Sachem Football Looking Back: 1986, Week 4

Each week in honor of the 25th Anniversary of Sachem's 1986 Rutgers Trophy team, Sachem Patch will give a brief recap of how Sachem faired during that season.

Sachem Patch will be profiling athletes from that team and sharing stories from the memorable season all fall. But to give you some facts about 1986 ... the Flaming Arrows were in the midst of one of their most dominant stretches in program history. In 1985, Sachem finished 8-2 overall, just behind West Islip in Suffolk County League I.

Sachem returned 16 starters from that dominant '85 club, including a stacked line with Gary Beutel (6-4), Marty Cummings (6-2), Curt Giacobbe (6-2) and Kevin Bauer (6-4). Defensive Backs Paul Engelhardt and Ralph Isernia were fierce. Athletes like Gary Comstock, Dave Shanahan, John Walsh, Wayne Wilson, Bob Kohn and others knew how to play.

Season Record After Week 4: 4-0

Sachem 15, Longwood 12 ... It took four games, but a team finally had the ability to score on Sachem. Ironically, like Sachem did during the 2011 season in Week 4, it beat Longwood by close margin. At this point in the season, Sachem was the top team in Suffolk County and outscored its opponents, 92-12.

During the game against Longwood, there was a bench clearing brawl at mid-field. "Longwood was a bigger and somewhat tougher team than any we played that year," said Jason Buckingham, a senior on that team, now living in Colorado.

There is limited information about this game besides the score. If you were a member of the '86 team and have details about the contest and would like to share, please email Chris@Patch.com.