Seahawks Win First LI Title In 13 Years
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The Cold Spring Harbor Seahawks celebrate their Long Island Class IV title after defeating Shoreham-Wading River 42-20 at Stony Brook University on Nov. 23.
By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com
Five years ago the Cold Spring Harbor Football team had only one win to celebrate at the end of their season. The team completed a remarkable turnaround last Friday when they defeated Shoreham-Wading River to capture the Long Island Class IV title.
“I’m so proud of you,” coach Jon Mendreski told his team after the game. “Every one of you guys deserves this.”
The Seahawks hoisted the Long Island championship trophy for the first time since 2005 after a dominant performance in which they scored 42 points against a usually stout Wildcat defense.
Quarterback Ray Costa opened the scoring for the Seahawks with 12-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Thomas Milana.
Cold Spring Harbor’s defense also set the tone early in the first quarter, forcing the Wildcats to punt on their first drive.
Senior tight end Aidan Adomaites celebrates after catching a seven-yard touchdown pass for the Seahawks.
The Seahawks faced a challenge in the second quarter as the Wildcats began to gain some momentum on offense, but Costa and the Seahawks offense kept pace.
After the Wildcats tied the game with just over three minutes to play in the second quarter, the senior quarterback led the Seahawks on a touchdown drive that finished with a seven-yard pass to senior tight end Aidan Adomaites in the end zone.
The Seahawks led 21-14 at halftime, and senior running back Danny Striano helped the team pull away in the second half.
Striano rushed for three touchdowns from 1, 2 and 38 yards in the second half on his way to 215 rushing yards in the game. Striano’s performance on the ground helped the Seahawks dominate possession and the clock in the second half during which the Wildcats managed to score only one touchdown.
“Everyone did their jobs out there, and we were extremely motivated,” Striano said.
The Seahawks racked up nearly 400 yards of total offense in the win.
The Long Island championship was the third in program history for the Seahawks, who finished the season 10-2.
