It would have been nice if the Mineola Mustangs had defeated Seaford in the Nassau County Conference IV Championship on Sunday, Nov. 24, at Hofstra Stadium. But, in the end, the Mustangs varsity football team accomplished what any team could wish for - giving themselves something to play for and their fans something to root for well into November.

Even before the opening kickoff against the Seaford Vikings, cheers of "Let's Go Mustangs" went up in the stands from the Mustang faithful as they waited in anticipation for the comeback team's comeback season to continue.

A 9-8 win over Island Trees propelled Mineola to the Conference IV title game against Seaford, which handed Mineola its only loss earlier in the year - a 28-0 drubbing.

However, those expected to see the Vikings roll over the Mustangs in the conference finals saw a feisty Mineola team, attempting to make the best out of its first playoff appearance since 1999.

With chants of "D-Fense," the Mustangs held Seaford scoreless in the first quarter, during which Mineola managed the best scoring chanced. On 1st and goal from the five yard line, a botched handoff was recovered by Seaford, signaling the first missed opportunity for the Mustangs.

But late in the first half, junior Jerelle Harrison intercepted a pass for Mineola, setting up the first score of the game - a 4-yard scamper by Dan Medlock.

With Mineola out in front 6-0, it appeared that this game was going to be different than the one earlier this season between the two teams. However, Seaford's workhorse running back Kevin Hillman took over, scoring two touchdowns, one from 39 yards and one from 40 yards out.

The Mustangs kept the game close through three quarters, trailing the Vikings 14-6, but two turnovers in the fourth quarter led to 14 more Seaford points. The final of 28-6, however, was not indicative of the game as Mineola had its opportunity to advance to the Class IV title game against Babylon. However, two costly fumbles inside the 10 yard-line sealed the Mustangs' fate.

"When we watched the film of the game later, it even feels worse to lose because when the score was 14-6, we really could have been winning," said Mineola Head Coach Dan Guido. "You can't make those mistakes with those teams. We could have been winning 13 or 14-0."

Despite the loss, the 2002 season for the Mustangs will be remembered by the players, coaches and fans as one in which pride was instilled once again into the football program as Mineola returned to the playoffs after two uneventful seasons.

The Mustangs had to overcome the ominous obstacle of having a small roster, a disadvantage many of the other teams don't have to endure. Coach Guido said the team did as well as it could considering it only had 22 players, even though he believes the Mustangs could have beaten Seaford. "We were pretty happy with the year and I think the kids had a good time. It was pretty successful, I think," he said.

The Mustangs have had a history of not drawing many players, something that has especially plagued them the previous two seasons, one of which the team finished the year with 19 players. Even this season, the Mustangs played with the same five linemen the whole year, managing to stay away from injuries. Consider that the Seaford team that beat Mineola twice this season is comprised of about 40 players, many of whom play only on one side of the ball.

"That's always a problem. We never get a lot of kids to play," Guido said, pointing out that the biggest team he has ever coached in Mineola was comprised of 27 players.

Even in 1989, when Mineola played in the championship game, it only had 19 players. "It's just something we're used to," the coach said.

Perhaps one reason the Mustangs are not able to draw many players is that not many kids are willing to put in the time and commitment the players on this year's team have put in, according to the coach. "You have to come in the summertime. You have to want to workout during the year. There aren't too many kids that are willing to put in the time," Guido said.

This year's version of the Mineola Mustangs put in enough hard work to post an 8-2 showing, a season that did not come as a total surprise to its coach since the Mustangs had some good athletes at some key positions. Other key factors led to the Mustangs' success this season such as the experience the returning players gained in previous seasons and the team's conditioning, something that is more essential for a team with a limited roster. "The weight lifting was a big thing. The majority of guys were bench pressing over 200 pounds, some up to almost 300. During the course of the year, we weight trained twice a week," said Guido. "I think we did a good job of conditioning, the kids were prepared to play and we're kind of lucky a little bit that nobody got hurt. We did expect to do well. I didn't know how well. I was hoping we would get into the playoffs."

The last time Mineola accomplished that feat was in 1999 when it lost in the Conference III finals to Garden City. That year, the Mustangs had 23 players, but were bigger, faster and more physical that its 2002 team. "But I still think that if this [2002] team played that [1999] team, it would have done well because this was just a good group of guys. They worked hard," Coach Guido said. "The good thing about this year's team is that nobody ever complained, nobody ever got on anybody else. There were a lot of games we were losing and then we won, but even when we were losing, nobody blamed anybody or picked on anybody or got annoyed with anyone else. We just kept playing."

Coach Guido is already thinking about getting his returning players to begin weight lifting for next year. "That's want you have to do. If you don't want to do that, you're not going to win," he said. "You can't just do it in the summer."

Although the Mustangs will be graduating 15 seniors, the future may bode well as the Mineola football program hopes getting into the playoffs becomes a habit. In the last two years, the Mineola Middle School had 45 to 50 kids playing. The junior varsity team also had 30 kids this year and 30 kids last year. Some may eventually end up on the varsity team. Coach Guido is also hoping the excitement generated this season will bring more players next season.

While the Mustangs won't return to the field until 2003, the Mustang players, coaches, fans and parents can enjoy the off-season, proud of the accomplishments of the 2002 team, which seemed to put Mineola back on the Nassau County football map.

Congratulations to the 2002 Mineola Mustangs

Senior Matt Bispo

Senior Steve Ricciardi

Senior Rich Medlock

Senior Dan Guido

Senior Chris Egner

Senior Matt Minsky

Senior Ricardo Cunha

Senior Mike Antoniou

Senior Dan Mehra

Senior Matt Grilo

Senior Brendan Canavan

Senior Anthony Carlo

Senior Mike Gonzalez

Senior George Harrison

Senior Brian O'Neill

Junior Jim Holubowich

Junior Ivan Anania

Junior Dan Medlock

Junior Jerelle Harrison

Junior Chris Boeshore

Junior Matt Mercurio

Junior Peter Averiamo

Junior Bill Mills

Junior John Zubbarian

Junior Jon Ventura

Junior John Boland

Head Coach Dan Guido

Assistant Coaches Helmes Bohringer and John Tortora

JV Coaches Mark Miller and Bob Redmond