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Health & Fitness

Inside The Huddle: A Must Win Game

After two straight losses Sachem East needs to get the victory this Saturday in Lindenhurst. A win clinches playoffs for both teams. Who wants it more?

Well that West Islip loss was another tough one for us, a lot worse than the Pat-Med game. We just didn’t have it from the start, and to have a game like that in front of everyone on our homecoming was pretty embarrassing. It hurt, everyone was upset and disappointed especially since a win would have clinched us a spot in the playoffs, where we would be one step closer to our dream, but in the big picture it’s just one game. We need to fight through times like this, because it is these times of adversity that make us stronger and help us become a better football team.

We lost the last two games, and have dropped to 4-2 but panic mode has not set in yet, like I said it’s just one game. This week is the same scenario, if we win we are in the playoffs. Again we are playing another good football team in the Lindenhurst Bulldogs, one that plays hard and physical all game long. They have the same record as us, and the same dreams as us. Both teams want and need this win more than anything, but it is the team that wants it the most that will come out on top this Saturday.

It is Lindy’s homecoming, and their fans will all be in attendance making some noise for them, but we showed last weekend, and we showed it three weeks ago in Commack that the team playing on their homecoming still has to really bring it in order to be successful. If Lindy makes the same mistake we did last weekend, getting caught up in all the outside distractions that come along with homecoming, then they will see the same results that we did. We are not nervous or intimidated, we beat Commack pretty big on their homecoming and we were Lindy’s homecoming last year, so we know what to expect since we have been there before.

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I think we had a good week of practice this week. On Monday we paid for the mistakes we made on Saturday with running hills, up-downs, sprints, and pushups. I don’t think we have worked as hard as we did on Monday since speed and agility sessions back in July. It was a terrible, yet humbling experience as we all realized how we got to 4-0 in the first place, and that’s through hard work, and determination. I think some of the guys may have gotten a bit too cocky, or big headed after all the success, and Monday really brought us all back down to earth.

As for the rest of the week, I think we had a pretty good scout on Lindy, and are fully prepared for them. There has yet to be a game this season that I think we weren’t prepared for. Our coaches always make sure we are fully ready to go into battle. Now it just comes down to execution which is something that we have not had the past two weekends. Saturday is the biggest game of our lives as of date, and we need to find a way to get it done.

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Friday night we will be headed down to Sachem North to cheer on the other side of our sachem family. At halftime our very own coach Anthony Gambino will be announced as they celebrate the 25th year anniversary of his Rutgers Trophy Championship team. Here at Sachem there are not really many things more important to us than tradition, and that is why we feel it is so important to show up Friday night. We seniors this year are trying to start our own tradition of winning around here, and the first step is by getting into the playoffs. So we will be leaving at halftime, getting a good night’s sleep, and then coming back to east the next day for the bus over to Lindy. Again we know the challenge ahead of us, and it will not be easy, but we must find a way to pull out the win this Saturday.

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