The Glen Cove Big Red football team was defeated by Wantagh in the quarterfinals of the Nassau County Playoffs on Sunday. Much to the dismay of the players, coaches and many Big Red fans, the game was postponed from Saturday by Wantagh due to the "severe rain" they were experiencing in Wantagh.

The teams traded possessions in the first quarter, until the Big Red put the first score on the board on a 2-yard run by Andrew Brown. Eric Tripp would add the extra point, and the Big Red led 7-0. As usual, the Big Red found plenty of running room for backs Brown, Kaliym Beatty, Ariel Bresky and Timmy Maher behind the blocks of Chris Palmisano, Wilmer Alfaro, Brenden Huggins, Rich McGrady, Dan Belfiore, Nick Martino and Lewis Linares. The lead didn't last however, as Wantagh would return the ensuing kickoff 93 yards to tie the score.

The game remained tied as the defenses stiffened in the second quarter. Steven Rogers, Dougie Tripp, Dean Montesantos and Anthony Passalaqua controlled the outside, while Alfaro, Belfiore, Daven Plummer and Linares clogged the middle. Air traffic control was in the hands of Eric Tripp, Beatty and Brown. A late turnover by the Big Red would allow Wantagh to mount a drive to take a 13-7 lead at the half.

The second half opened with the teams trading touchdowns. Wantagh scored first, and the Big Red answered with a reverse on the kickoff, springing Brown for a 75-yard return, and a 20-13 score. However, turnovers would again plague the Big Red and Wantagh was able to capitalize on Big Red miscues to make the final score 41-13.

Despite the score, the Big Red fought to the very end. Behind the leadership of team captains Alfaro, Bresky and Martino and game captains Passalaqua and Anthony Collins, and amid the cheers of the many fans that have cheered them on throughout the year, the Big Red family walked off the field with their heads held high. Congratulations to head coach Peter Kopecky, and assistants Marc Checola and Steve Tripp on another successful season.

The Glen Cove girls cross-country team continues to improve and finished the season with a spectacular performance on Saturday running in the State Qualifier Meet for the first time as a team. The team finished 15th out of the 21 teams that competed. It was a very exciting finish for a team including only one senior, one sophomore, two freshmen and one eighth-grader.

Senior captain Loreley Gomez ran a great race, in a time of 20 minutes 46 seconds. Loreley finished in 35th place out of 163 runners. Eighth-grader Sabrina Minopoli was right behind with a time of 20:55. This time was Sabrina's personal best, and she finished in 37th place. Danielle Carlson did a great job as a first-year runner this season. She finished in 119th place, with a time of 23:30, a personal best, improving by 2 minutes 11 seconds since her first race just one month ago. Freshman Candra McCoy ran a personal best as well and finished 131st with a time of 23:58, which was 5 minutes 22 seconds faster than her first race which was one month ago as well. Antonella Coscarelli ran for the second season this year as a freshman. Antonella finished 133rd with a time of 24:04. The personal best was 2 minutes 9 seconds faster than the last race of her season last year.

The team should do very well next year if the girls continue to train and compete over the summer despite losing their captain, Loreley, who will be graduating and going to college next year. She will be greatly missed by her teammates, all of whom offer her their best wishes,

The eighth-grade girls soccer team finished its season with a hard-fought win against Herricks 2-1. Goals were scored by Nicole Maher and Alison Abrams. The girls saved their best game for last and finished with a record of 4 wins, 4 losses and 1 tie. The players brought their best to each game.

The team was lead by captains Nicole Maher, Tori Durso, Ariana Cavallone and Crissy Capiello. Leading the scoring was Olivia Goldson with seven goals. There was also great work by Emily Durso , Jenna Basile and Corina Cruz. The defense was led by Jenna Basile, Jasmine Battle, Morgan MacDonald and goalie Alison Abrams. The outstanding players for the year were Tori Durso, Ariana Cavallone and Nicole Maher.

Each player improved her skills and hopefully has learned something from the experience. Coach Peter Bednarski wishes to thank his team for a great season.

Francesca Ferrante qualified for States at the County Championships on Saturday in the 200 IM and the 100 backstroke. She made the championship heat in both events and was awarded third place in the county for the 100 back and fourth in the county for the 200 IM. Francesca is hoping to place in the top 10 in New York State at the NYS Girls Championships. She also was nominated for the Frank Ronhofer Scholarships Award and made one of the captains for the State team along with other seniors. Newcomer Rachel Parker had two extraordinary swims. She placed 10th in the county for the 50 free swimming, and 11th in the county for the 100 fly. Glen Cove swimming seems to be a strong force to reckon with this year. The Glen Cove junior varsity football team has just finished their season with a 2-6 record. Early on in the season, six key sophomore football players were brought up to contribute to the varsity football team. Despite having a younger team the boys on this JV football team improved each game and played with a lot of effort, heart, determination and pride every second of every play. Coaches Gallo and Curatolo would like to applaud the team's efforts and encourage the boys to continue to get better every day in every way in order to achieve their goals.