Fall Sports Look Promising for the Mustangs

The summer has ended, and school is now in session. Most of the students in the district returned to the classroom on the day after Labor Day. However, there were some students at the high school who had been busy at work for nearly two weeks before all the rest. These students are the varsity and junior varsity athletes who gave up the last part of their summer to get ready for the fall season. Mineola High School puts varsity and JV teams on the field in the following fall sports; football, girls soccer, boys soccer, and girls volleyball. Most of these teams actually practiced twice a day. In this way, coaches were able to decide who would make the varsity squads, and who would continue to develop on the JV level. These decisions are most difficult for our coaches because of the many excellent athletes in the Mineola community. This is in large part due to the youth programs that prepare these athletes for their high school careers. These organizations include the MAA, Mineola PAL, Williston Park Little League, the Albertson Little League, the CYO programs, the Albertson Soccer Clubs and others. All of our athletes have had excellent coaching by the volunteers who work for these organizations.

This year, all of our fall teams are looking like contenders. While the football team was ranked eighth in the preseason polls, they defeated the number one seed Clarke last week. Both boys and girls soccer teams came off successful seasons last year. Second year coaches Christine Wiedman and Paul Parreira seem to have talented teams this year, and should finish near the top of their respective conferences. The volleyball team also returns second year Coach Lynn Klein, who has her team ready and well conditioned for a tough schedule.

As the fall season moves along, we will keep you posted on the progress of the high school teams. There will also be team profiles so you can get to know the players on each team and their coaches. We wish each team lots of luck in their individual seasons.

A reminder for all to join the Mineola Athletic Booster Club. The cost is only $10 per family. Your membership supports our athletes and our scholarship needs. Meetings are held in the high school library on the first Tuesday of each month. Come on down and help us out. You'll be glad you did. If your schedule is busy, then support our athletes with your membership. Don't forget to come watch the players as they play their hearts out for the pride of Mineola. They appreciate your support, and you will certainly see some excellent games. See you all on the sidelines this fall!

"Mustangs Defeat Clarke in Football Home Opener"

By Bob Nelson

The Mineola Mustang varsity football team defeated top ranked Clarke on Saturday, Sept. 19, at Hampton Street Stadium. The Mustangs entered the season ranked eighth after losing many talented senior players from last year's team. Undaunted, the Mustangs faced the favored Rams from Clarke, and dissected the Ram defense with surgical precision. A capacity crowd was on hand to watch this "David and Goliath" event, once again, David came out on top. Playing well for the Mustangs were junior WB Vishal Gandhi, running back Brian Bruno, receiver James McQueen, running back Steve Ciraolo and the defensive players of the game Matt Antoniou and Dom Zapalla, who totaled 27 tackles between them. The underdog Mustangs held their opponents from Clarke (the defending conference champs) to 60 total yards. What an exciting opening day for the Mustang fans.

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, the Mineola Athletic Booster Club will feature Ronald Giancola, our new director of guidance and Anthony Angelo, a HS guidance counselor. The topic of the evening will be the "Application Process for the NCAA Clearinghouse," a critical issue for all parents of student athletes who may be considering playing collegiate sports in college. Don't miss this important and informative program in the high school library at 7:30 p.m. Please come out to this and future Booster Club meetings as we support athletics in the Mineola district. Membership to the Booster Club is only $10 per family. Please join us!

