Steven Casali should cross a personal milestone Friday night when he reaches the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the 2012 season. With 895 yards and 10 touchdowns, Casali is having one of the best seasons on Long Island through five weeks. He is on pace to snap his program record 1,422 yards set last year.
Sachem East (3-2) will host undefeated Connetquot (5-0) in what should make for an interesting game. No one had Connetquot penciled in as undefeated at this point. An opening-season victory at William Floyd has spurred the Thunderbirds in the winning direction. Keep in mind, Connetquot also beat Brentwood, Hills East, Longwood and Commack … they have a combined 8-11 record.
While Connetquot is a lock for the playoffs, they’ll be put to the test Friday having to defend one of the most talented running threats in the area in Casali. And if they have any success there, they’ll also have to worry about Danny Wolff throwing laser passes to Brian Balsamo.
Sachem comes into Week 6 with a victory over Longwood where Casali rushed for career-high 289 yards and three touchdowns. He also recorded 14 tackles and three forced fumbles. Good luck to Connetquot in dealing with that again tonight most likely. He’s ready to go.
Connetquot does bring some weapons to the table as well. Quarterback Brian McKean torched Brentwood last week and the Thunderbirds have scored 40-plus points in three of their five wins this season and no fewer than 27. They can pass with proficiency to any of their six receivers.
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro / Photo by Bob Sorensen