Finan’s longtime association with auto racing aside, he isn’t a motorhead, isn’t a gearhead. One isn’t going to find him ogling muscle cars or attending car shows.

That’s not him. He says he knows nothing about cars.

“I could tell when a car is not running right,” he said. “I could almost tell you what it is. Don’t ask me to do anything about it.”

The interesting thing about it is that Finan has spent the majority of his life around cars. Not just any cars — race cars.

While Finan admittedly isn’t mechanically inclined, he has skills that have defined his extraordinary career as a stock car racing public address announcer.

Finan, who will turn 65 in February, spent 47 years announcing races, mostly for Riverhead Raceway, a connection that continues even though he called his last race for the racetrack Nov. 12 and moved to Dunedin, Fla.

The man who announced racing legends like Charlie Jarzombek and Fred Harbach is a legend himself. Acclaimed as the longest-serving announcer in Long Island motorsports history, Finan has left behind a legacy that demonstrates the impact a PA announcer can have on a community. That is why Finan has been named the Riverhead News-Review’s 2022 Sports Person of the Year.

Finan’s introduction to auto racing came as a 13-year-old visiting Islip Speedway for the first time in 1971. Sitting in the front row by a turn where dust and pieces of rubber tire flew in the air, the young Finan was captivated by the spectacle.

He loved it.

“When I walked into that racetrack and I saw those Modifieds and then the Figure Eights and the Demolition Derby,” he recalled in a phone interview from his Dunedin home, “I just looked at my friends and said, ‘This is it! We are seeing something magical.’ ”

That magical sense never left Finan.

In 1973 he bought a season pass to Islip Speedway. He spent Sundays reading auto racing trade papers from front to back.

Finan’s life course turned in 1975. A promoter, Tom Galan, gave him an opportunity to announce a Modified qualifying race in Riverhead Raceway’s former creaky, wooden press box on stilts. Following a five-minute crash course, Finan recalled, Galan patted him on the back, said, “You got it,” and walked away.

Finan said: “I was definitely nervous, but there was a little bit of me that said, ‘Hey, I’m going to be able to do this or I’m not. This is really my only spot in this sport.’ ”

It was an unlikely start to a long career that surprised even Finan himself. “The comedian in me wants to say, ‘Yeah, I fooled them for 47 years,’ ” he said.

With no college and no formal training, the Brentwood High School graduate began working full-time as a track announcer and public-relations person for Barbara and Jim Cromarty at Islip Speedway and Riverhead Raceway. He worked for the Cromartys for 38 years until they sold Riverhead Raceway in 2015, but Finan remained, serving current owners Tom Gatz and Connie Partridge.

On race days, Finan scoured the pit area, notebook in hand, talking to drivers to collect information to include in his commentary, press releases and stories.

“Bob would always want to find out what the story was,” said Stephen Halpin of Wading River, Finan’s announcing partner for 29 years. “… It gives the fans a human side of who these people are who are racing.”

Dylan Slepian, a Modified driver from Lake Grove, said, “He just wanted to sharpen his pencil and have the latest information.”

So much of that information remains in Finan’s head. He can rattle off records, statistics and history at the drop of a hat, astounding people with his recall. Finan once explained to someone marveling at his computer-like memory for facts and track history: “It’s my passion. I love it more than life itself sometimes.”

For all of Finan’s retention ability, there are some statistics that are beyond even his encyclopedic knowledge. He never counted how many races he announced. “Sometimes” he remarked, “ I say to myself: Did I actually talk to a million people?”

Yet, there is an amazing figure that stands out. The number of race days Finan has missed over 47 years: three.

That’s it. Three!

He missed back-to-back shows 30 years ago to attend a brother’s wedding and a family birthday and he missed one in 2013 when his son, Bill, got married.

(Halpin, by the way, has a remarkable attendance figure himself, missing only two shows in 29 years.)

“At the end of the day, we’re carnival barkers,” Halpin said. “We’re just trying to get everyone riled up and ready to go.”

As Finan saw it, his job was about more than just announcing. He was working for the promoters, the fans, the drivers, the sponsors and the vendors selling food and merchandise.

Halpin, 51, said Finan made their announcing partnership comfortable from the start. “To sit next to him was a dream because you knew Bob was the voice of Riverhead Raceway,” he said.

“He is all about the show,” Halpin continued. “He’s always been about the show. He makes the School Bus Demolition Derby sound like fireworks are going off.”

Finan’s talent at his craft was unquestioned.

“He could have gone down South,” Halpin said. “He could have worked for one of the networks and all of that other stuff, but he definitely wanted to stay here … He could have been big time, no problem, but this is his big time.”

