Outmatched Against the Rams They Look Forward to Playing the Locust Valley Falcons
The Oyster Bay High School football team was out practicing early this year. With a new coach, Joe Knoll, leading the team, they are honing their skills. This year the school is fielding a team of 23 players. With 11 positions on each side, the athletes will get a lot of time in the mix. Few will be sitting on the sidelines – just watching the play.
The first game was against the Rams of West Hempstead. This was the first time they played in our conference. It was seen as a challenge because they brought a squad of 35 with some very big kids on the line.
OB-EN sports announcer Tom Gould said, “The game ended with a score at about 41:14 as the final score. As the announcer I don’t announce the numbers when the scores are like that. It was 40 to nothing and then they brought in their second string and we were able to score a couple of points.
“It was a rough start but the West Hempstead division was coming down from a higher division so we were unmatched. Zach Greenspan (also a lacrosse player) had a nasty break in his arm. We were banged up and there were a couple of times we were stopped. But the kids were able to come back and play. Zach was the only one taken out,” he said.
Mr. Gould said, “Too bad they didn’t play the second string the whole game, we would have been better matched. But the score isn’t indicative of how our season will go. The rest of the teams are ones we have played before. The next game is against Friends Academy on Oct. 1 and we should have a better showing that day.”
He added, “However I must say the OB fans are the best, win or lose they cheer for the team the entire game and have fun in the stands!”
Talking to Coach Knoll on Friday, before the game, he explained that the conferences in Nassau County are set up by enrollment; and into conferences of 14 teams. “We are not a part of the NYS tournament so we are not in a division. The conferences are decided by enrollment,” he said.
OBHS AD Len Kies explained, “Section Eight sets the rules. The West Hempstead Rams were in section three last year and are now in section four. We are in section four. The conferences are designed by enrollment.”
Coach Knoll added, “The enrollment in West Hempstead dropped down this year to conference four because of the loss of Island Park students. They used to go there but they are now going to Long Beach or Oceanside. Now the Rams are just made up of West Hempstead students.”
The Rams are going on the field with 35 players, many of whom are hefty guys. Coach Knoll said the sport of high school football is cyclical. “We’re a small school but any given year we can be small or big – year by year it is cyclical. Just like having great athletes on the team is cyclical. There are schools now on top that weren’t doing well before. That is what happens with high schools. You have to work with what you have.”
The coach explained it’s a big challenge with big rewards. “Everything this year is positive and good and it’s good to be rebuilding the tradition here and re-establish it,” said Mr. Knoll.
According to OB-EN media specialist Tom Gould, “When Coach Joe Knoll came on board last February, he told his potential players who were playing other sports to concentrate on those sports until the season was over. For players not playing spring sports, Coach Knoll suggested they be in the weight room three days a week. Coach Knoll introduced the athletes to District Athletic Trainer Daniel DeSimone who guided the players through weight training during the summer. He suggested going to watch spring football practice at C.W. Post or Stony Brook.
“There was an official team meeting right after the spring sports’ season ended. At that time Coach Knoll scheduled spring workouts for the offence and defense. There were also summer workouts and a passing league.
“The slogan for the introductory meeting was ‘Pride is Alive.’ It was difficult not to be filled with pride hearing Coach Knoll inspire his young charges. He told the players that the Baymen are going to be a team to be reckoned with and regardless of the scoreboard every opponent is going to leave the field knowing that they have been a hard fought battle,” Mr. Gould said.
Mr. Gould said Coach Knoll encouraged his players to stop him and say hello. “It’s good to start get to know each other before the football season begins.”
A Great Record
Coach Knoll came to Oyster Bay with an impressive track record. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach in Sewanhaka where he was part of an organization that won five straight championships. The highlight of his coaching experience at Sewanhaka was having the opportunity to coach a future Heisman Trophy winner. A young quarterback by the name of Vinnie Testaverde who went on to play in the NFL and was QB for the New York Jets.
Coach Knoll must have made quite an impact on those championship teams while an assistant coach, because he was soon elevated to be the head coach for Sewanhaka, where he led the team for five years. He took his team to the playoffs and led the Rutgers Cup Team. Under his watch, Coach Knoll coached two Martone Award recipients and a Jim Thorpe Award winner.
Coach Knoll left Sewanhaka to accept a head coaching job at Lynbrook where he served for nineteen years. He led his team to several Big 4 championships, three county championships, one Long Island championship, and ran off a twenty-one game winning streak. His players earned two Kessenich awards, two Unsung Hero awards, one NFF Top Scholar distinction, and a News 12 Top Scholar recognition.
Mr. Gould said, “Coach Knoll moved on to Locust Valley, where for five years he built on his already illustrious career. Coach Knoll ran the third winningest program in Conference 4 history. Four of the five years that he was head coach, Locust Valley went to the playoffs. Three years in a row they were Big 4 Champion. The last one going to the finals. His Locust Valley players also racked up an impressive number of accolades. Ten players were named All-County, All-Conference, and one of his players was a starter in the Boomer Esiason game which pitted the best players on Long Island against the best players from New York City.
“One would think that a coach would need some downtime after all the effort necessary to carry a winning team through the regular season. Coach Knoll found that in Italy, the football season runs in the summer, allowing him to coach a second season of football in a year. Joe Knoll coached the Jurassic Bowl in 2004 and was also the head coach for the Parma Panthers in 2004. The Parma Panthers were Silver Bowl Champions thanks to a game won by Coach Knoll in Florence, Italy. Italy Coach Knoll ran two NFL tryouts in Europe and in 2009 and 2010 he coached at the Milan Seamen Summer Training Camps.” said Mr. Gould.
To get a chance to see the Baymen in action, here is their schedule of home games. They are held on Memorial Field, in the rear of the Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School.
Oyster Bay High School Home Games
• Saturday, Sept. 10, at 1:30 p.m. – ended with a loss.
• Friday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m.- At Cold Spring Harbor
• Saturday, Oct. 1, at 3 p.m.
• Thursday, Oct. 6, at 4:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. (Homecoming)
