Daily Sports Digest: Oct. 21, Football Previews

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Kennedy

Football: Kennedy will take on Herricks at the Town of North Hempstead Field on Friday night. Surprisingly so, the Cougars (3-3) are surging in Conference II. Running back Matt Delbianco has amassed 426 rushing yards and four scores during the three-game win streak. Two of the wins came by way of fourth quarter comebacks, a big credit to the defensive pressure late in games. They look to move above .500 against the Highlanders.

Girls Soccer: Kennedy came out fast against rival Calhoun, but that is where it stopped for them. After Marley Gerber scored the first goal for Kennedy in just the fourth minute, Calhoun scored the next three goals, all in the first half. The Lady Colts held on for the 3-1 victory to hand the Lady Cougars their second loss in the last three games. Kennedy is now 9-3-2 in Conference AA-II.

Boys Volleyball: Kennedy topped a tough West Hempstead team at home in five thrilling sets on Friday. Down 2-1 in the set count, the Cougars won the fourth set, 25-22, and an incredible fifth set in extra points, 27-25. Steven Gassert had a team-high 19 kills and 16 digs. Nick Anderson and Ben Canarick both added 13 kills, and Canarick also led with six big aces. Kennedy is now 7-3 in Conference IV.

Girls Volleyball: Kennedy fell in a hard fought match to undefeated Wantagh in four sets on Friday. It was the Lady Cougars first loss in their last four matches as they drop to 8-5 in Conference A-I. Lauren Sustad, Heather Hulkower, Jamie Demmett, Kerri Stalzer and Taylor Krug all played a great game for the Cougars.

Mepham

Football: Mepham will host Long Beach on Saturday in what figures to be a low-scoring game. The Pirates (4-2) will need to account for Marines quarterback Tom Rowley. The defense has given up 78 points in six games, a respectable 13 per game average for Nick Wenthen, Joe Aliberti and company.

Girls Soccer: Mepham topped visiting Hicksville on Friday by a 2-0 shutout led by Nadine Simpson with six saves in net. Her sister, Kelsey, scored the first goal for the Lady Pirates in the early minutes of the second half followed by a second goal from Gabby Weiner. Mepham is now 5-5-2 in Conference AA-I and plays first place MacArthur on Monday.

Clarke

Football: Clarke will travel to East Rockaway in a tough Conference IV matchup on Saturday. The Rams (1-5) will need to get behind quarterback Michael Martiello and control the pace early on. All of the games for the Rocks this season have been decided by eight points or less.

Boys Soccer: Clarke edged out visiting Seaford on Friday by a 1-0 final. Efrain Cruz served up a perfect cross to Shane Irwin just minutes into the second half for the Rams to serve as the lone score of the game. Matthew Schwartz made six saves in the hard fought shutout for Clarke, which is now 5-7-0.

Girls Soccer: It was nothing but heart and effort displayed by the Lady Rams of Clarke on Friday, as the girls lost 1-0 to Island Trees at home. With the win, Island Trees edged out Clarke for the Conference A-II title. The game-winning goal didn’t come until 10 minutes remaining when Allison Merrill slipped a shot past Emily Ramos, who finished with four saves in the effort. With its first loss of the season, Clarke is now 10-1-3 overall.

Field Hockey: Clarke dropped its second game in a row after going undefeated in the first 11 of the season. The latest decision came by way of a 2-0 loss at Manhasset on Friday. Amanda Garguilo made 11 saves in the strong effort by the Rams, but it was not enough in the end as the team drops to 8-2-3 in Conference I this season.

East Meadow

Football: East Meadow, which is currently 6-0, will take on Freeport, another 6-0 team, on the road on Saturday. In a matchup of two of the Islands’ highest scoring offenses, the result will likely decide the Conference I regular season champion. The Jets, led by running back Robbie Healy and quarterback Dylan Curry, took a dip in the scoring in a 20-7 win over Baldwin, but will need to bring the pressure on both sides to have a shot at 7-0.

Boys Soccer: East Meadow defeated Valley Stream Central on the road by a 3-1 final score. William Rosales, Billy Walsh and Franklin Flores-Escobar all scored, with the goal by Flores-Escobar representing his first as a varsity player. Goalkeeper Rui Cunha had an exceptional game with eight saves on nine shots to help the Jets move to 5-6-2 in Conference II.

