Sachem East Playoff Bound After Win Over Brentwood

Sachem East clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2008 and picked up its fifth victory of the season  for the third time in program history with a 22-6 win over Brentwood under the lights Friday night.

It wasn’t a pretty effort from either offense. Late into the fourth quarter Sachem East led Brentwood by just a 9-0 margin thanks to a Steven Casali 21-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a safety on a botched Brentwood punt.

Things changed in a flurry as Brentwood scored on a 75-yard hook and ladder play after quarterback Chris Maher completed a 15-yard pass to Jose Estein who immediately lateralled the ball to DeWayne Scott who dashed the final 60-yards down the sideline.

It was at that point when the game truly turned into the Steven Casali show.  

Casali – who finished the game with 31 carries for 242 yards rushing and two touchdowns – put Sachem East on his back over the last five minutes of the game.

“He’s a beast,” Sachem head coach Mark Wojciechowski said. “He decided that today he wasn’t going to be stopped; we weren’t going to be denied. He carried us and he did a great job.” 

On Sachem’s first play from scrimmage after the Brentwood touchdown Casali ran left, blasted through a hole and sprinted down the sideline for a 41-yard touchdown run to restore his teams two score lead.

When Brentwood got the ball back after the ensuing kickoff on its own 47-yard line, Casali once again made a huge play, intercepting Maher’s pass and returning it 52-yards for a touchdown.

Touchdowns were scored on three consecutive plays from scrimmage late in the fourth quarter after just one was scored the first 43 minutes.

After Casali’s third touchdown Brentwood got the ball and once again crept towards midfield. And once again it was Casali who denied them. This time he returned an interception 25-yards and sealed the game for his team.

“It’s a great feeling,” Casali said. “I love my team right now, I can’t even describe it.”

For a team that came into 2011 on a 15 game losing streak picking up five victories and securing a playoff spot was a great accomplishment for the program and the community.

“It’s a great thing,” Wojciechowski said. “What we went through – it was a tough time – but these kids hung tough and really battled. We could have folded our tents when we lost those three in a row but we didn’t.  That’s a credit to them, who they are, who their parents are. They’re great people and great kids, they’re awesome.”

Sachem East awaits its playoff opponent following the completions of this weekend’s games. They will most likely travel to either William Floyd or Longwood next weekend.