Thursday, October 1, 2026
Copiague’s football team has yet to win its first game of the season but there are plenty of signs that show the program is heading in an upward direction. Prior to last Saturday’s 42-8 loss against Huntington, the Eagles had played well in each of their first five games, losing by no more than two scores in any of them.
Head coach Ken Rittenhouse, has noticed the leadership he’s gotten from his seniors. “I think they have done things the right way,” he said. “It shows with us being more competitive than we have been in the past.”
When the results do not show up on the scoreboard, it can be very easy for a team to give up. The Eagles, though, have done the exact opposite. “They keep battling and fighting,” said Rittenhouse. “It’s not easy when you have not won but they are still showing up everyday and working hard so all the credit goes to the players.”
One player who is having a great season is senior quarterback Cody Tiringer. “It’s his third year now on varsity so he understands the gameplan and what we’re trying to do,” Rittenhouse said. “He’s been limiting the negative plays which is part of what has kept us in all these games.”
Tiringer has gotten help on offense from the playmakers around him as well. Roger Rowe had a two touchdown game earlier in the season, accounting for the team’s only points against West Babylon in a 28-14 loss, one rushing and one receiving. Fabrice Cormier has been a solid pass catcher that Tiringer has connected with out of the backfield. Even five foot eight senior running back Renaudson Dieujuste found the endzone in Copiague’s most recent contest against Huntington.
One thing Rittenhouse is hoping to see is the younger guys on this team learn from the seniors as he continues to build the culture of this football program and send it in the right direction. “Our seniors have their hooks into a lot of our younger guys,” he said. “I want to make sure that everyone understands how important it is to continue to work hard and improve and understand that it’s not easy. We have shown that we can play with everyone on our schedule but that doesn’t guarantee that you are going to win.”
The Eagles’ final two games of the season will come against Centereach, who holds a 2-4 record, this Saturday followed by the season finale on Nov. 1 against Deer Park, another winless team at the moment. That certainly keeps the door wide open for Copiague to get into the win column, especially with how closely they have played when going up against some of the best teams in their league already this season.
“Our players are grinding and continuing to do what they need to in order to get better,” Rittenhouse said. “Hopefully in one of these games down the stretch we can end up on the right end.”
