Steve Mills and Nick DeRossi played in seven home games this year and more than a dozen in their varsity football careers, but one more on the turf at Fred Fusaro Alumni Stadium was an early Christmas gift for the senior linemen from Sachem North.
They strapped on the pads one final time at home on Thursday night, playing in the Suffolk County PAL All-Star game. Their team comprised of all-stars from Divisions I and IV beat the Division II-III team, 42-21.
“It’s a lot of fun playing with the best players in Suffolk County,” said Mills, a finalist for the Zellner Award, presented to Suffolk County’s top lineman at Monday’s All-County dinner. “Being able to play with Nick again and to have one more home game it feels so nice. To be able to strap it on after a long season and have some fun now, not just to win, to loosen up and play with some good guys is great.”
Sachem alums Rick Caravagio, an assistant at Lindenhurst, and Tom Banach, an assistant at Copiague, were coaches during the all-star game.
Check back Monday night for complete coverage of the county awards dinner and follow @SachemReport on Twitter for updates throughout the evening (wifi/3G permitting, of course!).
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro