It was a banner season on the gridiron for a group of eager and determined Blazer footballers, achieving a spectacular record of success during the regular eight game season with the added bonus of a trip to the county playoffs, heretofore accomplished only in 1975. Finishing with a 7-1 Conference III ledger, good for third place in the standings with a 125.2 power point rating, our team became the talk among the local and media, occasionally rated in the top 10 of the Island's small school polls as the season progressed.

Advancing to the elite echelon among 16 Nassau County teams, the top four in each of four conferences, the noteworthy ride to the finals was disrupted by a 33-8 loss to Glen Cove in the semifinals. The experience of playing on the artificial turf at Hofstra became the crowning glory for our boys despite the final discouraging outcome. To sum it up in the words of Coach Mark Greene, "We qualified for the big dance but were forced to leave early."

The final poll evaluation by coaches, athletic directors and sportswriters listed Great Neck North in a three-way tie for 12th place among 60 small schools throughout Long Island. If ever such an accolade created a boost to an emerging local football program on the rise, North indeed relishes their accomplishment to look forward to good times ahead.

Here is a closing summary of the final three games, hard fought but outplayed at times with a sense of the dramatic continuously evident.

An unusual coincidence pervaded in this meeting against Westbury. North's only regular season wins in 1997 and 1999 were against the Dragons while their only loss this year was against this same Westbury team.

Coming in undefeated at 6-0, the Blazers apparently took the 2-4 homestanding Green and Gold Dragons lightly as their two wins to this point were against Mineola and Roslyn, both lesser conference opponents.

Once Westbury began to open up their devastating ground attack featuring the overpowering running of Wole Ayeni (four touchdowns, 10 carries for 160 yards) with John Bray and Gavin Jackson adding two scores, all behind a mammoth front line, the outcome became evident.

North's only lead was at 8-7 early in the second period, featuring a 47-yard J. Sussman-Elroy Lewis pass connection to the Westbury 10 after Dan Goldberg recovered a Westbury fumble near midfield. Lewis ran the final four yards for the touchdown, adding a two-point conversion run for the go-ahead score.

Westbury then ran off 29 straight points on four touchdowns to assume a 36-8 lead to start the last period. Following a leg injury to Lewis late in the game, Goldberg and Sussman took up the running slack, finishing off an 8-play, 72-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Dan plus a two-point conversion run, drawing to 36-16. The Dragons concluded the scoring with 2:51 left as Jackson romped for a 28-yard touchdown plus an extra point kick.

Westbury had a 372-280 edge in offensive yardage, all but 40 on the ground. Lewis, Sussman and Goldberg combined for 159 rushing yards in 34 attempts. J. Sussman went 7 for 18 passing for 104 yards. Coach Greene commented, "We did not come to play, completely underestimating Westbury's determination on the field.

In the final game of the season, needing a win to clinch a playoff spot, the Blazers came out smoking but had to come back from a two-touchdown deficit to edge out the Rams in the final quarter. With Elroy Lewis out for the game due to injury Dan Goldberg was the running workhorse at fullback, rushing for 200 yards in 19 carries for the game and starting with a 58-yard burst on North's first possession to the West Hempstead 2. Matt Schmalacker plowed up the middle on the next play for the score. The extra point missed, North led 6-0 after just 2:33 of elapsed time.

The homestanding Rams tallied three times for an 18-6 lead by the 9:50 mark of the third period before Goldberg added a 1-yard touchdown with an extra point kick by Elliot Navo cutting the deficit to 18-13. A 34-yard Sussman-Matt Graham pass completion preceded this score.

With 7:48 left Goldberg burst to the outside for a 38-yard scoring romp, giving the Blazers a 19-18 lead which held to the end. Three pass interceptions, two by Brandon Leyden and one by J. Sussman were critical in the final result.

Achieving their ultimate goal, the locals eagerly awaited their first playoff experience in 25 years. Though suiting up over 50 players including several JV callups the "Big Red" of Glen Cove had less than 30 members in uniform. The locals were jolted at the outset after the opening kickoff to Glen Cove when junior all-county halfback Zhivargo Simmons ran through tackle, cut to the outside en route to a nonstop 66-yard win to paydirt. Following the Pat by Russ Koegler with just 16 seconds elapsed, the Covers were on top 7-0 to stay.

North's only serious early threat was a 61-yard drive to a first-and-goal on the Big Red 5. During the march, Dan Goldberg burst for 16- and 15-yard power runs. On fourth down, the Sussman connection (Joel to Ken) missed to the left end zone corner halting a sure scoring event.

After Glen Cove led by 13-0, 21-0, and 33-0 after three periods, the locals gave their substantial Great Neck supporters a moment of revelry after J. Sussman launched a 46-yard bomb to Kevin Krupski (a last second hero in the Floral Park victory) for a score with 1:54 left to play. It was Kevin's second catch of the season, both for touchdowns. A trick 2-point conversion pass from holder Travis Brennan to split end J. Sussman put eight points on the board to close it out.

Glen Cove dominated the game throughout after the Blazers' early threat, capitalizing on huge chunks of rushing yardage paced by Simmons with a 17-186-yard effort with three touchdowns. They totaled 431 yards of offense, only 50 via the passing route on two completions. With minimal possession time, especially in the latter stages North had 144 yards of offense, 85 rushing and 59 passing. J. Sussman, quarterback and team leader assessed, "It was a landmark football season for us with many thrills and outstanding play from all levels and a keen sense of accomplishment and enjoyment. The playoff experience stood out despite the final result."

County and school awards were presented at our final awards affair to the following deserving players:

All-County - Scholar Athlete: Joel Sussman, Shuto Oikawa

All Conference - Scholar Athlete: Dan Goldberg, Eric Marks

All Conference: Elroy Lewis

Most Valuable Player: Joel Sussman

Top Player on Offense: Dan Goldberg

Top Player on Defense: Alex Shaoul

John Yetski Lineman Award: Shuto Oikawa

Unsung Hero: Gregg Hayim

Etan-Eric Award: Etan Hakimi, Eric Marks

(First time award for special effort and determination on the field.)