Football: SWR caps second straight unbeaten regular season
The Shoreham-Wading River High School football team didn’t need to wear a costume for a Halloween treat on Saturday. Helmets and pads did just fine as the Wildcats romped, closing the door on their second straight undefeated regular season.
Chris Rosati ran for three touchdowns as the Wildcats beat Center Moriches, 42-13, in their senior day game at Rocky Point High School.
It was the 20th straight win for the Wildcats (8-0 in Suffolk County Division IV), who maintained their hold on first place. The defending Long Island Class IV champions will play eighth-place Bishop McGann-Mercy (4-4) in a qualifying-round game on Friday or Saturday.
Rosati, one of the 19 Shoreham seniors who were presented with flowers by coach Matt Millheiser before the game in a ceremony that involved their parents, surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark with another stellar performance. The speedy running back raced for three first-half touchdowns, had 141 rushing yards by halftime and finished the game with 170 from only 11 carries.
Rosati didn’t wait long to get down to business. On the game’s second play from scrimmage, he made a couple of shifty moves before darting down the right side for a 42-yard touchdown dash. With Dan Mahoney’s kick, the Wildcats were up, 7-0, and the game was only 46 seconds old.
Rosati went untouched 71 yards for his second score and later added a third, a 20-yard scamper in which he flew up the middle before darting to his left and finding the end zone.
Rosati finished the regular season with 1,086 yards from 93 carries, an average of 11.7 yards per carry. He has run for 21 touchdowns this season.
As impressive as Rosati was, the Wildcats showed they can score in other ways, too. Kevin Cutinella threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Cassidy, and both Jon Constant and Justin Squires ran for touchdowns themselves.
Constant’s 40-yard touchdown run was different. After taking the snap from center, Joe Miller handed off to Rosati, who then handed off to Constant, who took it the distance.
Squires sidestepped a defender on his 32-yard scoring run.
The Wildcats had charged out to a 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Center Moriches (4-4), which is expected to gain a playoff berth, received both of its touchdowns from Chris Iannelli. In the second quarter, Iannelli left the game briefly with shoulder trouble. It didn’t keep him off the field for long, though. Five plays later he was in the end zone with the football. His second touchdown, a 31-yarder, came with 47 seconds to go in the game.
Photo Caption: Shoreham-Wading River’s 19 senior football players and two senior cheerleaders participated in a pregame senior day ceremony. (Credit: Bob Liepa)
