First Suffolk Div. III media day builds buzz for upcoming football season
Suffolk Division III football players got the true preseason college football experience on Tuesday, less than seven days before the official start of high school practice.
Bryan Schaumloffel, the Westhampton coach, helped organize a Media Day for Suffolk Division III football at Hauppauge on Tuesday afternoon. It had all the makings of a major college football Media Day with all 13 of the division’s coaches speaking at the podium for a few minutes surrounded by their top players before returning to their team tables for interview opportunities with different media outlets in front of their team backdrops.
“It’s great to put a face to the film,” said Brayden Stahl, a senior quarterback for Smithtown West. “I’ve watched film of all these guys in the division, I know who they are, I know who we have to worry about and play against so to be able to put a face to them and size them up in real life, it’s really cool to see. It’s an experience no one else on the Island and probably New York is getting right now”
It’s believed to be the first full league Media Day on Long Island and Schaumloffel hopes to make it a yearly tradition, even outside of just Division III.
“This adds a little more hype to the season because we’ve never been here before and just seeing the other teams makes it more interesting,” said Sebastian Regis, of East Islip. “It gets you hyped for the season and ready to play.”
“I love football, I love Long Island football,” Schaumloffel said. “I think we have a great division and I just wanted to get our players out there and get some exposure for our guys . . . Hopefully, it turns out to be something that happens every single year and it’s something special for the kids.”
For smaller schools like East Hampton, which plays in Division III as a combined program with Pierson and Bridgehampton, it was a chance to meet players outside of their East end Long Island community.
“It’s very surreal, especially being a kid who’s played football my whole entire life,” said Jason Lester, who will be a part of East Hampton’s 100th football season, according to coach Joe McKee. “It’s definitely something out of all of our bubble, to say the least, because we’re all used to being in a tiny town like East Hampton and playing against Hampton Bays and other schools like Greenport. So to be able to come up here and be around these guys that we are going to go out and compete against all season is really cool.”
Sayville was well represented coming off their 12-0 season and 33-7 victory over Plainedge in the Long Island Class III championship.
“We definitely know we have a target on our back,” said Kyle Messina, who rushed for 1,998 yards and 29 touchdowns on 239 carries last season. “This is just such a historic program, such a good program, everyone’s trying to beat us. We always say they’re going to give us their best game.”
But those games remain in jeopardy to be played. Section XI, the governing body of scholastic sports in Suffolk, and its referees, represented by the President’s Council of Suffolk County Officials, have yet to come to terms on a new contract for the upcoming season. With Monday as the official first day of practices and the first regular-season Section XI football game scheduled for Sept. 1, there’s no guarantee the season will start on time. But the players and coaches remain optimistic a deal will happen.
“I’m confident they’ll get things done,” Schaumloffel said. “Everyone involved loves athletics, loves sports, loves football, has the best interest of the kids at heart and I’m hoping that it works its way out.”
“I’m sure that everyone at Section XI and New York State and all the refs just want what’s best for football on Long Island and everyone wants to play,” Stahl said. “No one wants to see us have to sit out weeks or sit out games or postpone the season at all because, at the end of the day, we wouldn’t have events like this if it wasn’t for the players themselves. So we need to be able to showcase what we got in order to put on events like this so I think in the end, for the greater good, I think everyone is going to come to an agreement.”
Jack Melore, who set the Suffolk record for receptions in a season (69) last season for Smithtown West, agreed with Stahl in saying the team is only focusing on what they can control.
“As of now, the schedule says we’re playing Comsewogue on Sept. 1, so I think that’s all we’re focusing on,” Melore said. “Anything we don’t have control in, we can’t really do anything about, so we’re going to game plan and prep and as of now, we’re playing Sept. 1 so that’s our only goal.”
