Riverhead High School athletic director Brian Sacks is doing whatever it takes to right the ship and return the Blue Waves to a level of competitiveness they’ve been striving to achieve since the school board decided to cut sports after two failed budget votes amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With uncertainty in the air and no sports to play, many of the school’s best, most experienced athletes transferred out of the district and Sacks has been picking up the pieces ever since. 

Many of the varsity teams wound up fielding underclassmen — and some programs barely had enough participation to field a team at all. It was the lowest of the low for Riverhead sports, but things have started to look up lately and it’s because the right people have stepped up to the plate.

“No matter what anyone wants to say, when it comes down to it, winning is important,” Sacks said. “I think because of the losing we were doing, the past couple years maybe deterred kids from playing sports, I’m not totally sure. But our participation numbers were so bad and they’re finally picking back up again all across the board.”

The boys lacrosse team had their best-ever season last year and won a playoff game. The softball team made school history, going a perfect 18-0 in league play before losing in the Suffolk County semifinals. The boys basketball team just made the playoffs for the first time since 2019. It’s a testament of those who stuck around and believed.

A rebuild always starts from the ground up. 

“When you build a high school program it is truly predicated on [area] youth programs and how their numbers are and how their coaching is and how they’re influencing students at those levels,” Sacks said. “It starts there before they even think about participating in a school sport.”

The Police Athletic League, which offers football, lacrosse, cheerleading and soccer, introduces kids to sports as young as age 5. Football found success at the PAL level this season with both the 10-and-under and 11-and-under teams winning championships thanks to strong leadership. Riverhead Little League is a pillar in the community and churns out district champions every year. There are also travel baseball programs like the Riverhead Waves that put local kids in elite competition. Boys varsity basketball head coach Patrick Fabian brought youth basketball back to Riverhead by getting membership in the Hampton’s Youth Athletic League and currently coaches third- through sixth-grade girls and boys in his off-time. 

“Anyone that wants to get involved in our youth programs I have been all ears,” Sacks said. “I’ve offered our facilities, whatever people need, I will do my best to help with what I have to offer.”

A big change in the middle school ranks is to use coaches with varsity-level experience to better prepare players for the next level. Leif Shay along with Scott Hackal, former high school coaches who led Riverhead to multiple Suffolk County championships, coach the middle school football team now. John Rossetti, who coached Riverhead’s boys basketball team to a league title when he was in charge, has returned to coach the middle school cagers. Cherese Foster, who was most recently the varsity girls basketball coach, has also chosen to move down and coach middle school.

“I can’t have girls coming up to varsity not knowing how to make a layup,” Foster said a few months ago. “We have to do everything we can to get to these athletes as early as possible. We shouldn’t still be teaching the basics at the varsity level.”

To spread awareness and try to increase interest and participation, Erica Murphy and Quinn Alexander recently formed a new booster program called the Riverhead Athletic Club — a 501-C not-for-profit organization.

“Personally I’ve always been an avid sports fan,” Alexander said in a phone interview. “I grew up around athletics. I’ve been a teacher and a coach in Three Village. I’ve been a coach at Ward Melville. I came up through Shoreham athletics. All those places had a booster club and we felt like that’s something Riverhead has lacked. I have three little kids in the district and everyone that has joined the organization bleeds blue.”

When Murphy and Alexander approached Sacks with the idea, he welcomed it with open arms. 

“Our biggest problem has been attracting kids to try sports at an early age,” Sacks said. “I think the booster club can help get the word out to the community. Show them there’s opportunity here and give the parents a place to go for information.”

Alexander has short-term and long-term goals with the club. The first step is to simply get the word out and start fundraising. 

“I know there are clubs that help out certain sports but we want to be there for every sport across the board,” Alexander said. “I want to do youth sports camps eventually. I want to be able to hand out scholarships to our best athletes. I want to have a hall of fame. Everyone here is committed to bringing Riverhead sports back. We all want to help.”

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Riverhead Boys Golf (10-0 League VII)

The Riverhead boys golf team has not lost a league match since 2021. What they haven’t been able to do is lift the trophy as Suffolk County’s best. Their league record combined with their course difficulty rating earned them the No. 5 seed and a first round bye in the Suffolk County team playoffs this year. They’ll face off against No. 21 Hauppague who knocked off No.12 East Islip in the first round of the playoffs. The two teams play Monday at Cherry Creek Golf Links starting at 3 p.m.

Colby Baran has led the Blue Waves all season and recently qualified for the New York State individual championships for the second consecutive season. The junior finished third overall in the Suffolk County tournament with a two day total of 151. Baran was on fire in the opening round, carding a 72, which was second best in the field. Riverhead golfers Logan Dempsey and Mason Sidik both qualified for the county tournament but were unable to put up low enough scores to earn All-County recognition. 