Date	Sport	Level	Opponent	Site	Time
10/1	G Soccer	JV	GN So(NL)	Home	4:00
10/1	G Soccer	Varsity	GN So(NL)	Away	4:00
10/1	G Volley	JV	No Shore	Home	5:45
10/1	G Volley	Varsity	No. Shore	Home	4:15
10/2	B Soccer	JV	Kenn Bell	Away	4:15
10/2	B Soccer	Varsity	Kenn Bell	Home	4:00
10/3	Football	JV	West Hemp	Away	9:30
10/3	Football	Varsity	W Hemp	Home	2:00	Homecoming
10/3	G Soccer	JV	Wheatley	Away	10:00
10/3	G Soccer	Varsity	Wheatley	Home	10:00
10/5	B Soccer	JV	West Hemp	Home	4:15
10/5	B Soccer	Varsity	West Hemp	Away	4:15
10/5	G Volley	JV	Seaford	Away	4:15
10/5	G Volley	Varsity	Seaford	Away	5:45
10/6	G Soccer	JV	VS No	Away	4:15
10/6	G Soccer	Varsity	VS No	Home	4:15
10/7	B Soccer	JV	Clarke	Home	4:00
10/7	B Soccer	Varsity	Clarke	Away	4:15
10/7	G Volley	JV	Kenn Bell	Home	4:00
10/7	G Volley	Varsity	Kenn Bell	Home	5:30
10/8	G Soccer	JV	Wantagh	Home	4:00
10/8	G Soccer	Varsity	Wantagh	Away	4:15
10/9	B Soccer	JV	Westbury	Home	4:00
10/9	B Soccer	Varsity	Westbury	Away	4:15
10/9	G Soccer	JV	VS So	Away	4:15
10/9	G Soccer	Varsity	VS So	Home	4:15
10/9	G Volley	JV	Calhoun	Away	4:15
10/9	G Volley	Varsity	Calhoun	Away	5:45
10/10	Football	JV	Roosevelt	Home	9:30
10/10	Football	Varsity	Roosevelt	Away	2:00
10/10	G Volley	Varsity	W. Hemp(NL)	Away	8:30
10/13	G Soccer	JV	Friends	Away	4:15
10/13	G Soccer	Varsity	Friends	Home	4:30
10/14	B Soccer	JV	GN So	Away	4:15
10/14	B Soccer	Varsity	GN So	Home	4:00
10/14	G Volley	JV	Lynbook	Away	4:15
10/14	G Volley	Varsity	Lynbrook	Home	5:45
10/15	G Soccer	JV	MacArthur	Home	4:30
10/15	G Soccer	Varsity	MacArthur	Away	4:15
10/16	B Soccer	JV	Lynbrook	Home	4:15
10/16	B Soccer	Varsity	Ly nbrook	Away	4:15
10/16	G Volley	JV	Plainedge	Away	4:15
10/16	G Volley	Varsity	Plainedge	Home	5:45
10/17	Football	JV	Kenn Bell	Away	9:30
10/17	Football	Varsity	Kenn Bell	Home	2:00
10/20	B Soccer	JV	Carey	Away	4:15
10/20	B Soccer	Varsity	Carey	Home	4:15
10/22	B Soccer	JV	Kenn Bell	Home	4:00
10/22	B Soccer	Varsity	Kenn Bell	Away	4:15
10/22	G Volley	JV	Locust Vall	Home	4:15
10/22	G Volley	Varsity	Locust Vall	Away	4:15
10/23	Football	Varsity	Wantagh	Away	7:00 p.m.
10/23	G Soccer	JV	Wheatley	Home	4:00
10/23	G Soccer	Varsity	Wheatley	Away	4:15
10/23	G Volley	JV	NHP	Home	4:15
10/23	G Volley	Varsity	NHP	Home	5:45
10/24	Football	JV	Wantagh	Home	9:30
10/24	G Volley	Varsity	Carle Pl (NL)	Away	8:30
10/26	B Soccer	JV	West Hemp	Away	4:15
10/26	B Soccer	Varsity	West Hemp	Home	4:15
10/26	G Soccer	JV	VS No	Home	4:15
10/26	G Soccer	Varsity	VS No	Away	4:15
10/28	B Soccer	JV	Clarke	Away	4:15
10/28	B Soccer	Varsity	Clarke	Home	4:00
10/31	Football	JV	Glen Cove	Home	9:30
10/31	Football	Varsity	Glen Cove	Away	2:00
11/7	Football	JV	Lynbrook	Away	9:30
11/7	Football	Varsity	Lynbrook	Home	2:00