As nightfall approaches, the Owls launch into special-teams practice. This is Giordano’s world. He runs around, barking orders. The punting team sends one down the field, which is barely visible in the darkness. In the past, Lynbrook has used Hewlett’s field when they needed lights for practice. This time around, that offer will not be extended.
“Ray, I’ll give you a buck if you catch one,” says LoCicero to player Ray Acevedo.

Acevedo earns a dollar on the next one. A double-or-nothing bet goes down, and LoCicero is suddenly in the hole two bucks.

“OK, Ray, no more. I have to feed my family,” says LoCicero.

Wednesday: Early Morning Football

While most of their classmates got to sleep in on Veteran’s Day, many athletes across LI are up early and practicing. In Lynbrook, a slight drizzle falls as the players arrive before 8 a.m. There is a little chill, a far cry from the unseasonable warmth that has defined the fall so far. The coaches are already in the office, watching film of Hewlett playing Manhasset. The players are calm. They laugh but there is business in the air. They love the game.

“You can’t play if you don’t enjoy it,” says Brendan Cohn, a senior wide receiver and quarterback. Cohn admits that if he did not have to get up, he would have slept “till at least 11.”

The practices are part of the routine. On the practice field, there are four lines of dirt that pop out against the grass. This is where the team drills, back and forth, every day. The players don’t seem to mind.

“There are some days, you feel like you’re addicted to it,” says sophomore Dustin Maskuli.

Lineman Steven Covo agrees. “I would rather be here than anywhere else sometimes,” he says. He loves to be a lineman. “We don’t get the glory, but everyone knows it can’t happen without us. This team knows that.”

Center Joe Venezia is ready to take the field. He and DeNapoli are the team captains. Each week, a game-day captain is also chosen. Venezia is a smart kid who missed time this year because of mononucleosis and a shoulder injury, which happened at the same time. The senior is keenly aware that this could be the last game of his football career. But he does not focus on that. Instead, he talks about the team—it’s a close-knit group. Each Thursday, they head a few miles east to eat. Everyone is invited. Cars are packed tightly.

“We are like a family,” says Venezia. “Everyone who is on the team is a part of this. Everyone is so close.”

A great example is Jake Farrington, a senior who hurt his shoulder bad enough to keep him off the field for the season. But he has only missed a couple of practices since summer session, and those were for doctor’s appointments. He is involved, helping the coaches, filming the games, showing the players their assignments in the playbook. Missing the season has been tough on him. The players have seemed to keep him on their shoulders.

The team begins to stretch. LoCicero is getting more serious, as are his coaches. Game day is now only three days away. They want to win, but that is not the most important part of the job. Not for him, or Iaquinta, or any real coach.
“Look, we’re making men,” says LoCicero. “If we win some games in the process, that’s great. I tell them I love them all the time. I mean it. We all do.”

So, You Want To Be Recruited?

Joe Braico loves football.

“It has given me so much,” says Braico, a former assistant coach for Hofstra University.

After growing up in Avon, Conn., Braico played at Mansfield University in Pa. and moved to Long Island and married. He is a physical education teacher and a high school football fanatic, and after seeing a few local games he wanted to do something to boost the visibility of the sport and its players. With those goals, he launched www.liblitz.com, a website dedicated to LI high school football. The site provides schedules, stats and news throughout the season.

Braico also runs a combine for local football players. There, college recruiters can see the players demonstrate their skills. If a player wants to be recruited, there are a few fundamentals to follow.

Braico offers the following advice:

• Be a great student. This starts as soon as you start school. Grades are the first thing coaches will ask about when they visit.

• Be a good member of your community. Make the right choices in your life. Coaches want to know they have men of high character on their teams.

• Get yourself noticed. Coaches will recruit you if they think you can play and that’s the bottom line, but they can’t recruit you if they haven’t heard of you. Go to camps and combines. This will help get your name out there.

• Be honest with yourself. If you’re honest about your abilities you can maximize your recruiting. Talk to your coach, see what he thinks and formulate a plan.

• Be the best player you can be. Squeeze every ounce of talent you can out of your body. Coaches look for the player who goes all out on every play.  Athleticism is nice,  but results are invariably much better.

Winningest Coaches in Long Island High School Football History

Compiled by John Otano

1) Howie Vogts
Wins: 361
School: Bethpage
Status: Active

2) Don Synder
Wins: 237
School: Farmingdale
Status: Retired, 1992

3) Tom Cassese
Wins: 209
School: Comsewogue
Status: Retired, 2007

4) Fred Smith
Wins: 202 (tied)
School: Friends, Cold Spring Harbor, Locust Valley
Status: Retired, 1998

4) Tom Flatley
Wins: 202 (tied)
School: Garden City
Status: Active

5) Fred Fusaro
Wins: 192
School: Sachem
Status: Retired, 2002