Inside the Huddle: First Playoff Win in School History

This weekend has been the best one of my entire life. I’m sort of at a loss for words as to what happened on Saturday. A bunch of young men that believed in themselves, when no one else did, went out onto the turf at West Islip and shocked the entire county.

It was the most amazing experience of my life, and it’s something I have always dreamed of being a part of. I’ve watched my sister for the past few years go into and win county championships, and state championships on television with the girls’ basketball team at East. And I’ve just always wanted to play in a game under that sort of atmosphere, and experience all the hype for myself. Well this Saturday I got my first taste of it all, on television against a team that disgraced us on homecoming a few weeks ago.

To think just two hours before this game I was sitting in a classroom over at Samoset taking the SAT, then next thing I know I’m blocking for Steven Casali on the opening drives touchdown run. For those of you that came to West Islip thank you very much, you guys were louder than ever, and it feels great to know you guys are out there supporting us all the way through this.

I’m sure all who were there saw what West Islip did to us before the game, making a mockery of our football program, and what we have accomplished. We took that as a complete sign of disrespect, and it infuriated every one of us. Soon as I saw them mocking us I knew they really didn’t know what was about to happen. I knew they were not ready for what we’re going to come at them with, and I knew that they have just woken up the beast of Steve Casali. I’m really good friends with Steve and he’s the kind of guy that when he gets angry he is a different person. He becomes this animal, and it’s a really scary thing to see up close like that. So I really think West Islip made a bad decision on that one, and Steve went off for three touchdowns.

This has been the greatest win in Sachem East football history. It’s our first playoff win ever, and I’m so proud that I was able to be a part of it. It’s a game that I am going to remember for the rest of my life. Emotions were high all throughout, and we had our ups and our downs, but that’s the game of football right there. It’s all about weathering the storm and controlling the tempo, and that’s exactly what we did.

I am very proud to be a part of this starting offensive line that we have here, Nick Fierro, John Vigh, Tom Ryan, Mike Marchello, and myself all came to play on Saturday, and it showed big time. We’re not the biggest or strongest guys in the league, but we make sure that we are the hardest working, and most determined offensive linemen that we can be. We play with a lot of heart and energy and I feel it shows in our running game. Credit to our two great offensive line coaches in coach Jay Mauro, and coach James Mignone, who have helped us get to where we are now.

Overall it was an amazing hard fought game by two very good football teams. Fortunately we were all able to step up and get it done. Thank you again to everyone who came down and supported us Saturday, if you were not able to make it, the game will be televised Monday night, so you can still check it out. It feels good to make history, picking up the first playoff win ever for this program.

We are now in the top four teams left in Suffolk County. How amazing is that? The other three teams left were pre-ranked first, second, and third. We came into this season ranked no. 13. I personally love being the underdog, it's great coming out every game with nothing to lose. We’re not even supposed to be here, and not only are we here but we're making some noise. It truly is a feeling that is just indescribable.

Next game is against our football cousins from the other side of the district, and we are all very excited. This game is great for the community and the district and should be a lot of fun. It will go down in the Sachem history books, and will be something talked about for years. I’m looking forward to seeing you all at North this Friday. You can definitely expect another blog prior to this game.

By the way, let’s not blow this game out of proportion, it's two very good teams battling for a chance a the Suffolk County championship. We the players all respect each other, and wish the best for each other. I’m not saying don’t be excited, everyone should be pumped up for this one. I’m just saying this is going to be a great day for the Sachem community, and that we should all respect one another, because at the end we're all one district. So please keep all the extra trash talking to a minimum, show some class and enjoy every second of this week leading up to the game as well as the game itself.

As always, stay tuned to Sachem Patch all week long for complete coverage leading up to the game.

CJ Everson is a senior lineman at Sachem High School East.