Inside the Huddle: Pay Back Time!

Saturday was a huge day for the Sachem East football program. The varsity, along with the JV, both improved to 4-0. Everyone has bought into what we are trying to accomplish and it feels great.

We have clinched having a non-losing season. Even better, we were able to do it at home in front of full house decked out in black. Thank you to those in attendance we are very happy we were able to put on a show for you, and we hope you all had a great time.

None of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for our coaching staff week in and week out. They always have us prepared mentally and physically to play every single week. Every week starts with a walk through, discussing the game plan that we plan to use on game day to come out on top, along with an hour and a half of watching film and correcting our mistakes.

For the next few days of the week we then work on our game plan as we practice it, and perfect it. We have every team that we play scouted out, we know every play they run and every defense they show against the offensive sets we run. Coach Mignone then takes the non-starters, and forms a scout team that plays exactly the way our opponents will play against us. They run every offensive play that we will see on game day, over and over again, repetitively, drilling it into the heads of our linebackers and Defensive backs, so that on game day we know exactly what is coming at us on nearly every play.

Without coach Mignone running the opposition’s offense to perfection all week in practice, I guarantee our defense does not perform as well as they have been, and for us our defense has been winning all the games thus far, averaging around only 8 points allowed per game.

We then have a light walk through the day before a game, and then a team meal afterwards. We eat together as a family the night before every game as we mentally prepare ourselves. We then receive a letter from Coach Z every week that we read right after dinner. Every week his letters have gotten us pumped up, as well as inspired us to go out the next day and play our hearts out. Once we are finished reading, Coach Woj and Gambino talk to us one last time before game day, and make sure that we are mentally prepared to come out and bring the pain the next day. Without any one of these things all week at practice, we don’t win anything this year.

This week is a short week but the same formula applies with game plan and film on Monday, full pads scout team on Tuesday, and Wednesday we have a walk through and a team meal. Our coaches have us all geared up and ready to play Pat-Med this week, and we can’t wait to hit the field Thursday night.

This game is huge for us, and I think out of all the games on the schedule this is the one we want the most. We have a bit of a personal history with Pat-Med, they don’t like us, and we don’t like them. We felt a bit disrespected last year by them, as they did things to us last year that go beyond the game of football. Our running back Steven Casali almost lost an eye playing them last year. But he is a different player now, and we are a much different team this year.

Not only do we owe them some pay back, but a win Thursday could put us into the playoffs for the first time since I was a freshman. We as a program has never beaten Pat-Med in school history, and trust me; there is nothing we would like to do more than end that streak this Thursday night.

We respect them as a football team and they do play physical, but so do we, and we're going to come out Thursday and bring it with everything we possibly have. It should be a very hard hitting game, filled with action. So if you would like to support us, please come down to Pat-Med Thursday night at six o’clock. And, as always, check for coverage of the game on Sachem Patch later that night.