Malik Pierre has been a varsity football player at Sachem North for three years and has answered the call every time his team needed him to step up. He’s one of the most consistently producing talents on Long Island and he proved it again Friday night.
Pierre rushed for a game-high 200 yards on 17 carries and led Sachem with three touchdowns in a 34-20 win over Northport at Fred Fusaro Alumni Stadium. For his efforts he earned MVP honors in the game, which was featured in the Great American Rivalry Series lineup this weekend.
“He’s a warrior,” said Sachem coach Dave Falco. “Malik is always there. When you need him you keep going to him, keep knocking on that door and he always answers. When you need Malik to do what he’s supposed to do he does exactly that. That’s a guy who’s going to be remembered here for a long time.”
Leading just 27-20 with 1:23 left in the game, Pierre carried the ball 50-yards for an insurance touchdown to put the game away.
“Northport is a really good team,” said Pierre, who now ranks 11th all-time in career rushing yards at Sachem with 1,841 yards. “It took a team effort again today.”
Northport became the first team to score on Sachem first this season when Colin Quinn converted on a 31-yard rushing touchdown at 4:02 of the first quarter.
The Tigers recovered a fumble on a botched option play by Anthony Service and marched downfield under Quinn’s guidance before scoring.
On the ensuing kick off, junior Kevin Bragaglia ran back an 85-yard return to the house and tied the game at 7-7.
Northport (2-2) turned the ball over on its next drive and Sachem capitalized when Pierre scored his first rushing touchdown of the evening, a 10-yard burst at 8:28 of the second quarter. It was 14-7 Sachem at halftime.
Quinn, who had 11 carries and 140 yards and also was 7-for-20 passing for 71 yards, continued his strong running in the second half and converted on a 21-yard touchdown rush at 6:01 of the third quarter. A missed Northport field goal made it 14-13 in Sachem’s favor.
Sachem (4-0) sophomore Steven Anacreone had a 38-yard run to Northport’s two yard line on the Arrows’ next possession, setting up a 2-yard Pierre touchdown.
Anthony Ross scored on a 30-yard touchdown in the second half and Quinn punched in one more short yardage score.
“That’s a good team,” said Falco. “We knew it was a good team, we worked hard all week and came out on top. Playing Northport is never easy.”
News & Notes
- Sachem honored its 1983 Suffolk County Championship team at halftime for a 30th Anniversary Celebration.
- Sachem senior Michael O’Donnell was honored before the game as the Great American Rivalry Series Scholar Athlete.
- The Arrows are 3-0 in Great American Rivalry Series games, beating Brentwood in 2011 and Sachem East in 2012.
- Bryan Morris missed an extra point for the first time this season on Friday. He had converted on 38 straight before that, a personal high.
- Check The Sachem Report this weekend for more news, notebooks and coverage of the ’83 reunion and Great American Rivalry Series.
PHOTOS: Check out more images from Sachem’s Week 4 victory
Scoring Breakdown
- N: Quinn 31 run, kick good
- S: Bragaglia 85 kick return, Morris kick
- S: Pierre 10 run, Morris kick
- N: Quinn 21 run, kick no good
- S: Pierre 2 run, Morris kick
- S: Ross 30 run, Morris missed kick
- N: Quinn 4 run, kick good
- S: Pierre 50 run, kick good
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro