Palazzolo’s Star Emerges at Somers; P’Ville Picks off Rye; Yorktown Unbeaten

By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays

The Sirius stars were out in force during this past Friday Night Lights. We know a dawg star when we see one, shining brighter than anything else in the sky at that particular point in time. There were more than a few orbs out after last Friday’s fiery sunset, just hours before the weekend-long cloud cover and heavy rains – yet again – engulfed the northeast during its wettest summer in my lifetime.

Prior to the wet weekend, though, the stars were shooting at places like SOMERS where Coach Anthony DeMatteo’s state-ranked (No.1) Tuskers (3-1) unveiled sophomore RB Dean Palazzolo, who had his 4.5 (40) speed on display while scoring a pair of TD’s in the host Tuskers’ 28-14 win over MAHOPAC Friday.

This Palazzolo kid might make Tusker fanatics forget about the likes of Messiah Horne, Ravi Dass, Jimmy O’Keefe, Matt Pires or the rest of this funk-filled stable of Somers RBs. He is a strong mix of the aforementioned and will wet the appetites of Section 1 football fans who are longing for a star-studded routine the next three years. To go with the speed, the kid delivers a current 4.0 GPA and has a skyline full of promise should he remain grounded while working his tail off, like he did in the win over Mahopac.

“He’s an absolute stud,” Somers Coach Anthony DeMatteo said.

The kid has already drawn comparisons to some of Somers all-time greats.

“He’s a young Matt Pires, who tracks a deep ball better,” Coach DeMatteo said, putting Palazzolo in the same sentence with the former All-NYS and former URI stud. “The sky’s the limit. He is a weight room kid, a culture kid, who does everything he is asked to do and has tremendous talent to back it up.”

Word is, he’s just scratching the surface.

“The team was looking really good and the defense came out strong and Mahopac couldn’t do much on offense against us,” Palazzolo said. “Me and Mac are very tuned in right now, but we still have some things to get a little more perfect, but we are getting there. Seemed like the team was really good; they couldn’t stop our offense and our defense was locked down.”

The offense was in sync, too, with senior signal caller Mac Sullivan dialed in. Sullivan hit on 13 of 25 passes for 230 yards and three TD passes and rushed 10 times for 87 yards and another score. He was intercepted twice, though, but when it mattered most, Sullivan dipped into his bag of tricks, and forced the issue with five carries on a 66-yard, game-sealing drive. RB Mason Kelly rushed 19 times for 81 yards. Versatile Tusker Miguel Iglesias, who earlier in the week inked a deal with Notre Dame to play lax,  hauled in a 16-yard scoring strike  from Sullivan with 4:34 to go in the third quarter

Nick Newman led the Somers defense with six tackles while Ryan Cole had a pair of sacks and two tackles for loss.

Mahopac QB D.J. DeMatteo (9 of 20, 165 yards, 2 TD, 2 picks) threw a pair of late touchdowns and brought Mahopac within 20-14 with 5:38 to play, including  TD tosses to John Kearney (3 catches, 74 yards) and Danny Koch (5 grabs, 80 yards). Danny Bosio and Landon Varley led the Pac defense with 10 tackles each. Kyle pinto averaged 40 yards on four points and is emerging as a special teams weapon.

They haven’t played that much over the last 60 years but PLEASANTVILLE’s 21-12 win over perennial power Rye was its first in 60 years, according to reports, which also indicate Rye was minus eight starters #ItIsWhatItIs. Defense was the difference for the 4th-ranked Panthers (3-0) over No.8 Rye. Daniel Picart, Louis Sdao and Emmet McDermott each had a pick for the two-time reigning Section 1 champion Panthers while David Hundzynski snatched a loose fumble and Ethan Berger delivered a sack.

Leading 14-12 lead after a game-changing fourth down stop midway through the third,  Panther QB Aidan Picart synched with WR Mike Hundzynski for a 40-yard pass before Picart hit paydirt on the next play from 11 yards out to seal the deal. Picart was at his finest.