A series of events led to Finan’s decision to move to Dunedin. At the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Finan lost his job at a telemarketing business. While unemployed, he cared for his father, William, who was dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. His father died last August at the age of 90.

Finan said he would have preferred an “Irish goodbye,” quietly slinking away, but word got out that he was stepping down from the announcing booth.

Finan called his last scheduled race Nov. 12, when Anthony Nocella of Woburn, Mass., won the Islip 300.

Halpin said: “People keep asking me, ‘Who’s replacing Bob Finan?’ There’s no one replacing Bob Finan.”

Although the voice of Riverhead Raceway has left, Finan’s pen remains busy. He continues to write for the racetrack.

Finan said, “I’m at peace with it now because it’s the offseason.” He noted that when next season starts, though, it will be rough on him not to be behind a mic.

“When they open that racetrack the first Saturday in May for opening night and I’m sitting down here and I’m not in that booth, I might have to go to therapy,” he said, laughing. “I might need somebody to talk to.”

Previous Winners

2021: The Riverhead Athlete
2019: Ethan Greenidge
2018: Pat Kelly
2017: Bill Hedges
2016: Paul Koretzki and Bob Szymanski
2015: James Suarez

Editor’s Note: There was no Sports Person of the year named in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The post 2022 Sports Person of the Year: Bob Finan appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

I was heading home, back to Long Island.

That was a happy day. My six-month adventure in Cooperstown, N.Y., had ended.

(I had accepted a job as managing editor of the Freeman’s Journal the previous summer and lived on the same street as the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Cooperstown in the summer and fall is beautiful, but winter arrives early up there and stays late.) 

Having lived on Long Island for the great majority of my life, I wasn’t prepared for what a Cooperstown winter was like. To me, it was like experiencing a blizzard every day, along with a level of cold that made a short walk to the newspaper office feel like an expedition. One day, exasperated after digging my car out of the snow (again!), I asked a woman in our office when these daily blizzards were going to stop. She looked at me incredulously and said, “April.”

April!!!

That’s when I knew I wasn’t built for Cooperstown.

So I returned to Nassau County without a job, beyond some part-time work for Soccer Week, the publication I had edited before my move north.

An ad in a New York State Press Association publication for a paper called The Suffolk Times caught my eye. I sent my résumé, some writing samples and a cover letter to Mattituck. It was the only paper in Suffolk County that I applied to.

I soon received a call from Troy Gustavson, the co-publisher at the time along with his wife, Joan. I was offered a tryout for the position of news reporter. My first assignment was a story about a Grumman fighter jet that was a hero in the Gulf War.

Troy called me after reading my story. It was seamless, he said.

A good sign.

He had another test assignment for me. I apparently did well enough with that one, too, but he almost apologetically asked me to do a third test story — and I maybe even did another one or two after that. He wanted to make sure I was the right person for the job. And then he asked me if I wouldn’t mind working in the office for a week or so, again, just to be sure that I was the right fit.

“Sure,” I said.

I was fairly familiar with just about all of Long Island — except for the North Fork, that is. I had never been on the North Fork before. While making that first drive to Mattituck, I could not have imagined that I would spend the next 30 years of my life working in the area.

After the thorough tryout, I was hired. I was on the job for about month when I buzzed Troy’s office one day, asking if we could talk. I had a sense that it wasn’t working out. As I climbed the steps up to Troy’s office, I thought to myself that this was a failed experiment. We would mutually agree to part ways, shake hands and that would be it. When I said this to Troy, a startled look crossed his face. He assured me that the company was happy with me, and so, with that encouragement, I stayed on.

Two years later, I returned from a vacation to learn that sports editor Michael Gasparino was leaving the company. Would I be interested in switching over to sports? My background is in sportswriting, so I jumped at the chance.

And so that long ride began — and now ends.

After 30 years at the company, I am leaving Times Review Media Group. Today is my last day on the job. (Yes, I buried the lede.)

This is hard. When you work at a job for that long, it becomes a part of who you are. Space limitations prevent me from naming every person I want to say goodbye to and thank for their help and kindness over the years. That includes some wonderful colleagues at the paper. It has been one of the great joys of my life to talk to the athletes and coaches, write about the games they play and tell their stories.

The next chapter in my life will take me to beautiful North Carolina, where I hope to continue my love affair with writing.

Just another one of the unexpected turns on the twisting road of life.

The post Sports Desk: After 30 years, it’s time to say goodbye appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

Also finishing for the Wildcats were: Ellie Connell (11th in 22:38.30), Maddie Lynn Kiernan (13th in 22:56.30), Anna Minetti (15th in 32:21.00), Caroline D’Andrea (16th in 23:28.40), Ella Meeker (18th in 23:51.80) and Madison Zelin (24th in 25:45.40).

