These Eagles are Golden
Bethpage HS Football Team Wins L.I. Class I I I Championship
Awarded Rutgers Cup as Best Team in Nassau
PAGE 16 •T H E BETHPAGE TRIBUNE • DECEMBER 1 3 -1 9 , 2002
The Best Team in Nassau: The Bethpage Golden Eagles
were awarded the Rutgers Cup as the best football team in
Nassau County. They are seen here celebrating their 28-14
victory over Islip in the L.I. Championship game.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
The Bethpage fans couldn’t believe
it. For the first time all year, there was
a hint of fear in their eyes. But who
wouldn’t be concerned, after all, this
was the first time all season that the
mighty Golden Eagles of Bethpage
High School had entered the fourth
quarter of a game behind in the
score. Most of the crowd of
approximately 4,000 spectators at
Shuart Stadium at Hofstra were
stunned to see Bethpage, who up
until this point had defeated their
opponents by an average of 38
points, trailing 14-13 in the Class III
Long Island Championship game to
gritty underdog Islip, the Suffolk
Conference HI Champ. Surely,
Bethpage’s legendary head coach
Howie Vogts, the man with more
wins than anybody in New York
State (307) would not allow his
Golden Eagles to take any
opponent lightly.
Not to worry Bethpage fans.
Coach Vogts rallied his squad and
your mighty Golden Eagles rose
from the brink at crunch time with a
methodical, magnificent display of
power football that put them ahead
midway through the fourth quarter.
The drive included runs by fullback
Anthony Seiter, quarterback Erik
Jansen, running back Jordan Levine
and running Back Rich Festante,
who bulldozed his way into the end
zone for the go-ahead touchdown
run. Erik finished the series with a
brilliant, slashing run of his own on
an important two-point conversion,
giving Bethpage a 21-14 lead with
just over six minutes to go in the
game. After the defense held on the
next series, Jordan put an
exclamation point on the comeback
with a 38-yard touchdown run of his
own. Following Trevor Michaelsen’s
extra point kick, Bethpage led 28-14
with five minutes left in the game.
Once again the Bethpage
defense stopped Islip, giving the
ball back to the offense one more
time. Islip would not get another
chance to touch the ball, as the
Golden Eagle offense ran out the
clock and Bethpage celebrated its
fourth Long Island Championship
since 1993, and second in three
years. This marked the sixth time the
Golden Eagles have played for the
championship since the playoff
format began. They fell short to the
Suffolk champions in both 1995 and
1996. The Golden Eagles were also
recognized as the best football team
in Nassau County, receiving the
coveted Rutgers Cup at the Nassau
County Gridiron Award Banquet.
The team has won it on two previous
occasions, in 1993 and 1995.
This marked a record-breaking
year for the Bethpage Golden
Eagles. They led all Long Island
teams with a 46 points per game
average and eclipsed their own
scoring record of 472 points in a
season set back in 1993, finishing
this season with an even 500 points.
Just two weeks earlier, against West
Hempstead, the team scored the
most points by any Nassau football
team ever, with 62.
Bethpage took an early 13-0 lead
on Islip on touchdown runs from
Anthony Seiter and Rich Festante.
Then, in a 30-second span, Islip
scored twice on touchdown runs by
running back Vinny Alvis and
quarterback Pete Nastasi. They held
that lead until the fourth quarter, but,
from the second quarter on, were
essentially shut down by the
Bethpage defense, who limited the
Buccaneers to just one first down
and a mere 13 yards in the second
half.
The Bethpage defense was led
by defensive end John Carroll, who
captured the Conference III Long
Island Championship Most Valuable
Player (MVP) award for a defensive
player with a game high two sacks
and 11 tackles against Islip. Jordan
Levine led the offense with 144
yards rushing on 16 carries against.
Rich Festante finished the game
with 129 yards on 23 carries and was
named the Conference III Long
Island Championship MVP on
offense.
John Carroll, and Steven Ifasi
were named to the All-Long Island
team. John, Steven, Jordan Levine
and Erik Jansen were named to the
All-County team. Erik was also
named to the Academic AllConference Team. In addition to his
MVP award, Rich Festante received
All-County Honorable Mention.
Jovan Juralea and Gregg Morris
were named to the All-Conference
Team and Dan Karpinski was a
finalist for the Long Island
Association of Football Officials
Unsung Hero Scholarship.
Running back Rich Festante (#28) scores the winning
touchdown for Bethpage in the L.I. Championship game.
Running back Jordan Levine (#22) scores an insurance
touchdown for Bethpage during their 28-14 victory over Islip in
the L.I. Championship game.
Quarterback Erik Jansen (#17) with one of many big runs on
the Golden Eagles crucial game-winning drive in the L.I.
Championship game.
blown, signaling the end of the game and another L.I.
Championship for the Bethpage Golden Eagles.
Photos by Terry Gilbert!, Syntax