Juliano Commits to Cortland, Adds to Legacy

If you scroll through the Cortland football roster, you'll see Sachem written more times then any other high school. Currently, the Red Dragons have four former Flaming Arrows, with more to come.

Sachem North senior lineman Vin Juliano is the latest to become part of the Sachem-Cortland connection, committing to the Red Dragons earlier this month.

"I really liked all the coaches and all the facilites," said Juliano, who was an All-Division and All-Patch selection in 2011. "It was where I really felt at home."

He joins Sachem alums Jesse Scanna (2011), Mike McCarthy (2011), Joe Kirchner (2009) and Dan Cancro (2008), all big names in Sachem's recent history.

"It is not going to be easy to follow in their footsteps," Juliano said, "but I will definitely put the work in and give it all I have."

He'll become part of a unique group of Sachem-Cortland athletes that also includes current Sachem North head coach Dave Falco, his assistant Alex Grimm and Sachem East assistant Matt Rickert. Falco's brother Anthony, a physical education teacher and coach at Sachem North, also played at Cortland, as did Rickert's brother Chris. There have been many others over the years as well.

"We are very excited to see Vin make his college choice and see the results of all of his hard work in the class room, weight room and on the field pay off," said Falco, who was the first player at Cortland to catch 100 passes in a career, and later coached with the Red Dragons for six seasons. "I believe Cortland got a good one. Cortland has been a great place for Sachem kids who are serious about playing football and getting an affordable college degree.

"Many of our kids that have gone to Cortland recently have had interest from higher levels, but chose Cortland because of the academics, facilities, the coaches and the quality of football that they play there. I believe Cortland will be in the hunt for a national championship in the very near future."

One person benefiting from the recruiting connection is Cortland coach and alum Dan MacNeill. 

"We’ve really enjoyed a great relationship," he said. "They are all really terrific football players that make up now more than any football players from one high school with our team. That’s Dave Falco’s football program. The football on Long Island is rich ground.

"Kids come in and they’re football savvy. It’s good for us and we’re happy to have them. There is a huge envy out there that Cortland is going in and recruiting the best. We hope that it continues, the relationship continues to flourish."