It will be difficult to top the exhilaration of being crowned Nassau County Champs, but the 2014 Farmingdale Dalers will begin their defense of the title on Sept. 13 at rival Massapequa—whom they beat to claim the crown.
“The attitude is that we have to prove it again,” said Head Coach Buddy Krumenacker, who has been at the helm since 1993. “But I think we’ll be okay,” he added.
The Dalers will have the challenge of returning to the top without RB Curtis Jenkins–who was a competitive force of nature last season—rushing for 1,370 yards with 17 TDs, 5 TDs through the air and QB Vinny Quinn–the emotional leader of the team—who threw 15 TDs against only two interceptions with eight rushing TDs.
That duo led the Dalers to their second straight Long Island Championship before losing to Sachem North 27-21. In the previous game, held at Hofstra University, Jenkins rushed for 232 yards and three TDS to set the stage for Zach Kolodny’s game-winning field goal to send the Dalers to the LIC. Quinn went 6-for-8 passing the ball for 116 yards and one TD. He also
Despite the loss of such talents, Krumenacker is confident the team will not miss a beat. “We’ve got two senior running backs and they’ll share the load,” he said referring to Styvenson Hogarth and Michael Outing. Hogarth accounted for 8 TD’s last season—four on the ground and through the air. Outing—despite carrying the ball only 22 times—produced 215 yards (9.7 yards per carry) and scored twice.
They may not need to duplicate the success of Jenkins in ’13 as long as the incumbent QB Mike Scheurer develops into the player that the coaching staff believes he can. Last season, he completed 14-19 passes for 195 yards and two TDS. He also rushed for two TDs.
Although this crop of players were not starters, Krumenacker noted that they saw more playing time than ordinary backups due to the amount of blowout games the Dalers competed in.
“We have a lot of players back with experience. Because of the big leads that we had, we were able to get a lot of guys in,” he said. Now his crop of seniors are ready to play crucial roles. “They’ve been with us for three years and this is what we’ve expected of them.
The defense will be led by Keyshawn Petit-Frere, who he believes “absolutely will be an impact player” as a defensive lineman.
The Dalers will be playing in a difficult conference, having to compete with the likes of Oceanside and Syosset in addition to Massapequa. The conference also added MacArthur and Port Washington, which makes 14 teams.
Krumenacker noted that they are not ready to set their goal to knocking off Sachem North in the LIC.
“We’re just looking to take it game-by-game right now,” he said. Judging by their recent success, however, it will be difficult not to expect another deep playoff run.
