On Saturday, Pee Wee Gray played North Babylon at home, in what the team calls "Our House." This was a battle of two undefeated teams for first place.

During the warm-ups, it was apparent that the team knew what was on the line. They knew that winning meant sole possession of first place in a very tough division. They couldn't wait to hit the field.

Gray won the coin toss and elected to start on offense. Gray used a starting offensive line of George Athan, Chris Nickel, Mike Rakitzis, Nicky Bristoll, Bryan Peterson, Zack Trimboli and Center Dakota Bransfield. The starting backfield consisted of Quarterback Daniel Barlett (who ran a flawless offense) and Running Backs Bryan Verbitsky (99 yards rushing and three touchdowns), Anthony Ciaramitaro (50 yards rushing and outstanding run blocking) and Joey Leonard (45 yards rushing and outstanding run blocking). Gray knew that North Babylon had a fierce, swarming defense. On their first, Gray decided to test the waters by running off tackle with Ciaramitaro and Leonard for short gains to the 45 yard line. Facing third down and five they gave the ball to Verbitsky who broke free from a fierce rush and scrambled his way to a 55-yard touchdown run giving Gray a 6-0 lead that they would not surrender.

Leading 6-0, the hard-hitting defense was pumped up and ready to go. As the crowd stirred and played the team's theme song, Who Let the Dogs Out, the starting defense stormed the field. Gray's defense was led by linebacker Joey Leonard with four tackles and defensive lineman Bryan Peterson with two tackles, one fumble recovery and a play that should make highlight films. After crashing through North Babylon's offensive line on their first possession, Peterson snatched the ball from the quarterback's hands on an attempted handoff. Peterson then ran the ball for 20 yards before being stopped by a stunned North Babylon offense. Also leading the defensive charge was left end Verbitsky (three tackles and one fumble recovery), right end Ciaramitaro (three tackles), linemen Nickel (three tackles and huge pressure all game long), Calderon (two tackles) Grecsek (two tackles) and Trimboli and James who constantly clogged the holes on the defensive line. Also making major contributions were linebackers Athan (two tackles) and Michels (one tackle) whose never-ending pursuit forced North Babylon out of their game plan all game long. Starting Defense Bransfield got to play defense and pitched in with a nice tackle.

After being stunned by Peterson's takeaway, North Babylon appeared to be a little flat-footed when they came back out on defense. Gray, taking advantage of that, used a couple of key runs by Bartlett, Ciaramitaro and Leonard to drive down to the 11-yard line. With that Gray gave the ball to the fleet-footed Verbitsky who broke free for an 11-yard touchdown run giving Gray a 12-0 lead which they took into halftime.

Gray started the second half on defense and immediately took charge, stopping North Babylon. This brought out the high-octane offense once again. Gray used a time-consuming drive to march down to North Babylon's 140-yard line. Again facing a third down and long, Gray sensed that putting the ball in the end zone one more time should secure the game. Gray broke the huddle, as the crowd cheered them on. They ran a double reverse with Verbitsky once again getting the ball. With exceptional blocking from the whole offensive unit, Verbitsky broke free for a 14-yard touchdown run, virtually sealing the victory. Nickel came on to add the extra point kick giving Gray a 20-0 lead.

Gray's stellar defense, smelling a shutout, held on as long as possible, but with less than one minute remaining in the game, this tired unit surrendered a meaningless touchdown making the final score 20-6.

Once again this was an entire team effort. From outstanding blocking on the offensive line to unbelievable defensive pursuit. Not only have the veteran players- Verbitsky, Bartlett, Ciaramitaro, Leonard, Michels, Athan, Nickel, Rakitzis and Peterson all stepped up and played a major role, the play of the first-year players has been outstanding. First year players making huge contributions this game were Grecsek, Trimboli, Bransfield, James, Calderon, and Bristoll.

Today's special thanks comes from the Pee Wee Gray football team who wants to thank all the parents, sisters (who painted their faces with "Let's Go Gray"), brothers, fans friends and sponsor Ultimate Gym of Hicksville for wearing lots of Gray and showing up to cheer on the team. They really got fired up by all the support.

Gray's next game is at home on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 9 a.m. against Wantagh. Let's go Gray!

