On Sunday, Oct. 29 the much-anticipated match up between 7-0 Pee Wee Gray and 6-1 Pee Wee Gold kicked off. Gray's normally stubborn defense took to the field first, knowing they had a tough task ahead of them against a very tough Gold team. Gray's defense consisted of left end Anthony Ciaramitaro, right end Bryan Verbitsky, lineman Zack Trimboli, Bryan Peterson, Chris Nickel, Davey Grecsek, Damien Calderon, Mike James, linebackers George Athan, Joey Leonard, Mike Rakitzis, safety's Timmy Michels and Daniel Bartlett.

On Gold's first possession, Gray appeared to be a step behind Gold's rushing attack on every play. A stunned Gray defense let Gold drive down to the 34 yard line. On Gold's next play they broke off a 34 yard touchdown run and added the extra point kick to take an 8-0 lead. This was unchartered territory for the always swarmng Gray defense as they had not found themselves behind in a single game this year.

Gray then took over on offense. Gray's starting offense consisted of Linemen George Athan, Chris Nickel, Mike Rakitzis, Nicky Bristoll, Bryan Peterson, Zack Trimboli and center Dakota Bransfield. The backfield consisted of quarterback Daniel Bartlett (who maintained his cool while under heavy pressure from Gold's defense all game long), running backs Bryan Verbitsky (103 yards rushing and 1 TD), Anthony Ciaramitaro (64 yards rushing and 1 TD) and Joey Leonard (35 yards rushing and 1 TD). On Gray's first possession, they faced a third and 15 from their own 35 yard line. With that they ran a sweep to Verbitsky who broke off a 65-yard touchdown run. Ciaramitaro came on for the extra point kick, which tied the score at 8-8 to end the first quarter. At first glance this game had the makings of an offensive shoot-out.

As the second quarter began you could see that momentum was on Gold's side. Gray's defense (which was lead by Ciaramitaro with 5 tackles, Verbitsky 5 tackles, Leonard 5 tackles and Bartlett 4 tackles), furiously attempted to stop Gold's running game to no avail. Gold mounted two more scoring drives which put Gray into a 22-8 hole at halftime.

During halftime, Gray seemed to get rejuvenated and appeared to be ready to play in the second half. On Gray's first offensive possession a costly penalty, as was the case in the first half also, put them back into a hole. This was Gray's third offensive penalty of the game and appeared to be the back breaker. This gave Gold an opportunity to put more heat on Gray's weary defense. Gold scored on their first offensive possession of the second half, truly stunning Gray's fine defensive unit. Suddenly Gray found themselves in extremely unfamiliar ground, trailing 29-8. You could see the stunned look on the players face considering that they have dominated every game thus far, including games against powerhouse teams like North Babylon and Copiague.

Gray, going back out on offense, with a never say die attitude, turned to running back Ciaramitaro, who broke off a 61 yard touchdown. Nickel came on for the extra point kick, cutting down the deficit to 29-16. Gray hoping to keep the momentum on their side was unable to take advantage of their scoring drive. Gold came back with another scoring drive of their own to widen the gap to 35-16. Gray, again showing a never quit attitude mustered up one last scoring drive to pull within 35-22, which is how it ended. Congratulations to the Gold team, a powerhouse who's fine plays and great effort should be commended. Good luck in the playoffs. Gray will be rooting for you guys in the playoffs, as they are sure you will do for them.

Although this game did not go as Gray would have liked it, they still must be congratulated on their effort. They truly believe they are warriors and never gave up. They always felt they would come back in this game. Not mentioned yet, is of course the bright side. One defeat does not put a damper on what they have already accomplished this season. Breaking out to a 7-0 start was quite an accomplishment. Also on the bright side, Gray did lock up a playoff spot and home field advantage for at least one playoff game last week with their victory over West Babylon. The fight for first place is on, as North Babylon at 6-1 and Copiague at 5-2 trail Gray in the standings in this very tough division. Gray has the slight advantage at this point, as they defeated both those teams earlier in the season.

The fans, parents and sponsor Ultimate Gym of Hicksville want to congratulate the team on a tremendous effort and never giving up. Gray has a bye week coming up this weekend, but will be working hard to practice to get back on the winning track before the playoffs start. Gray's final regular season game is on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. at home against Brentwood. So come on out and cheer your team back to its winning ways.

In closing, like always - Let's Go Gray!

A week ago the 7- and 8-years-old Levittown Gold Team defeated Wantagh on their home field by the score of 22 to 0. Not enough can be said for this wonderfully coached team. Not knowing what was in store for them, the Gold team was ready for the task at hand. The defense was unbelievable not allowing a single score. Great job. The offense operated with poise and confidence, always driving. This team knows how to get the job done. Their opponents were certainly a fine squad and played their hearts out. No matter what, if you practice hard, it carries over.

This Sunday in great contrast weather-wise to last weeks' game against Wantagh for the Levittown Gold 7 and 9 year olds it was about 35 degrees at game time and coach Ray Lang told his boys to forget about the chill in the air. The only thing that's going to get rid of that is to play hard. This game was played against the undefeated Gray Team of Levittown. They knew this would be a battle, a fight to thend, but once again the Gold Boys executed with precision. You can't say enough for this team. The end result was Gold 35 Gray 22. It's nice to go out to a game and see friends play one another without dislike for one another. This is football.

Credit goes to the coaching staff on both sides for letting the kids have fun. Mention should also be given to offensive coach Doug Schreiber and the defensive coach Kevin Braithwaite. And all the parents who take time out to let boys be boys.

Midget Gray traveled to West Babylon and played an unbelievable game. Gray took control of the game early and never looked back. Behind outstanding blocking by the offense, including Chris Bauer, Danny Dowd, Dennis Lawrence, Michael Drossos, CJ Reilly, Chris Brumber, Ronnie Modik and Jack Lang, Gray scored on their first possession. Starting as quarterback for the first time, Brett Tom was leading the team down the field. Things were looking good when Tom fumbled a snap. Thanks to his quick thinking and great scrambling, Tom picked the ball up and ran it in for a touchdown. Gray's defense, led by Chris Celentani, Ronnie Cardno, Nick Barber, Joe Fiore, Joe Cuccaro, Kyle Kriner, Joe Labruyere, Michael Cheshire and Tom Celentani, totally dominated the line of scrimmage and scored twice in the first quarter. On W. Babylon's second possession, Michael Cheshire forced a fumble and B. Tom recovered it and ran for his second touchdown of the game. The next time W. Babylon had the ball, Tommy Celentani made a beautiful interception and ran the ball back for Gray's third touchdown, making the score 18-0 at the end of the first quarter. At this time the starting backfield of Tom, Cheshire, Craig Staub and Paul Altaro were pulled from the game.

Still, Gray could not be stopped and scored again in the second quarter when Jack Lang punched the ball in for a touchdown. W. Babylon was able to score late in the second quarter, making the score 24-6 at the half.

Gray continued to control the ball for the remainder of the game. The final touchdown came when Brumber was able to break a few tackles and score. The final score was Gray 30, W. Babylon 6.

Special mention goes to Ronnie Cardno, Joe Labruyere and Nick Barber for great tackling, to Chris Bauer for a terrific job at center, to Ronnie Modik and Tom Celentani for fumble recoveries and to Jack Lang for a 96 yard touchdown run that was called back.

Gray hosts Bayville, Sunday at 1 p.m. Come and see some really good football. Can the streal continue? We'll find out Sunday.

Go Gray.