Long Island Defeats New York City

To Claim Second Consecutive Game

By Kevin Adler

It wasn’t the prettiest or the most dramatic win ever for Hans Wiederkehr, but it was one of the most satisfying. In his eighth year coaching the best of Long Island’s high school football players in the Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge Football Game, Wiederkehr got his chance this year to be head coach, and he made the most of it. A fourth-quarter touchdown and extra point gave Long Island a 7-6 victory in a hard-hitting defensive battle.

“It’s an honor to participate in this game and to work with such great coaches and players,” Wiederkehr said. “The game gets bigger and better each year.”

This year’s game certainly was bigger, as cool weather drew a record crowd of 9, 782, said Boomer Esiason, who started the game in 1996 as a way to showcase the high school football talent of his youth. “The enthusiasm of the players and the effort of the coaches is just phenomenal,” said Esiason. “I can’t say enough about the participants, our sponsors, and the thousands of fans who support us each year.”

The Empire Challenge game usually comes down to defense and turnovers, and this year was no different. Both Wiederkehr and New York City’s head coach, Vince Laino (Fort Hamilton) predicted that victory would go to the team that made the fewest mistakes. “A missed block or a missed tackle, especially in the second half, might decide the game,” said Wiederkehr.

So it was perhaps appropriate that Long Island’s touchdown came on a 20-yard keeper that quarterback Frank Wolfe (North Babylon) admitted “was a busted play. The snap came too early, but I broke against the grain, and scored.” Wolfe, who was one of three quarterbacks who alternated possessions, was the star of the scoring drive, with runs of 16, 7, 2, and 20 yards. “New York City was tough on us all game,” he said. “Their defensive tackles were really good.”

The biggest standout on New York City’s defensive front was Louis Jones (South Shore). Although he’s only 5’ 11”, he was a 290-lb. force right from start to finish. The dominant performance earned Jones the Timothy O’Brien Most Valuable Player Award, only the second time in the history of the Empire Challenge that the MVP has come from the losing team. His combination of quickness and strength enabled Jones to record two sacks, a fumble recovery, and a blocked punt.

Early in the game Jones had a lot of help from linemates such as Brandon Campbell (Wagner), George Eshareturi (Mt. St. Michael), Labinot Hakanjin (Fort Hamilton), and James Andrea (Wagner). The interior line held Long Island to one first down on its opening possession, and then they pressured Long Island quarterback Alex Conton (St. Anthony) to throw too quickly on his first pass attempt. Thomas Larsen (Fort Hamilton) intercepted at the Long Island 36 with just over three minutes gone in the game, and New York City was in prime position to take control of the game.

It took all of one play for New York City to take the lead. On first down, Anthony Self (South Shore) took a sweep left, dropped the ball, picked it up on the run, and raced down the sideline for a score. “I was so nervous that I fumbled,” said Self, “But the ball bounced back to me, and I just ran for daylight.” Self would finish as the game’s leading rusher with 11 carries for 70 yards.

When New York City held Long Island to a single first down on its next drive and then a three-and-out on its next, it was clear that Long Island’s offense was in for a long evening. For the entire first half, Long Island had 33 rushing yards and a net total offense of 78 yards. “Defensive line is one of our major strengths,” said Faino before the game. “I want to control the line of scrimmage, and I think we can.”

With great field position throughout the first half, however, New York City could not score again, and this would come back to haunt them at the end of the game. Late in the first quarter, New York City moved down to the Long Island 15, but missed a field goal wide to the right. And New York City ended the first half with two chances to score from inside the Long Island 3 yard line, but quarterback Zanu Simpson (Bayside) was stopped twice on runs up the middle.

“Not getting that touchdown at the end of the first half changed all the momentum,” Laino admitted.

“We were doing what we needed to do,” said Self, “But we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities.”

Still, that single, early score seemed like it would be enough to win the game, as New York City’s defense turned in an even more stellar third quarter. Despite playing the entire third quarter in their end of the field, due to a pair of fumbles by New York City’s quarterback Peter Mazzurco (St. Francis), the defense kept turning back Long Island.. On the first drive, sacks by Jones and Larsen pushed Long Island backwards, and on the second drive Mike Meggett (Fort Hamilton) forced a fumble and recovered it on the New York City 9 yard line. “I thought we could keep them out of the end zone all night,” said Meggett.

It sure looked that way, until another three-and-out for New York City and a 30-yard punt gave Long Island the ball on its 46 yard line with 12:47 to go in the game. To that point, Long Island’s offense had consisted almost solely of up-the-middle runs by Colon, a hefty 215-lbs. for a quarterback, and a couple of mid-range passes that he had completed in the first half.

“We wanted to wear them down,” said Weiderkehr. “We had some excellent size on the line and at running back.”

Weiderkehr was so focused on his running game that he installed the single-wing offense in the nine days of practice with the Long Island all-stars. This formation, with three running backs, all slanted in towards the quarterback, will not only tire an opponent, but it also can create confusion about who has the ball and which way he’s going.

As quarterback Colon explained, “We wanted to pull them into the middle with a fake, and then to take it outside. They were flying towards the ball, and we thought we could get some cutback runs too.”

In the fourth quarter, that’s exactly what happened. Repeatedly, the Long Island quarterbacks put the ball in the hands of Matt Albanese (Farmingdale), a 240-lb. running back in the mold of Jerome Bettis. Albanese finished the day with 10 carries for 37 yards, which doesn’t reflect the punishment that he gave to the defenders trying to stop him. It also doesn’t reflect how the New York City defenders became so focused on his inside, bruising style that they were unable to catch the quick-footed Wolfe on the crucial touchdown drive. In that drive, Wolfe converted a third-and-11 by scrambling for 16 yards, and a few players later he gained 7 yards up the middle after faking it to Albanese. On the touchdown run, with New York City’s defense staying tight up the middle, Wolfe found a large seam on the right side and scooted in for the touchdown that tied the game at 6-6.

When Ryan Korn (William Floyd) made the kick to put Long Island ahead 7-6, only 5:56 remained. New York City had two more possessions, but linebackers Rodney Trevon (Babylon), who was selected as the Player of the Game, and Gian Villante (MacArthur) made sure that the slim lead would hold up.

With the victory, Long Island broke a streak of alternating wins by the two squads. The series now stands 4-2 in favor of Long Island.

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