By TONY BELLISSIMO
New York City was pinned deep in its own territory and trailing by six points when quarterback Jeffrey Legree found Shaahiyn Alston cutting across the middle. Alston caught the ball a few yards shy of the first-down marker, cut across the field to avoid numerous defenders and raced down the right sideline to the Long Island 20. Legree then connected with Stephan Benjamin on three straight pass plays, the last of which went for an 8-yard touchdown with 23 seconds remaining. Michael Horowitz’s extra point provided the difference.
“It’s a tough way to lose, but it was great to be a part of this game and represent Long Island football,” said East Meadow’s Alex Rivas, who started at fullback and carried three times for 10 yards. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You get to practice and play against the best of the best. It was a lot of fun.”
In 2006 as a junior, the University of Lafayette-bound Rivas helped lead the Jets to their first-ever county title.
As a senior last season he rushed for 1,013 yards and 13 touchdowns and added 93 tackles as a linebacker on defense en route to winning the Thorp Award as the top player in Nassau, the Piner Award as the county’s best linebacker and the Jay Fiedler Top Scholar-Athlete Award. “It was kind of nice not getting tackled every play,” Rivas joked. “I’m going to play fullback in college, so this game was like a glimpse into the future.”
Rivas was one of six locals on the Long Island roster, which featured 35 players from Suffolk County and 15 from Nassau. Lawrence quarterback P.J. Preziosa and receiver Conrad Stewart and Sewanhaka lineman Bilal Butt also played offense, while Lawrence nose tackle Keith Goodluck and cornerback Travis Kennedy started on defense. Lou Andre of Lawrence served on the coaching staff.
The purpose of the Empire Challenge, in its 13th season, is to raise money and awareness to fight cystic fibrosis and support youth football in the metropolitan area. It was created in 1996 by former NFL quarterback and East Islip graduate Boomer Esiason as a benefit for his own foundation, as well as the Gunnar H. Esiason Endowment Scholarship Fund at Hofstra and local youth football programs. “The positive impact that Boomer’s generosity has had on high school football has been felt from Montauk to Manhattan,” Empire Challenge Chairman Peter Blieberg said.
In 1996 and ‘97 Nassau played Suffolk and since then, Long Island has played New York City. Long Island
saw its lead in the series shrink to 6-5. Every game has been competitive except for 2005 when Long Island rolled to a 44-7 triumph. New York City won last year’s game, 35-27. Nine of the 11 games have been decided by fewer than eight points, including four by one point.
Long Island opened the scoring in last week’s matchup with an impressive nine-play, 80-yard touchdown drive on the game’s first possession. Rivas helped clear running room for William Floyd’s Brock Jackolski, who had 20 yards on four carries, and
William Floyd quarterback Joe Sidaras hooked up twice with Newfield tight end Trevor Perryman for 46 yards, including a 19-yard scoring strike.
After New York City answered with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Legree to Alston, Preziosa and Stewart keyed a scoring drive that allowed Long Island to regain the lead midway through the second quarter. Lined up as a halfback, Preziosa took a pitch from Sidaras and hit St. Anthony’s receiver Jack Kensil with a 31-yard pass to the New York City 3. Two plays later, Stewart caught a two-yard toss from Sidaras to make it 14-7. “Each of our guys played great,” Andre said of the Lawrence foursome. “I’m extremely proud of them.”
Legree’s 1-yard touchdown plunge with 50 seconds left in the first half tied it at 14, but Long Island moved back in front just before halftime when William Floyd’s Jonathan Korn hit a 41-yard field goal. Korn’s 33-yard field goal late in the third quarter accounted for the only points in the second half until New York City’s final possession.
Comments about this story? tbellissimo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
