Nine-Year-Old Mineola Chiefs Win Second Championship

The 9-year-old Mineola Chiefs football team repeated as the Nassau County Youth Football League Class A champions, beating the Rosedale Jets 6-0 on Nov. 18 in overtime.

After posting a record of 7-0-1, the Chiefs, led by head coach Mike Cavallaro, advanced to the Class A playoffs. They beat the Bellmore Braves 14-0 and advanced to the championship game, against the previously undefeated Jets.  Both teams ranked at the top in scoring during the regular season, but this game turned out to be a defensive battle.

Coach Paul Selhorn’s defense held the Jets to minimal yards for the entire game.  Led by Tyler Burke, James Kapralos and Joe Iadevaia, the Chiefs were able to hold the Jets high-powered offense in check.

TNH Breaks Ground On New Hyde Park PAL Clubhouse Renovation

Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman and Councilwoman Lee Seeman joined forces with State Senator Jack Martin and Nassau County Legislator Richard Nicolello last week to break ground on a long-awaited reconstruction project to restore the New Hyde Park Police Athletic League clubhouse to its former glory.

The kickoff of the renovation project, which was also attended by PAL officials, Nassau County Police Officer Kevin Worth, and Sgt. Doug Kenah, heralded the start of a project that had been hampered by a lack of funds and had consequently languished for over seven years.

Kaiman worked alongside Officer Worth, the director of the New Hyde Park PAL program, and other PAL officials to get the gym restored.  The town, which owns the Denton Avenue property the PAL facility occupies, approved plans for the renovations.

Chiefs Win Back To Back Championships

On Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Mitchel Field Athletic Complex, in their final senior season as Chiefs, the 11-year-old football team for the second year in a row won a Nassau County Championship by beating the Baldwin Bombers 25-7 to take home the victory and a championship trophy. It was expected to be a tight back and forth game, but the Chiefs dominated on defense with its 6-2 defense and got the ball back to the offense early and often.

In the end, the Chiefs once again proved too much for the Bombers to handle.

Mineola Tops East Meadow

The BU9 Mineola Mighty improved to 4-3-1 on the season with a solid 3-1 win at East Meadow on Nov. 18.  The game featured solid goalkeeping and defensive play by Mineola, with Luke Sommese, James Teadore, Dominic Fereira and Andrew Pizzardi turning aside many East Meadow attacks.

The Mighty’s Liam Russelman opened the scoring with two minutes remaining in the first half. Brian Heckelman ripped a shot from outside the penalty area that the East Meadow keeper had trouble holding and the onrushing Russelman jumped on the loose ball and deposited it into the empty goal.

Chiefs Advance To Championship Game

The Mineola Chiefs 11-year-old Football Team has advanced to the Nassau County Championships for the third year in a row by beating the Syosset Braves 31-13 this past Sunday on the road in the semifinals game, a Mineola PAL history.

It was expected to be a tight game, but in the end the Chiefs proved too much for the Braves to handle. All the boys played and participated in the victory.

Chaminade Hosts 2012 NY Open Taekwondo Championships

The 2012 New York Open Taekwondo Championships Korean Cultural Festival was held at the Chaminade High School Athletic Center in Mineola on Saturday, Oct. 20.

The tournament consisted of Olympic sparring, board breaking and forms as well as team demo competitions. Modern electronic scoring was used for all competitors and one ring featured Olympic style scoring. Highlighting this year’s event were the Goodwill Exhibition Games between the national level team from New York facing off against rival Los Angeles.

Students Attain Confidence Tips

Children in Karatatot, which is a unique program offered by Charles Water Karate & Fitness, located at 122 Hillside Avenue in Williston Park, get a combination of exercise and karate in a format specifically designed for children ages 4 and up. In a fun filled and nurturing setting your children learn concentration, discipline, respect, as well as an understanding of self defense at his or her own level. The results are improved strength, coordination, and flexibility and the self-confidence.

Mineola’s Tireless Efforts Fall Short In Pennsylvania

The GU14 Mineola Mini-Mustangs fell short in defense of its 2011 title at the Fall Festival in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.  Mineola got off to a good start, winning its first game 2-1 over Keystone, PA.

Brianna O’Brien started the scoring; skimming a hard shot from outside the penalty area into the back of the net during the first half. Allison Lamonica finished a tremendous individual effort to lift her team to a 2-goal cushion.

Mustang Football Drives Toward Playoffs

The Mineola Mustang football program is off to an excellent start this season. The varsity and JV records both stand at 4-2 and the middle school team is 1-0 after dominating their first two scrimmage games as of Oct. 18.

The varsity team has won three of its last four games after an opening day loss to Valley Stream North. The Mustangs came into the season as the 11th seed in a 12-team conference.

Soccer News

Mini-Mustangs Gallop Past Baldwin

The GU14 Mineola Mini-Mustangs used a strong second-half effort to overcome a slow start and top the Baldwin Panthers 4-2 on Oct. 14. Baldwin shocked Mineola early on, scoring two goals before the game was 10 minutes old.

Mineola rallied soon after, and began controlling the pace of the game and holding possession.  Allison Lamonica got Mineola on the board minutes before halftime, driving a shot from 20 yards following a perfect lead pass into space by Emma Feimer.  The Mini’s drew even minutes after the restart, as Brianna O’Brien deftly slid a cross-box pass to Natalia Cotto, who calmly drove it into the net.  Ten minutes later, after an incredible save by Mineola keeper Gretchen Keller kept the score tied, Meghan Lafaye expertly dropped a free kick right behind the Baldwin defensive line, where Lamonica trapped it and after skillfully eluding the Baldwin keeper, deposited the ball into the empty net.  Minutes later, it was Cotto’s turn again, receiving a pass from Lamonica and scoring from ten yards out.  Mineola improved to 2-2-1 on the season.