The Hicksville Youth Football Association is proud to announce that on Saturday, Nov. 13 the 12-year-old Hicksville Crusaders football team won the Nassau County Football League Championship, beating the Baldwin Bombers 12-8 in the Super Bowl, which was played at the blustery and cold Inwood Park.

There was no surprise here as to the low scoring nature of the game. This game pitted the two best defenses' in the league going at each other. The Crusaders, up to this point, had surrendered a league low 24 points. The Baldwin Bombers were next, surrendering only 40 points on the season.

As the Crusaders football team gathered for the long bus ride to Inwood Park, you could feel the air of excitement. You could also feel the cold wind of a mid November day, in say Chicago. Game time temps would wind up being 37 degrees with a strong cold wind coming off Jamaica Bay.

The bus ride was rather uneventful except for the fact that the team watched tapes of their games from this past season (courtesy of camera man Ray Pfeifer) and cheered loudly for every bone chilling hit they laid upon the opposition over the course of the season. It pumped the team up so much that it appeared as though the boy's would have played the Super Bowl right on the street somewhere with no equipment if they had to.

As the team took to field, the warm-ups were exceptionally spirited, and why not. This team finished the regular season 7-0, beat Hempstead 23-0 in the playoffs, are on a six game shutout streak and earned themselves a Super Bowl appearance in Long Island's toughest youth football league.

The captains took to mid-field for the coin toss. The Crusaders won the toss and elected to receive. The Crusaders were forced to punt on their first possession, sending their tackle crazy defensive unit onto the field. Well guess what? Two first downs later Baldwin gave the ball back to the Crusaders, and so went the first quarter with the defense's battling to a 0-0 score at the end of one quarter.

The second quarter remained scoreless until with about four minutes left, Hicksville finally got on the board. The offense lined up at the Baldwin 40. Quarterback Tommy Schreiber then hit Tight End Anthony Ciaramitaro down the sideline at about the 20-yard line. Ciaramitaro then sprinted 20 yards for the touchdown giving Hicksville a 6-0 lead. Baldwin blocked the extra point kick and the 1st half ended with Hicksville leading 6-0.

The third quarter would again be a defensive struggle, but Hicksville was able to muster one scoring drive with key runs by James Lang, Bryan Verbitsky and an incredibly acrobatic run by Thomas Schreiber, who hurdled over tacklers. A bull like 10-yard run by James Lang for a touchdown topped off the drive giving Hicksville a 12-0 lead. The extra point was once again blocked.

Well, as the 4th quarter began with Hicksville leading 12-0 the crowd stirred with anticipation of another shutout. The team could smell a Super Bowl victory. Then suddenly it happened. The Baldwin Bombers connected on a 70-yard pass play midway through the fourth quarter and added the two-point conversion kick trimming Hicksville's lead to 12-8. Suddenly the pressure was back on. The game's tempo had just risen to its height; the hitting became ferocious as the teams battled it out until the final seconds of the game, with Hicksville's defense once again stuffing Baldwin's final offensive stand.

This game, just like all their other games, featured the Crusader's stingy defense led by its defensive line of Ryan Braithwaite, Zack Hoehing, Richie Roberts, Kevin and Michael McShane, Ed Milasek and Steven Pou, Defensive Ends Ben Aloi and Danny Ingham, Linebackers Bryan Verbitsky, Joey Leonard, Anthony Ciaramitaro and Thomas Schreiber and Safety's James Lang, Terence Pfeifer, Brendan Kennedy, Danny Knack and Nick Curcio. This hard-hitting defense forced a total of six turnovers in the championship game. The Crusaders had three fumble recoveries, one each by Bryan Verbitsky, James Lang and Zack Hoehing. It also produced three interceptions, one each by Joey Leonard, Thomas Schreiber and Anthony Ciaramitaro.

Like always our offensive line was tremendous and manned by Center Zack Hoehing, Ryan Braithwaite, Chris Olsen, Steven Bromber, Thomas Maggio, Ben Aloi and Tight Ends Anthony Ciaramitaro and Richie Roberts, who provided Quarterback Thomas Schreiber with outstanding pass protection and great blocking for our Running Backs James Lang, Bryan Verbitsky and Brendan Kennedy.

As the whistle blew ending the game, the boy's finally realized what they had just accomplished, a championship in Long Island's toughest football league, they celebrated as champions should. They then lined up at the 50-yard line for the customary handshakes, but as the teams neared each other, instead of just handshakes, there were hugs and helmet pops between the two teams, indicating the mutual respect that the two teams had for each other. Both teams did what great football teams do; they left themselves on the field and each and every player showed their signs of sweat, black and blues and exhaustion. It was a great, great hard hitting, fairly played football game.

Congratulations go out to this hard hitting football team as well as the Hicksville Youth Football Association, run by Mike Torrellas and Kim Torrellas for making it all possible. Many thanks to the parents who assured that all the kids were at all the practices and games, and special thanks to the coaches, which include Head Coach Ray Lang along with coaches Doug Schreiber, Kevin Braithwaite, Tony Ciaramitaro and Troy Verbitsky and also Team Mom Dana Leonard.