Elwood-John Glenn Knights Charge Into Suffolk Semifinals
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The Elwood-John Glenn football team celebrates its 27-10 victory over Mt. Sinai in the first round of the Division IV playoffs. Photo Courtesy of John Glenn Football
By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com
Behind a potent passing attack that racked up 202 yards of offense and two touchdowns, the fourth-seeded Elwood-John Glenn Knights defeated the fifth-seeded Mustangs of Mt. Sinai High School in the quarterfinals of Suffolk’s Division IV playoffs on Saturday.
The Knights’ offense came out of the gates firing as coach David Shanahan’s team did not shy away from the passing game.
Glenn quarterback junior Kyle Szokoli quickly capped off a red zone opportunity with a 14-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Gio Rinaldi, who would ultimately finish the game with two catches for 40 yards. Senior kicker Adam Astarita added the extra point to put the Knights up 7-0.
The game stayed close through the first quarter, however, the Knights capitalized on the Mustangs’ inability to move the ball in the second quarter and extended their lead.
The run game played a prominent role in Glenn’s second quarter scoring drives, with senior running back Nathaniel Larkins taking one of his nine attempts for a 10-yard score to further Glenn’s lead to 14-0.
The Knights’ scored a third unanswered touchdown before the end of the first half when senior Jon Green punched in a three-yard score. The only points the Mustangs mustered in the first half came when Szokoli was tackled in his own end zone for a safety. The half ended with the Knights holding a commanding, 21-2, lead.
In the second half, the physical Knights defense continued to dominate the game, holding Mt. Sinai to 90 yards of total offense. Senior leaders, defensive linemen Brendan Harrigan and Connor Rossi, had six and seven tackles, respectively. Senior captain Brett Ryan had another six tackles on defense, as well as 55 yards rushing on 12 attempts for the Knights’ offense.
Szokoli kept up the aerial attack in the third quarter with a 22-yard touchdown pass to junior Justin Tiernan, one of his six catches for 111 yards. Szokoli’s other targets in the game included receivers senior Christian Varlack and junior Daysean Johnson, who combined for 74 yards and five catches.
The Mustangs managed to put together a late touchdown drive and two-point conversion in the fourth quarter to bring the final Knights’ margin of victory to 27-10.
Shanahan said the team’s game plan was to throw the ball often against an aggressive Mustang’s defense.
“We went out and our kids really performed at a high level both defensively and offensively. The receivers caught the ball and the line blocked; it was a real team effort,” he said.
The Knights will face top-ranked Babylon in the Suffolk Division IV semifinals on the road Friday at 6 p.m. There will be a $6 entrance fee.
Shanahan added, when speaking of Babylon, “They’re a very good football team, so we've got to play very physical, and we have to play total team ball in all three aspects of the game.”
