The Mineola High School junior varsity football team ran its record to 4-2-1 with a 13-6 win over Locust Valley on Nov. 2. After a scoreless first quarter, Robert Wong got the Mustangs on the board when he scored on a 9-yard pass from Richie Carter. Kevin Franciotti's extra point gave Mineola a 7-0 lead. That's the way the score remained until the fourth quarter, when Greg Gabriel scored on a one-yard run. Mineola led 13-0 until the visiting Falcons scored with 24 seconds left. Gabriel paced the Mineola offense, running for 176 yards on just 15 carries while Wong added 51 yards.

Defensively, Carter notched five solo tackles and assisted on four others. Patrick Gaffney had eight solo tackles and one assist, while Mike Bencivenga made six solos and helped on two others. Gabriel has two solos and two assists and recovered a Locust Valley fumble while Wong also had two tackles and two assists and intercepted a pass.

Mineola completed its season on the road and lost to Island Trees 14-8. The hometown Bulldogs got on the board fist and led 7-0 in the first quarter. Mineola, though, took the lead in the third quarter. A 65-yard drive was finished off when quarterback Richie Carter scored on a two-yard run. Carter and Wong would hook up on a pass for the two-point conversion and the Mustangs led 8-7.

The lead was brief though as Island Trees scored on its next possession on a 50-yard run. Mineola did move into scoring position in the fourth quarter, but, on a fourth down play inside the Island Trees 30-yard line, the Bulldogs stuffed a Mineola play to preserve the win.

Once again, Greg Gabriel paced Mineola's running attack as he ate up 128 yards on the ground while Wong added 54. Defensively, Gabriel also had six solo tackles. Carter had five and Gaffney added four.

The Mineola JV team finished the season at 4-3-1 and for head coach Mark Miller, it was quite a change from last season's 0-8 record. Miller said he and his coaches are confident that the 15 sophomores on this year's team will be able to step up and help the varsity team next season. Those sophomores are Mike Bencivenga, Andrew Breen, Richie Carter, Peter Diglio, Kevin Franciotti, Greg Gabriel, Patrick Gaffney, Marcin Gajdziszewski, Andrew Jakubek, Nick Laurino, Matt Miller, Joe Ricciardi, Jason Vega, Danny Vezo and Robert Wong.

"A strong nucleus of freshmen coming back will make for another competitive team," said Miller.

The freshmen this season were Michael Black, John Cloghessy, Tony Dos Santos, Tom Gajdziszewski, David Gouveia, Rudy Hernandez, Jim Logan, Nelson Lopes, Dom Marques, Leo Morales, Doug Parada, Tiago Rodrigues, Anthony Tretola and John Urrea.

Coach Miller and his assistants Bobby Redmond and George Antoniou said they would like to thank all the boys for a great season and all the parents and fans who came out to root for the team.

Statistically, Greg Gabriel led the team with 566 yards rushing. Robert Wong was second with 379 yards. He also had 82 receiving yards. Tiago Rodrigues ran for 222 yards in his freshman season. Richie Carter completed 22 of 60 passes for 266 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions. He threw all but one of the team's passes during the season. Mike Bencivenga threw and completed the only other pass. It was good for 31 yards and a touchdown. Carter also led the team with 156 yards in various returns, including 99 yards on one interception return against East Rockaway. Mineola rushed for 1,347 yards during the season and passed for 329 yards. The Mustangs outscored their opponents 108-67, scoring an average of 13.5 points per game while allowing 8.37 ppg.

The Mineola varsity volleyball team completed a very long season on a positive note. Coach Janna Balsamo said, "Even though this was a heart wrenching season, always just falling short of league game wins, we did redeem ourselves. The girls and I hold our heads high considering our competition."

The coach went on to point out, "For example, Wantagh and South Side, two schools on our schedule, went on to win their conference titles. South Side went on to the state tournament. It is easy to see that we had a very tough schedule."

Tough or not, the Lady Mustangs did earn a playoff berth and took advantage of the opportunity. "We finally tasted the glory of victory in our playoff match against Plainedge. We clinched our first match in four games. This was a win the girls really needed in order to build their confidence and prove to themselves how good they can actually be when they believe in themselves," said Balsamo.

The hard work paid off for several of the team members in the post-season honors they received. Senior Christine McPartlan was named All-County Honorable Mention; Allyson Strein, Juliet Barber and Michele Guido were all named All-Conference; Nicole Lapin and Kristen McNally were awarded the Mineola "Strive for Excellence" honors for the team spirit they showed, along with their hard work, dedication and desire. The team also won the scholar athlete award for having the highest grade point average for the season.