Lakeland's Frobose and Policastro Shine in Rivalry Win Over Panas

SHRUB OAK, N.Y.— When it comes to the Army-Navy rivalry, it is a one-game season, it doesn’t matter what happens the rest of the season, all that matters on that day is who wins the game.

As far as when sister schools Lakeland and Walter Panas play each other on the gridiron, it’s the same thing.

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A 51-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Frobose (6-12, 121 yards, 4 rushes, 30 yards) to Michael DiCioccio (4 receptions, 67 yards) with 43 seconds left in the first half, a post route off a fake play action pass, put the Hornets up 7-0, igniting it to a 28-13 win at Panas on Sept. 27.

“Me and Mikey have always had a connection on the field, I have lots of trust in Mikey to make a play,” Frobose said. “We got momentum toward the end of the second quarter and Mikey noticed he had the corner playing up on him, so we called the play and I trusted Mikey. It was a great connection for a touchdown to keep the momentum going into the second half.”

The win was the sixth in a row for Lakeland against Panas.

“It’s been great to win six straight,” said Lakeland coach Ryan Shilling. “Whenever we play Panas, it is a hard-fought game, just like it was tonight, and we are fortunate to have come out on top.”

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DiCioccio’s touchdown was set up with an interception in the middle of the field by Nick Alleva (10 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery) who picked off the pass at the Hornets’ 25 and ran it back 24 yards.

“Our defense played really well,” Shilling said. “Our offense played well at times and made some big plays, but a couple of turnovers put our defense in some tough situations. Our defense held strong and was able to create five turnovers on the night, which was huge for us.”

What also was huge was Robbie Policastro (25 rushes, 148 yards) going up the sideline and returning the second-half kickoff from the Hornets’ 23 to their 45-yard line.

Frobose wasted no time in taking advantage of that return as he immediately connected with Mike Zumatto (7 tackles, forced fumble) on a 36-yard pass play.

“Anthony made some big plays for us,” Shilling said. “Quarterback is still new for him as it’s really his first year playing the position at the high school level. He’s growing week by week, and I’m really excited to see his continued growth throughout the season. The ball he threw Mikey right before half was huge for us.”

On the next play, Frobose faked the handoff, went around the right corner for a 19-yard touchdown run. The second of Frank Flannery’s four extra points put the Hornets up 14-0 with 11:08 to go in the third quarter.

“It was an amazing feeling to win the rivalry game and just to get into the win column,” Frobose said. “It’s a good confidence boost going into the next couple of games.”

Panas got back in the game on a 2-yard touchdown run with just 56 remaining in the third quarter, cutting Lakeland’s lead to 13-6.

From there, Policastro took over. He registered a 51-yard touchdown run, where he went down the sideline before seeing the field beautifully and cutting back to the right to find the end zone.

“Everyone executed on that play,” Policastro said. “We were waiting for a big run to break all night. It was big to score late and begin to close out the game.”

That touchdown put Lakeland up 21-6 with 9:42 to go in the contest.

Policastro increased the Hornets’ advantage to 28-6 on a 17-yard touchdown run where he first went left, before cutting back to the center of the field for the score with 4:49 to go in the final quarter.

“Robbie has been great for us the past two seasons,” Shilling said. “He’s a really tough kid. We knew we were going to need to rely on him in this game and he came through like he always does. He was a workhorse tonight. He stayed steady all night and hit a few big runs late in the game to seal the deal for us.”

Panas finished the game’s scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run with 16 seconds left in the contest.

Nick Ferrante (9 tackles, fumble recovery), Luke Lulanaj (9 tackles), and Dan Hurley (6 tackles, 1 for loss) also contributed to the Hornets’ win.

“It (the win) meant a lot,” Policastro said. “It’s a game we always want to win and it was a good way to build momentum for next week.”

Lakeland (1-3) will next play when it hosts Mahopac at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5.

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