Shoreham-Wading River Field Hockey (14-2 Division II)

After winning their first 10 games of the season, Shoreham-Wading River scuffled a bit down the stretch, losing two one-goal games against Harborfields and Miller Place before finishing up the regular season with three consecutive Ws. Their 14-2 record earned the No. 4 seed as well as a home game in the first round of the playoffs against No. 5 Eastport South Manor. That game will be played Monday at 4 p.m. The Wildcats won 2-1 when the two teams faced off during the regular season. 

SWR is led by sophomore phenom Madison Herr who finished second on Long Island in points with 41 over the course of the season. In the final game against West Babylon, Herr scored a season-high five goals that brought her season tally to 25. Kaitlynn Monaghan, who plays the other attack wing position, scored 14 goals this season. 

Shoreham-Wading River Boys Soccer (12-4 overall, 9-1 League VIII)

Though the Wildcats dropped a few non-league games, they simply took care of business when it came to facing league opponents this season. Their 9-1 record in the league was good enough for second place, coming up just short against Elwood/John Glenn who also posted a 9-1 record. Even though the two teams split the regular season match ups, Elwood/John Glenn was awarded the tiebreaker because of goal differential. SWR earned the No. 3 seed in the Class A bracket and will face off against No. 6 Islip on Tuesday. The game will be played at Shoreham-Wading River High School at 6 p.m. The Wildcats won their lone regular season meeting, 2-0.

The Wildcats been led by Zach Makarewicz, one of the few sophomores on the roster, with 13 goals scored. Tyler Nowaski is not too far behind with 10 tallies. Andrew Stiene leads the team in assists with six, one ahead of Terence Winters. Goalkeeper Branon Smith has recorded 87 saves thus far.

Shoreham-Wading River Girls Soccer (10-2-2 overall, 10-1-1 League VII)

Shoreham-Wading River was flawless up until the last game of the season against Islip who snatched away the league title from the Wildcats with the 2-0 victory. Two own goals eventually sunk SWR in a game they felt they dominated through the first 25 minutes. Because of the loss, the Wildcats were awarded the No. 2 seed but will still get a bye in the first round of the playoffs. They’ll play the winner of No. 3 Bayport-Blue Point and No. 6 Mattituck. Because of the bye, SWR already has a spot in the Class A semifinals which will take place on Friday, Nov. 1. The Wildcats beat Bayport-Blue Point 1-0 and Mattituck 4-0 during the season.

SWR is led by Mia Mangano, who has scored a team-high 15 goals so far this season. Ava Gengler has chipped in five goals and both Stamatia Almiroudis and Shealyn Varbero have found the back of the net four times. Olivia Pesso leads the team in assists with seven. Morgan Lesiewicz has been a rock at the back for the Wildcats for the past five seasons and the senior doesn’t look to be letting up any time soon. Lesiewicz has recorded 83 saves this season.

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BOYS LACROSSE

April 2: Riverhead 11, Middle Country 4

Before the season started, Riverhead head coach Vic Guadagnino circled the game against Middle Country as one of the must-have wins to make the playoffs. The Blue Waves took care of business against the team that defeated them 8-6 last year. Zach Maligres won 14 of 17 faceoffs in the victory to set the tone from the circle. Griffin Sumwalt and Logan Dempsey each scored three goals. Riverhead is off to a scorching 4-1 start and eyeing their first playoff berth since 2019.

Upcoming Schedule:

April 5: Lindenhurst at Riverhead, 4:30 p.m.

April 9: Riverhead at Commack, 4:30 p.m.

April 12: Riverhead at Patchogue-Medford, 6 p.m.

BASEBALL

April 1: Shoreham-Wading River 6, Southampton 0

After sweeping Babylon in the first three games of the season, the Wildcats continued their winning streak against Southampton Monday. Gordon Votruba was dominant on the mound, striking out six and only allowing two hits in five innings of work. Shoreham-Wading River (4-0 League VII) got major contributions at the plate from Christian Cox and Kyle Stella, who each went 2 for 3 on the day and combined for three RBIs and three runs scored. Through four games, SWR has scored 29 runs and given up only eight.

Upcoming Schedule:

April 4: Southampton at Shoreham-Wading River, 4:30 p.m.

April 8: Shoreham-Wading River at Bayport-Blue Point, 5 p.m.

April 10: Bayport-Blue Point at Shoreham-Wading River, 5 p.m.

GIRLS LACROSSE

March 27: Huntington 15, Riverhead 6

Riverhead’s season hasn’t exactly gone to plan in the early going. The most recent loss against Huntington now marks four games in a row the Blue Waves have lost to start the season. Riverhead has been scoring goals but just giving up way too many on the other side of the field. The Blue Waves have given up 15 goals in three of their four games thus far. In the loss against Huntington, Logan Pilon scored three goals and Sadie Shultz added two. 

