Steven Casali continued to write the history book for Sachem East football Sunday, leading the Flaming Arrows with two touchdowns in a playoff victory.
Sixth-seeded Sachem East beat third-seeded Northport, 18-7, on the road in the Suffolk County Division I quarterfinals, securing the second playoff victory in program history.
Sachem East (5-4) advances to the Division I semifinals for the second straight year and will play top-seeded Connetquot (8-1) on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. on the newly installed turf at Connetquot High School.
Sachem East struck first in the contest after Kenny Whigham recovered a fumble and returned it nearly 60 yards to Northport’s one yard line. Casali scored on the next play to make it 6-0 early on.
In the second quarter, trailing 7-6, Sachem took the lead when Danny Wolff hit Brian Balsamo with an 18-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone.
Sachem led Northport, 12-7 at half and Casali was held in check for the first 24 minutes. Then, as many refer to it, the beast was unleashed. Casali struck in the third quarter with a 26-yard touchdown run that finished a series packed with powerful running, strong stiff arms and saw a player determined to cross the goal line.
“It’s the beast, we call it the beast,” Sachem East coach Mark Wojciechowski said. “He changes into this guy that can’t be denied. I don’t know how many times he got in the back field. I don’t know how many times he ran guys over. I don’t know how many times he got caught at midfield and ran to the sidelines to make a tackle. He’s fun to watch and he gets everybody else going.”
There is no secret to Sachem East’s plan. In some regard it involves Casali carrying the team and when he turns up the dial it matters for everyone on Sachem’s sideline.
“Determination, strategy, playing tough, tough football and that’s the type of team we are,” said Casali, who rushed for 177 yards in the win. “We play tough every day.”
Milestone day for Casali
As if leading his team to a playoff victory wasn’t enough, Casali also broke the 3,000-yard rushing mark for his career. He now has 3,091 rushing yards, along with 32 rushing touchdowns. This season he has rushed for 1,355 and 14 touchdowns.
Scoring Summary
-S: Casali 1 run, missed kick
-N: Northport 51 pass, kick good
-S: Wolff to Balsamo 18 pass, missed 2 PT
-S: Casali 26 run, missed kick
-Words and photos by Chris R. Vaccaro