Submitted by Frank Tassielli
The only thing standing between the Dalers and their perfect season were the Chiefs of Massapequa in the final game last month. It was an unseasonable warm day when the Dalers came calling to Massapequa High School led by their head coach Frank Tassielli and coaches Jim Pastier and Walt Henning.
Before the Massapequa team even knew that it was morning, the Dalers had posted a 28 on the scoreboard to take a commanding lead at halftime. Sophomore quarterback Michael Scheuerer threw three touchdown passes in the first half to etch his name into Daler lore by hooking up 16 times with his receivers this year to go down as one of the most prolific JV quarterback the high school has even seen. On the back end of those passes, sophomore Nicky Butler registered seven touchdown receptions.
This team was dominant on both sides of the ball scoring over 40 points four times and over 30 twice while yielding six points or less four times. The Dalers posted two shut outs, first in week two against a hard fought opponent Baldwin winning 17-0 and then in week seven versus Freeport 31-0. Led by two-way player and captain Joe Cambia who excelled at controlling the offensive line at center, these Dalers came to play every Saturday. The offense used a very balanced attack. Besides Scheuerer throwing with pinpoint accuracy, the ground game was lead by sophomores Keith Brown, Keyshawn Petit-Frere and Aidan Gallagher.
The defense made statements in just about every game commanded by freshman middle linebacker Ahmad Johnson. Delivering crushing hits on his opponents, no one dared to run the ball his way. Along with Johnson at the outside linebacker position was another freshman who came into his own during the last half of the season was Charlie Tommasetti who had two interceptions during the last two games of the year while returning one of them for a touchdown. The other freshman that was a starter throughout the year and a dominant force at defensive end was Bobby Norton. With returning players like these, the defensive future of the Dalers is bright.
As the temperature began to rise that beautiful Saturday morning in Massapequa, so did the culmination of a great season. The end of the game brought a final score of 41-6 and a new mark for the JV football record books. This team will be remembered for many reasons, but the one thing, which will come to mind, is that this team got back to dominating the JV football scene in Conference I. The Dalers JV Football completes a perfect 8-0 season.
