RSS 2.0 FeedThursday, November 17, 2011, Wantagh Seaford Citizen
WHS gridders play GC for conference title
Warriors take on Garden City for the second year in a row.
by Peter Kravitz
For the second straight year Wantagh takes on Garden City in the Conference II playoffs at Hofstra. But tomorrow’s 7 p.m. tilt between the Number-one seeded, undefeated Trojans and the Number-two seeded, 9-1 Warriors has a new twist. Wantagh’s head coach Tom Casey was an assistant coach at Garden City for 12 years. He will battle his former boss Tom Flatley for the title.
“Tom Flatley is the best high school football coach in the state,” said Mr. Casey. “He’s been there 27 years and this was his 20th undefeated regular season.”
Garden City defeated Wantagh 21-3 in the second game of the season. “The keys for us against Garden City are to play great in all three phases of the game,” said Mr. Casey, who replaced long-time Wantagh head coach Keith Sachs last spring.
“We have to play good special teams. We have to contain their backs (Mark Ellis and Patric Berkery) and we have to move the ball on offense.”
Last Friday Wantagh defeated a feisty Elmont squad 14-6 in the conference semis on a gutsy fourth quarter, 76-yard drive behind the running of Brian VonBargen and Matt Balzano. Brian ran the ball in from the six for the go-ahead score and Balzano ran in the conversion.
Wantagh then had to stop speedy Elmont in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. “Our defense has been great all season,” said Casey. “We went on the field before their final drive and told the team that if we ever needed a stop this was it.”
Linebackers Shaun Charkowick and Joe Brasile had key sacks. Coach Casey said that sophomore linebacker Pete Brasile had a great game, as did nose tackle Frank Proscia and safety Gerard Roche.
“We are excited to be in a championship game,” said the coach, who is assisted this year by Jay Saravis and Matt Simeone. “When I took this job I inherited a solid program. We had no expectations. We just wanted to play well.”
Garden City blanked Carey 27-0 in the other playoff semifinal. Last year in a 21-7 Conference II semifinal loss to Garden City Wantagh was undone by punter Ryan Norton. He pinned the Warriors inside their five-yard line four times. Norton also kicks. Coach Casey said there has not been a return on a Garden City kickoff all season.
Brian has been a touchdown machine in the playoffs. He scored the first TD against Elmont and the week before, in a first-round 40-7 playoff victory over New Hyde Park, he rushed for a TD and caught three more from quarterback Nick Mullen.