As a team, SWR finished sixth in the team scoring with 230 points.

On the boys side, SWR senior Benjamin Wyszomierski was second in 17:50.60. Patrick Shea (10th in 18:48.50) was the next SWR finisher. He was followed by teammates James Minetti (18th in 19:36.40), Spencer Lee (19th in 19:37.50), Noah Parrinello (26th in 20:24.80), Noah Wyszomierski (28th in 20:30.40) and Jake Albert (30th in 20:51.60).

SWR placed 12th as a team with 305 points.

Riverhead had six boys compete in the individual qualifier, led by sophomore Sean Rowland, who was 16th in 20:23.40. The other Riverheaders were Connor Moos (45th in 21:50.40), Kalum Marangio (53rd in 22:05.80), David Burns (62nd in 22:34.00), Ulise Arqueta Velasquez (67th in 22:49.20) and Dominick Polakowski (85th in 23:54.30). Riverhead was fifth in the team scoring with 179 points.

The Riverhead girls competed in the team qualifier race and finished 19th overall. Junior Anna Lagnena was the top finisher for the Blue Waves in 26:04, followed by Abigail Payne (21st in 26:13.5), Danielle Polakowski (33rd in 27:30.50), Emma Ellis (36th in 27:40.7) and Olivia Atkinson (39th in 28:29.5).

The Section XI Championships will be run Friday at Sunken Meadow.

The post Cross Country: SWR’s Pesso second in division meet; Riverhead fifth as a team appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

One thing can be said for certain: The current Wildcats have done something that the 2019 team didn’t have an opportunity to do. They won a county championship on their home field!

Top-seeded SWR pulled off that rare feat Tuesday as Kya Condon scored two goals in a 3-1 defeat of No. 2 East Islip in the Suffolk County Class A final at Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field. Fans chanted “LIC! LIC” (for Long Island championship) with less than a minute remaining. Moments later, the Wildcats mobbed their goalkeeper, Morgan Lesiewicz, to celebrate the team’s sixth county title. SWR (15-2-1) had previously won county crowns in 1986, 1987, 2014, 2017 and 2019, according to coach Mike Gengler.

“It’s honestly unbelievable,” Ava Gengler, who scored SWR’s second goal, told reporters. “It’s one of the best things I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

With an opportunity for better things to come. SWR will play MacArthur in the Long Island final Saturday at Berner Middle School in Massapequa.

“From the beginning, we knew this team was special, that they were going to do big things,” SWR defender Jessica Nastasi said. “We knew we were gonna do something special.”

This has been a special season for SWR. The League IV champion has won 16 consecutive games, outscoring teams, 80-2, during that stretch, with an airtight defense that has posted 14 shutouts.

“Our defense is great,” said Nastasi, who played on the back line with Mia Gengler, Annie Sheehan and Grace Hillis. “We have some really high-caliber defenders who just work hard. Their grit is incredible.”

Before the first soccer ball was kicked this season, the Wildcats knew SWR would host the county final. In most instances, the final is played at a neutral site. It turned out not to be the case this time, though.

Back in August, at team meetings in a classroom, the playoff brackets were displayed on a SmartBoard, with the county championship at SWR circled. “We were like, ‘This is where we’re gonna get and this is how we’re gonna do it,’ ” said Condon.

Talk about a motivator.

“That was a huge motivation,” said Nastasi.

And SWR made the most of the opportunity.

League III champion East Islip (14-3) was to be taken seriously, having won its previous 11 games and outscoring opponents, 59-8, in those games.

Condon headed in a cross from Nastasi for the game’s first shot and a 1-0 lead 4 minutes, 19 seconds into the match.

Gengler doubled that lead at 19:53, receiving a pass from Abigail Beran before sending a left-footed effort inside the right goalpost.

Condon appeared to seal things with her second goal 8:35 from the end of the game. A ball from GraceAnn Leonard sent Condon through and she slipped a shot past goalkeeper Nikki Miller.

East Islip kept its faint hopes alive, though, when Mikayla Horton headed in a delivery from Kate Alexander with 5:07 to go.

SWR survived some close calls over the course of the game. Alexander struck a curling shot ticketed for the upper right corner, but Lesiewicz (six saves) did well to get a hand to it. Vanessa McGuire had an open goal to shoot at with Lesiewicz out of position, but missed wide right. Jenna Borelli cranked a blistering attempt that Lesiewicz fisted straight up high into the air before collecting the ball. Krista Deutsch sent a header off the crossbar.

