“Water, water,” the coaches often scream. “Get some water.”
And quicker than a Sachem North offensive drive, Ace Falco is sprinting with the water cart to make sure Sachem’s athletes are well hydrated during timeouts.
Besides nearly 50 players on the roster, no one sweats as much as Ace, no one runs around as hard with an added sense of pressure to get his job done and not as many care more about Sachem’s success on the gridiron. He even stretches during pre-game.
There’s one catch; if you checked the census records in 50 years, you’d never find the name Ace Falco listed. You will, however, find Justin Conklin, the rightful owner of the only nickname thrown around Fred Fusaro Alumni Stadium on game day.
Conklin, 16, is the nephew of Sachem head coach Dave Falco, and an integral part of the Sachem football family since his arrival on the sidelines during the 2009 season as the program’s official water boy.
While it sounds like a tall tale, it’s not. Ace Falco is in large part the last great American water boy. Look for someone who cares so much about a program and his responsibility, which he says could make or break a team’s success on any given night, and you’d be looking for a long time.
“I make sure the water is ready,” said Conklin. “I make sure the players aren’t cramping and that they’re hydrated. If they’re dehydrated that’s on me. I don’t want them getting hurt and I want to win.”
Last Friday made for an interesting night for the Falco and Conklin families. You’d expect a Sachem water boy and supporter like Ace to be a student at Sachem North, but you’d be wrong. In fact, he attends Patchogue-Medford High School. Gasp.
There’s more. His twin brother James is an up-and-coming receiver for the Raiders and he played his second career game at The Stadium against Uncle Dave and the Flaming Arrows. Talk about brothers against brothers on the battlefield.
“It’s like the Manning family in the NFL,” said Ace, who is vice president of the Class of 2015 at Pat-Med, and whose mother Lisa is the founding president of the newly formed Raiders Touchdown Club. “I like the thrill. I like getting Patchogue people riled up.”
During one play in the fourth quarter when James returned a kick and was tackled by three Sachem players on the Sachem sideline, Ace was quickly animated and fired up. But it wasn’t in angst, it was in love.
“He’s my brother, my twin brother,” he said sharply, “we look different, but we’re the same person. I feel what he feels. He just got tackled by three Sachem players at once. Three. He needs some water.”
For the record, Ace said he doesn’t wear his typical Sachem garb around his native high school. He saves that for the sideline.
“Ace is a character,” said Falco, the coach. “I told him to act like a gentleman and act like he’s been there before.”
His Sachem bloodline extends far beyond his uncle, as his mother – formerly Lisa Falco – is also a Sachem alum and teacher, his uncle Anthony played, teaches and coaches in Sachem and his grandfather Tony has served on the Sachem Central School District Board of Education for nearly 30 years.
“My pride is in Patchogue,” Ace said, “but my loyalty is in Sachem. I bleed Black & Gold.”
Ace learned the water boy ropes in 2009 from Bryan Gresalfi, then a freshman player waiting for his chance at a varsity roster spot one day, which he now proudly fills with his manly lineman stature. Gresalfi is credited with developing the “Ace” nickname.
Ace calls the shots flawlessly with water, even micro-managing middle school students during in-game situations. He knows when to call an audible and step in if necessary.
It’s probably not a surprise what movie Ace calls his favorite these days.
“Water Boy,” he said, smirking. “What’d you expect?”
But unlike Bobby Boucher, played by Adam Sandler, Ace doesn’t play the game and is accepted by everyone for his passion and devotion to his craft and the program.
“Sachem is amazing,” he said. “There is no better team than right here. They have tradition. I love it here. The players are nice and treat me like family. I feel like their brother.”
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro