By Marley Seaman
The players and coaches each received a silver championship ring with a synthetic royal blue stone featuring the Bruins¹ bear paw logo. All of the rings were paid for by alumnus Brandon Moore, now a starting linebacker for the NFL¹s San Francisco 49ers. A group of other alumni paid for the event itself.
³The only thing this year that stopped this Baldwin Bruin team was that storm yesterday,² said head coach Stephen Carroll, referring to the snowstorm that delayed the festivities for a day. The football team completed the school¹s first undefeated regular season since 1952, winning the Nassau County Conference 1 championship and reaching the Long Island finals.
Following a buffet dinner at Baldwin Fire Department headquarters, Carroll reflected on the team¹s season, presenting plaques to his assistant coaches and Athletic Director Eduardo Ramirez, as well as photographer Sal Gilardi.
Carroll was followed by Moore, who graduated from Baldwin in 1997. He advised the team to treasure the memory of the championship, the school¹s first ever. ³We definitely followed you all throughout the year,² Moore said. ³We are so proud of you guys. Have fun and let it last. This will never happen again in your lives, those of you who are seniors. Those of you who are juniors, it¹s going to be that much tougher next year.²
Moore, the 1995 Nassau Player of the Year, never won a county title at Baldwin, although he recalled that the 1996 team began the season as the favorite. He was part of the Oklahoma University team that took home the national championship in 2000.
³It¹s something you strive for, and not everybody gets it,² Moore said of the title. ³But once you get it, they can never take it away from you.²
Carroll praised Moore for remembering his roots. Later in the evening, Ramirez announced that the school was retiring Moore¹s No. 6 jersey as a tribute. The framed jersey will hang in the school gym.
Linebacker/running back Dakota Lupo then took the microphone and regaled the audience with an insider¹s look at the team. With a suave smile, Lupo told a few tales from the team¹s preseason camp, then roasted the coaching staff and a few of the players, including ³cute and lovable² quarterback Joe Vanella. Lupo said that laughter was one of the biggest reasons for the team¹s success.
³We weren¹t the biggest kids, we weren¹t the fastest kids, but what he had that other teams didn¹t is team unity,² he said. ³We practiced laughing, practiced being happy with each other. During the game we¹d be joking in the huddle, we¹d be joking with the coaches.²
Lupo acknowledged that little was expected of the team before the season. But after upset wins over preseason No. 1 Massapequa and No. 2 Farmingdale, the Bruins quickly made believers out of the village. ³We brought the whole town together, the whole community,² Lupo said. ³We were Baldwin¹s pro team ‹ we were the South Shore¹s pro team.²
When wide-out Aaron Weaver caught a last-second, game-winning touchdown against East Meadow in the playoffs, Lupo said, he was surprised to find ³more people yelling and screaming in the stands than there were on the field.²
The dream season ended with a loss to William Floyd High School in the Long Island finals. Lupo explained that the loss was a painful one because the players felt they had let their community down. In time, however, he realized that accepting responsibility for the loss was in keeping with the team¹s character. ³I thought it fit for the team winning like men to lose like men,² he said.
Lupo received a standing ovation at the close of his speech.
For the past few years, Moore said, he had sought a way to give back to the high school football program. The outstanding season gave him the perfect excuse. ³When the opportunity presented itself, I just jumped on it,² he said. Moore added that in his years in Baldwin, he gained a sense of perspective about football¹s importance. Knowing that there was more to life than sports helped him become a more successful athlete.
³That balance helps you go from one level to the next,² he said.
Longtime Baldwin resident and school board member B.A. Schoen reminded the team of the town¹s long, proud tradition of excellence on the gridiron. Then, one by one, the Bruins walked to the front of the room as a PowerPoint slide show played on a pull-down screen. Each player took his ring from Moore, posed for a photo, and shook hands with the coaching staff. The rings come with lifetime warranties, but they still may not last as long as the memories of this season.
The evening concluded with a 12-minute slide show of photos taken by Gilardi during the season, set to music from NFL Films. The players laughed and cheered as they recognized one another, but grew quieter as the season rolled past their eyes. Perhaps the depth of their accomplishments was finally hitting home, along with the realization that their season now belonged to history.
³It¹s a blessing and a curse,² said fullback/defensive back Taariq Cayne. ³It¹s great to have everybody together again, but it¹s hard to believe it¹s over.²
Comments about this story? MSeaman@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.
