
One of those chapters is the 44-game unbeaten streak (37-0-7) from 1944 to 1950 that helped define South Side football during the post-war period. The Cyclones also went 7-0 in 1951 and 1952.
That era will receive recognition during the centennial season. The Cyclones Legends Club Class of 2026 includes former head coach Don Sterner; members of the teams with the 44-game unbeaten streak that Sterner coached; Dom Repetto, from the 1953 team; Pat Donovan, from the 1978 team; and Michael Poulson, from the 2002 team.
The Legends Club dinner is scheduled for Sept. 19, from 5 to 8 p.m., at Tap Room RVC, following South Side’s Homecoming game.
Another defining chapter came in 1979, when Rich Caproni coached South Side to its first county championship. Caproni coached the program for 29 years, beginning as a junior varsity coach in 1965 and becoming head coach in 1970. He finished with 84 victories, the most in school history.
But Caproni measures his legacy differently.
“I was always brought up with, you’re a student athlete,” he said. “It’s all about the kids. What’s in the best interest of the kids?”
The 1979 team went 7-0-2, relying on a strong running game and defense, with Larry Horl and Joe Nestola anchoring the offensive line and John Bush leading the ground game.
“We decided that we could run the football,” Caproni recalled. “We were able to capitalize on that. So we adjusted, predicated on what we had talent-wise, what was in, what our team was capable of doing.”
“I think our grade was kind of like the perfect storm, where we all kind of melded together and we had more than a few good players,” Horl said. “We had a whole bunch of good players.”
The season ended with a 6-6 tie against Lynbrook that sealed the title. Horl remembers a packed crowd and a physical game.
“I remember that it was a great game,” he said. “They were a tough team and we were a tough team.”
The championship remains part of Horl’s life. He still has the jacket from that season, and his son, Connor, is now a South Side assistant coach.
“It’s full circle,” Horl said. “It’s really a great experience. It’s wonderful that he gets to do that and coach South Side, a place that I love and played at and had so much fun with. It’s a great thing.”
Onesto has his own unique place in the program’s championship history.
“Seeing from the other side of the coaching, and seeing how much time off the field goes into it, and how much preparation, gives me a lot more perspective on the 2001 team for the coaches that we had on that staff,” he said.
More than two decades after winning a championship as a player, Onesto has a greater appreciation for what it takes to build a championship team, making the 2023 title especially meaningful.
“To be able to win a championship at the school that I played at and won a championship as a player, I don’t know how many people get to say they’ve done that,” he said. “It meant the world to me.”
Onesto also remembers the unique dynamic of the 2001 team, a group whose competitiveness did not diminish the friendships among its players. The players pushed one another intensely on the field while maintaining strong relationships away from it.
“They were all best friends, but they went at each other like they were worst of enemies,” he said. “When it came to practice, they took it very seriously.”
Now, South Side enters its 100th season with another opportunity. The Cyclones are the preseason No. 1 seed in Nassau County Conference III for the first time in school history.
“Nobody’s going to hand us a trophy just for being the preseason No. 1,” Onesto said. “We got to come out every week and play and get ready and prepare and practice. And anything can happen.”
