Preview: Sachem East vs. Connetquot: The Semifinals

The Sachem East Flaming Arrows' 2012 football season has lasted one day longer than Sachem North, as the varsity squad travels to Connetquot High School for an afternoon matchup against the number one seeded team in Division I.

After upsetting Northport on the road last week, Steven Casali, Danny Wolff, Brian Balsamo and company will look to keep things rolling in a game that would punch their ticket to the county championship against Floyd.

Today's matchup is a tough one for East. The last time these two teams met it was at Sachem East High School on a cold Friday night, and the Thunderbirds rolled to a 47-6 victory. Casali, who scored East's only touchdown of the night, was injured and missed the entire second half.

Casali seems to be back in form now, after leading the team in its win over Northport. Casali's performance today will be a big factor in whether or not East can make it to the county finals.

Here are some keys to victory for the Arrows:

• Contain Ryan Harvey. Easier said than done, but the last time Sachem East faced No. 22, he rushed for three touchdowns and took a kickoff return 84 yards to the house for another TD. He needs to be minimalized by keeping him on the sidelines.
• Get Casali Going. Even if Casali doesn't run for five scores, if he can keep drives alive, convert 3rd downs and stay in bounds, Sachem East can control time of possession and contain Connetquot's explosive offense.
• Turnovers. Sachem East is going to need to be at least +2 in the turnover battle to give themselves as many opportunties to put points on the board as they can.
• Keep the big play to one. Connetquot often lives on the big play. The long punt or kickoff return for a touchdown, the deep pass from Brian McKean to No. 6, Tyler Nason. When the win, they win often because of those big-time plays: sometimes three or four in a single game. East needs to limit those big plays to one if they are going to win the way they're built to win.
• Solid Special Teams. Tied to the big play, Sachem East not only needs to give themselves field position with strong run-backs, they need to bottle up Ryan Harvey in the kicking game. If they let Harvey get outside and down the sideline, he's gone. East needs to avoid leaving points on the board by making all of its extra points and field goal tries, and they need to contain Connetquot's return game.

Sachem East at Connetquot High School: Game Time: 1 p.m. Patch will be live-Tweeting and Facebook updating scores and highlights throughout the game. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.