In only their second season together as a team, Hicksville's 10-year-old Crusaders excelled. This is mostly a group of second-year players sprinkled with some third- and fourth-year players who all practice hard and it's beginning to pay off.

Considering that most of the competition is comprised of boys that have been playing organized football since the age of 6, this group, loaded with talent, has quickly acquired a love of the game and continue to grow and gain experience every time it steps onto the field. The coaching staff is very proud of the 22 boys and their parents who make the commitment.

The following is a recap from Game 3 through the end of the season as games 1 and 2 were written up in a previous edition of the Hicksville Illustrated News.

Hicksville went to Baldwin and beat the Bombers 18-0. The defense dominated this one holding Baldwin scoreless. Defense back Zack Maron had his second interception of the season and the entire defense showed outstanding tackling techniques. The offensive line had a very effective day making their blocks and playing "mistake free" football. The tone was set on the first play of the game when QB Mike McIlwee hit dive back Ryan Tarzia on a ten yard out pattern. Tarzia broke a tackle and went for a 35-yard gain. Unfortunately, the Crusaders turned the ball over on a fumble deep in Baldwin territory and the drive stalled. The scoring recap: Connor Kennedy ran for over 100 yards and one touchdown, Mike McIlwee scored from 5 yards out and Chris Ferolito scored from the three.

The team went to East Rockway where they faced tough team. This one was a thriller to the end. While the game was played mostly on the Raider's defensive half of the field the Crusaders' offense was ineffective and unable to put up any points. This was a day that penalties and mistakes would plague the 10's on both offense and defense. Defensive back Jason Urban had an interception that he returned to the Raiders' 18 yard line but the offense still could not get anything going. The score was 0-0 and appeared that it would end that way until the last snap of the game. East Rockaway was forced to punt the ball from their own end zone. When the punter fumbled the snap and tried to run out of the end zone linebacker Michael Genovese tripped him up and defensive tackle Chris Durham and linebacker Connor Kennedy were there to finish him off for a safety. The 10's had escaped from East Rockaway with a victory that looked more like a score from a soccer game 2-0.

With a record of 4-0 and having held all opponents scoreless in their first four games the Crusaders went to Long Beach for the big rematch. Looking for revenge for a season opening 9-0 loss the Bulldogs were hungry and they took it right to Hicksville. Long Beach scored two quick touchdowns and had the Crusaders back on their heels. For the first time the 10's found themselves behind and having to play catch up. Just before the half Hicksville scored on a hitch pass from quarterback Mike McIlwee to power back Connor Kennedy that Kennedy took 32 yards for the score. The 10's defense, which had been outstanding for the first four games, just didn't have it on this day. Missed tackles and offensive turnovers would derail the Crusaders chance of any comeback. Long Beach would go on to score 32 points and deliver the first loss of the season to Hicksville.

The Crusaders went to Elmont and the game opened with a 20-yard pass play from quarterback Mike McIlwee to tightend Kyle Brennan. The drive moved to the 25-yard line but stalled on a fumble that Elmont recovered. Elmont's offense was ineffective but Hicksville's defense was back and led by Jaysen Rosario. Rosario was on fire in the first two quarters shredding the Elmont offensive line and causing havoc in their backfield with 10- and 15-yard losses. Offensively, rookie runningback Chris Durham broke off a 45-yard run for a touchdown, and Ryan Tarzia, not to be denied, had an 8-yard run up the middle and pushed the pile the last two yards into the end zone. Linebacker Mike McIlwee had an interception late in the fourth quarter at the Elmont 8-yard line and returned it for six points. Conor McAuley caught the point after to cap the scoring 20-0.

The 10-year-olds were back home against East Rockaway for this Halloween game. Hicksville's black and orange had a film crew from the CBS show Generation Jets on hand to do a piece on Hicksville football. At half-time, the Crusaders found themselves in a 0-0 tie with a team they had defeated only 2-0 in week four. The half-time adjustments were effective as the defense, led by ends Corey Gamblin and Colin Byrne, turned everything into the heart of this unit where the ball carriers were swallowed up by a very aggressive bunch of linemen and linebackers. Connor Kennedy was moved to nose tackle, to stir up trouble, in the 5-4 defense and proved to be very effective. Meanwhile linebacker Michael Genovese was blitzing and disrupting everything in the Raiders' backfield. Early in the fourth quarter Connor Kennedy scored from 25 yards out, slashing off left tackle through a hole opened by end Colin Byrne, left tackle James Rocco, and left guard Alex Parlo, while center Eddie Neuner sealed off the linebacker pursuit. Conor McAuley grabbed the pass for the one-point conversion to make it 7-0. The score brought a sigh of relief from the coaching staff. James Rocco finished the scoring when he ran the ball in from three yards out to end the game 13-0.

The Crusaders were home against Baldwin and the 10's defense was once again the dominating factor in this game, holding the Bombers scoreless. Defensive end Corey Gamblin set the tone with a 15-yard sack on Baldwin's opening series. Into the third-quarter defensive end Colin Byrne nearly intercepted a pitch in the Baldwin backfield. Chris Ferolito stopped a Bomber's drive with an interception at the 45-yard line. The offense started out with a strong drive to the 5-yard line but lost the ball on a fumble. The defense held and Hicksville got the ball back deep inside Baldwin territory. Connor Kennedy scored from the 8-yard line on a power sweep to the left to make it 6-0. The second half kickoff was fumbled by Hicksville and Baldwin's offense was unable to move the ball late in the third quarter. Power back Colin Byrne ripped off a 55-yard scamper to move the ball to the 30 yard line. Two plays later from the 27-yard line Connor Kennedy got the call on a sweep right and took it to the house for his second touchdown of the day. This one ended 12-0.