High School Football

In this week's episode, an underdog Floyd lineman fights to make it through the latest round of cuts.

BY BOB HERZOG

Whether it’s two-a-days during late summer, or prepping for the playoffs in late autumn, every day is a good day for tackling drills at Glenn.

“Even during the season, we practice tackling every day,” said Dave Shanahan, the vocal and enthusiastic coach at Glenn. “From now until November, it’s so important that we do it, no matter what time of year it is.”

Shanahan likes to vary the drills and mix in a little competition to break up the routines. So late Wednesday afternoon, Glenn’s players moved around in groups from station to station. Shanahan supervised one drill using “chutes” – lining up players in three-point stances between metal poles, blowing his whistle and having them take a step around the pole before driving low and hard into tackling dummies.

“We call this one the square-up drill and it gets them to move their feet,” said Shanahan, who frequently yelled, “Bite the bicep” to encourage his players to keep their heads up as they drove their shoulders into the dummies.

“Tackling is all about technique, that’s why we always practice it,” Shanahan said. Glenn’s technique was pretty good in 2007 as the defense allowed just 84 points in eight games. With eight of 11 defensive starters back, he hopes to improve on last season’s 4-4 record. Glenn is the No. 2 seed in Suffolk Division IV, led by defensive ends Malcolm Eugene and Nick Capobianco.

Eugene is also an outstanding wide receiver and favorite target of quarterback Mike Massa. On Wednesday, Eugene was the target of two defenders during one of Shanahan’s favorite tackling exercises. “We call it the open-field drill,” he said, staging a session for the benefit of this first-time visitor.

Eugene (above) took the football and went against two players in a fairly wide “box.” He was allowed to try any move to elude the defenders. On this day, Capobianco was able to bring him down with a high tackle. It was pretty fierce and pretty competitive, with players gathered around and cheering on all participants until the whistle blew.

On other days, Shanahan will have his players concentrate on forcing fumbles, using the strip drill. He said he has another one called the “eye-opener.” Not sure what that one was, and not sure I want to know. But I know it will end with someone getting tackled.

BY BOB HERZOG

Defense was the order of the day at Massapequa on Thursday morning, as coach Pat Nolan read from a couple of scripts.

“Down and distance” and “goal line” were the titles and that may not sound too exciting, but for the Chiefs’ coach, those chapters were must reading. His team was solid on defense in going 4-4 last season, but failed in some key situations. To challenge for the playoffs again in tough Nassau Conference I, Nolan knows he’s got to be better on third down.

“Especially third-and-long. We struggled there last year,” he said. “It was one of those things where our players were a little confused in those situations and that’s our [the coaches’] fault. So we’ve downsized our packages. We’re concentrating on getting better at less – fewer fronts and coverages. This year, we’re really emphasizing third-down defense.”

On Thursday, Nolan and his staff could be heard yelling out, “third-and-nine” or “three-and-eight” repeatedly during team drills. Starting quarterback Rob Von Bargen, who stands 6-8 and stood out even more in his red practice jersey when everyone else was dressed in blue, worked with a variety of offensive groups in running plays against the first defensive unit.

When Von Bargen turned a pitchout into a big gain on third-and-nine in one sequence, Nolan snapped in disgust, “First down, touchdown! We can’t let that happen this year. We’ve got to be a better team on third down.”

The coach is hopeful that the return of middle linebacker Sean Slattery (above fending off a blocker) will help. Slattery broke his leg in Game 2 against Farmingdale last year, and missed the rest of the season. He’s been in the middle of the action since practice began and calls signals for an experienced defense that also features free safety Dan Ebbeke and tackles Jim Peterson and Chris Vitrano.

“We want to be runners and hitters this year, not thinkers,” Nolan said. In other words, it’s time for Massapequa to write a new script.

BY BOB HERZOG

It wasn’t easy for a first-time visitor to Seaford High School on Wednesday morning to figure out which players were doing what on the football field. That’s because veteran coach Rob Perpall doesn’t believe in numbers on the players’ practice jerseys.

So, unlike at other schools I’ve visited, every Seaford player wore black pants and green mesh jerseys, unadorned with numbers or names. “When I first got here [12 years ago], players started asking for their favorite numbers and complaining if someone else had it,” Perpall said. “Go make your own number famous. We don’t worry about uniform numbers or statistics.”

On game days, the Vikings don’t have players’ names on their jerseys, only numbers, in the tradition of old-school college programs like Penn State. “It’s a team thing,” Perpall said.

His team, which went undefeated last year until it lost to Amityville in the Long Island Class IV championship game, should again be tough in Nassau Conference IV. Seaford will be led by senior tailback/cornerback Nicky Barbuto (above), who gained more than 1,500 yards rushing last season, and senior quarterback Chris Rigoli, in his first season as a starter.

