Night of milestones: Farmingdale football records its 500th win, celebrates 1971 squad
Members of the 1971 Farmingdale championship team on the field during the game between the Farmingdale "Dalers" and Freeport "Red Devils", in Farmingdale, Friday, Oct. 22, 2021. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
The rich and storied history of Farmingdale football kicked into overdrive Friday night. In the span of just a few hours, two milestones were reached and a team from Dalers' past received its due.
More importantly to most, Farmingdale beat Freeport, 35-12, to move to 5-2 in Nassau I, riding the backs of quarterback Kyle Wilson (who threw for three touchdowns and ran for two), Jordan Smikle (who caught all three of Wilson’s touchdown passes), and Tomaso Ramos (who ran for 155 yards on 19 carries).
It was the 500th win in program history, joining Lawrence, Garden City, and Freeport in the 500-win club. It was also coach Buddy Krumenacker’s 200th win in 29 years at Farmingdale. Krumenacker, who coached at Hempstead for 11 seasons in the 70s and 80s, has 277 career victories.
"It’s pretty incredible," Krumenacker said of the 500-win plateau.
Before the game, Farmingdale held a 50th anniversary celebration for its 1971 juggernaut, which went 9-0, won the overall Nassau Championship, the Nassau Rutgers Cup, was the top ranked team in the state and on Long Island and was a top 20-ranked team in the country.
"I don’t know what comes first, winning then chemistry or chemistry first and then winning, but the team had a very special feel to it from the very beginning," said Jim Teatom, 66, who played running back and linebacker on the ’71 team and later played at Rutgers. "It just looked like we were destined for something great….From preseason (on), we just seemed to be gaining momentum and steam and becoming more and more confident that we were destined to win it all."
Teatom continued: "It was such a different game…The style was really simple. I swear, we had 10 plays. It was the epitome of smash-mouth football. You ran and ran the ball."
Members of the 1971 Farmingdale championship team walk on to the field during the game between the Farmingdale "Dalers" and Freeport "Red Devils", in Farmingdale, Friday, Oct. 22, 2021. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
The magic of the night, and what it meant to Farmingdale as a whole, was not lost on Teatom.
"The moons were aligned, the karma was good, and it was a perfect night for Farmingdale football and the Farmingdale community," Teatom said.
"Football at Farmingdale was always really, really important," said Joe Patrovich, a guard and linebacker on the ’71 team and the current head wrestling coach at Long Island University. "The coaches made it really important and guys bought into the program. You do what you do forever, and they’re still doing it."
