Rebels Defeat South Side

By Meredith Krevitsky

The Great Neck South Rebels football team rebounded from a devastating loss against Garden City to squeak by the South Side Cyclones 14-8. _outh's running game worked well this week despite slippery terrain provided by the weekend's rainstorm.

The Rebels got on the scoreboard right away in the first quarter, as quarterback Brent Rogol and running back Jon Levin engineered a 15-play, 80-yard drive. Levin was responsible for 70 of those yards, while Rogol didn't even have to attempt a pass. He did, however, gain one crucial yard for a first down to keep the team moving on offense. Finally, on fourth and goal from South Side's 3, Levin ran towards the left side into the end zone. The Rebels' new kicker, junior David Yonelunas, kicked the ball through the uprights to give South a 7-0 lead.

Later, toward the end of the first half, South struck again. A nice punt return by Levin gave the Rebels great field position on the Cyclones' 30. Rogol then hooked up with Levin for a 12-yard gain. On a third and 2, Claude Compas barely gained a first down to keep South alive. After a measurement, Rogol found Levin standing in the end zone and completed the touchdown pass. Yonelunas punched in another extra point to increase the Rebels' lead to 14-0 just minutes before halftime.

However, the Cyclones utilized those few moments and threatened to score at the end of the second quarter. Quarterback Brandon Friend led his team 77 yards downfield all the way to South's 2-yard line. A 50-yard completion to Maurice Bailey helped spark the drive. But South Side stalled as time ran out when Steve Messina intercepted a sure touchdown pass.

Finally, the Rebels' defense couldn't hold up anymore as the Cyclones scored their only touchdown midway through the third quarter. South Side stopped Claude Compas on a fourth and four sweep play and therefore took over on their own 38. The Rebels almost closed the door when the Cyclones had a fourth and three on the 24-yard line, but Friend was able to complete a nice pass over the middle to Bailey for the first down. On the next play, Bailey caught an 11-yard touchdown pass. South Side coach Dick Caproni decided to go for two, and his team didn't disappoint as Cory Leighton caught the ball in the end zone to cut South's lead to 14-8.

Thereafter, neither team could move the ball downfield. The Cyclones weren't fooled by the Rebels' running attack anymore, and the Rebels defense was unrelenting. Finally, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, when they were desperate, South Side drove all the way inside South's 20. However, on a fourth and four, it appeared that Friend's pass to Leighton was long enough to get the first down. But after a bad spot by the officials and a measurement with the first down markers, the Rebels were awarded the ball.

Even though the Rebels were outplayed by the Cyclones, South's defense came up big when it needed to do so. Offensively, Jon Levin carried the team with 180 yards on 27 carries, while scoring the team's only two touchdowns.

The Great Neck South Rebels (33) will compete this Saturday for sixth place in Conference II against Levittown Division (3-3).

Disabled Runner Seeking World Triathlon Championship

By Wendy K. Kreitzman

Great Neck's noted runner Mark Soldo, an ''amputee athlete,'' has qualified for The World Triathlon Championship (1997 U.S. Disabled Triathlon Team), and he is seeking sponsors to help fund his upcoming trip to Australia.

''That's the life of an amateur athlete,'' he says, good-naturedly.

Mr. Soldo will travel to Perth, Australia on Nov. 7, returning on Nov. 19. His budget for the trip totals approximately $3,800. He will compete in all three events of the triathlon---running, biking, and swimming.

The 32-year-old runner began his career at Great Neck South High School, where he made the crosscountry, indoor track, and outdoor track teams, winning the Nassau County cross-country meet in 1981-1982 and qualifying for the New York State cross-country meet. He continued running at the University of Maryland, where he led his team to an undefeated season by his senior year.

In 1990, as a result of an auto accident, Mark Soldo became a below-knee amputee. He runs with a prosthetic lower right leg.

''Even though I have been an amputee for seven years, I have only been running for the last two years,'' he explains, ''because, at first, my mind just wasn't there and the technology (for the prosthesis) just wasn't there.''

When new technology produced a prosthesis with a new liner that kept the limb drier, Mark Soldo was ready to run, both in body and in spirit. Within weeks he was running once again, and winning, once again, too.

This year, besides qualifying for the 1997 U.S. Disabled Triathlon Team, he won the 1997 Aspire 10K, and placed second in The Ocean to Sound 50 Mile Relay, as he had done in 1996 and 1995. He also ran in the Fifth Avenue Mile. In 1996, he ran in the New York City Marathon. And at the Ultimate Challenge International Track Meet, he placed third in 800m and fourth in 400m.

In addition to running, and training for the triathlon, Mark Soldo is ''spearheading'' a movement to allow disabled runners to compete in longer distance categories, not just the traditional sprints.

Beyond his running achievements, Mr. Soldo takes time to regularly visit hospitals and rehabilitation centers. He makes presentations to patients and physical therapists, emphasizing life as an ''active amputee.''

Now he is asking for some help. Mark Soldo is seeking sponsorship/financial assistance to help fund his trip to compete in The World Triathlon Championship in Australia.

Anyone wishing to make a tax deductible donation can send a check (indicate on the check that it is a donation to Mark Soldo) to: Aspire, 50 Maple Place, Manhasset, New York 11030.

Says Mr. Soldo, ''My accomplishments have inspired both able-bodied and disabled individuals to fully utilize their God-given talents.''

(Aspire is The Adolescent Sarcoma Patient's Intense Rehabilitation With Exercise program, a not-for-profit corporation helping individuals and their families learn how to cope after losing, or being born without, a limb/limbs.)