The Howitt Football Dalers began their season with a big win on opening day over their rivals, the Vikings of Seaford 22-18. The first points of the game and season came off the legs of Styvenson Hogarth who sped off-tackle for an 82-yard touchdown. That run was only the starting point for Hogarth who had a monster year with just over 500 yards rushing for the year.
As the teams traded points in the first half, Nick Campo rumbled 22 yards to pull away from the Vikings and later in the quarter Michael Outing turned a reverse into a 31-yard touchdown run to put the game away.
Zack Kolodny nailed all three extra points to finish off the scoring. The defense front did a stellar job to turn away Seaford and it wasn’t until the last moments of the game did the Vikings score again when the game was in hand.
The following game brought the home crowd out again to see the Dalers beat Island Trees 36-0. Aiden Gallagher led the way for Michael Outing and Tom Garner who posted scores and Styvenson Hogarth had a TD run of 73 yards to round out the scoring.
The defense again led the way with great tackling by Keith Brown, Matteo Lovece, Dimitri Loloudakis and Frank Franco. The third Saturday of the season brought the Dalers over to Plainview Field where after the first defensive hold, the Dalers didn’t look back and went on to a 44-0 victory. On the third play from scrimmage, Hogarth again scampered to a 61-yard TD run. Nick Campo and Tom Garner had scoring runs for the Dalers and Keith Brown lumbered for two scores. Again, the defense pitched a shutout.
Nick Butler, Andrew Panariello, Mike Lynch and Scott DiPalma had big days on the defensive side of the ball. After a 3-0 start, the Dalers returned home to face their cross-town rivals, the Plainedge Red Devils.
This was a game where the defense rose to the occasion again. This time led by David Kenney who had an outstanding game with 8 tackles and a sack. Matt DeLuca chipped in with five solo tackles as he started to make a name for himself at defensive end. Timmy McKeon also lent a hand with two interceptions.
Although Styvenson Hogarth scored again on another big run, the day belonged to Nick Campo on both sides of the ball. Leading the way with his hammering blocks, his sledgehammer tackles and his bulldozer style of running, nobody was a match for Campo on that day.
The Dalers went on to defeat the Red Devils, 31-6. During the fifth week of the season, the true test came in the name of the Seaford. This time, Howitt was on Viking turf and it was to be a very trying day for the Dalers.
Although they traded scores with Seaford early, the ever-present “undefeated” season was not to be. The Vikings of Seaford proved to be too tough to tame the second time around. The Howitt team had a long weekend to think about the 32-12 loss at the hands of the “other” green team.
After regrouping and going through the final week of game preparations, the Howitt coaching staff made some minor adjustments with the offense and displayed a new look.
With Nick Campo primed as the “Wildcat” quarterback and Michael “Shredder” Scheuerer moving out to the slot, the Dalers of Howitt were unstoppable.
Styvenson Hogarth rushed nine times for 102 yards and three scores. Campo rushed for 67 yards with a score and also had an interception return for an 83-yard touchdown.
The season became complete when “The Shredder” hauled in a 28-yard touchdown strike from Campo, the final score, 53-0.
The offense was very efficient all year because of the Hogs in the trenches led by center Joe Cambria, guards David Kenney, Conor Fesolowich, Matt MacKenzie and tackles Jack Keller, Marc Dittmeier and Justin Audette.
After a 5-1 season, the players are excited about entering the high school next year to continue the tradition of Daler Football.
