Lucas Singleton, Sachem North football focused on winning Suffolk Division I title
Sachem North pose uring Suffolk football media day on Friday at Ward Melville. Back row, from left: Charlie DeBiccari, Angelo Portillo, Jack McCarty and Ryan Friel. Front row, from left: Lucas Singleton, David Santiago, Nasir Altes, Jack Pitman and Brayden Tappin. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Lucas Singleton decided this summer to focus on one sport — football. The outstanding outfielder for the Sachem North baseball team did not play summer ball, choosing to spend all his time in the weight room and on the gridiron.
“Football has been my passion since entering high school,” said Singleton, who recently committed to play football at West Point. “Baseball, I will always have a love for it, but I find myself wanting to show up for football. I love that too.”
Singleton, who rushed for 1,233 yards and 13 touchdowns in his junior season, feels this Sachem North team is special, and can win its first divisional crown since 2013.
“The offensive line is great,” he said. “We graduated one of our best guys but we're older now, and we have more leaders.”
Singleton pointed to two-way senior lineman Angelo Portillo as the anchor of the line.
“He's a great leader, has good size, and he's just a great guy to be around,” he said.
Sachem North coach Dave Caputo said his team better be ready coming out of camp.
“Traditionally the schedule has the top seeds open against the seven or eight seeds but not this year,” he said. “It gets competitive right away as our division has Longwood at Floyd, two of the most physical teams on Long Island and it has us playing Ward Melville.”
Sachem North has been on the cusp of a title a few times in the past 10 years but come up a win short of the LIC. Top-seeded Floyd has stood in the way in multiple years.
“We don't like to talk about the individual teams,” Caputo said. “We talk about the process because there's parity and a physicality in the division week in and week out. Each week we need to get better and believe in our process, because this is not a one, two team race.”
Floyd coach Paul Longo sees a division loaded with playoff-caliber teams. “The last couple of years have been rough with a lot of injuries to key players,” Longo said. “We must stay healthy. This season I think seven teams can compete for the division title.”
INSIDE SUFFOLK DIVISION I
COACHING SPOTLIGHT
Dave Caputo, Sachem North
Caputo is all about Sachem.
He grew up in the district and still lives in the Sachem community.
Caputo graduated from Sachem North in 1996 and was a two-year starter at wide receiver and defensive back for the football team.
Currently, Caputo is a social studies teacher at Sachem North. He was a longtime assistant coach before taking over the head football job at the school in 2018. Last year, Caputo took his team to the Division I final where it lost to Floyd, 26-9.
Caputo said his biggest enjoyment of coaching is, “upholding the great tradition of Sachem and Sachem football. It is a special place."
MUST-SEE GAMES
Longwood at Floyd, Sept. 14, 1 p.m.: This barn-burner of an opener is known as the “Parkway Bowl." Six miles of the William Floyd Parkway separates the schools.
Ward Melville at Sachem North, Sept. 13, 7 p.m.: This is another blockbuster opening game. The teams split their games last season with Sachem North winning the semifinal matchup, 27-21.
Sachem East at Ward Melville, Sept. 20, 7 p.m.: Sachem East caught Melville by surprise last year, earning a 32-27 victory in the regular season finale. This early season matchup has playoff implications.
Lindenhurst at Commack, Oct. 10, 3:30 p.m.: This is the first meeting between the teams in four seasons and is a game that could determine a playoff spot in Division I.
Sachem North at Floyd, Oct. 19, 1 p.m.: The preseason's top two seeds split their two games last season with Floyd winning the Division I final.
FIVE-YEAR TREND
2019: Floyd
Spring 2021: Floyd
Fall 2021: Whitman
2022: Ward Melville
2023: Floyd
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Steven Casali, Sachem East
Casali, one of the most decorated high school football players in Suffolk history, is the only player ever to receive four major awards in one season.
As a senior in 2012, Casali won the Hansen Award (Suffolk's most outstanding player), the Rob Burnett Award (Suffolk's most outstanding defensive player), the Bob Collotta Award (Suffolk's most outstanding linebacker) and the Joe Cipp Jr. Award (Suffolk's most outstanding running back). He rushed for 1,895 yards and 20 touchdowns, recorded 104 tackles from his linebacker spot and guided Sachem East to its only Division I title game appearance.
Casali, a two-time All-Long Island and All-state selection, went on to play collegiately at UMass, where he started at inside linebacker for two years.
Now, he is a medical sales representative, living on Long Island with his wife and child.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
