Football: SWR set to face Seaford in Saturday’s Class IV championship

The 2019 football season has taken a similar route for Shoreham-Wading River compared to last year.

The Wildcats lost at home to Mount Sinai in the regular season in 2018, only to come back and beat the Mustangs in the county championship. The script stayed the same this season. In a rematch of last year’s final, the Wildcats defeated the Mustangs Sunday at Stony Brook University to avenge a regular season loss.

That’s where the Wildcats hope the comparisons to last season end.

The Wildcats lost in last year’s Class IV Long Island Championship to Cold Spring Harbor, their first loss in an LIC. Now on Saturday, they’ll take on a Seaford team aiming for its second L.I. title in three years. The Vikings won the 2017 Class IV title, beating Miller Place.

In 2016, the Wildcats topped the Vikings to win their straight L.I. title.

The Vikings have taken a similar path to the LIC. The Vikings lost in the regular season to Cold Spring Harbor, only to come back and win the county final, 14-8. Those 8 points were all the Vikings allowed in the entire month of November. Their previous three wins were all shutouts. Their defense has allowed an average of 3 points per game over the past five games.

The Wildcats’ defense will have to contend with running back Thomas Viscio, who’s been over 30 carries in each of the past two games. He rushed 39 times in a semifinal win against Locust Valley. The Vikings are content to try to drain the clock on long drives.

On the other side, the Wildcats have big play possibility with quarterback Xavier Arline, who’s always dangerous in open space. The Vikings’ defense hasn’t allowed much of anything, but it also hasn’t faced as dynamic a runner as Arline.

Kick-off for the Class IV Long Island final is noon at Hofstra University. Admission is $10. The Class II game between Garden City and Lindenhurst will follow at 4:30 p.m.

The Wildcats should face better weather conditions that what they endured Sunday. Sunny skies with a high around 40 is expected Saturday.

Take a look back at how the Wildcats have fared in their prior LICs:

2018

Cold Spring Harbor 42, SWR 20

Daniel Striano, a running back/defensive back, ran 26 times for 215 yards and three touchdowns to lead Cold Spring Harbor to the win at Stony Brook University. It was the first title for Cold Spring Harbor since 2003. The Seahawks offense generated 331 yards on the ground to SWR’s 83.

CSH controlled possession, snapping 61 offensive plays to SWR’s 35.

Arline finished with 73 yards and two TDs from 17 carries. He also went 8-for-14 passing for 124 yards.

2016

SWR 20, Seaford 10

Shoreham became the fourth team to win a third straight Long Island championship with a familiar formula: a strong running game and a stifling defense.

Chris Gray ran for three touchdowns as Shoreham handed Seaford its only loss of the year at Stony Brook University. He ran for 205 yards on 30 carries.

It was the 12th consecutive postseason win for Shoreham. The Wildcats’ defense held Seaford running back Danny Roell to 67 yards on 23 carries.

2015

SWR 37, Locust Valley 7

Chris Rosati ran for four touchdowns as the Wildcats romped, 37-7, over Locust Valley at Hofstra University. It was the 24th consecutive win for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats took charge from the start, with Rosati scoring touchdowns on three of their first four possessions. He rushed for 119 yards on 19 carries. Two other seniors, Jon Constant and Jason Curran, ran for 93 and 91 yards, respectively.

The Wildcats led 28-0 at halftime.

2014

SWR 47, Roosevelt 13

Playing in their first L.I. final, the Wildcats overwhelmed Roosevelt, 47-13, at Stony Brook University. SWR’s Danny Hughes ran for three touchdowns and threw for another one as the Wildcats scored six unanswered touchdowns.

Hughes registered 119 yards on the ground while teammate Chris Rosati collected 126 yards from only eight carries.

Roosevelt received 125 rushing yards from Shamari Kirkpatrick. The Wildcats picked up 315 of their 409 yards on the ground and passed only five times. Shoreham’s stout defense was led by Rosati, who made 11 tackles, six solo. Kevin Stanford made nine tackles and recovered a fumble.