A biting wind swept over chilly Stuart Stadium at Hofstra this past Thursday evening, as the Manhasset Indians were defeated by Cold Spring Harbor in the Conference IV semifinals by a score of 35-14.

For the second time in three weeks, the Indians defense could not contain the aggressive offense of CSH. From the opening kick, CSH ran hard to the outside, sprinkled in an occasional draw or quick pass, and kept the Indian defense on its heals for most of the day. However, the Indians played their hearts out, and were well within range of winning with just 11 minutes left in the contest.

CSH scored first on a 70-yard drive of 10 plays that culminated with a three-yard dive, and a 7-0 CSH lead. The Indians then received the kick, and had a drive stalled at midfield before punting into the end zone. On CSH's next drive, a hard hit by linebacker Terrence Molinari produced a fumble and defensive end Frankie Coughlin dove on the ball for excellent field position for the Indians. A couple of plays later, and a handoff to Danny Mullin produced a five-yard touchdown and a tie score at seven.

The second quarter saw CSH make two methodical drives against the Indians which finished with two and eleven yard TD runs. At the half, CSH led 20-7.

The third quarter saw the Indians play with renewed vigor, and played excellent defense. Offensively, the Indians changed from the off tackle and counter running featured in the first half, and went to the air. Quarterback Tom Dodge completed 11 passes in the period, including seven to tight end Frankie Coughlin. Peter Miller, Scott Madison and Danny Mullin also caught third quarter passes. Unfortunately, for all the completions, the ball was not getting to the goal line for the Indians.

The final drive of the quarter saw the Indians move smartly downfield with a Coughlin slant for 12 yards, another for 26 yards, an eight yard run by Molinari, and diving grab by Miller for 27 yards. Then, right as the fourth quarter began, Dodge threw a fade into the left corner to Coughlin in the end zone for a 15-yard TD. After the Phil Kalagiros kick, the score was 20-14 CSH, and with 11:30 to go, the Indians were definitely in the game.

After another deep kickoff to the goal line by Kalagiros, a short run had CSH starting from their own 30-yard line. The pumped up Indian defense, which was excellent in the second half and led by Matt Heske and Tom Morelli, then had a hard stop for a loss of 3 yards. A CSH penalty brought it back to the 22-yard line. The Indians looked in great shape with a 3rd and 18 play coming, deep in the CSH side of the field. However, a screen pass to the left side sprung a determined CSH runner, who picked and weaved his way through the Indians defense and found a way to a 78 yard score. A two-point conversion put the Indians behind 28-14. A backbreaker it was.

This made the Indians move from a ball control passing game to longer passes, and with the strong winds at Hofstra, the odds were heavily against a quick comeback and the Indians lost in a valiant effort.

For the 2005 season, the Manhasset Indians (6-3 final record) finished fourth in all of Nassau Country in scoring, averaging more than 25 points per game. The Indians also had a number of players receive individual honors, including All County - seniors Terrence Molinari and Tom Morelli, as well as junior Danny Mullin. Honorable Mention All County went to senior Tom Dodge, and All Conference was awarded to senior Patrick Judge.