“I’m insanely proud of us, but throughout the whole season, we always knew this moment was coming,” Ava Gengler said. “And today, throughout the whole time, any time I talked to one of my teammates, we weren’t scared. We told each other we’re going to win. So I’m honestly not even surprised, just so proud of all of us and what we did today.”

Now, back to that comparison with the 2019 team.

“Both teams both had the same element,” Nastasi said. “They loved each other. They worked together. They had good chemistry. They worked with each other. We were just in harmony, our chemistry on the team, our chemistry on the field as well as our chemistry off the field was the same. So, really similar elements were there and that’s why we were able to win the county championship then and why we are able to win now.”

The post Girls Soccer: SWR claims county title on its home field, defeating East Islip 3-1 appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

His coaches and teammates on the Shoreham-Wading River boys soccer team can see it.

“He routinely frustrates players in practice,” coach Rob Mancuso said. “You know, we say, ‘All right, we score three, we go home.’ We’re there for another 20, 30 minutes if he’s in net.”

Rose was frustrating players Thursday, only this time those players were wearing Elwood/John Glenn uniforms. Among Kyle the keeper’s eight saves in the Suffolk County Class A quarterfinal in East Northport were a couple that could be categorized as excellent. Yet, in the end, the junior’s standout performance wasn’t enough to prevent a 2-1 Glenn triumph.

All three goals were scored in the final 17 minutes, 34 seconds. Matt Pepper broke a 1-1 tie with his winning strike with 8:42 remaining, sending fourth-seeded Glenn (14-2-1) to a semifinal against No. 1 Amityville or No. 8 Islip Monday.

The loss snapped fifth-seeded SWR’s nine-game win streak in which the Wildcats (12-4-1) outscored opponents, 39-3.

“I couldn’t have asked for any more,” right back Tanner Cummings said. “Every game these guys have just fought their hearts out every time.”

And the Wildcats did so again. A lesser team might have had the wind taken out of its sails when Anthony Randazzo drilled a 25-yard free kick into the net for a 1-0 Glenn lead. But Owen Caraftis headed in a right-wing cross from Ryan Menno for an equalizer. It seemed as if overtime was in the offing.

Pepper saw to it that it wasn’t, though. Just 2:08 after Caraftis’ goal, Pepper pounded the ball home after Xavier Rosado, working in tight quarters, tapped a pass to him.

Desperate SWR managed three shots after that, including one from a break down the left wing by Nick Nowak, whose shot was saved by Chris Flores.

It would have been a different match if not for some spectacular stops by Rose. His best of the day was brilliant. Less than seven minutes in, Eli Tyll produced a forceful header from a corner kick by Rosado that didn’t give Rose much time to react. No matter, he sprang to his right and punched the ball aside.

With SWR trailing, 1-0, Randazzo struck a dangerously swerving 25-yard free kick from the left wing. The ball was earmarked for the right side of the net, but Rose made a great diving stop to his left, knocking it aside for a corner kick.

“They were great, but really, he’s the backbone of the team,” said Cummings, who captains the Wildcats along with fellow seniors Luke Gorman, Menno and Nowak. “Honestly, we probably wouldn’t have gotten this far without him.”

Mancuso said Rose is “unbelievable. He’s an incredibly talented goalkeeper. He has been for a while. We saw it with him coming up freshman year. You know, we’re lucky enough to have a couple of very talented goalkeepers on our squad [junior Killian O’Reilly is the other one]. But yeah, I thought he played an incredible game, really kept us in it.”

Asked after the game if he had felt sharp, Rose said: “I thought I played well. I wish I could have done better.”

It was on this same field that Glenn throttled SWR, 6-1, on Sept. 17.

“That 6-1 loss was kind of a turning point for us,” Mancuso said. “From that I think we had a win, a loss and then just kind of hit our stride.”

Glenn plays its home matches on a grass field, whereas SWR’s home pitch is a turf field. Did the grass field take SWR out of its normal ground passing game?

“We don’t really think it takes us out of the game,” Mancuso said. “You have to be able to play on both surfaces. We have both surfaces in Suffolk. I personally would take a nice grass field over a turf field, but I like the way the game is played on it. But I don’t think that’s really an excuse.”

Some of the Wildcats visibly took the loss hard and Mancuso consoled them.

“I’m incredibly proud of them,” he said. “You know, I couldn’t ask for more from this team. I think they push themselves and, you know, overcame a little bit of a rocky start [to the season] to really put something special together. It’s a shame it has to stop here.”

The post Boys Soccer: Rose, in full bloom, shines in SWR loss appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

Just 37 seconds into Tuesday’s Suffolk County Class A quarterfinal at Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field in Shoreham, the ball fell to Kya Condon’s feet about 35 yards from Comsewogue’s goal. The senior center midfielder essentially thought to herself, “Why not?”

