Lindenhurst may have been able to get through West Islip’s defense, but the Bulldogs couldn’t stop Mike LaDonna.
The senior quarterback scored two touchdowns for the Lions to tie the game late in the fourth, and junior Bobby DiCapua’s kick from 21 yards sealed the deal with three seconds left in undefeated West Islip’s road win over Lindenhurst Oct. 12.
“We were down, but we never stopped fighting,” LaDonna said. “We showed all heart.”
The teams were stalled after a first quarter where the two covered a combined 39 yards. They remained scoreless until Lindenhurst quarterback Mike Varela connected with Artur Garmatiuk on a 15-yard pass 10 seconds before the halftime break. Varela carried the ball five yards for the Bulldogs’ second score halfway through the third to put Lindenhurst (4-2) up 14-0.
“We talk about family and sticking together and we had a lot of adversity and a lot of things that didn’t go our way here, and for our 16- and 17-year-old kids to stick together and remain positive … great things happen when you have great kids,” West Islip head coach Steve Mileti said. “I know what type of team we have and I’m extremely proud of my young men here for sticking together.”
He said he had all the faith in his field general to get the job done.
LaDonna, who carried the ball 30 times for 109 yards, scored touchdown runs of 1 and 3 yards to tie the game 14-all with 7:50 left to play.
“We call him the Italian stallion,” Mileti said. “He ran 30 times and took a lot of hard hits and he got up every single time. He held it together. He didn’t point fingers when the team was down, and that’s why he’s been the captain the last two years — he told his team to keep going and keep going. And he brought us back.”
LaDonna said with each yard he gained the negative turned into a positive for Lindenhurst (6-0).
“We got the momentum and we kept going,” he said. “Helping my team come back was a great feeling, and my [offensive] line was doing a great job.”
Mileti also believed his kicker could ice the game for the Lions, saying DiCapua is made up of the same substance.
“He’s got ice in his veins —he’s an athlete,” the coach said. “He’s a great kicker, a great pitcher for West Islip baseball. He’s used to being on the mound, he’s used to kicking under pressure — nothing phases him.”
DiCapua didn’t expect to take a shot between the posts from such close range in the game’s waning seconds, but has been under similar pressure before, helping West Islip to a win over Huntington in the same fashion last year.
“I couldn’t really think about it, I was in the moment,” DiCapua said of his field goal. “We’re just trying to win every week whether it’s kicking a field goal or scoring a touchdown. But I think this game is a turning point. We came back from 14-0 to win and that just proves how strong we are together, if we stay together.”