Upcoming Schedule:

April 6: Riverhead at Smithtown East, 2 p.m.

April 8: Riverhead at Half Hollow Hills, 4 p.m.

April 11: William Floyd at Riverhead, 4 p.m.

March 30: Islip 7, Shoreham-Wading River 6

In a tightly contested match from start to finish, Islip got the best of Shoreham-Wading River with a 3-1 fourth quarter. The Wildcats entered the final frame leading 5-4 but ultimately surrendered the lead. Islip’s Carley Mullins scored a game-high five goals and Taylor Reising added four assists. Grayce Kitchen scored two goals for the Wildcats and Maeve Bourguignon, Sophia Minnion, Kady Keegan and Reese Marcario added one apiece.

Upcoming Schedule:

April 5: Westhampton at Shoreham-Wading River, 4:45 p.m.

April 8: Shoreham-Wading River at Hauppauge, 4:45 p.m.

April 12: Mattituck at Shoreham-Wading River, 4:45 p.m.

Boys Tennis

March 27: Shoreham-Wading River 4, West Islip 3

Shoreham-Wading River started out the season with two consecutive 4-3 victories. Against West Islip Raj Ramharack was the difference maker as he defeated Nick Albertelli in third-seed singles by the score of 6-3, 6-1. SWR’s Christian Bass and Lucas Portuese won their lead doubles matchup to earn much needed points. Ray Hidaka and Travis Finnegan also scored singles victories in straight sets.

Upcoming Schedule:

April 4: Hampton Bays at Shoreham-Wading River, 4 p.m.

April 5: Shoreham-Wading River at Westhampton, 4:45 p.m. 

April 9: Shoreham-Wading River at Riverhead 4:30 p.m.

March 27: Riverhead 5, Central Islip 2

Riverhead got their season going with a dominant victory over Central Islip. Benjamin Dono won his top-seed singles matchup against Daniel Mejia, 6-3, 7-5. He was losing the second set 2-5 before coming back to win it. Chris Carver and Christian Seymour picked up singles victories in straight sets. Riverhead also won their third doubles matchup when Macklin Jordan and Alex Sliwak defeated Matias Barzola and Brandon Escobar, 6-3, 6-4.

Upcoming Schedule:

April 4: Riverhead at William Floyd, 4 p.m.

April 9: Shoreham-Wading River at Riverhead 4:30 p.m.

April 11: Riverhead at Ross, 4:30 p.m.

The post Weekly high school sports roundup appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

The defenses shined early on as both teams struggled to string together consecutive positive plays. Shoreham-Wading River (0-1 League IV) got quick stops in the first four possessions of the game, forcing turnovers and punts as the defense came up with one big play after another. Liam Gregorek, Sean Casey and Brendan Meskill were causing absolute havoc in the box. But while the Wildcats were getting the ball back quickly, the offense struggled to gain momentum due to false start and holding penalties. Over the course of the game, the Wildcats drew 11 yellow flags.

Shoreham-Wading River kept feeding the ball to senior halfback Liam Kershis, hoping to spring a big run, and though he was getting some traction, persistent leg cramps pretty much ended his night. Kershis finished with 14 carries for 51 yards. 

Midway through the second quarter, the Knights made their first breakthrough when halfback KaRahn King ripped off a 50 yard run to put Elwood/John Glenn into scoring position. King then hobbled off to the sideline with his own bout of cramps but the Knights were able cap the drive with a TD catch by Matt Triolo.

“Both teams were dealing with the weather,” SWR head coach Aden Smith said. “I’m not going to say the cramps made an impact because both of us were dealing with it. We just need to be more prepared for the elements.”

On the following possession, SWR QB Tyler Hermanns launched a deep ball down the sideline and connected with Kieran Clifford for a 51-yard completion. Clifford, who finished the game with three catches for 74 yards, then limped off to the sideline and was barely featured the rest of the game. Another big holding call on the offense stalled the drive and the Wildcats turned it over on downs heading into halftime trailing 7-0.

Elwood/John Glenn (1-0 League IV) opened the third quarter with another Matt Triolo touchdown, this time taking the top off the defense with a 66-yard fly route to make the score 14-0.  The Wildcats answered back with a 4th-down touchdown thrown to Mike Casey to cut the deficit in half.

Both teams quickly exchanged touchdowns in the fourth quarter, with Sean Casey corralling a pass in the end zone to give the Wildcats a chance to tie the game with 8 minutes remaining. SWR milked the clock and brought the ball all the way down to the Knights’ 10 yard line with the help of a targeting penalty. But once in the red zone, three consecutive passes fell incomplete and ended their hopes of a comeback. 

“We had opportunities that we could have taken advantage of,” Smith said. “I have to watch the film, but I’m sure I’ll find a lot of things we missed. It was hot and humid and the kids were tired and cramping but we have to make sure the next man up does the job for us.”

