Fear is not a factor for the Arrows.
After a 14-13 loss to Connetquot to start the season, the Sachem East football team handed Longwood (3-1) its only loss of the season with its 7-0 win. After a 21-10 defeat at the hands of perfect William Floyd (4-0) last week, Arrow Nation proved it had another bounce-back in it with a 30-17 win over previously-undefeated Patchogue-Medford.
“We can go to war with anyone out there,” senior linebacker Jason Bruno said. “It speaks to our resilience. We just keep battling. We don’t quit.”
Bruno said his team “likes to throw the first punch,” and this October 11 game under the Friday night lights was no different. In fact, his teammate set him up for one quick score. After senior running back and middle linebacker Ryan Paolella dove toward the Pat-Med punter and slapped his left hand down onto the ball, Bruno scooped it up and scurried 27 yards into the end zone.
Bruno, who made a team-high nine tackles, including three for a loss, joked his team “came out slow,” after the special teams score 1:51 into the game, and added, “we wanted to keep it basic. Overpower them and use our skills. This was a hard-fought win.”
He never sees the ball on offense, and was elated after his first touchdown.
Patchogue-Medford (4-1) dominated time of possession in the first half but couldn’t finish long drives. Raiders senior running back Angelo Devita, who picked up three consecutive downs on the ensuing drive that lasted 9:07 and included five first downs, looked to respond first but Sachem East’s (3-2) defense forced his team to settle for a 37-yard field goal by Jack Montalvo. The drive lasted 16 plays and covered 71 yards. Things went from bad to worse quick for the Raiders, when after four straight runs for positive yardage senior running back Adriel Robinson finished what we started and carried the ball 56 yards for a touchdown with 1:03 left in the half.
“We not only wanted this win, we needed to beat them,” Robinson said. “And we did what we had to do. We wanted to run it straight up the middle, and they couldn’t stop it.”
A two-point conversion gave the Flaming Arrows a 15-3 halftime lead despite possessing the ball just 4:49. It was the lowest first-half and end-game point totals any team had held Pat-Med to this season.
“I don’t think we had more than 30 offensive plays today, but we busted a few runs and those were back-breakers for them,” Sachem East head coach Phil Torregrosa said. “I though Pat-Med came out with a great plan going unbalanced and trying to power through us, but we’re physical, we’re fast, and I truly believe we have one of the best defenses in the county.”
Speaking of defense, the Raiders’ responded, too. After Robinson put up a big run to set up a Rafael Rodriguez Jr. end zone-catch to blow the game wide open, 22-3, with 8:15 left in the third, Devita capped off one of two touchdowns, but it was what happened before his second that could have shifted the game. Senior offensive linebacker John Lally recovered the ball on the kick following Devita’s one-yard score and Montalvo kick, and the duo did it again to close the gap, 22-17.
“Everyone on our team sticks together, so it really helps us stay cool, calm, collected, not lose our heads,” said Paolella, who had three blocked kicks last year, adding it being a must-win game for two home playoffs matchups fueled his focus. “We have what it takes to make it where we want to go. This was just another step along that journey.”
His coach agreed.
“We had momentum, but we like to keep it close,” Torregrosa said, laughing. “When momentum changed on us we came out and responded. That kick took the sails out of us, but the boys stepped up. Pat-Med needed long drives on us, and when you have to drive 15 to 20 plays on us, we’re going to make a play at some point. The more plays they have to make the better for us, because at the end they were washed.”
Bruno stopped Devita on fourth-and-6 at the 30-yard line just one yard shy of a first down with 2:39 left, and Robinson iced the game on a 70-yard touchdown run over left tackle with just over two minutes remaining.
Bruno said his Sachem East team is playing for the No. 2 seed, hoping to see William Floyd again in the playoffs to avenge that five-seconds-left loss last Saturday. Robinson said he can see into the future.
“I just love my team. This being my last year, I want to take it all the way,” he said. “We should be on top, and we will be on top.”
