The East Islip Varsity Football team finished the season with a perfect record of 8 and 0 after defeating the Bellport Clippers 40-14 and earned the number 1 overall seed in the Suffolk County Division Two playoffs.
At the beginning of the game, star quarterback Thomas Costarelli ran the ball in for the first touchdown of the game making it 7-0. Shortly after, Bellport scored to make it 7-7. Then Thomas Costarelli responded with a bullet pass into the end zone to Alex Ciampi making it 14-7 in the first. Bellport responded before halftime, tying the game at 14-14.
After a halftime speech from Coach Ciampi and some adjustments, EI dominated the rest of the game and didn’t allow any more touchdowns from Bellport. The final score ended up 40-14.
Running back Ryan Parker finished with 145 yards on 10 carries and defensively made three interceptions. Overall, he had three touchdowns including one pick six. Quarterback Thomas Costarelli was 9 out of 11 passing with 161 yards and three touchdowns.
Finishing with an undefeated record is truly impressive and shows how special this team is. In addition to star players, the entire roster works so hard during the season as well. Senior Matt Rigogliosi said, “The work the practice team puts in helps make the team better. I love these guys and would do anything for them.”
Junior Wide Receiver Aidan McConnell had a similar feeling when he said, “We made a family out of the five months we have been together.”
The team battled through their first two playoff games – a 35-21 victory over Bellport and a 38-12 victory over North Babylon – and will now face Half Hollow Hills East in the Suffolk County Championship where they hope to win their second title in a row.
The game will be held at LaValle Stadium at Stony Brook University on Friday, November 22nd at 4pm. Student tickets can be purchased at the game for $5.00 with student ID and children under 12 can get in for free. All other tickets can be purchased through the GoFan site.