Senior Zachary Johnson, the Wildcats’ starting center, sat on the bench in the waning minutes of the game in extreme pain. The key cog in the offensive line may have sustained a serious injury to his elbow.

“I hope we didn’t just lose our center,” Smith said. “Because we don’t have anyone after that.”

The Wildcats will next host Wyandanch on Thursday in the second week of the season.

“Any time you lose and it’s a short turnaround we have to lick our wounds, give everyone about 12 hours to decompress, but then get back to the drawing board to get better,” Smith said. “All we can do is take it out on the next opponent. We’re a good football team and we will get better.”

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The tide started to turn in the top of the third when Tyler Chattaway took the mound. For the first time in the game, East Hampton was held scoreless as Chattaway retired the first three hitters he faced. Even though the lead was still 8, the one-two-three inning got the momentum going Riverhead’s way.

In the bottom of the third inning, Gage Halpin nuked a ball to left field that was just short of a home run but settled for a double. Chase Kwasna followed up with an RBI double and Crosby Palmeri knocked Kwansa in to score with a double of his own. But the big blow was an absolute missile off the bat of Grayson Gradischer that cleared the right field fence by a country mile. Four runs in the inning cut the deficit in half.

The hits kept coming from there and Chattaway was in command the rest of the way, allowing only two runs the rest of the game.

“He pitched four innings and he threw 45 pitches which, in Little League, is unreal,” Riverhead head coach Jason Kwasna said. “The fact that he came in with confidence and threw strikes made all the difference. Chattaway was a complete stud for us; we can’t say enough about him.”

Riverhead (7-0) wasn’t done doing damage. In the fourth, they scored another three runs behind a Chattaway RBI triple and a run scoring single from Jason Hubbard. The East Hampton lead shrunk to 9-7. The good vibes started to grow inside the Riverhead dugout. 

“I always had nothing but confidence in our team to be honest,” coach Kwasna said. “Even down 8-0, I still felt like we had a chance. We hit top to bottom in our lineup. Every one of these ball players are great. My job is really to just stay out of the way.”

East Hampton (5-1) managed to score another run in the fifth inning to make it 10-7 but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Riverhead bats. After an RBI single by Eddie Meier, Chattaway came up with runners on first and second and laced the pitch down the line to clear the bases with a stand-up triple, tying the game 10-10.

Chattaway then shut down East Hampton in the top of the sixth, giving the home side a chance to win the game in their final at-bat. With two outs on the board and a runner on second, Tye Marelli was at the plate in a high stakes situation. 

“Baseball’s funny sometimes,” Kwasna said. “The kid makes some errors at shortstop when he usually plays second base but he gets a chance to redeem himself at the plate when the game is on the line.”

Marelli took full advantage of the moment. A high fly ball off his bat with some heavy cutting spin landed just inside the foul line to score the winning run and unleash complete jubilation for Riverhead.

“The boys can play with anybody,” Kwasna said. “We just need to keep the mental errors at a minimum. We can do this. It’s up to me to not over-coach and just simply let them go.”

Riverhead now advances to the New York State Little League Sectional double-elimination tournament where they’ll play four other Long Island district winners for a spot in the states. The sectionals will start July 14. The opponent has yet to be determined.

“I just want to thank our coaches Ed Meier and Kevin Gradischer along with our scorekeeper Leslie Kwasna and all of our parents for their support,” Kwasna said. “Without the support of everyone, none of this is possible.”

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Enter Mount Sinai, the Goliath – winners of Suffolk County’s Division II and No. 1 Class C playoff seed, a perennially ranked national lacrosse powerhouse, reigning Suffolk County Class C champions with a spotless 17-0 record coming into the game.

Then there’s the Wildcats — a team that snuck into third place after losing four games in a row during a mid-season rough patch. A team that always had the talent but was missing an identity. A team that lost on this very field last season, 16-5 against Mount Sinai. The cards were stacked against them. But their will to win, their desire to be great and their ability to play as one bled through their veins as it was David that eventually emerged victorious.

The team gathered by the goal pregame, forming a circle so tight, there was no space to breathe. Captains mouthed off to their team, urging them to stay focused, stick to the game plan and most importantly, have fun.

“We just made it known that we’re a family, no matter what,” senior captain Alec Gregorek said. “That we want it more than them. That if we all did our part, we would come out with a win.”

Emerging out of the huddle, roars echoed through the stadium as the Wildcats were hyped, carrying that emotion into the opening minutes of the game.

“The goal was to get out in front early, keep the momentum our way and keep the ball as much as we could,” SWR head coach Mike Taylor said. 

Part of the Wildcats’ struggles in their losing streak was getting off to a slow start. To get behind against a dominant team like Mount Sinai would have been a death sentence. But to their credit, SWR landed the first punch.

