Well-balanced Effort Ignites Huskers on First Responder Night

YORKTOWN, N.Y.— Yorktown used a well-balanced offensive attack to defeat visiting Lakeland 35-7 on First Responders Night.

“It’s great to have multiple weapons,” said Yorktown coach Pantelis Ypsilantis. “We want to get to a place where we have multiple guys who can score touchdowns from everywhere on the field, get touchdowns, run hard, catch the football. We want to be as multiple as we possibly can, so that we don’t become one-dimensional. I thought some guys stepped up today. I was happy with what I saw.”

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Yorktown displayed its balance early in the Sept. 20 contest, when Kaden Gonzalez (7/15, 140 yards, 3 carries, 23 yards) found JT Carney in the back of the endzone on a 9-yard touchdown pass. The first of five Adam Yakout PATs gave Yorktown a 7-0 lead with 8:22 to go in the opening quarter.

“It felt really good to have that touchdown after a big loss last week (at Somers), just to bounce back stronger,” Gonzalez said. “It came about because all practice, and all week, we just were running that play and it worked.”

Lakeland’s Anthony Frobose, a Rutgers baseball commit, answered with a 42-yard return on the kickoff, giving the Hornets possession at their own 48.

“Anthony Frobose is one of the better athletes in the section,” said Lakeland coach Ryan Shilling. “He just made a good play, a good return. It was great to have good field position early.”

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Yorktown, however, forced a three-and-out, leading to an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown by Tyler Galante (5 receptions, 102 yards, 14-yard run).

‘The first responders, who we are honoring tonight, they’re the ones who sacrifice everything in their lives to give us the opportunity to play this great game of football.’ —Yorktown coach Pantelis Ypsilantis

A 9-yard touchdown run on fourth and five by Gonzalez put Yorktown up 21-0 just before the end of the first quarter.

“It felt really good to run one in for myself,” Gonzalez said. “I felt the flow of the line going that way. They were doubling a great wide receiver in Tyler (Galante), they didn’t have any eyes on me, so I walked it in.”

A 30-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter from Gonzalez to Tyler Caricati (9 carries, 53 yards) extended the Huskers’ lead to 28-0.

“It was really big,” Gonzalez said. “I know he (Caricati) was going to be a stud, even when I was watching him on JV last year. It felt really good to get him involved. He was very calm and composed, and he’s a great addition to our offense.”

A 56-yard touchdown run late in the first half by another Husker standout, Joe Hunter (3 carries, 69 yards), put Yorktown up 35-0 at halftime.

Late in the third quarter, Robbie Policastro got the Hornets (0-3) on the board with an electrifying 60-yard touchdown run, with Frank Flannery converting the PAT.

“We hadn’t scored in a couple of games, so it was nice to do so,” Shilling said. “Hopefully, we have some momentum going into Panas.”

Lakeland will play at Walter Panas at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27.

“Coach (Bill) Castro does a really good job over there,” Shilling said. “They are off to a good start. We have to have a really good practice week, get better, and try to beat them, which would be a good win for us.”

As for the Huskers (2-1), what made the win extra special was that they honored first responders in Yorktown before the game. And at halftime, the school honored the Yorktown Athletic Club (YAC) football program.

“I said to them (his players) before the game, that the people who are waiting outside the door, the first responders, who we are honoring tonight, they’re the ones who sacrifice everything in their lives to give us the opportunity to play this great game of football,” Ypsilantis said. “It gives us the opportunity to do what we have to do.

“Then I said, we are also honoring the Yorktown Athletic Club, and I wanted them to think about those days when mom and dad were dropping them off at practice, at all hours, all day Sunday, coaching them up, and devoting all their time to their childhood, playing youth football with the Yorktown Athletic Club. It’s awesome to have that connection with our first responders, our Yorktown Athletic Club, led by Matt Talbert and Al Durante, who have been so great to our program, and the coaches who coach these kids, that connection is the most important bond that we can have as we continue to build our program.”

Chad Bowen (6 tackles, 2 for loss), Evan Kurth (5 tackles), Ryan Schluter (3 tackles, 2 for loss), and Rocco Lore (3 tackles, 2 for loss) led the Huskers defensively.

Yorktown’s next game is at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27 against visiting John Jay-Cross River.

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