By Tony Bellissimo
"The kids responded in a big way even though our chances of making the playoffs were slim," Coach Lance Griffin said after South's 7-6 victory over Plainedge in the Nov. 8 finale. "The coaching staff couldn't be more pleased with the way the season ended. The kids played hard and showed character and tremendous dedication. They deserved to have a winning record."
The Falcons were 2-3 but stayed in playoff contention with wins over struggling Jericho and Roslyn. That set the stage for the final weekend. Not only did South need to upset playoff-bound Plainedge, it also needed Lynbrook to upset Clarke and Jericho to upset West Hempstead. Two of the three happened.
"We were new to Conference III and it's always tough to step up against new competition," Griffin said. "Throw in the fact that we lost our starting quarterback early in the year and used three different kids back there and it's even more impressive what the kids accomplished."
A blocked extra point by sophomore all-conference selection Chris Wells proved to be the difference against Plainedge. Senior all-county honorable mention running back Angelo Bosques, who was the original replacement for injured freshman quarterback Bryant Amitrano, had a two-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and Eric Schwasnick added the extra point for the decisive margin. Schwasnick recovered a fumble earlier on the Plainedge 7-yard-line to set up the winning score.
All-county senior linebacker Ralph Rea had 14 tackles and defensive end Kurt Ellis added 10. Quarterback John Viggiano completed five of his 13 passes for 61 yards.
"We couldn't have hoped for a better finish, other than Jericho upsetting West Hempstead to get us into the playoffs," Griffin said. "The kids took care of the business at hand, and that's all you can do."
Against Jericho and Roslyn, Wells rushed for a combined 433 yards and eight touchdowns. Many of his carries came behind the blocking of Robert Valletti and Rea on the line and receivers Andrew Cuevas and Mike Harmon downfield. Fullback Cristian Dumitrescu had a touchdown in each game and had two sacks against Roslyn.
"We had nice size up front and we were able to run over some teams," Griffin said. "There was a lot for us to be happy about this year."
In addition to Plainedge, Roslyn and Jericho, the Falcons also beat Floral Park and Division. They lost to Wantagh, West Hempstead and Bethpage.
Valley Stream North finished 1-7 in Conference IV and got its lone win against North Shore. In that game, unsung hero award-winner James Casella caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Jake Tauber to give the Spartans a 20-0 lead en route to a 32-12 victory.
"These kids always work hard," Coach Tom Schiavo said. "Some of them play three sports and most play at least two. We improved, but most of our games were decided by a mistake or two that we made."
Two-way senior lineman Mike Mattone was honorable mention all-county and junior Anthony Forgione was named all-conference.
Valley Stream Central, coached by Joe Gustafeste, finished 1-5-2 in Conference I, tying Plainview and East Meadow and defeating Oceanside. In the Eagles' lone win, senior Pat Milord rushed for 138 yards on 19 carries, including a three-yard run on the second play of the fourth quarter that held up as the game-winning score in a 9-6 decision.