Condon hammered a booming blast from straight on that soared high. Goalkeeper Emma Norton got a hand to it, but not enough to prevent the powerful shot from reaching the upper left corner.

Despite top-seeded SWR’s efforts to add to the score, that was the game’s only goal.

SWR 1, Comsewogue 0.

“I saw like the opening and my teammate Maddie Bergan, I know she like started ducking” to get out of the way, Condon said. “She [knew] I was going for it.”

The shot had goal written all over it from the start.

“As soon as she shot it, I knew it was going in,” said Ava Gengler, who played striker and center midfield for League IV champion SWR (14-2-1).

Condon said: “We were all mentally like we’re going in, we’re gonna kill ourselves for our teammates and for like everybody, so I was in like a mental state like I wasn’t even on the field. It felt like honestly an out-of-body experience, like just go, go, go, go!”

And SWR is going. The Wildcats will host No. 5 Eastport-South Manor (12-3-2) in a semifinal Friday. SWR had defeated ESM on the same field Oct. 17, 2-0.

Because SWR is the No. 1 seed, it has the rare opportunity to win a county championship on its home field. Shoreham will host the county final Nov. 1.

“I don’t want it to be a curse, I want it to be a blessing,” said SWR coach Mike Gengler, whose nieces Ava and Mia Gengler play on the team.

Still, even the No. 1 seed has to deal with the pressures that come with the playoffs. At this stage, every team is good.

“That’s the consensus across the board,” Mike Gengler said. “If you’re in it’s because you belong.”

“A seeding is just a seat at the table,” he added. “Everybody’s fighting not to end their senior season. And you know, we have nine seniors that are saying, ‘We’re not done,’ and you know, they’re showing up.”

They showed up Tuesday. Although the score didn’t reflect it, SWR urgently pushed hard for an insurance goal, but never got it.

A good deal of the reason for that was Norton’s goalkeeping. She made nine saves, and there were quality stops among them. The diving Norton did well to parry aside a shot by Annie Sheehan, made a great stretching save on Ava Gengler and denied Bergan on the doorstep.

“An amazing keeper showed up today,” Mike Gengler said. “I have to say their goalie, Emma, had one of the best keeper showings I’ve seen in almost 20 years of coaching. She kept them in that game.”

Ava Gengler drilled a shot off the crossbar in the 51st minute.

SWR outshot No. 8 Comsewogue (10-5-2), 22-3.

Comsewogue’s best chance was snuffed out when goalie Morgan Lesiewicz smothered an attempt by Maria Stamatopoulos. The SWR back line of Jessica Nastasi, Grace Hillis, Sheehan and Abigail Beran saw to it that Lesiewicz didn’t need to make more than two saves.

“Every single one of these teams, they don’t come out here not wanting to win,” Condon said. “It’s very rough like that. It’s just who wants it more and who’s going to get it done?”

How neat would it be for SWR to win a county title on its own field?

“I played here,” Mike Gengler said. “I coached here with my brother. It’s never lined up like this before in 25 years.”

He said his players have “been together a long time. A lot of underclassmen are learning from the upperclassmen and, you know, we’re putting another coin in the merry-go-round of tradition.”

The post Girls Soccer: Condon’s early long-range shot is a winner as SWR advances to semifinals appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

Thomas Daggett took that understanding to heart and used his head — literally — as Shoreham-Wading River opened its sixth straight postseason in dramatic fashion Monday night.

A well-executed Daggett header lifted fifth-seeded SWR to a 2-1 sudden-victory overtime triumph over No. 12 Westhampton Beach in a Suffolk County Class A Tournament first-round match. The junior planted his third goal of the season from a ball delivered by Ryan Menno 1 minute, 14 seconds into overtime at fog-covered Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field in Shoreham.

“I won the ball and then I just made a run,” Daggett said, describing his first game-winner for SWR (12-3-1). “I wanted the game to end and I saw an opening in the back. Ryan Menno crossed it and I just finished it, back [of] the net. The best goal of my life. The best feeling. I’m a center back, so I don’t really get to score much, so this feeling is awesome.”

Daggett has a reputation for being good on headers.

“He’s great in the air,” said coach Rob Mancuso.

Daggett’s goal settled a game SWR was unfortunate not to have won in regulation time.

All three of the game’s goals were of high quality. The nicest of them all, unquestionably, came off Owen Caraftis’ right boot. A loose ball floated across the Westhampton Beach goal area to the left side, where it was met by a brilliant Caraftis scissors kick for a 1-0 lead with 3:08 left in the first half.

“The ball got popped up off someone’s head and I just went for it,” said Caraftis.

