As the clock wound down on a cold November night, the Dalers had fell short of both an undefeated season and a Long Island Championship, finishing 11-1 and losing to Longwood 47-28. It wasn’t all bad after the loss, the team knew they had a bright future, with many starters returning and new players capable of filling into spots, which is why the Dalers were unanimously voted as the preseason #1 seed in Nassau County. Senior Darrin Simons said “It was a disappointing ending, but we knew we had next year to look forward to, it’s giving us a little motivation to get back to that game but this time win it.” The team opened up their season with two tough games on the road.

The defense shined in week one, allowing only seven first downs the entire game, defeating Baldwin 33-0. Quarterback Tommy Donovan threw for two touchdowns in the win. “Our blocking was great, the guys up front made it easy for me to throw the ball.” The following week, the team traveled to Oceanside in a County Finals rematch. Behind Jordan McLune’s 173 yards and 4 touchdowns, the Dalers cruised to a 42-7 victory. Kevin Eversley added a touchdown of 72 yards. On the defensive side, Mike Manetta had a pair of interceptions, Joe Quinn and Darrin Simons also added one each. “It feels good to shut up The Nation,” said McLune. “We just played our game.”

After defeating Oceanside, the Dalers continued to stay hot with big wins against Syosset, Freeport, Massapequa, and East Meadow. They go into their homecoming game against Uniondale with a record of 6-0, hoping they can finish the regular season undefeated.

Courtesy of Lifetouch