Tigers shut out Huntington on homecoming day, celebrate with major school spirit

On a beautiful sun-splashed day in late September, a football game was played at Tiger Stadium. It wasn’t just an ordinary game, it was homecoming – and it did not disappoint. The festivities kicked off Friday night at Steers Beach with the team’s annual bonfire. Thank you, as always, to the Booster Club for a job well done, and to the Northport Fire Department for getting the bonfire going and keeping it safe.

For homecoming, on Saturday, September 25, the Tigers took on the Blue Devils in front of a capacity crowd. You never know what you are going to get from certain opponents and the Blue Devils are certainly no exception.

The Northport defense set the tone for the game early on. Drew Miller recovered a fumble midway through the first quarter and the Tigers offense cashed in. Quarterback Owen Johansen threw a perfect spiral into the hands of JJ Ahlstrand for a 12-yard touchdown reception. JJ got his feet down just in bounds and the Tigers had an early lead of 7-0.

Heading into the second quarter and clinging to a slim margin, Jack Sandrib would come up big for the Tigers. He picked off a Blue Devils pass, a play that would help him the rest of the game.

“I needed to make a play,” Jack said after the game. “This got me going and gave me a ton of confidence for the rest of the game.” On first down Johansen lofted a perfectly timed pass to JJ Ahlstrand for a 43-yard gain – JJ just ran over the defenders and gained an extra 20 yards after the catch. A few plays later Sandrib hit pay dirt from six yards out to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead heading into halftime.

The second half was all about the special teams. While they’re not on the field for a third of the game, special teams play a huge part in the outcome, and today was hard evidence of that. “Our unit is very important. We set the tone with the kind of field position we give or get,” said senior Tyler Florio.

Punter Jack Helrigel, known just as much for his bone-crushing hits and fine catches, kept pinning the Blue Devils deep in their own territory. “It felt good to get it done today,” he said. “It’s hard to be consistent with punts. But the snaps were perfect and the coverage downfield was excellent, too.”

Early in the fourth quarter, Jack Sandrib ran another ball into the end zone from eight yards out and the Tigers had themselves a 21-0 lead. The Tigers, so far this season, are a perfect 8-8 on extra points and 1-1 on field goal attempts. This kind of perfection just doesn’t happen, it is an attention to detail that makes the difference. I asked long snapper Jason Mohlmann, and holder Fred Schlaich, about the chemistry they developed. “We work on it at practice every day, mostly punts but extra points as well, for at least 10 minutes per practice,” said Jason. Fred added: “We are always prepared. It’s a lot of pressure because it’s probably only noticed when you mess up.” But these two, along with kicker JJ Ahlstrand, don’t know what it’s like to mess up yet. And now you can add Brendan Connolly to that list. He replaced JJ, who left the game early with an undisclosed injury as the kicker.

“I was nervous. Huntington is a good team. It felt good to be able to contribute,” said Brendan.

Homecoming was a huge success. The packed house was treated to a great win which saw the Tigers continue their undefeated season. It was also a day to honor legendary Northport baseball coach John DeMartini, who had the baseball field named after him. Coach DeMar, as he is affectionately known, was introduced to the crowd during the halftime ceremonies, and treated to a raucous standing ovation by the Tiger faithful. What a career this legendary figure in our town had, and he still currently teaches physical education at the high school and can be found on the football field at every practice and game. Thank you, Coach DeMar!

The Tigers play this Friday night at 6:30pm in Centereach. They are currently ranked as the 6th best team on Long Island in the large schools category.