Sports
Sachem East Throttles Connetquot In Matchup of Suffolk's Elite
Arrows win battle of unbeatens to improve to 15-0; capture League II title.
Amidst the rainy conditions outside, Sachem East stormed into Connetquot, albeit a few minutes late, and handed the Thunderbirds their first loss of the season, 45-28, on Senior Night at Connetquot High School Thursday evening.
The Arrows clinched the League II title with the dual meet win.
In a matchup of Suffolk County's top two ranked teams, Sachem dominated Connetquot early on and led by as much as 25.
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"Connetquot’s an outstanding team," said Sachem head coach Sean O'Hara. "So to battle that way with them and come out on top, it’s a really good effort for us. We’re happy with that."
Despite arriving just after 6:00 p.m., the Flaming Arrows (15-0) came flying out of the gate after starting with 138-pounder Jackson Mordente, winning the first four matches and never looked back.
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"The weight we started at was in our favor because it’s a real strong part of our lineup," said O'Hara. "We had three of our captains right in a row, so that was a nice way to start the meet off. Those guys went out and did their job."
Sachem got pins from Billy Merone, Zac Nobre, John Vigh and Dave Iadanza to key the victory.
Shaun Gillen got the Thunderbirds (11-1) on the board by pinning A.J. Solomito, but Sachem countered with back-to-back pins of their own by Nobre and Vigh to push their lead to 28-6.
With the win, Sachem will undoubtedly be the new top team in Suffolk County, but O'Hara has his sights set higher.
"We have work to do," he said. "I think what we need to realize is that we won the battle but we need to improve and get ready for the war, which is coming up in the next couple of weeks in counties and leagues.
"We can’t be satisfied. That’s an excellent team, that’s a team that when you knock them down they’re going to get up and come right back at you. There’s no doubt in my mind they’re going to do that. What we need to do is improve. Winning the battle is not the end of the story. We’re going to see those same guys in a week so our job is to get better."