Alec Gregorek broke through with the team’s first goal of the game just over a minute into the game and Liam Kershis followed 30 seconds after with a goal of his own. Kershis would later score again to make it 3-0 after the first quarter.

“It was a great win last week but it wasn’t enough for us,” Kershis said. “There’s so many hard working guys on this team. I wasn’t ready for this season to end. Nobody was.”

As Mt. Sinai tried to muster a goal to end the SWR onslaught, the ball kept finding the netting of Jaden Galfano’s stick. The junior was quick and accurate in his decision-making, keeping the Mustangs off the board until the second quarter. Galfano finished the game with 15 saves.

“I think this was the most locked in I’ve ever been in a game,” Galfano said. The goaltender said he picked up some tips in texts back-and-forth with Notre Dame net-minder and recent national champion Liam Entenmann. “Everything he said really resonated with me and helped me. It’s a blessing to know a guy that plays this game at such a high level.”

Though Mount Sinai kept winning the draws behind one of the best face-off guys on Long Island in Jake Spallina, it was the defense that kept coming up with crucial stops.

“I told the team before the game that our big guys are always going to do their thing,” Taylor said. “The key to beating a team like this is that some of our other guys will need to make plays. Even if it’s just one play.”

Kieran Clifford knocked a ball away on more than one occasion. Liam Taylor came away with some turnovers. Daniel Greene laid the smackdown when necessary. It took an army to stop Mount Sinai offense. 

With the Mustangs’ troubles on offense simmering on one end, it was the complete opposite for the Wildcats. SWR just kept scoring, most of it in transition. Coming off a turnover or immediately following a face-off win, when the defense is scrambling back, the Wildcat offense is lethal.

“It’s absolutely unstoppable,” Kershis said. “There’s not one midfielder out there that can stop the ball when we’re moving like that. We’re quick and any one of us can find the back of the net.”

“We noticed that Mount Sinai plays with a limited number of players in the midfield,” Taylor added. “These guys are constantly going end to end without coming off the field. We thought if we could push tempo right away, we could tire them out and beat them in transition. And I think that happened three or four times today.”

Steven Cain scored two goals as the Wildcats piled onto their lead, extending it to as much as 8-2 to the end of the third quarter. It looked like the Wildcats would run away with the victory. But it was just a matter of time before the sleeping giant woke up.

Mount Sinai (17-1) scored the first two goals of the 4th quarter to spring life into their crowd. Kershis answered soon after with his fourth goal of the game, but the Mustangs kept coming.

“That team is crazy good,” Taylor said. “I was holding my breath to the very end. They started to go on their run and got real nervous.”

A Mustang goal made it 9-5, and then 9-6. Before you knew it a two goal deficit remained with 2:48 remaining in the game. Nerves started to creep in. You could only hold off this team for so long.

“It was the defense that came up clutch in that moment,” Taylor said. “They won us the game.”

Two consecutive failed offensive possessions, thwarted by aggressive stick work and quick reflexes culminated in one last transition attack. And it was Kershis who stuck the final dagger into the Mustangs with his fifth goal of the game.

“Our slump during the season was the best thing that happened to us,” Taylor said. “It made us realize hero ball isn’t going to work. We had guys that thought they always had to win it for the team. That’s just not the case. To play championship lacrosse, you have to play as one. What you’re seeing now is a team that trusts one another.”

The Wildcats will now advance to the Long Island Class C final on Saturday against the winner of the Nassau County Class C final between Manhasset and Wantagh.

“This is for our seniors,” Galfano said. “And our guys that graduated last year and lost in the championship. We’re doing this for them. We’re a family. We win with our brothers on and off the field.”

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Opening Day results:

Blunderbusts: 1. Cody Triola 2. Brandon Hubbard 3. Jim Laird Jr. 4. Bill Wegmann Sr. 5. Eddie Diaz 6. Gary Caldwell 7. Bill Wegmann Jr. 8. Tom Sullivan 9. Michael Accordino 10. Joe Densieski

Legend Race Cars: 1. Kevin Nowak 2. Richie Davidowitz 3. Chase Van Houten 4. Jeffrey Farruggia Jr. 5. Christopher Coleman 6. Eric Hersey 7. Jason Castaldo 8. Jim Sylvester 9. Pat Moore 10. Ryan Lutz 11. Chris Sinatro 12. Charles Hodge III 13. Jayden Glennerster 14. Ray Fitzgerald 15. Michael Metcalf 16. Rodney Dowless Jr. 17. Mike Van Houten Jr. 18. Kevin Ohrnberger 19. Rodney Dowless Sr. 20. Brad Van Houten 21. Nick Morabito 22. Riely O’Keefe 23. Donald Doran 24. Peter Fallon 25. Michael Benton 26. Alex Halinar