Girls Soccer: East Meadow was confident coming into its road match at MacArthur, the first place team in Conference AA-I, but the Lady Generals proved to be too much, winning 6-0. Madison Young made nine saves on the day for the Lady Jets in the effort. East Meadow is 2-11-1 overall this season and will play Hicksville on Monday.

Hewlett

Football: Hewlett will travel to Manhasset on Saturday in an attempt to end a two-game losing streak late in the season. The Bulldogs (3-3) have been without starting quarterback Mark Rizzo for a number of weeks, but running back Sam Martorella and a ball hawking defense led by Jeremy Leguillo and Dylan Sasson will look to take down the Indians, winners of three straight games.

Boys Soccer: Hewlett had a strong showing at home against Sewanhaka, winning 3-0 on the day. Kelvin Larios had two big goals and Luis Campos added the other all in the second half. Josh Alovis made six saves in the shutout to help the Bulldogs keep pace with first place Division, which lost 3-0, with a record of 8-2-2 in Conference V.

Girls Volleyball: Hewlett did what no other team was able to do this year so far: defeat Lynbrook. The Lady Bulldogs topped the Lady Owls in five sets, 18-25, 25-19, 15-25, 25-15 and 25-18. Samantha DiSalvo led the way on offense with 16 kills and Lacey Jaffe added 10 kills. The pair combined for nine aces as well. Elyse Cooper had seven kills in the win for Hewlett, which is now 10-4 in Conference A-II this season.

Lawrence

Football: Lawrence is bringing a four-game winning streak into its homecoming game against Lynbrook on Saturday. The Golden Tornadoes (5-1) will get behind Ryan and Tyler Fredericks and look to run their way to victory. The key difference is that Lynbrook has the edge on defense, a factor that may play a role down the stretch in a potentially high-scoring game.

Football: Garden City is up there with the best, and it will look to improve its perfect 6-0 record at Carey. The Seahawks have had a somewhat inconsistent offense this year, a plus for a Trojans defense that has given up just 28 total points, a 4.7 per game average. Mark Ellis and a crew of talented backs will look to put this game away early on the road on Saturday.

Boys Soccer: Garden City topped New Hyde Park on the road on Friday by a 2-0 final, with both of the goals coming off of the foot of Sean Bingham. Bingham, who has three goals in the last two games, upped his total to 13 on the season for the Trojans. Patrick Keogh assisted both of the goals. James Pyatsky had four saves in his second straight shutout as Garden City moves to 9-2-2 in Conference IV.

Girls Soccer: Garden City came back in the second half to defeat a very talented team in South Side on the road. After the Lady Cyclones scored in the first half, Addie Zebrowski scored the tying goal followed by the big game winner from Kayla Murphy with just 12 minutes remaining to win 2-1. Tracy Rendano had an exceptional game with 13 saves to help the Lady Trojans move t0 6-2-5 in Conference A-I.

Boys Volleyball: Garden City lost in four sets to Bethpage on the road on Friday. The Trojans won the opening set, 25-20, to jump out in front, but the Golden Eagles came back strong to win the final three sets, including a 25-5 effort in the third. Matt Packman and Doug Donnelly led a strong effort on the day. Garden City is 1-11 on the season.

Girls Volleyball: Garden City defeated Herricks on the road in five sets on Friday, 24-26, 25-15, 21-25, 25-19 and 25-21. Noelle Byrne and Emily LaCourte each had 15 kills, with LaCourte also collected a team-high 17 digs. Kristen Steinhardt recorded 16 aces, along with nine more from Byrne. Jackie Jahelka recorded a team-high 22 assists to help the Lady Trojans move to 6-8 in Conference A-I on the season.

Field Hockey: Garden City continued its run towards a possible Long Island title with a 2-0 win at New Hyde Park on Friday. Catherine McTiernan and Charlotte Castronovo scored, as the Lady Trojan defense dominated, allowing just one shot on goal in the effort. Garden City is now 12-0-1 and in first place in Conference I.

