The Big Red varsity football team traveled to Westbury Friday night and defeated the Green Dragons 43-26 under the lights. The game was an exciting competitive affair.

The big story of the game was the absence of senior captain and quarterback Eric Tripp due to an injury. Tripp is also the kicker and starting strong safety for the Varsity 11. Junior Mike Iannetta and Chris Haran, along with the rest of the squad, were asked to step up and fill the void created by their fallen comrade.

Ianetta had a stellar debut, with Tripp aiding him from the sideline; Mike ran the offense like a veteran, completing four of seven passes for 70 yards. Chris Haran booted five of five extra points and did a fine job of kicking off. Of course, the rest of the Big Red squad chipped in, controlling the ball. Behind the "Big" Big Red offensive line of Martino, Metskas, Linares, Belfiore, Cappiello and Mahoney, the backs hammered out 276 yards rushing.

The kickoff return team also did their part in the victory. Following a Westbury TD that tied the game, Andrew Brown corralled a kickoff at the 20, and handed it to Beatty at the 25, who took it to the house behind the blocking of the return team. The exciting 75-yard touchdown return brought the crowd on its feet. But the return team was not done yet; opening the second half Shamek Newsome scooped up the Dragons' offering, followed his blocking and finished with a 45-yard return to Westbury territory.

Unsung heroes of the game were Kevin Gardrvits, making a touchdown-saving tackle after a kickoff; Rich Maccarone, weaving in and out of the Westbury defense for a 47-yard touchdown run; Davide Petulla, recovering a Green Dragon fumble in Glen Cove territory; Syris Barnes, unselfishly laterally passing a punted ball to Beatty; Andres Fuenzilida, making his first varsity tackle; Ryan Zupa flawlessly snapping on extra points and punts and Joe Fiorino, downfield TD block for Maccarone.

Next up for the Big Red is Homecoming, Saturday Sept. 27 at 1:30 p.m. against the Rams of West Hempstead. The Pep Rally, normally Friday afternoon, is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the high school field. Come and cheer on the Big Red.

The JV Big Red football team continued to show prominence by dominating over Westbury last Saturday with a 36-0 win. The offense controlled the game, while the defense was once again stifling. Scoring were Owen Valance with a touchdown catch from Shaheem Lilly and freshman Nick McAdams and Pietro Lafortezza adding two more TD runs. This week the JV team will play at West Hempstead to face the Rams. After a 6-1 win to start off the season against Valley Stream South, the Glen Cove JV girls tennis team has battled in two tough matches. The first match was a 7-0 loss against North Shore, the top-ranked team in the league. The second match was a 5-2 loss against Clarke. Outstanding performances by Glen Cove girls that stand out from the Clarke match include Kellie Williams who showed great perseverance at first singles, coming from being down 6-0 to pull out a 9-7 win. Also at first doubles, Sarah Farnan and Catherine Liang improved their unbeaten record to 2-0 with a decisive 8-3 win. The JV girls tennis squad looks to continue their great season with upcoming matches against Farmingdale and Bethpage.