Super Pro Trucks: 1. Jack Handley 2. Lou Maestri 3. Matt Triola 4. Joe Cerabino 5. Frank Dumicich Sr. 6. Chris Lescenski 7. Erin Solomito 8. Liam Patrick 9. Gerard Giordano 10. Rob Corwin

Eagle Auto Mall Crate Modifieds: 1. Chase Grennan 2. Alex Colasanto 3. Sean Glennon 4. Max Handley 5. Chris Young 6. Owen Grennan 7. Eddie Schutze 8. Terry Stiles 9. Stephen Coleman 10. DJ Doyle 11. Eric Hersey 12. Michael Berner 13. Chris Sinatro 14. Vinny Delaney 15. Dennis Krupski 16. Mike Albasini 17. Chevy Rommeney 18. Mark Wolf 19. AJ DeSantis 20. Lou Maestri DQ-Kyle Ellwood

Late Models: 1. Jeremy McDermott 2. Artie Pedersen III 3. Chris McGuire 4. Gerard Giordano 5. Jesse St. Clair 6. Kevin Metzger 7. Keith Rotzi 8. Alyssa Paprocky 9. Brian Doyle 10. Mark Stewart 11. Pat Brown 12. Ray Minieri 13. Paul Cummings 14. Dave Brigati 15. Ed Chesalk 16. Brandon Turbush DQ-Jimmy Rennick Jr

NASCAR Modifieds: 1. Timmy Solomito 2. Kyle Ellwood 3. Tom Rogers Jr. 4. Dylan Slepian 5. John Beatty Jr. 6. Michael Rutkoski 7. JR Bertuccio 8. Eddie Brunnhoelzl III 9. Roger Turbush 10. Allan Pedersen 11. Jack Handley Jr. 12. Dave Brigati 13. Chris Young 14. Chris Rogers 15. Chris Turbush 16. Dillon Steuer 17. Matt Brode 18. Jason Agugliaro 19. Wes Gilbert DNS-Artie Pedersen III

Figure Eights: 1. Allan Pedersen 2. Scott Pedersen 3. Ken Hyde Jr. 4. Cody Triola 5. Artie Pedersen III 6. Bryan Quilliam 7. Bob Dalke 8. Kim Hyde 9. Paulo Miquel 10. Gary Fritz Jr. 11. Ryan Warren 12. Joe Warren Jr.

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“His first birthday is actually this coming Friday,” McDermott said before the feature event. “Family is more important to me, and as much as I love being here and racing, Cam is my world now.”

McDermott was planning on potentially taking a few years off before getting back into the driver’s seat of another Rob Pelis race car. But seeing a season pass and coming off perhaps his best years as a race-car driver, the itch was certainly there to resume his career.

“I was going to take more time off but my wife finally said, ‘I want you to go race,’” McDermott said. “‘I want you to hang out with your guys and do what you love.’ So yeah we’re back.”

McDermott started the Late Model event at Riverhead Raceway on Saturday evening in 6th place at the outset. In every event to that point, the pole or first-car in the lineup cruised to victory with little to no effort, holding off potential competitors — so McDermott had quite the uphill battle to secure the checkered flag this time around.

“You just have to be patient in a situation like that,” McDermott said. “It’s a long race. You have to pick your moves when the time is right and hope it works out. A lot of it is somewhat luck if guys are crashing and you have to get around them without you tearing your own car up.”

Within the first seven laps, McDermott maneuvered his way to third place and was on the verge of overtaking the second place car before a wreck stopped the race. On the restart, he quickly took second and started battling for the lead, but nobody looked likely to catch Artie Pedersen III in the No. 30 car, who was several car lengths ahead for multiple laps.

But another three-car pileup ensued, which gave McDermott a fresh start next to Pedersen on the outside lane with 12 laps to go.

“I pulled back a bit [from] chasing Pedersen and just watched what he was doing in front of me,” McDermott said. “I wanted to recognize where his car is weaker than mine and pounce on that situation. If I see I’m faster through the corner than him, I’ll try to move around him a little bit and get a good run off of it.”

During an extended delay — with the raceway crew needing to clean the oil spills off the track — McDermott just sat and waited, talking to his crew chief and devising what the best plan of attack was to take the lead. He felt like he was quicker on the turn and wasn’t going to wait to take it.

“The plan was originally to beat him on the outside,” McDermott said. “But he kept pulling away, so I got in behind him and worked my way underneath.”

Sure enough, on the second turn of the restart, McDermott jumped from the outside lane to the inside and hit the throttle, leaving Pedersen in the smoke on the next straightaway. Once ahead, there was nobody who could stop him. McDermott cruised to his 26th career win, which is good for fifth on the all-time win list. It was just business as usual. McDermott proved he had no rust from the layoff.

“I think it would take longer than a year to lose that racing touch,” McDermott said. “I just jumped back in like how we left off. I was fast all day. Won the heat race and won the feature. Couldn’t ask for anything better than that.”