Middle School: Salk's eighth grade football team continued its solid play on Friday, battling a strong Bethpage team to a 20-20 tie. The offense was led by Nick Pernice and Danny Clyne, who each had 50-yard rushing touchdowns. Jimmy Kelleher and Justin Cancel connected on a 60-yard touchdown pass, while terrific defense was played by Mike Rothberg, Danny O'Shea, Travis Cooksey, Jack Huggard, Vin Thron, Bobby Garofolo and Matt DeBlaiso. Salk (1-0-2) will play next against Grand Avenue M.S. next Tuesday at Levittown Memorial.

Division

Football: Division will travel to Valley Stream South in search for a fifth win. The Blue Dragons (4-2) will need to forget about their struggles against Plainedge last week and look to control a Valley Stream team that has recorded back-to-back blowout victories in Conference III. Dylan Cardno and Joe Vanasco will lead the offense on Saturday with hopes to keep pace with the conference's elite teams. 

Boys Soccer: Division lost a tough road game to Plainedge on Friday, 3-0. The result snapped a five-game winning streak for a talented Blue Dragons team, which is now 10-2-2 in Conference A-II. Division will wrap up its regular season schedule with a home game against second place Hewlett on Monday. 

Girls Soccer: Division defeated New Hyde Park by a 2-0 final on Friday to remain in first place in Conference A-I. Ari Weingrad and Joanna Capitelli both scored in the second half, while Gina Fader got the job done between the posts again with a seven-save shutout. The win assures Division (11-0-2) of an undefeated regular season for at least a few more days until they meet second place South Side on Monday.

Island Trees

Football: Island Trees will take on Friends Academy this Saturday in an attempt to rebound from a tough 33-27 loss to first place Roosevelt last week. The Bulldogs (1-5) will look for big play potential from running back Mike Jeannetti to get back to winning ways late in the season in Conference IV. 

Girls Soccer: Island Trees continued its dominance and avenged its lone loss of the season with a 1-0 defeat of Clarke on the road. The narrow win gives the Lady Dawgs their first conference title in the last seven years. Allison Merrill scored the game's lone goal in the 70th minute to collect the win. Island Trees is now 13-1-0 and will host West Hempstead next Tuesday.

MacArthur

Football: MacArthur will bring its five-game winning streak into Saturday as Oceanside comes to town. The Generals (5-1) have a legitimate shot at a 7-1 finish and a tie for second place in Conference I if they can get past the Sailors. Brett Ellers, who has six touchdowns on the year, will look to lead the offense against an opponent that has lost three of its last four games.

Girls Soccer: MacArthur displayed another dominating performance on Friday against East Meadow and showed good reason why they are one of the best in Nassau County. The Lady Generals picked up a 6-0 win behind two goals each from Jill Mullholland and Kelly McQuail. Arianna Montefusco and Kristyn Alonzo tacked on the other two. The defense performed exceptionally as they allowed just one shot to get through to Jenna Cozza for the entire game. MacArthur is now 11-2-0 in Conference A-I this season. 

Football: There is no denying that Long Beach has talent on the offensive end, led by All-County caliber quarterback Tom Rowley. The Marines (3-3) match up against Mepham, losers of two of its last three games, this Saturday. The Pirates do not give up a lot of points -- more than 17 points just once -- so the Long Beach defense will play an important role in hopes for a win.

Boys Volleyball: Long Beach took the Class A runner-up from 2010 all the way to the fifth set on Friday. Each time the Hawks went up, the Marines came back to tie it, but it was JFK in the end taking the decisive set, 25-21 on the road. Andrew Still and Drew Peysner let a great effort by the team, which drops to 8-6 overall on the season in Conference I.

Girls Volleyball: Long Beach fought valiantly against South Side on Friday, but came up short in four sets. Katherine Meyers and Patricia Murphy led in the effort to keep the Lady Marines in it, but the second place Lady Cyclones were too much at the net on offense. Long Beach is now 3-10 in Conference A-I this season.

Football: Lynbrook (5-1) is quite familiar with Lawrence, as the two teams met in the 2010 County finals at Hofstra. With two of the top running games meeting on Saturday, look for a lot of points to be scored. Luke Spitzer and Rocco Scibelli lead the Owl offense, but Matt Trotta, Matt Mott and the defense are fully capable of containing the Fredericks brothers in the Lawrence backfield.

Girls Soccer: Lynbrook has been on a role as of late, winning its fifth straight game on Friday, a 6-2 victory over Valley Stream South at home. The team is 5-0-3 since Sept. 22. Patricia Loonie led the Lady Owls in their latest win with two goals. Her sister, Katie, and Danielle Amaya each had a goal and an assist. Sami Greenberg and Carrie Feltkamp added goals in the effort as well for Lynbrook, which is now 6-2-3 in Conference A-III.

Girls Volleyball: Lynbrook had its amazing undefeated streak come to an end on Friday with a five-set loss at Hewlett. All was going to plan with the Lady Owls ahead 2-1 in the set count, but the Lady Bulldogs stormed back to win the final two sets, 25-15 and 25-18. Sydney Sullivan, Nicolette Franco and Kasey Keller led the way in the solid effort for Lynbrook, which is now 13-1 in Conference A-II.

Football: Malverne will look to end its offensive struggles against Oyster Bay on Saturday, a pair of one-win teams in Conference IV this season. Malverne (1-6) will need to increase its season-high of 13 points scored to defeat visiting Oyster Bay. Look for quarterback Malique Merchant and running back Aaron Hill to be able to produce some offensive output on Saturday.

Football: Calhoun looks to end a three-game skid on Saturday, a stretch that dropped the Colts to 2-4 in Conference II. The team will match up against struggling Great Neck South at home. Julian Lee will look to control the run game and Matt Brennan will attempt to find the seams in the passing game as the team tries to rebound for a late playoff push.

Girls Soccer: After trailing within the first five minutes on the road to rival Kennedy, Calhoun did not back down. Kayla Cappuzzo scored a tying goal in the eighth minute to tie at 1-1, and Kristina Gandolfo and Taylor Sipos scored late first-half goals in the 29th and 35th minutes to jump out to a 3-1 lead. Sipos, Gandolfo and Michelle Iacono picked up the assists on the day as the Lady Colts held on for the 3-1 final score over the Lady Cougars. The win advances Calhoun to 11-0-2 on the season in Conference AA-II.

Boys Volleyball: Calhoun fought to the end against Great Neck South, but fell in five sets at home. The first two sets went to extra points, with the Rebels winning both, 27-25 and 31-29. The Colts stormed back to win the next two, 25-14 and 25-19. With momentum back on its side, Calhoun thought to have the energy to complete the great comeback, but Great Neck South took the deciding set, 25-19. Joseph Hernandez, Dylan Darnaud and the rest of the Colts lineup displayed great play in the effort, as the team falls to 1-10 on the season.

Football: Mineola is coming off of an amazing comeback victory in overtime last week against Seaford. The Mustangs (2-4) will look to continue momentum on the road against a West Hempstead team that fell for the first time last Saturday. Mineola quarterback Rob Clarkin has been impressive in recent games, willing the team to victory with two touchdown passes late in the game last week to follow up a 235-yard and three touchdown performance the week prior. He will receive aid from running back Brian Gaffney and receiver Tom Breslin in an attempt to achieve similar results against the talented Rams.

Boys Soccer: Mineola won its second 3-0 decision in a row after defeating Roosevelt on the road and has now won four of its last five in Conference VII. Denis Lazo-Cruz and Paul Sandoval, who had a hat trick on Tuesday, each scored, while freshman Daniel Pardo added the third in the win. Kevin Mulder recorded three saves in the shutout for the 10-2-1 Mustangs, who close out against Valley Stream North on Monday.

Football: South Side has had it struggles this year, but Saturday is an opportunity to get back to winning ways against winless Roslyn. The Cyclones (1-5) will look to Eric Willie and the offense to put up points against a dismal defensive opposition. Roslyn has given up a total of 227 points, a 37.8 per game average in its six losses.

Boys Soccer: South Side fought tooth and nail in a close game against Jericho on Friday, eventually falling 1-0. Jericho scored in the first half and despite some solid chances, the Cyclones could not put one in. The defense allowed just two shots on goal, but unfortunately one of them went in as South Side falls to 6-4-1 in Conference IV this season. 

