Sports

Sachem Football History Book Updated

Includes 2008 and 2009 season breakdowns for East and North.

Sachem High School Football: The History of the Flaming Arrows has been updated with information from the 2008 and 2009 football seasons at Sachem East and North. 

The book, originally published prior to the 2008 season, captures the glory of Sachem from the football program's inception in 1961 through the glory years under legendary head coach Fred Fusaro, up to today where both East and North are trying to create separate identities under the same powerful Sachem name.

"Vaccaro had the great fortune to sit down with coach Fusaro and hear story after story, lesson after lesson," said current North head football coach Dave Falco. "For Sachem football alums this will take you back to your past and for fans it will make you feel as though you were there."

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Included in the book are chapters broken down by decades, statistics going back to as long as they were kept, a complete run down of all former letter winners and every bit of interesting information about the Sachem football program.

If you want to learn about the day Sachem beat East Islip and future NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason in 1978, it's there. If you're wondering what it was like when Fusaro took the program over in 1971, your questions will be answered. You'll learn about the Goliath characters from the program's past like Jumbo Elliott, James O'Neal, Neal Heaton, Doug Shanahan and Brian Dehler.

Find out what's happening in Sachemwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

From the beginning of the district in 1955 to when the program began in 1961, Sachem was a very happening place and quickly grabbed the attention of Long Island since it was the second biggest school district in the state then and continues to be now.

When football started things changed and the Sachem name become more important on a regional level. With the help of thousands of talented athletes, and many coaches over the past 40-plus years, Sachem has become a dynasty on the gridiron and "Sachem High School Football: The History of the Flaming Arrows," is the only place where you can read about the evolution of the program.

If you're familiar with the book since it's been released for nearly two years, then you'll be interested to read about the historical 2009 season at Sachem North, when the Flaming Arrows put together their best record in the history of the program (10-1), ran for more yards than any other team in Sachem history and captured the hearts of Black & Gold Nation once again.

Vaccaro will be signing copies of another one of his books, "Long Island High School Sports," June 19 at Costco in Holbrook from 1-3 p.m. That book is a photo history of Long Island high school sports with pictures dating back to the 1880s when the first games were played on the Island.

Click the links below to learn where to purchase the books, which are available from every major book distributor.


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