Then it was time to go home.

“I know my son is watching back home with Mom,” he said, ”and I can’t wait to see them.”

Opening Day results:

Blunderbusts: 1. Cody Triola 2. Brandon Hubbard 3. Jim Laird Jr. 4. Bill Wegmann Sr. 5. Eddie Diaz 6. Gary Caldwell 7. Bill Wegmann Jr. 8. Tom Sullivan 9. Michael Accordino 10. Joe Densieski

Legend Race Cars: 1. Kevin Nowak 2. Richie Davidowitz 3. Chase Van Houten 4. Jeffrey Farruggia Jr. 5. Christopher Coleman 6. Eric Hersey 7. Jason Castaldo 8. Jim Sylvester 9. Pat Moore 10. Ryan Lutz 11. Chris Sinatro 12. Charles Hodge III 13. Jayden Glennerster 14. Ray Fitzgerald 15. Michael Metcalf 16. Rodney Dowless Jr. 17. Mike Van Houten Jr. 18. Kevin Ohrnberger 19. Rodney Dowless Sr. 20. Brad Van Houten 21. Nick Morabito 22. Riely O’Keefe 23. Donald Doran 24. Peter Fallon 25. Michael Benton 26. Alex Halinar

Super Pro Trucks: 1. Jack Handley 2. Lou Maestri 3. Matt Triola 4. Joe Cerabino 5. Frank Dumicich Sr. 6. Chris Lescenski 7. Erin Solomito 8. Liam Patrick 9. Gerard Giordano 10. Rob Corwin

Eagle Auto Mall Crate Modifieds: 1. Chase Grennan 2. Alex Colasanto 3. Sean Glennon 4. Max Handley 5. Chris Young 6. Owen Grennan 7. Eddie Schutze 8. Terry Stiles 9. Stephen Coleman 10. DJ Doyle 11. Eric Hersey 12. Michael Berner 13. Chris Sinatro 14. Vinny Delaney 15. Dennis Krupski 16. Mike Albasini 17. Chevy Rommeney 18. Mark Wolf 19. AJ DeSantis 20. Lou Maestri DQ-Kyle Ellwood

Late Models: 1. Jeremy McDermott 2. Artie Pedersen III 3. Chris McGuire 4. Gerard Giordano 5. Jesse St. Clair 6. Kevin Metzger 7. Keith Rotzi 8. Alyssa Paprocky 9. Brian Doyle 10. Mark Stewart 11. Pat Brown 12. Ray Minieri 13. Paul Cummings 14. Dave Brigati 15. Ed Chesalk 16. Brandon Turbush DQ-Jimmy Rennick Jr

NASCAR Modifieds: 1. Timmy Solomito 2. Kyle Ellwood 3. Tom Rogers Jr. 4. Dylan Slepian 5. John Beatty Jr. 6. Michael Rutkoski 7. JR Bertuccio 8. Eddie Brunnhoelzl III 9. Roger Turbush 10. Allan Pedersen 11. Jack Handley Jr. 12. Dave Brigati 13. Chris Young 14. Chris Rogers 15. Chris Turbush 16. Dillon Steuer 17. Matt Brode 18. Jason Agugliaro 19. Wes Gilbert DNS-Artie Pedersen III

Figure Eights: 1. Allan Pedersen 2. Scott Pedersen 3. Ken Hyde Jr. 4. Cody Triola 5. Artie Pedersen III 6. Bryan Quilliam 7. Bob Dalke 8. Kim Hyde 9. Paulo Miquel 10. Gary Fritz Jr. 11. Ryan Warren 12. Joe Warren Jr.

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Marelli, who owned the pitcher’s circle at Sachem East High School, put together a performance even she was in awe of. The sophomore left-hander has taken over the starting role since Bree McKay went down with an injury and hasn’t looked back. And if the bottom of the 7th inning was an indication of what’s to come, look out.

With Riverhead (9-4 League III, 10-6 overall) holding on to a slender 2-1 lead, Marelli was fully composed and confident in her ability.

“I know the team needed me at that moment to close out the game,” Marelli said. “I just wanted to focus on throwing strikes and I knew my team had my back to make the plays behind me.”

Turns out she didn’t need her fielders.

Each Sachem North batter that came to the plate in that seventh inning didn’t even make contact with the ball. When she wasn’t humming her fastball past the batter, she switched things up with a change-up so nasty that even the umpire seemed shell-shocked and called a strikeout with only two strikes on the first batter. Marelli went on to secure that K and then notched two more to seal the deal for the Blue Waves. Marelli finished the complete game with 11 strikeouts and gave up only 5 singles that barely left the infield. The only run Sachem North (9-4, 10-4) mustered was on a wild pitch with a runner on third.