The junior center midfielder said he had tried to score on scissors kicks on two prior occasions this season. “I hit the crossbar and the goalie saved the other one,” he said. “I knew the third one just had to go in.”

The Hurricanes’ tying goal was a work of art, too. Kade Murphree played a ball along the left sideline for Ethan Vogt, who drove a centering pass that Chance Brindle put away with an open look at goal. There was not much goalkeeper Kyle Rose could do.

This was clearly not the same Westhampton Beach team that SWR had routed, 7-0, on Sept. 15. Mancuso called Westhampton Beach “honestly, probably one of the scariest lower seeds in the playoffs.” He said, “That goal that they scored is one of the more impressive goals I’ve seen in high school.”

SWR has won nine straight games, six of those shutouts. Over that span, the Wildcats have outcored teams, 39-3.

SWR was unfortunate not to have scored more goals Monday. Early on, Menno looped a ball forward for the onrushing Nicholas Nowak, who slammed a hard shot off the left goalpost.

Westhampton Beach goalkeeper Alex Ajiataz played a superb match, despite taking a kick to his midsection while diving to punch away a ball that deflected off a teammate and was headed toward the low right corner of the goal in the first half. “Their keeper had one of the better games I’ve seen on a high school field,” said Mancuso.

SWR had three golden scoring opportunities in the final 12:30 of the second half: Nowak nudged a ball just feet wide of the right post; Caraftis cranked a shot off a corner kick, only to be denied by a first-class reflex save by Ajiataz; and Daggett met a free kick 43 yards away from goal by Menno with a blast over the crossbar with a little over a minute left in regulation time.

On to overtime, when anything can happen.

“One goal puts your whole season away and we just couldn’t have that happen to us,” said Daggett, one of many SWR players who bleached their hair blond in a show of unity.

SWR had the better of Westhampton Beach (5-10-1) in possession. That was reflected by SWR’s 14-3 superiority in shots and 13-0 advantage in corner kicks.

SWR advances to a quarterfinal Thursday at No. 4 Elwood/John (13-2-1). Glenn was a 6-1 winner over SWR on Sept. 17.

The playoffs are a different animal than the regular season. With the pressure and intensity, everything is magnified — including a coach’s stress level.

Said a relieved Mancuso, “It was fun to watch and I’m sure I’ll feel that way after my heart rate goes down.”

The post Boys Soccer: SWR goals by Caraftis, Daggett are beauties appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

That’s how the Riverhead football team looked at it anyway.

Amari Funn surely had fun, as did his first cousin and fellow senior running back, John Booker. The pair, who have played football together since they were 7 years old, have complementary running styles that have changed over the years.

Referring to those days when he was 7, Funn said: “Back then I was the thunder. Now he’s the thunder.”

No question, Booker (6-0, 200 pounds) is the thunder and Funn (5-11, 180) is the lightning.

That is not to say, though, that Funn doesn’t still have some thunder in him. It was on display Saturday in Riverhead’s final home regular-season game. Funn showed the sort of power runner he can be late in the third quarter when he ran straight into Brentwood’s Joshua Almendarez. Almendarez went down as a result of the hard collision. Funn just kept on running 34 yards for the go-ahead touchdown that gave Riverhead a 9-7 lead at Coach Mike McKillop Memorial Field.

In the fourth quarter, Funn broke another tackle en route to a 15-yard TD run with 2 minutes, 21 seconds left in the Suffolk County Division I game.

On Brentwood’s first play from scrimmage after that, Riverhead’s Andrew MacGray picked off a pass, essentially sealing a 16-7 homecoming and Senior Day victory for the Blue Waves (3-4).

“It meant a lot,” Booker said. “A lot of people came out to watch us play and we played very well in front of them.”

The win kept Riverhead’s slim playoff hopes alive heading into its regular-season finale Friday night at Sachem North.

Asked about his understanding of Riverhead’s playoff situation with the complicated power-rating system, coach Ed Grassman said: “I don’t know. I don’t look at that. It’s one game at a time and we got to play the next game.”

In snapping a three-game losing streak, Riverhead battled against a 1-5 Brentwood team (now losers of six straight) that didn’t look like a 1-5 team entering the game or anything like pushovers.

“They definitely didn’t,” Funn said. “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”

Grassman said: “It was a tough game. They were big, they were physical. They came excited. This is [the] first time we’ve ever beat Brentwood, so we knew it was going to be a tough game.”

Riverhead’s defense played shutout quality ball, limiting Brentwood to 143 yards of offense, all on the ground. The Indians threw the ball only four times without completing a pass.

Brentwood’s points came from a pick-six by Malachi Baker and the extra point in the first quarter.

