Glen Cove Football Enters Playoffs Against Lawrence

Glen Cove (5-3) will be at favorite Lawrence (6-2), who was actually picked as the #1 team and seed in Nassau Division III by Newsday in preseason polls, at 3 p.m. this Saturday. Glen Cove was picked #10, and therefore not a playoff contender, yet at the end of the season the Covers proved everyone wrong, and as the now #7 seed earned a much deserved playoff birth after bouncing back from a 2-6 season last year.

"We have worked very hard all off season, and especially during the season, in order to reach our goals which included making the playoffs, and then moving on to Hofstra. On any given day, anyone can be beat anyone, especially when you believe, and every player leaves it all on the field and plays as one cohesive team. And that is exactly what we intend to do," said coach Peter Kopecky.

In-game battles:

Lawrence comes into the game with a very athletic group of players, led by four recently announced All County winners: QB Samson Bialystock, RB Ryan Fredricks, WR Seddrick Ervin and MLB Chris Hercules. Glen Cove will also utilize their athleticism and stingy defense, led by All County player Aaron Sylver, to try and stop the potent Lawrence offense who beat #1 seed (7-1) 23-22 this year for their only loss.

"I have tremendous respect for head coach Kopecky, his staff, and especially the football players at Glen Cove, and rest assured they will bring it  to Lawrence as the eight (8) seeds in this division can really play and anything can happen this Saturday. That is why you play the game!" said Lynbrook coach Steve Locicero.

On offense for Glen Cove, All Conference players QB Shaheem Lilly and RB Pietro Lafortezza, plus others like WR Owen Valance, junior RB Chris Saperstein and the Gaudio brothers are going to have to lead the way to victory while playing their best game of the season. There will be many other players and match ups to watch, that will dictate the final outcome of this game, and that includes the play of back up QB Will Kassar if needed, WR Ronnie Rant, RB Londell Keaton and special teams led by their extra point kicker Bobby MacDonald. For Lawrence, you have to also watch for 10th grade RB Tyler Fredricks, brother of Ryan, and also Marcos Pinto, who also kicked a 35-yard field goal that was the winning points against Lynbrook.

Interesting Fact:

One of the real keys for Glen Cove to win this game will be to take control over the clock, therefore win the time of possession handedly, as this was a major factor in the wins by Plainedge and Hewlett over 6-2 Lawrence. Yes, the key will be to keep the Lawrence offense off the field,  and the Big Red defense to play their best game of the season. For those who enjoy watching some key match ups, keep your eyes on the two All County Players who will be going head to head; Aaron Sylver for GC and MLB Chris Hercules for Lawrence.

Last week:

Glen Cove beat Valley Stream South 32-13, led by All Conference RB Pietro Lafortezza who on 13 carries ran for 107 yards and one TD. Chris Saperstein had 13 carries for 93 yards, and Mateo Gaudio had one reception for 34 yards and a TD.  Back up QB Will Kassar had a fine game as well, and could be a real key also in this weeks playoff game against Lawrence.