“It was definitely one of my better games I pitched in my career against a top team like Sachem North,” Marelli said. “I’m definitely building my confidence every game I pitch. I personally don’t feel like I’m 100% there yet but it’s getting there.”

“She’s been phenomenal the last three weeks,” Riverhead head coach Chris Accardi said. “She’s stepped up big time with Bree out. We knew she was capable of putting together performances like this; she just needed to gain some confidence.”

Pitching and defense has vaulted Riverhead to the top of the division after starting the season 1-3. Two of those early losses were against Sachem East and Sachem North. Safe to say the Blue Waves got their revenge. The defense turned in another error-free game Friday.

“We have a freshman shortstop that plays like she’s a senior in Adriana Martinez,” Accardi said. “She’s the leader of the defense and it all starts with her.”

Martinez had a handful of great plays – none better than an over-the-shoulder catch in the shallow outfield to save a run.

Against the top teams in the league, Riverhead has been struggling at the plate which was again the case Friday. The Blue Waves only managed 5 singles and put together 2 runs in the first inning by capitalizing on a Sachem North fielding blunder. With runners on first and third, Marelli struck out at the plate but the catcher dropped the ball. Despite first base being occupied, meaning the batter could not attempt to advance to first on the dropped third strike, Accardi yelled for Marelli to run to first anyway.  Confusion ensued as Megan McKay, who was on first base, sprinted to second and the throw to tag her out went into the outfield, allowing Martinez to score from third. Marelli was eventually called out, but the run still counted. McKay would later score on a wild pitch to make it 2-0. 

“It’s all about small ball with us,” Accardi said. “When we have a pitcher like Marelli we need to scrap together some runs. And you have to do whatever it takes.”

Asked whether telling Marelli to run was a mistake, Accardi said with a wink: “Oh yeah that was a total mistake. But seriously, knowing that we were up against a good pitcher and not scoring much on Wednesday you have to think outside the box.”

It was all the Blue Waves needed to earn the victory. The aggressive base-running proved effective.

With the division so tight at the top 4 spots, Riverhead will more than likely have to win out against Longwood (4-8), Patchogue-Medford (8-4) and William Floyd (6-6) in the final three games to earn at least a share of the league crown. 

“I knew we were going to be pretty good at the start of the season,” Accardi said. “I thought this would be our year. We have great pitchers and great players all down the roster. As long as we keep pitching well, play solid defense and get the bats to start producing, we can run with anybody.”

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Mt. Sinai (10-0 Division I, 12-0 overall) have been untouchable this season. A year after winning the Suffolk County championship, the Mustangs are back for more. They’re truly in a class of their own, having toppled third-seeded Hauppauge last Thursday 12-1, a team the Wildcats lost to by a score of 14-6. 

“They have some good pieces returning from last year’s run,” SWR lacrosse head coach Mike Taylor said of Tuesday’s opponent. “They were a very good team last year with great leadership. They’ve been on championship runs on Long Island and off Long Island so I think that’s a big thing for them and their confidence.”

One key takeaway for SWR (6-4, 7-5), is the fact that they were able to stay competitive. Had they avoided a few crucial turnovers, perhaps the Wildcats might have come out victorious. 

“Against a good team like that, any mistake you make will end up in the back of our net,” Taylor said. “That’s the difference between an experienced team like theirs and a young team like ours. Mistakes are going to happen.”

There were a few missed shots from the front of the net, several unforced turnovers and just not enough urgency corralling loose-balls. But the scoreboard showed that it could have gone either way. Jaden Galfano made some tremendous saves in goal to keep the Wildcats in the game. He finished with 10 saves, 4 of which he made in a crucial, tone-setting first quarter.

Though Mt. Sinai kept finding ways to score, the game never got out of hand. After a Liam Kershis goal cut the lead to 7-4 in the third quarter, a Steven Cain bullet from outside the crease clanged off the goal post and bounced in front of the net where Liam Gregorek scooped it up and slid it past the goalkeeper to pull the Wildcats to within two. 

But in a game this tight, where every possession matters, apprehensiveness is a liability in the offensive end. For the rest of the game, the Wildcats had trouble making the smart pass and gave the ball away too often without maintaining a solid offensive possession. Kershis did go on to score his second and third goals of the game in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Mustang’s cohesive offensive attack. 

“The problem we have is that we have so much talent in our attack but only one ball,” Taylor said. “Everyone wants the ball and is not selfish. They want to do the right thing for our team but unfortunately we need to play a little better together.”

The good news is that of the Wilcats final four games, three will be played on their home field. If they can string together some wins, they will be right back in the playoff picture. 

“We haven’t been playing to our true ability,” Taylor said. “I think at some point it will turn back to what it was at the beginning of the season. You don’t have to win every game,” he continued. “You just need to make the playoffs. After that, who knows what happens.”

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