Syosset Youth Football League has now completed its fifth week of contact football. The Pee Wee Braves aged 5 and 6 year olds played and lost a heartbreaker at West Babylon 8-6 on Saturday night, Oct. 14 under the lights. Kevin Santa and Alex Dochter played inspired football on offense. Tommy Costa, Matt Beers, Sammy Gallaso and Justin Cassandro played well defensively. Next Sunday, Oct. 22 the Braves take on Wantagh at home at Syosset High School.

The Peanut Braves split a two-game series with Bellmore over the last two weeks. On Oct. 6, under the lights at Bellmore (Black), the Braves won 18-12. Scoring for the Braves was Connor Kennedy, Jordan Zeidman and Angelo Galasso. The defense was strong and led by defensive linemen Mike McIlwee and Robert Hill. On Sunday, Oct. 15 at Bellmore (White) the Braves suffered their second loss of the season 18-12. Conner Kennedy ran 45 yards to score. Robert Hill ran it in from two yards out to score the Braves' second touchdown. The defense played tough with linemen Colin Byrne and Mike McIlwee and linebackers Davis Hutzel and Kyle Mitidieri. The Peanut record stands a 2-2-2 with two home games remaining.

The Syosset Midget White (9-10 year olds.) team played an outstanding game on Sunday, Oct. 15 against Brentwood Gold. The Braves dominated play on both sides of the ball. Great offensive performances were turned in by their wingbacks, Justin Keats (four touchdowns) and Michael Napolitano (one touchdown) and their quarterback Eddie Tavella. An early second half interception by Michael Napolitano ignited the Braves' defense (led by Harry Anscher, Mikhal Polan and Jacob Silverman) and totally shut down Brentwood's offense for the remainder of the game. The win (32-21) improved the Braves Midget White record to 3-3 and they are looking forward to their match-up against first place Levittown Black next Sunday at noon.

The Syosset Midget Red team played a scrappy Broad Channel team on Sunday, Oct. 15. Both teams played a hard-hitting game. The Syosset offense was led by Billy Aejsio and a strong defensive line led by Nick Sammartano. The defense was led by James Vuszan and Robby Nuzzolese. Unfortunately Syosset came up short. The team will continue its season on Sunday against West Babylon.

Syosset Braves Midget Black team lost to Copiague Silver 25-12 on Sunday, Oct. 15. Matthew Stock and Chris Tortora scored for the Braves while Gary Weinstein had a pass reception for 45 yards. David Gaballa, Jimmy Corcoran and Michael Cunningham were standouts on defense.

The Pony (red) team played against the first-place Copiague Blue Eagles (blue). The Braves gave an all out blitz, which was inspired by Brian Bergin's touchdown after the half. A strong defensive try, led by Emil Konieko and Paul Gulamerian was fought hard but was unable to contain the Eagles. The Braves gave an aggressive effort in a 43-6 loss. The Braves are optimistically looking for their first victory next week against Plainedge at Syosset High School on Oct. 22.

The Pony (white) team also traveled to Copiague to face the Blue Eagles (silver), who has only one loss this season. The Braves stopped Copiague on their first possession. The Braves moved the ball well with two great passes from Dan Treacy to Joseph Beers and Kerim Tullun. However, the Braves came up short on scoring. The Braves lost 20-0 this Sunday afternoon but the team never gave up hope. There were a couple of great runs by Dan Desimone and Colin Frank. The defense led by Vinny Nuzzolese, Kyle Macchia and Anthony Lavino did a great job by not allowing the Eagles to score in the second half. There were three standout players, on the Braves special teams who didn't see much action during the game, but if it was not for the great determination of Matthew Walsh, Scott Fialkoff and Wesley Kuczek on kickoff and kick return the Eagles would have broken away for two more scores. These three players are the players the Braves count on the most when it comes to special teams. This Friday night at 8 p.m. the Braves travel to Levittown.

Another part of the Youth Football League are the cheerleaders. These girls age 5 to 12 are a big supporting part of our teams. The girls have received little recognition all the time and effort they put into working on cheers for our fans as well as our players. However, the boys and the football coaches greatly appreciate all their hard work. The moms that take time out of their busy day to help out the girls should also get a round of applause from our fans and players.

This is the true meaning of a team; the coaches working to get the children ready week in and week out to participate in a team sport where it takes everybody on the team to work for the same goal. The cheerleaders who are there week in and week out supporting the boys whether they win or lose. These girls always try and pick-up the spirits of the team. The moms and dads who come out and support the program by being there at late night practices and on early morning games to see the boys and girls succeed. The community who supports this program be it the high school athletic director, high school football team, coaches, cheerleaders. And last but not least the communities around us who send their children to us so they, too, can enjoy this team spirit.