The varsity football team came into the season with a strong group of returning players from last year’s team, which exceeded expectations all the way into an upset of #2 seeded Lawrence in the first round of the playoffs. The Owls came into the season looking to not only duplicate last year’s success but improve upon it. A key to that was starting the season strong, and the Owls did just that in their opener at Roosevelt.

The Owls started their season playing to one of their many strengths: defense. Both Roosevelt and Lynbrook struggled to get anything going early as both offenses were shut out in the first half. Seniors Jasjeet Singh and Dominick Barbuto led the Owls’ defense with 7 tackles and 12 tackles and 1 sack, respectively, in the contest. Junior Angel Duran chipped in with 1 interception during the game.

In the third quarter, though, the offense picked up on both sides. The Owls struck first on a 17-yard touchdown run by junior Ethan Hoyte and scored again on an 80-yard connection from senior quarterback Cameron Fabel and senior wide receiver Jack Rogers. Despite this, the Owls found themselves down 1 entering the final 15 minutes. In the 4th quarter, the Owls did much of the same as Hoyte rushed for another touchdown, and the Fabel-Rogers connection produced another 80-plus yard touchdown. After Roosevelt scored a touchdown to make it a one-score game, Fabel, who hit the century mark in both passing and rushing in the opener, took matters into his own hands with a 70-yard run to put the game away at a score of 32-22. Senior linebacker/running back Danny Dalrymple said, “It was great to get a win at Roosevelt as Lynbrook hasn’t won there since 1992. We played well on both sides of the ball and hope to build on this win.”

The next game for the Owls was a homecoming matchup against Floral Park; given the previous game many expected the Owls to have their way in the match, but, unfortunately, that was not the case. Lynbrook struggled to move the ball and was hit with too many penalties on offense. Defensively, the Owls struggled to not give up “the big play.” The Owls left the game with their first loss and something to prove.

Their big shot came the next week playing at Lawrence, where less than a year ago they shocked everyone, pulling off a massive upset. This go around was much different than the last as Lynbrook dominated on both sides of the ball to secure a 36-6 win. On offense, the Owls rotated junior Dante Quilca and Fabel at quarterback. Quilca was especially impressive on the ground with 13 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown. Hoyte, who rushed for nearly 200 yards, did most of the offense’s heavy lifting as he scored the Owls’ first touchdown of the game on a 13-yard run. In the second quarter, Quilca’s 1- yard run and 2-point conversion completion to senior Jake Belmont made the game 15-0, though Lawrence did tighten things up with a touchdown near the end of the half. In the second half, it was pure Lynbrook domination. Hoyte continued his excellent afternoon with a 1-yard touchdown run, and Rogers later followed with a 20-yard touchdown run, which coupled with a 2-point conversion run by Hoyte to put the Owls up 23. Finishing off the Owls’ strong performance was senior Lomar Collins, who scored on a punt return in the 4th quarter to make the score 36-6. The Owls dominated each facet against Lawrence, and their defense and offensive lines were both very impressive. Barbuto and senior Kyle Serro both had 12 tackles and 2 sacks, while Dalrymple added 6 tackles. The offensive line cleared the way for the Owls’ rushing attack, which totaled more than 350 yards. The game was all the more impressive, considering the Homecoming let down, but as senior Kyle Serro put it, “We just put the loss behind us and did our jobs. There is still a lot of football to be played and much work to do.” ”The team has done really well defending the run and running the ball, but we still need to improve on committing less penalties,” Coach Steven Locicero added. But, if the Owls play like they did in their first and third games, anything seems possible.