Copiague football snaps Long Island's longest losing skid at 42 with dramatic win over Centereach
Copiague celebrates after an overtime win against Centereach in a Suffolk Division II football game on Oct. 26, 2024. Credit: Derrick Dingle /Derrick Dingle
Fabrice Cormier could barely speak, his body shaking with excitement.
Copiague had just snapped the longest losing skid in Long Island history at 42 games, and they did it in the most dramatic of ways, stopping a potential game-winning two-point conversion in overtime to preserve a 20-19 victory over Centereach in a Suffolk Division II football game on Homecoming Day Saturday in Copiague.
The senior halfback scored on a 10-yard run in overtime to give the Eagles the lead, and he and senior middle linebacker Steven Olivo stuffed the conversion attempt to seal the victory.
Bedlam ensued.
“This feeling is unbelievable,” Cormier said. “I’ve never won a game in Copiague. I’ve played three years of varsity football and never gave up on my team and my teammates – it’s incredible.”
The win comes exactly six years to the day of the Eagles last win, a 20-14 decision over Deer Park on Oct. 26, 2018.
In overtime, Cormier followed a block by fullback Henry Romero and roared over the left side of the line and raced inside the pylon for the go-ahead score. David Saravia added the extra-point to make it 20-13.
“They were not stopping me,” said Cormier, who rushed for 102 yards on 18 carries. “The win was right there for us. This is amazing to be happening on Homecoming Day in front of our fans.”
After the Cormier score it was left to the Copiague defense. Each team gets a possession in overtime from the 20-yard line. And it was Centereach's turn with the ball.
On second down and nine, Centereach quarterback TJ Doyle II found Jake Mikochik with a 19-yard TD pass to make the score 20-19. Centereach coach Adam Barrett elected to go for the two-point conversion and the win. Cormier and Olivo stopped the run at the 2.
“I wanted these seniors to get a win because most of them have been grinding for three years,” Copiague coach Ken Rittenhouse said. “A lot of these guys are three-year starters. I wanted a win for them more than anything. I was excited for this senior group.”
Romero, holding his MVP trophy after a game in which he totaled 16 tackles, was mobbed by teammates after the big defensive stop, which halted the six-year losing streak.
“I’ve been on varsity for three years and I’ve seen a lot of guys quit and give up here,” Romero said. “They’ll never know this feeling of winning – the emotion and the happiness. They’ll have regrets. Because this is an amazing feeling that when you stick to it and work hard, good things will happen. This is a very emotional day for me and all the seniors – finally a win.”
Centereach opened the scoring on a 13-play, 68-yard drive when Doyle II hit Mikochik with an 8-yard TD pass for a 7-0 lead with 1:56 left in the first quarter. The lead was short-lived. Copiague answered immediately when junior Roger Rowe returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. Saravia hit the extra-point kick to tie the score at 7.
“It was our first kickoff return for a touchdown this season,” Rittenhouse said.
Copiague took the lead with 3:57 left in the third quarter when Cormier burst up the middle for a 22-yard TD run for a 13-7 lead. But Centereach halfback Dylan Duran scored on a 20-yard run with 7:26 left in the game to tie the score at 13. That score set up the excitement of a wild overtime.
“We deserved to get a win with this group,” Rittenhouse said. “They do everything the right way. They never gave up. And we’ve played so many close games and I knew those losses were wearing on them. This just feels right.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
