EM Defeats Levittown in 'Touch Bowl'

By Dave Mock

The East Meadow Seasons of the Nassau County Touch Football League have waited a generation to sing the tune. Now they can.

Anybody for a round of "We Are the Champions"?

Twenty-eight years after the club came into the NCTFL as the Islip Black Knights, the Seasons won their first Division II championship Sunday, defeating the Levittown Lions 12-0 at Eisenhower Park. The win also marked the seventh straight shutout of the season (and eighth overall) for East Meadow.

"The key was the D," said Seasons head coach Bob Murray, who's led the club since the Black Knight days and its later incarnation as Hempstead Tech. Murray gave much credit for the championship to the Seasons' defensive line. On a day when offense was at a premium, the D held the young Lions offense down, keeping Levittown from mounting a sustained drive.

With the wind whipping through Eisenhower Park at 45 miles per hour, putting the wind chill at 25 degrees, neither Seasons QB Joe Reggio nor Lions signal caller David Gardner could be expected to charge their troops up the field at will.

But it was the expert hand of Reggio and his offense, who are used to NCTFL Championship Sundays (having earned back-to-back titles with the Carle Place Patriots), that made the difference. Reggio went 19 of 34 for 184 yards and two TDs, while Gardner went only eight of 19 for 74 yards.

In the first quarter, Reggio marched his squad down the field to the Levittown 16, then got five yards closer on a Levittown offsides penalty. Reggio then fired an 11-yard strike to Chris Keep for the TD. The extra-point attempt failed.

That was it for the scoring until the waning minute of the game. After thwarting Levittown's final TD attempt, the Seasons got themselves to the Levittown eight yard line. Reggio promptly got sacked, forcing him back to the 15. But then Reggio got the ensuing snap and fired to Pereyo, who dashed into the end zone with 45 seconds left for the TD that clinched the Seasons' first championship.

Reggio was one of a corps of former Patriots whom Murray acquired at the beginning of the season, after the Pats had folded. They included Reggio's wide-receiver brother Billy, center Mike Nardone, halfback Billy Waters and defensive end Mike McHenry. They blended with the Seasons' own veterans, including WRs John Pereyo and Chris Keep, linebacker Mike Brostowski, center Al Ferriso and defensive back Kevin Keep.

"It's a tough day for throwing," said Levittown coach Tony Munoz, who nevertheless gave credit to the effort of Gardner, his own QB, who didn't throw any interceptions. "Our whole offense," Munoz said, "could have done better."

Munoz also pointed to the defensive work of Lions defensive back Troy Samuel and safety Lester Samuel, who contained one of the veteran signal callers in the NCTFL.

Over the years, the Seasons/Hempstead Tech franchise has featured several outstanding players, including QB John Ziegelmaier, wide receivers Danny Spallone and Steve Constantino, center Anthony LoMonaco, defensive ends Rich Kinney, Paul LoMonaco and Joe Pellegrino, linebacker Tony Serravillo and defensive backs Jim Milne, Don Long and Dwight DeMartino.

The franchise's best regular-season performance came in 1990, when it went 9-0 in the Division II regular season.

The East Meadow-Levittown Touch Bowl was the opener of the NCTFL's championship doubleheader at Eisenhower Park. In the nightcap, the Manhasset Steelers took the Division I crown with a 20-7 win over the Merrick Mavericks, who had been the league champions three straight seasons and who were appearing in their seventh straight division championship.