The score remained 7-0 until Riverhead got a break late in the second quarter. Sean Keane (eight tackles) scooped up a blocked punt and gave Riverhead possession at the Brentwood 33-yard line.

Booker completed a 16-yard pass to Angelo Confort. Then LeVon Short ran for four yards, only to be tackled inbounds by Edras Hernandez with the final seconds of the half ticking down. Riverhead quickly lined up and Short spiked the ball with 0.4 seconds remaining on the game clock.

Charlie Garcia Cerna then booted a 25-yard field goal.

It was worth three points on the scoreboard, but much more to Riverhead’s psyche heading to the locker room.

“That field goal changed the momentum,” Grassman said. “That was big.”

By halftime, Brentwood had mustered only 56 yards and Riverhead had 55.

The second half was a different story. Funn ran for 158 of his 192 yards in the second half.

“His ability to break tackles is definitely crazy,” Booker said. “He just keeps his feet moving and, with that speed, I don’t think you’re gonna catch him.”

Michael McLean’s fumble recovery set up Funn’s first TD.

Brentwood, trailing 9-7, mounted a 12-play drive that ended when Almendarez’s 38-yard field-goal attempt flew wide left with 7:31 remaining in the fourth quarter. Seven runs by Funn and four by Booker set up Funn’s second score.

“This is probably the biggest crowd I’ve played [before] for Riverhead,” Funn said after his team rang the victory bell at nearby Pulaski Street Intermediate School. “Definitely a loud crowd, yeah. It definitely helped, though.”

Grassman said he gives his 16 seniors “a lot of credit because this is the group that there was a failed budget and they missed a season of playing. They’ve been able to overcome a lot.”

He noted, “It’s the way you want to end homecomings — with a win.”

That’s the Funn way.

The post Football: Saturday was a Funn day for Riverhead appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

“I’m truly amazed by him every day,” SWR junior Liam Kershis said. “I mean, how he warms up in practice. He throws the ball on one knee to warm up and he throws it 50 yards. I wish I was joking about that.”

The 6-foot-6, 235-pound Zahn is big, strong and accurate. SWR has a nice passing game, and that’s attributable in large part to the senior.

Zahn passed for three touchdowns and Kershis scored four TDs (two on runs, two on receptions) as SWR wrapped up the regular season Friday night with a 45-31 defeat of visiting Mount Sinai in a Suffolk County Division IV game at Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field in Shoreham.

The score was tied, 17-17, at halftime, but SWR (4-3) scored on four of its first five second-half possessions before running out the clock to end it.

SWR coach Aden Smith believes the result will bring the Wildcats a home playoff game Nov. 4.

Defending Division IV champion SWR was coming off tough back-to-back losses to Elwood/John Glenn, 45-42, and Kings Park, 44-33.

“We definitely didn’t play our best games, but I thought we executed and I thought we should have definitely won those games,” said Zahn.

SWR made sure to finish this time, no small thanks to Zahn and Kershis.

Smith said Zahn has “improved his ability to throw tremendously from last year to this year. So you know, he’s playing lights-out football. His stats are tremendous.

“If you’ve watched our film in years past, we’ve been significantly reliant on the run. This year we’ve been passing the ball a lot and it’s because of his leadership ability, the ability to throw it accurately.”

Zahn turned in a tremendous performance on Senior Night, connecting on 22 of 32 passes for 288 yards and no interceptions. His season numbers: 105-for-153 for 1,548 yards, 16 TDs and three interceptions.

“Incredible,” Kershis said. “Without Dylan Zahn, we would not be where we are.”

If that wasn’t enough, Zahn also ran the ball 29 times for 135 yards and a TD. He did all of this while wearing a splint on his left wrist, which he fractured in the season-opening game against Miller Place.

“I always had like a strong arm when I was a kid,” said Zahn, whose 62-yard TD pass to Kieran Clifford (three catches, 101 yards) broke a 17-17 tie 6 minutes, 23 seconds into the third quarter. “I always knew that, but I think that my quarterback coach, James Brady, he’s definitely the one who got me to where I am right now.”

Two of Zahn’s scoring tosses went to Kershis. Kershis ran for 113 yards on 13 carries and caught six passes for 71 yards. This season the junior has run for 576 yards and 10 TDs.

“Liam’s an explosive player,” Smith said. “He’s got a tremendous upside. It’s his first year playing football since ninth grade, so the more game-type reps he gets, the better he’s going to be. So I think he’s getting better and better with each game.”

Behind an offensive line of Zack Wilson, Jake Fabian, Aidan Franks, Thomas Mullen and Aidan Powers, SWR was able to total 536 yards.

