The New Hyde Park Gladiators took the Carle Place Wild Frogs by storm last Saturday afternoon, administering a 51-20 drubbing behind three touchdowns by running back Franchesco Terrero.
The Frogs scored an early touchdown just a few minutes into the game.
“It was a scary beginning,” Gladiator’s coach Kevin Dolan said. “The beginning isn’t the end though. I just told my boys to keep playing hard. I am extremely proud of my boys. They practice and play hard. We’re family, and we want to go all the way this year.”
The Gladiators took Dolan’s advice, scoring with touchdowns by running back Franchesco Terrero and fullback Nick Dziomba. The kicker, Lucas Santangelo, followed the touchdowns with two successful point after attempts, which left the score at the end of the quarter to be 14-6.
“We played a great game all around,” said Gladiators’ wide receiver Stephen Keane. “We were down early but we kept our spirits high and kept fighting. We proved that we could make it through any situation and come out on top.”
The second quarter was promising for the Gladiators with a spectacular 15-yard touchdown pass by Nice Perrone to Keane, who dove headfirst into the end zone. Santangelo again followed with the point after, making the score at the end of the half 21-6.
The cheerleaders of both schools led halftime, riling up the crowds for the second half of the game despite the brisk weather.
The third quarter began with Gladiator’s running back Diego Dilone scoring a touchdown and Santangelo following again with an extra point. Shortly after Terrero made another touchdown, making the score 34-6.
Carle Place came back with Chris Camino scoring a touchdown, followed by a two-point conversion, making the score 34-14 by the end of the third quarter.
Both teams played hard in the fourth quarter.
“The last quarter is a crucial time. I wanted to make sure we didn’t burn out or get too cocky. Anything could’ve happened,” said Dolan.
Gladiators’ Terrero scored his final touchdown of the day. Santangelo continued to convert the extra points and kicked a 40-yard kick field goal to make the score 44-14.
The Wild Frogs’ Chris Camino made the team’s final touchdown for the day with an impressive 59-yard touchdown run to give the Frogs 20 points. At the very end of the quarter, Gladiator’s running back Matt Davang made the final touchdown.
The end of the game left Gladiators Terrero with three touchdowns, and Santangelo with six out of seven possible point after attempts.
The Gladiators currently hold a record of 5-2, are tied for fourth place with Carey High School in their division.
