Locust Valley gets complete team effort in season-opening win over North Shore
Aidan Russo of Locust Valley holds tight to the ball during a Nassau Conference IV football game against North Shore on Saturday. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Just because Aidan Russo wasn’t expecting to be asked the questions, doesn’t mean he wasn’t preparing to ace the exam.
Russo, a backup running back for Locust Valley, studied film, studied the playbook and remained involved in the game plan throughout the week. Even when he woke up on Saturday morning, Russo didn’t think he’d play much of an offensive role.
But after multiple injuries and his teammates dealing with cramping on a hot Saturday morning, the junior was called upon to play key snaps throughout the second half. And on a third-and-4 with less than two minutes remaining in the game, Russo had a 12-yard run that clinched a 14-7 victory for host Locust Valley over North Shore in Nassau Conference IV football.
“I didn’t really think I was going to be going in today, but once I was, I was ready,” Russo said. “I studied the plays because football is a game of ‘next man up.’ People are going to fall down and you need to stay together. I just knew I had to play for my team, not for myself.”
Russo rushed for 32 yards on 11 carries, all in the second half.
“A lot of people found themselves playing in positions they wouldn’t normally be playing, and we proved to be the mentally tougher team and the physically tougher team," Locust Valley coach Michael Gilbert said. "The team that did that was the team that was going to win, and that happened to be us today.”
Quarterback Connor Geertgens found Enzo Gangi for a 17-yard catch-and-run with 4:44 left in the third quarter to break a tie at 7. The touchdown completed a 13-play, 81-yard drive that last nearly seven minutes.
Gangi also was playing somewhere he didn't expect to on that touchdown. The running back lined up as an outside receiver, broke his first tackle near the line of scrimmage, then two more before diving and fully extending his arm over the goal line and into the end zone for the score.
“Getting past that first guy, I knew nothing was going to stop me and nothing did,” Gangi said. “I knew we were [tied] and I knew I needed to get that for my team and that wasn’t for me. That was for my team.”
North Shore coach Dan Agovino was ejected with 1:20 left in the third quarter after his second unsportsmanlike penalty.
Locust Valley (1-0) opened the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run by Geertgens with 2:57 left in the first quarter. North Shore (1-1) tied it after Christian Gisonda returned the second-half opening kickoff 89 yards for a score.
The Locust Valley defense, which shut out the North Shore offense, received contributions from a number of players. James Bifulco led the way with seven tackles, including a key sack on fourth-and-9 with 1:20 left in the third quarter.
“I honestly think that was the turning point right there,” Bifulco said. “Everyone rallied around it, the whole crowd went crazy. That got everyone energized to go out there and kick some butt.”
“We had starters go down, backups go down, we had defensive linemen playing linebacker, positions they’ve never practiced before in their lives,” Gilbert said, “and our defense pitched a shutout today, it’s a testament to them.”
