One of the downsides of having a senior-laden football team one season is that the following season will undoubtedly be a transitional year. In 2013, the Massapequa Chiefs fielded an experienced team that was one quarter away from winning the Nassau County title, but ultimately lost on a last-second field goal to the Farmingdale Dalers.
The 2014 team will feature only one returning starter from last year’s group—Paul Dilena. Third year head coach Kevin Shippos is not fazed by this challenge.
“It’s similar to my first season,” he said. “We had a lot of guys that were unproven.”
That team finished the season at 6-4 after losing to rival Farmingdale 12-9 in the first round of the playoffs.
Once again, the Chiefs will be looking to get retribution on the Dalers for the previous season. In addition to the exhilarating playoff game, they lost their only regular season game against Farmingdale, 33-8, on Oct. 15.
The two teams face off against each other on Sept. 13. Shippos doesn’t feel the game should be treated any differently because of the opponent.
“Every game is a challenge, it doesn’t get any easier for us,” he said. “But the talent is there, I believe we’ll be right there at the end of the season.”
The Chiefs will be counting on a bevy of newcomers. Some of which have actually never played football.
“We have a lot of guys that played lacrosse last year,” said Shippos. One of those players is Griffin Barnathan, whom Shippos believes can be a big playmaker as a wide receiver.
In the backfield will be Chris Bacotti and Brett Clarke. Both players were on JV last year, but they will be expected to play crucial roles at this level. Shippos stated that Clarke is the fastest player on the team despite being among the largest at 6’1” 210 pounds. Bacotti and Clarke will also play in the defensive secondary.
While most of the positions are settled, there is an ongoing competition for quarterback. Last year’s backup, Joe Butterworth, is the favorite to land the spot. He will have the difficult job of following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Matt Caracappa, who was ranked among the best quarterbacks on Long Island last season. Caracappa threw for 1,392 yards including an incredible touchdown to interception ratio of 22 to 1.
The Chiefs will also have to fill the void of Craig Berge, the go-to receiver, who caught 14 touchdowns for 561 yards last season.
On defense, the team will be relying on the front seven – Dilena, Dom Sofia, Chase O’Mahoney and Frank Americo – to patrol the line of scrimmage.
Despite the challenges facing this team, Shippos is confident they will still make noise in the ultra-competitive Conference-I. “Our strength is our work ethic,” said Shippos. “The guys had a good summer of practicing, even during the two-a-days, they gave it their all.”
Although he noted that the team was “spoiled the last two years with talent,” this season’s Chiefs should not be counted out because of inexperience.