Here’s the other deal: Rye was shorthanded and the Panthers need to fine-tune some things before the anticipated championship rematch on Nov. 11 on the campus of Arlington High, should the seeds play out right.

“We’re feeling good, they’re a good team who we were excited to play at 100%,” said versatile senior Daniel Picart, the 2022 NYS Class B Player of the Year, who chugged for 96 yards and a touchdown on 15 totes for the Panthers. “Even though they may not have played a couple key players they still played a great game without them and gave us a fight, although we felt that we missed some chances we should’ve cashed in on, but it’s all behind us now and we are looking forward to getting back to work.”

Pleasantville will visit LAKELAND Friday (6 pm) in a somewhat intriguing matchup. Only because Lakeland drops down from Class A and enters the scrum with a 3-1 mark after stomping Sleepy Hollow, 46-20, behind a monster effort from yet another star and recent Con Ed Award winner in studly QB Grady Leonard (23 of 32 passes, 454 yards, 4 TDs), who is said to have a smorgasbord of options, including WRs Kyle Gallagher (7 grabs, 166 yards, 2 TDs), Anthony Frobose (4, catches, 88 yards, TD) and Sean Perry (8 grabs, 167 yards, TD). The Hornets, though, were soundly defeated by Rye, so they may not be in P’Ville’s weight class.

We hear a lot of smack from some of the Class AA and A players who claim we overhype Class B Pleasantville in this space, but I’m willing to bet the ranch Coach Tony Becarra’s Panthers can run with any team in Section 1 this season should they put their best foot forward. As an honest, unbiased former Lakeland Hornet, ya best put your best mid-’80s foot forward, or y’all gonna find out what I’m talking about. Pleasantville, which has won three Section 1 Class B titles, one state title and two runner-ups since 2016, is the upper crust, and they can play with anybody in Section 1.

YORKTOWN continued its march toward a Class A showdown with Somers after the state-ranked (No.11) Huskers (4-0) annihilated John Jay CR, 42-0, Friday night behind another monster effort from RB Dylan DelVecchio (25 rushes, 101 yards, 2 TDs). Husker QB Kaden Gonzalez added another 34 yards on the ground and a pair of rushing scores. Ryan Cane added a pair of rushing scores for the Huskers while Jack Ferone added another.

“We did well because we took it one play at a time like we do every single week,” Gonzalez said. “We all have a good connection, we all trust each other and we are all bought in.”

Good chance Yorktown runs the table straight to Oct. 20 when the Huskers and Tuskers could both enter the fray with undefeated records against Section 1 foes.

The Yorktown defense was beyond reproach; Chris Constantine (5 tackles, INT), Ryan Vogel (8 sticks, INT), Conor Duncan (6 tackles, sack) and Ferone (6 tackles) were swarming.

“We just played our brand of football,” Yorktown OL Jake Wislon said. “The defense did their job so we could get the ball in good positions. We are gonna just keep playing as one and taking it play by play.

Tip your hat to CARMEL, who could have phoned in their season after losing Coach Todd Cayea (illness), but instead the Rams (2-1) went north some 10 miles to John Jay EF and posted a 21-7 victory, limiting Patriot hotshot Brady Feliciotto to 185 yards passing in a momentous defensive effort.

“Seemed like the kids were able to put the last two weeks behind them and play Carmel football again,” Carmel assistant Coach Jim Donahoe said.

Junior Ram RB Tristan Werlau (20 carries, 135 yards, 2 TDs) paced the attack and added a pair of sacks on the other side of the ball. RB Leo Venables (5 for 65 yards, 1 TD) made the most of his attempts.

Ram captain and LB Matt Risley (4 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 TFL) returned from injury to spearhead a defense that notched eight sacks (Mark Musimeci: 1 sack, Werlau: 2 sacks, Liam Forrester: 2 sacks, Tamba Kassoh: 1 sack). Damien Santiago and Thomas Connolly each had an INT for the Rams (2-1), who, should they choose to believe, remain firmly among the mix of Class AA challengers. Carmel K Jared Navidad (XP 3/3) remains a weapon.

