Connetquot's Andrew Amarando (3 TDs) has game to remember in overtime win over Sachem North
Connetquot WR Andrew Amarando grabs the pass and goes 40 yards for the touchdown in a Suffolk Division I football game against Sachem North on Saturday at Connetquot. Credit: George A Faella
Connetquot football breaks out the number 14 once a year on Homecoming Day.
Only a special kind of player gets the honor of wearing No. 14 in honor of former Connetquot team captain Stan Hartnett, who died tragically in a car accident in July of 2008. He had graduated only a month earlier.
“Every year the coaches select a player to wear Stan’s number for one day,” Connetquot coach Mike Konsevitch said. “It is an emotional tribute for all of us. We loved Stan and that he lived for and breathed Connetquot football.”
Senior Andrew Amarando donned the number in Saturday’s Homecoming game against crosstown rival Sachem North. And he had a game to remember.
Amarando scored all three touchdowns, including a game-winning 7-yard reception in overtime as Connetquot won, 21-14, before a crowd of more than 3,000 in Bohemia.
Amarando’s sliding catch on a slant route sent the home crowd into a frenzy as Connetquot took the overtime lead. And for the encore and a fitting end to a fantastic high school game, Amarando made a diving end zone interception to deny Sachem North the tying touchdown. The stands erupted as fans from the packed Bird Cage section of the bleachers stormed the field in celebration.
“I’d like to say no one has embodied the spirit of Stan Hartnett the way Andrew Amarando did today,” Konsevitch said. “That was the performance of a lifetime. This place went wild.”
Amarando finished with seven catches for 151 yards and three scores.
“The quarterback was looking in on the crossing pattern and I jumped the route,” he said. “What a great win on Homecoming Day.”
The win moved eighth seed Connetquot to 2-0 and dropped Sachem North, the preseason two seed, to 0-2.
“This group plays with such passion and they are dialed in as everything is about Connetquot football,” Konsevitch said. “We fly around and play tough defense. And not many people thought we could play with Sachem North. But our defensive coordinator Matt Krawczyk and offensive coordinator James Rowland came up with a great game plan against a very tough opponent.”
Connetquot opened the scoring when Amarando turned a short slant into an 80-yard touchdown romp early in the second quarter. Quarterback Vin Feraca found Amarando underneath the Sachem zone on a crossing pattern from his left. Feraca delivered a pass that hit Amarando in stride, who then outran the defense to paydirt. Michael Catera added the extra-point kick to make it 7-0 with 11:02 left in the half.
The touchdown came after Sachem missed a second field goal attempt in heavy wind, this one from 29 yards, and Connetquot took possession at its own 20.
The lead was short-lived. Sachem answered on its next drive. The Arrows marched 67 yards in 11 plays before quarterback Luke LaRocca scored on a 5-yard scramble. On third down and five, LaRocca saw his receivers blanketed and darted up the middle untouched for the score. Zach DeMilt added the kick to tie the score at 7 with 5:19 left in the half.
Sachem North took its first lead when halfback Lucas Singleton broke a tackle at the line, bounced outside the containment, and raced down the home sideline for 67 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 9:34 left for a 14-7 lead. Singleton, who had 65 yards on 17 carries in the first half, finished with 172 yards on 31 attempts.
Connetquot tied the score on a 31-yard TD pass from Feraca to Amarando with 5:41 left.
“It was an RPO and I read the outside linebacker,” Feraca said. “And I trust in Amarando, and found a tight window to make the throw.”
Feraca added that the pass in overtime was thrown where only Amarando could make the catch.
“He came across the face of the defense and I let it fly,” Feraca said. “We left it up to the defense to seal the win. And they’ve been amazing.”
On first down in overtime, the Connetquot defense stuffed Singleton for a short gain, setting up the second down interception.
“We play solid team defense,” defensive back Reid Harvey said. “It’s never one guy. It’s about all of us, pride and spirit, and getting fired up at halftime.”
There was spirit in Amarando’s game.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
