To many young players at Sachem East, he’s just an old guy with a scowl that could scare even the most hardened men.
But to the coaches at Sachem East, he’s Fred Fusaro, the man, the legend, the Godfather of Sachem Football. And this week, as Sachem East prepared for its championship bout with William Floyd on Sunday at Stony Brook, Fusaro was on-hand to lend guidance and support.
Nowadays Fusaro is the defensive coordinator at John Glenn, but since Glenn had an early round exit in the playoffs, he’s been free to attend all of Sachem East and Sachem North’s playoff games over the last two weeks.
“We’ve always heard stories about how great of a coach he is,” said senior receiver Ryan Dippel, who made his own history last week with “The Catch” against Connetquot, “and that he’s actually here supporting us helps. Having him here shows that even he believes in us, that he’s taking his time out to help us.”
During a practice on Tuesday, Fusaro brought his rings. The two mammoth Class IV Long Island championship rings he won the last two seasons at Glenn, and the Rutgers Trophy ring Sachem earned in 1986. They were displayed proudly on a table on the sidelines at the practice.
“They were excited to listen to what he had to say,” said Sachem East coach Mark Wojciechowski, who played in two county finals in 1984 and 1985. “He showed the kids the rings and talked about what it took to get them. They really bought into what he had to say. It was awesome watching him talk to the boys. He talked about when you’re there enjoy it, take it in, don’t be nervous. It’s going to be different than any other game you’ve played. The crowd is bigger, the stadium is bigger.”
Fusaro led Sachem to six county championships and 15 appearances in title games from 1971-2002.
Former longtime Sachem assistant and alum Peter Lazzaro was also on-hand this week with Fusaro.
Pete Blieberg, Sachem’s Director of Athletics, said he overheard players talking about Fusaro and his commanding presence.
“They we’re saying, ‘this guy is awesome,'” he said.
“Coach Fusaro said you have to play every play like it’s your last,” said Sachem East quarterback Danny Wolff. “You never know the outcome of the game. Playoffs are a different season.”
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro