Sachem East senior Ryan Paolella walked off the field visibly upset over his fumble with just three minutes left in the first half against Ward Melville, but came out of the locker room motivated to make a difference.
“I just told him he has to get us back to where we need to be,” head coach Phil Torregrosa said. “He knows how to make the big plays.”
Paolella came through with two interceptions and a fumble recovery to take some crucial minutes away from the Patriots to secure Sachem East’s 14-7 home win October 25.
“We came out hungry in the second half,” the Arrows’ 5-10 running back and middle linebacker said following the win that improved his team to 5-2. “I was there at the right time.”
Ward Melville’s (4-3) final three possessions ended in a punt, and a Paolella interception and fumble recovery. The ball came down right in front of him with just nine minutes to go in the game, and all he had to do was make the dive for it. A few minutes later, he jumped on the ball as Ward Melville was marching toward a touchdown to knot the score.
“He’s a hell of a ballplayer,” Torregrosa said. “Ryan’s a three-year starter, two-year captain who steps up in big moments. That’s just what he does. He’s our best all-arounder — can run, plays defense. He’s there whenever we need him.”
The shielding started early for the Arrows (5-2) when senior middle linebacker and fullback Ryan Micheli (one sack) blocked a 22-yard field goal attempt following Ward Melville’s long first drive of the game, which gave Sachem East the ball on the 18-yard line.
“We ride the back of our defense,” Torregrosa said. “We’re physical, given up 79 points in seven games.”
Paoella snagged his first Ward Melville pass to set up a drive that quarterback Nick Stelling capitalized on with a 10-yard touchdown run at the 9:06 mark of the first half.
But Ward Melville has one tough offense. With just over three minutes until the break, senior wide receiver Jack Gillen recovered Paolella’s fumble, and finished what he started when he received a handoff, carried the ball seven yards, and then fired a 4-yard touchdown pass to senior full safety Dan Cassera.
“They’re very well-coached,” Torregrosa said. “But I like our grit. We were challenged a lot. They’re a high-powered offense, and they do a lot of trickery.”
He also knew to look out for Gillen’s slants, and to contain senior running back Michael Fiore, but he was hot out of the gate with a 34-yard run, although finishing with 96 yards on 20 carries.
“We had to shut him down. He’s a stud,” the coach said. “He’s a downhill runner and a tough kid to tackle, but we bottled him up at the end, challenged them to pass, and caught a few of them.”
Coming out of halftime tied at 7, senior running back Adriel Robinson (146 yards on 17 carries) started and ended six-play, 84-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run for the go-ahead score.
“We were killing ourselves with the penalties early, so we made some adjustments on defense, pounded it on offense,” Paolella said.
Speaking of ground-and-pound offense, Sachem East proved it excels at that, too. While the Patriots knew the Arrows were going to work out back-to-back-to-back quarterback sneaks to ice the game, Ward Melville couldn’t find a way to come up with the ball late.
“They were in the red zone two times in the second half,” Torregrosa said. “Ward Melville held the ball for three quarters of the game. We proved we bend, but we don’t break. I’ll put us up against anyone on Long Island.”
But Paolella isn’t looking to just anyone. He’s looking for redemption.
Last season, William Floyd scored 28 points in six minutes in a 34-7 win that knocked Sachem East out of the playoffs in the Division I semifinals. Earlier this season, the Colonials edged the Arrows 21-20 after what Torregrosa called a controversial call on a tipped screen pass.
“It’s a different team, new year, but to know we can go toe-to-toe with the best team in Suffolk County for the last 20 years gives us confidence,” the coach said.
“We’ve got the two home playoff games we were striving for, and now we want revenge,” Paolella said. “But with the talent we have we’re a really hungry group ready to take on anyone.”
THIS IS THE YEAR!!!!! Sachem East Sweet 16 (16 years of Sachem East Football)
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