After a couple of down days, the Rams are said to be in line again #TrustTheProcess fella’s.

“I was super pumped to get back out there this week,” Captain Risley said. We’ve been facing adversity this whole season but absolutely nothing will take the quit out of this team. We have a bunch of guys that love football but more importantly love each other and with that we can overcome anything thrown our way. Between the guys and the coaching staff we have everything anyone could ever ask for. Most kids dread practice and love gameday but that’s not our team. The guys are pumped to be out there every single day game or practice and work. It doesn’t always look pretty but it’s getting the job done.”

BREWSTER improved to 2-1 after its 7-0 win over visiting FOX LANE Friday. Bears QB K.J. Dillion found Tre Ficara on a 21-yard touchdown with 6:38 to go for the game’s lone score. The Foxes fell to 1-2.

State-ranked (No.7) WESTLAKE crushed Tappan Zee 46-16 behind a ground game that amassed nearly 300 yards, which would provide Coach Castellano’s Wildcats with a decided edge over Dobbs and Valhalla in the postseason. Michael Pagan (1 TD), Jake Zaino (2 TD),

Chris Kalle (1 TD), Chris Arrichello (1 TD) and CJ Prosperino (2 TD, 1 pick six).

State-ranked (No.17) VALHALLA whooped up on Woodlands in a 35-8 trouncing to improve to 2-1 (stats were not supplied).

BRIARCLIFF/HAMILTON (1-2) lost 7-6 to Magnus (stats were not supplied).

HEN HUD (0-3) dropped a 20-13 decision to Nyack despite a terrific game from Gino Wamack (TD, INT, 5 tackles), who  also snared a 30-yard TD pass from Joey Abboud (5 of 9, 67 yds & 1 TD, 10 rushes, 43 yards TD). Sailor RB Izzy Andrade had 14 rushes for 95 yards. Kyle Peske led the defense with: 15 tackles. Heathan Volcy added six tackles.

PUTNAM VALLEY was shutout in a 14-0 setback to host Nanuet Putnam Valley despite Ricky Meister’s solid effort on the ground (84 yards on 24 carries). Tiger Alex Gecaj had eight tackles, two sacks and two tackles for a loss while Meister had four tackles, including a sack and a tackle for a loss.

“This was a hard fought game,” PV Coach Ryan Elsasser said. “The score was 0-0 going into halftime. I was very proud of the fight that our guys showed throughout the game but we had a few things not go our way and a few minor injuries that had us deep into our backups in the second half. Nanuet came out the second half and put a quick score on the board followed up by a disappointing inadvertent whistle by the official on a turnover in our favor that gave the ball back to Nanuet. They moved down the field and scored a second time after eating up a ton of clock. Unfortunately, we were unable to battle out of that hole.”

Undefeated Class D HALDANE (3-0) served some notice in a 21-13 win over state-ranked (No.7) rival Tuckahoe, doing so behind 160 yards and two rushing scores from studly RB Evan Giachinta Blue Devil QB Ryan Van Tassel added 100 yards and a score on the ground and another 93 yards passing. It might not seem like a lot on the surface but those of us who know understand just how much this regular-season win means for the folks in Cold Spring, who should proudly welcome their boys into the top 10/12 in the upcoming NYS rankings.

BYRAM HILLS K Luke Weiler booted a school record 51-yard field goal in a 27-9 loss to state-ranked (No.18) Ardsley, which won its third straight Saturday.

HORACE GREELEY improved to 2-2 after its 24-21 win over Pelham (stats were not reported). WHITE PLAINS fell to 0-3 after falling to Yonkers Force, 28-20. (stats were not supplied).

Examiner-area coaches are encouraged to send any and all results, stats and comments to raygallaghersports@gmail.com for inclusion in our weekly Grid Notebook