Cougars’ Shutout Puts Exclamation Point On Homecoming
/By Andrew Wroblewski
awroblewski@longislandergroup.com
The Cougars’ senior offensive weapon, Augie Contressa, returns a punt for 38 yards to Central Islip’s 1-yard line in the first quarter of Saturday’s homecoming game.
Amid Saturday’s homecoming festivities – including an annual parade down Scholar Lane, a Cougarette Senior Ceremony and the naming of Matt Shalhoub and Juliette DePalo as king and queen – Commack’s football team added an exclamation point to the day with a dominating 40-0 shutout of visiting Central Islip in front of more than 1,500 fans.
“We kept the pedal to the metal for four quarters,” Commack’s head coach Jeff DiLorenzo said after the performance.
From the very first play of the game, the Cougars came out firing. Commack forced a Musketeers’ fumble which was recovered by senior Mike Messinger, and the Cougars refused to lookback from there. At halftime, they led 26-0 and widened the margin from there.
Offensive weapon, Augie Contressa, a senior, led Commack’s offense with his eighth and ninth touchdowns of the season. Contressa, a running back, receiver and defensive back, rushed for a game-high 163 yards on 11 attempts, including a 63-yard score to open up the third quarter.
“He’s probably the best player I’ve ever coach,” DiLorenzo said. “The biggest thing about Augie is that he’s the hardest-working guy on the team. He’s a leader and a great, great kid. You want Augie to be your son, that’s how great of a kid he is.”
Elsewhere, Commack quarterback C.J. Trenkle responded to a slow start by throwing for 93 yards and a touchdown with one interception on 4-of-8 passing. “He’s exceptionally bright and makes the right plays at the right time,” DiLorenzo said.
Trenkle’s favorite target was senior Tom Dugan who hauled in a pair of grabs for 41 yards and a touchdown, when he wasn’t busying running out of Commack’s backfield. Dugan also ran for 62 yards and a touchdown on six attempts.
Jordan Levine and Mike Anastasio each also added rushing touchdowns for Commack.
On the other side of the football, the Cougars defense was stout – or “awesome,” as DiLorenzo said. He credited Commack’s defensive ends – a three-man rotation of senior Derek Drotman, senior Ryan Salmon and junior Kevin Snyder – for “solidifying the defense” and ensuring Central Islip’s offense remained stagnant. The Cougars didn’t allow Central Islip to cross the 50-yard until less than 2:00 remained in the first half.
With the win, the Cougars now look forward to a monumental game against Lindenhurst, scheduled to kickoff at 2 p.m. Saturday on Commack’s turf field.
Currently, Commack sits in a four-way tie for first place in Suffolk’s Division I with Lindenhurst, Longwood and Northport. The Bulldogs of Lindenhurst have been widely regarded as one of Long Island’s top football teams this season, but someone forgot to tell that to Commack – or, perhaps, they’re just not fazed by the speculation.
“We’ll see what happens,” Contressa said. “They haven’t played us yet.”
