Sports

Football: Mount Sinai leaves Monarchs battered and bruised

GARRET MEADE PHOTO | Bishop McGann-Mercy wide receiver/defensive back Ian Rogers is lost for the rest of the season after suffering his second concussion on Saturday.
GARRET MEADE PHOTO | Bishop McGann-Mercy wide receiver/defensive back Ian Rogers is lost for the rest of the season after suffering his second concussion on Saturday.

Anyone looking for an explanation to the result of the Mount Sinai football team’s 38-0 pounding of Bishop McGann-Mercy on Saturday need not look far.

“They’re very good,” McGann-Mercy coach Jeff Doroski said. “We’re struggling. And we’re not very good.”

Call it the imperfect storm.

Mount Sinai (4-1) lived up to its second-place standing in Suffolk County Division IV, and McGann-Mercy’s misery continues. The Monarchs fell to 0-5. They sit in 14th place — last place.

Adding injuries to insult, the Monarchs saw two of their starters go down. Wide receiver/defensive back Ian Rogers is out for the rest of the season after having suffered his second concussion. Defensive back Paul Annunziata suffered a severe ankle sprain. He will not be available for the team’s next game on Saturday against East Hampton/Bridgehampton, but will perhaps ready to return the following week against Babylon, said Doroski.

The Monarchs are a battered, bruised group, struggling through a season that has taken a toll, both physically and mentally.

“It’s been tough,” Doroski said. “It’s obviously not where we wanted to be or where we expected to be. We knew we were going to have a tough schedule this year. We knew what we were in for.”

In addition to running for 69 yards on 17 carries, Reggie Archer made 6 tackles for McGann-Mercy. Pat Marelli made 7 tackles, and Andrew Glasgow had 5. All in all, though, it was a rough afternoon in Riverhead for the Monarchs.

Asked if any good came out of the game for his team, Doroski laughed and then answered, “It’s over.” He added, “I think it’s an eye-opener for some of the younger guys for what is required to play at this level.”

If any of his players were under any illusion, Doroski wasn’t. He knew what the Monarchs were up against this year, with a demanding schedule that includes four of the division’s tougher teams: Babylon, Mount Sinai, Shoreham-Wading River and Elwood/John Glenn.

“I’ve been around this division long enough to know that when you’re facing those top four teams, you have to be physically prepared,” Doroski said.

The Monarchs are heading into their final home game on Saturday. Doroski’s message to his players is to keep plugging away.

“We still have to come out and work hard to get better,” he said. “There’s a lot of room for improvement. Some of the younger guys are going to be here for another year or two years. Our kids do work hard. I just think we’re a little bit overmatched this year.”

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