With its only loss to North Babylon a thing of the past, Midget Red is now running on all cylinders. This past week Red was at home to take on the West Babylon Eagles. The Eagles came into the contest with a record of 0-4 but Midget Red was not going to take the game lightly.

As usual Red's defense was outstanding. West Babylon was unable to move the ball which would give Red's offense all the opportunities they needed. Every time the Eagles seemed to get something going Red's defense would cause a turnover and the threat would be crushed. The defensive line of David Williams, Nick Ferrara, Kyle Perkins, Don Polite, Kevin McKenna, Ben Hoose, Andrew Mckiel, Mike Cook, Brian Herold, and Anthony Gambill were virtually impenetrable. The linebackers and safeties who were led by Anthony Wrightington, Dominique Alexander, T. Brian Gill, Nick Pedersen, Thomas Whitfield, and Frank DeLia controlled the Eagles' outside running game with tenacious pursuit and sure tackling. This combination made life miserable for the Eagles' offense.

Midget Red's offense started slow, driving the ball down the field behind the fine blocking of Frank Cutrone, Nicholas Thomas, Kyle Perkins, Thomas Taggert, David Williams, Ben Hoose, Thomas Whitfield, Justin Burger, but were unable to push the ball in the endzone. Behind the quarterbacking of Frank Baglivo the running backs of Alexander, Wrightington, Ferrara, and Herold were grinding out first down after first down until finally Wrightington broke loose on an off-tackle run. Alexander's key block sprung Wrightington for the score and Red led 6-0. The extra point was missed but this was the beginning of the end for West Babylon.

The half would end this way but Red's coaches would make some adjustments at halftime that would put Red's offense in gear. The second half was all Red. Red's offense line now took control and Wrightington would score two more times on runs up the middle. With one extra point missed and another one made on a fine kick by Ferrara, Red now led 20-0.

With four of Red's key players removed due to the 18-point lead rule, the West Babylon Eagles would finally get on the scoreboard. The extra point was missed and the score became 20-6. Quarterback Frank Baglivo would put the finishing touches on the scoring with a beautiful end run for a touchdown. The extra point was good again by Ferrara and Red won 28-6.

Special mention should be made to several players in this game. Congratulations to Brian Herold on his first start on defense and coming up with two fumble recoveries. Also to Thomas Taggert who had a fumble recovery and to Anthony Wrightington for a fine interception and return. Several fine defensive plays were also made by Hoose, Frank DeLia, and Thomas Whitfield.

The coaches of Midget Red would also like to thank J.J. Castrianni for keeping fine stats of the game and helping get water out to the players during the game.

Midget Gray improved its record Sunday to 5-0, defeating Syosset 24-0.

Gray took control of the game early, scoring twice in the first quarter. Gray's first touchdown came behind great blocking by the offense, including Matthew Burmeister, Dennis Lawrence, Chris Bauer, C.J. Reilly, Chris Celentani, Michael Cheshire, Craig Staub, Michael Drossos, Brendan Lorenson and Brett Tom, when Chris Brumber ran for 29 yards, setting up a 22-yard touchdown run by Jack Lang. On Gray's next possession, Brumber was able to punch the ball in for Gray's second touchdown, making the score 12-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Toward the end of the second quarter it looked as though Gray was about to score again. Instead the unthinkable happened, they fumbled on their own six yard line. Now it was time for Gray's defense to take charge. The defense, led by B. Tom, Burmeister, Danny Dowd, Nick Barber, Ronnie Cardno, Joe Fiore, Joe Cuccaro, Kyle Kriner, Joe Labruyere, Staub and Cheshire to control the line of scrimmage and got the ball back with great field position. The offense was able to score on its next possession when Quarterback Tom Celentani threw a 26 yard pass to Ronnie Modik that set up a bootleg for T. Celentani, bringing the score to 18-0 at the half. At this time Brumber, T. Celentani, Lang and Modik were pulled from the game.

Gray came out stong in the second half, scoring again in the third quarter. Great runs by Tom and Cheshire set up a 37-yard run by Paul Altaro for Gray's fourth touchdown, making the final score 24-0.

Special mention goes to Matthew Burmeister who spent most of the game in Syosset's backfield, to Chris Bauer for an excellent job at center, to Joe Cuccaro for a fumble recovery and to the entire defense for its fourth shutout in five games. Go Gray!