On Wednesday, in addition to full-team drills, Perpall spent some time working with receivers and defensive backs, emphasizing one-on-one coverage and fighting for position. The Vikings play mostly zone defense in the secondary, but as the coach noted, “When a receiver is in your area, it becomes man to man.”

So Perpall became agitated when a defender crossed his feet or let a receiver get behind him by failing to backpedal quick enough. “If he’s even, he’s leavin’!” Perpall said, a favorite rhyme the coach used to describe what would happen if a cornerback let a wide receiver get too close.

At least that cornerback’s identity remained a mystery to one observer on Wednesday.

Hewlett Senior Quarterback Andrew Cohen

By Marcus Henry

Hewlett quarterback Andrew Cohen can't wait for the season to begin. After all, his Bulldogs came out of nowhere last year as the sixth seed and made the playoffs after posting a 5-2 regular season mark.

This season Hewlett, the third seed in Nassau Conference II, won't be sneaking up on anyone. But that hasn't stopped the senior quarterback from thinking his team could be the last ones standing in the end.

"I definitely think [making the county championship] is a realistic goal," Cohen said. "Elmont's a good team and so is Garden City, but we definitely have a chance."

Adding to Hewlett's chances of a title is the lack of depth in Conference II. Lou Andre's powerful Lawrence team moved down to Conference III, while MacArthur moved up to Conference I. Add to that South Side's move to Conference III and you have a division that could be there for the taking.

"Losing Lawrence and MacArthur and South Side can only help the other teams in the conference," Cohen said. "I definitely think there are a good four or five teams that have a chance of winning the whole thing."

Hewlett coach Jay Iaquinta said he likes what he has seen from his team so far, especially on offense.

"The skill players are where we thought they would be," Iaquinta said. "We have an honorable mention All-County quarterback, an All-Conference fullback and an All-Conference wing back returning."

Overall, Iaquinta thinks his squad wil be in the mix. "We were seeded third and that's probably where we should be seeded," Iaquinta said. "The two teams above us [Elmont, Garden City] are beatable and there's certainly two teams below us that are capable of beating us."

But as confident as Cohen and the rest of the Bulldogs are, nothing is guaranteed, especially considering the fact that Hewlett must replace four starting offensive linemen from last season. Hewlett's only returning starter on the offensive line, Glen Gobetz, is moving from tackle to center. It is an important move for a team that runs the triple option.

"In the triple option every little thing has to work. Every read, every block," Cohen said. "The thing I'm telling everyone is to think about every step of the offense. Make the blocks you have to make. If you make the blocks, the running backs will run."

BY BOB HERZOG

If Hempstead coach Antoine Moore asked Terrell Williams to pack up the equipment for this week’s trip to upstate Hancock, it would have been appropriate. After all, Williams does everything else for the Tigers, the No. 2-seeded team this season in Nassau Conference I.

The senior running back/linebacker finished second to Alex Rivas of East Meadow in last season’s Thorp Award voting and has a good chance to become Hempstead’s first winner of the award for Nassau’s top player since Lamont Hughes in 1988. He led the Tigers in rushing with more than 1,000 yards (averaging more than 10 yards per carry), receiving (averaging more than 25 yards per catch), punt returns, kickoff returns, total yards (more than 1,800), touchdowns (18) and even punting. Ten of his touchdowns were on plays of more than 60 yards.

“I tried to get him to break my school record last year,” Moore said of the 19 touchdowns the coach scored for his alma mater in 1987. “It’s a record I’m absolutely looking forward to Terrell breaking this year.”

Williams was busy at Tuesday’s afternoon session, returning punts, punting and leading the defense from his outside linebacker’s spot. He ran a few sweeps for the offense, too. “He’s a phenomenal athlete who dominated at his level last year. You need to do that to be a D-I prospect,” said Moore, who played at Rutgers. “He does more for his team than I ever did.”

Some Division I colleges have noticed, with Connecticut and Duke paying the most attention on the recruiting front. Those two schools have also showed interest in Hempstead’s two-way end Jahi Fields, a fierce speed rusher with good hands at tight end.

The Tigers return their entire offense backfield, including quarterback William Carmona. And they get a boost with Roosevelt transfer James McCleric, a talented tailback.

Moore hopes the team will bond this week at its four-day, three-night getaway, the first time the Hempstead football team has gone away for summer camp. “The kids are very gung-ho about it. Other teams in our conference, like East Meadow and Baldwin, have done it. It’s a chance to focus exclusively on football. It’s a very regimented program. And there will be no excuses for not being at practice.”