Girls Soccer: South Side had its three-game winning streak stopped by visiting Garden City with a 2-1 loss on Friday. Victoria Reis scored for the Lady Cyclones and they took the lead into the second half, where the Lady Trojans put up two on the board to win. South Side is now 8-2-2 and will play first place Division on the road on Monday.

Girls Volleyball: South Side topped Long Beach in four sets on Friday at home, 27-25, 22-25, 25-15 and 25-13. After the Lady Marines tied the set count at 1-1, the Lady Cyclones took over to win the final two in dominating fashion. Grace Healey helped on both sides of the ball with 10 kills and four blocks. Allison Glass led with a team-high 12 kills and Lauren Byrne added eight aces, also a team-high. South Side is 12-3 in Conference A-I this season.

Football: Seaford blew by Roosevelt at home on Friday night with a 21-6 victory. The Vikings came out fast on the ground with a pair of one-yard touchdowns, the first from Alex Rodriguez followed by Joe Richards. Rodriguez added a second touchdown in the second half to put the game out of reach. Richards finished with a team-high 115 yards, as well as seven tackles on the defensive side. Seaford is now 4-3 on the season and will wrap up its schedule with a road game at Island Trees next weekend. 

Boys Soccer: Seaford has had its struggles this season, the latest coming at the hands of Clarke and a 1-0 loss on Friday. The Vikings gave up an early second-half goal in the effort. Brian Graziose made five saves for Seaford, which is now 3-6-0 in Conference VII this season.

Girls Soccer: North Shore pulled away from Seaford on the road to pull out a 4-0 victory over the Lady Vikings. Deanna Moore turned away nine shots on the day in the loss. Seaford is now 2-12-1 in Conference A-I and will play Malverne/East Rockaway Saturday morning on the road.

Football: Wantagh dominated New Hyde Park last week for its fourth straight win, and the Warriors will look to take care of business at home against winless Westbury. Wantagh (5-1) will look to its running crew, led by Matt Balzano and Joe Giardina, to control the pace of the game and the scoreboard. A win will keep the team in sole possession of second place in Conference II.

Boys Soccer: Wantagh dropped a tough 4-0 decision to visiting Roslyn on Friday to drop to 2-9-1 this season in Conference IV. Taylor Cain gave a great effort in goal with nine saves, but Roslyn pulled away in the second half with three goals. 

Girls Soccer: Just a day after a 3-1 win at home against Manhasset, where two freshmen and an eighth grader provided the scoring, Wantagh defeated Floral Park on the road, 2-0. Goals came from sophomore Stefanie Wenz and eighth grader Francesca Venezia, both in the first half. Senior Brenna Smith made seven saves in the shutout. The youth for the Lady Warriors is a statement to how promising this team is with the playoffs still ahead. The team is now 7-2-3 in Conference A-II with one game to go on Tuesday at Bethpage. 

Girls Volleyball: Wantagh topped the same team it defeated for the county championship in 2010, Kennedy, in four sets on Friday, 25-13, 15-25, 25-19 and 25-13. Jenny Ilibassi was just one of the Lady Warriors who played an exceptional game, as she racked up 15 kills and 18 digs, both team highs. Lauren Pennino had 10 kills, as well as eight blocks. The offense doesn’t go without Carly Simeone, who is one of the top setters in Long Island. Simeone had 38 assists, the third time she recorded 30-plus assists this season. Wantagh remains undefeated at 12-0 in Conference A-I.

Football: West Hempstead is coming off of its first loss of the season last weekend to Locust Valley. The Rams (5-1) welcome Mineola on Saturday in an attempt to remain in a tie for first place in Conference IV. Justin Boatwright and Tayvon Hall must come back strong against the Mustangs to rebound from a quiet performance in the 25-6 loss on Oct. 15. The defense will have its hands full with quarterback Rob Clarkin and offensive weapons Brian Gaffney and Tom Breslin.

Boys Volleyball: West Hempstead played until the very last point at home against Kennedy, but in the end, the Cougars won it in five sets. The Rams dropped the final set by a 27-25 score to drop to 4-6 in Conference IV this season. Pat D’Haiti and Tom Wood led the Rams in the effort.