Jaden Rotella (14 of 23) passed for 205 yards and a TD (a 73-yarder to Drew Feinstein) and ran for 105 yards and a TD (a 52-yarder) for Mount Sinai (2-5). Feinstein made five recepti0ns for 130 yards. The Mustangs also had a pair of TD runs by Jake Spallina.

Both teams made a field goal. SWR’s Sam Palmer nailed a 24-yarder and Mount Sinai’s Michael Maire hit a 21-yarder.

“I think any time you play a crosstown rival, Mount Sinai, you know, they understand the magnitude of the game,” Smith said. “It’s a big game.”

Spallina’s second TD run of the game and ninth of the season cut SWR’s lead to 38-23 with 7:58 left to play. A fumble recovery by SWR’s Brendan Meskill set up a 27-yard Kershis TD with 2:36 left. Mount Sinai responded with Feinstein’s 73-yard TD catch on the next play from scrimmage, but SWR covered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

“The coaches, the players, everybody understood the magnitude,” Smith said. “We came in, found a way to get it done.”

The post Football: Zahn, Kershis help SWR wrap up regular season with win appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

For the first time ever, the Riverhead boys golf team has a league title it can call its own.

Riverhead picked up its third league crown in four years. The only difference this time is the Blue Waves didn’t have to share it with Mattituck, as they did the previous two times.

Having finished in sole possession of first place for the first time with a spotless 10-0 record in Suffolk County League VII, one could make the argument that this is the greatest Riverhead boys golf team ever.

“It’s impressive,” freshman Colby Baran said. “In the last year we improved significantly to the point where we just almost blew out every team we played.”

“It wasn’t completely unexpected,” he continued. “We knew we had a good team. Last year we were 9 and 1, so we knew we definitely had a shot, but knowing that we did as good as we did, it’s a good feeling.”

Signs were seen early, during tryouts in August, that this could be a special team. Coach Steve Failla said it was the most competitive tryouts he had seen since taking over the team in 2015.

“We cut good golfers this year, so the word is out, and the guys, they know when they show up Day One in August that they’re going to be fighting for a spot. It’s a great lesson for life,” he said.

“They know that when they show up in August that they have to bring their ‘A’ game, so they’re working at it all summer long and the spring.”

From those tryouts, 11 players made the team — and then proceeded to make their mark. With the exception of an 8-1 win over Hampton Bays, Riverhead has won every one of its matches by 9-0 scores, including its final league match at Shelter Island last Wednesday.

Griffin Sumwalt, a junior, said Riverhead “started off the season well, and then as we went further on, we were like, ‘We could do this. Like, we could win every single match.’ ”

Riverhead’s triumph over Mattituck Sept. 29 marked the Tuckers’ first loss on their North Fork Country Club course in Cutchogue in eight years, according to Failla.

How did Riverhead win on Mattituck’s home course?

“If I tell you, you’ll tell everybody,” Failla said. “It’s just goal-setting. The boys set goals and they work hard. You know, the program has come a long way. Our program has come a long way in the last six years, you know, and they’re committed to their craft.”

Baran, who finished the league season with a 36.4 nine-hole average, has played in the team’s No. 1 slot the entire season, with the exception of one match when Sumwalt (37.4) played there. Sumwalt was the team’s No. 2 player for the rest of the matches. Riverhead’s sole senior, Jace Pesce (38.1), was in the No. 3 position more than anyone else.

The competition continues.

On Tuesday, one day before the Conference IV Tournament is to be held at Riverhead’s Cherry Creek Golf Links course, the Blue Waves still hadn’t settled which six golfers they would send to the tournament.

“It was tough to cut back in August, and it’s tough to tell some guys that they’re not going to be in the top six and today I’m gonna have to tell some good golfers that they’re not going to be playing tomorrow because we only bring six,” Failla said during practice. “They are in complete control of the outcome. Their scores today will determine who’s playing.

“I’m a closet teddy bear, you know. I’m so proud of these boys overall. I wish I could bring more than six.”

It was determined at Tuesday’s practice that those six golfers will be Baran, Sumwalt and Pesce, joined by juniors Zach Timpone (38.8), Jaxson Hubbard (39.3) and Luke Richard (39.2).

Five juniors — Mark Gajowski, Kyle Kaelin, Colin Lynch, Ryan Densieski and Preston Swenk — comprise the rest of the roster.

Sumwalt said the current team is better than last year’s squad. “We have way more depth this year and every single kid is very good,” he said.

This year Riverhead wasn’t in a sharing mood when it came to the league title.

“Way better,” Baran said. “We’re not co-league champions. We’re league champions.”

The post Boys Golf: This league championship is all Riverhead’s appeared first on Riverhead News Review.