The Varsity Football Season is Over

The Hills West boys’ varsity football team’s season came to an end last Saturday, when they lost their playoff game in the first round. Unfortunately, their first round game was against the Riverhead, the first seed. The Colts went into this game knowing this would be the hardest team to beat, and they gave it all they had.

Riverhead jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter when they returned a punt for a 65-yard touchdown. The Colts came back strong though, as before the quarter was over they would score two touchdowns of their own, taking a 14-7 lead.  The first touchdown was a one-yard run by Anthony Lucarelli and the second touchdown was a 53-yard pass to Jake Klose.

However, after the first quarter was over, Riverhead began to dominate. They scored two touchdowns in the second quarter, both coming off of long runs by their stellar running back. By half time, Riverhead led 21-14.

The third quarter was more of the same, as Riverhead scored another rushing touchdown. However, they did not convert on the  extra point, so Riverhead led 27-14 going into the fourth quarter.

Early on in the fourth quarter, The Colts fought back with a 2 yard touchdown run by Lucas DiGiorgi. Riverhead followed this with 17 unanswered points, however,  sealing their victory with a final score of  44 to 21, and ending the boys’ season.

It was a disappointing loss for the Colts as they saw their season come to an end, but Riverhead was highly favored going into the game. The boys played exceptionally well until the fourth quarter, and they definitely played with everything they had. The season as a whole included some dramatic ups and downs for the team, with a few impressive victories, but also a few heartbreaking losses. Coming off of a lackluster start to the season, however, the boys were able to turn it around and make the playoffs, which is an achievement in tis own right.

There will be a few key members of the team graduating this year and the Colts will have to overcome these losses next year. Fortunately,  the Junior Varsity team had an exceptional season this year, so the team has a great chance of being a real force to be reckoned with come next year.