Cougars Crush Patriots in Gridiron Opener

Commack High School football coach Joe Reggio knew it was coming, but he couldn't escape it.

The post-game dousing with ice water was perhaps a bit too refreshing, but it was well deserved after Commack won its Division I season opener Tuesday at Commack High School. The Cougars totaled more than 400 yards of offense in a 41-20 victory, with running back Brandon Cook leading the way with four touchdowns and 201 yards rushing.

"The line just stepped up and started to move them out, and our running backs just ran really, really hard," Reggio said. "We haven't had that in quite some time."

Cook had just 11 carries, but three went for more than 50 yards, including touchdown runs of 73 and 56 yards. He also had a touchdown receiving.

Commack quarterback Tyler Smith was 6-for-10 passing for 68 yards and two touchdowns, running back John Donavan had 82 yards rushing on nine carries, and as a team, Commack ran for 352 yards.

"It was a really nice way to start," said Reggio, who noted that Commack's last winning season was 2006, when the Cougars were 6-2. "I think it's real important for their confidence. The team's very young, a lot of sophomore and juniors are starting."

The victory snapped Ward Melville's recent dominance over Commack. The Patriots had won the last five meetings between the division rivals, according to Section XI records, and in the previous three seasons had outscored the Cougars, 127-30. Commack's last win over Ward Melville was a 33-7 victory in 2004.

Commack opened the scoring on its first possession of the game. Smith escaped the Patriots rush, rolled right and found Connor McQueeney in the end zone for an 18-yard score. The point-after kick by Josh Bacon made it 7-0.

McQueeney, who did a nice job of keeping his feet in the end zone on the play, hadn't played football since middle school, but Reggio was finally able to convince him to switch from volleyball this season. "I had him in phys ed class and I worked on him all year last year, and I said 'I'm telling you, you're going to score a touchdown in your first game,' and he did."

Ward Melville answered with a 20-yard touchdown run by Frank Lucatuorto, but the two-point conversion failed and the Patriots trailed by one.

Cook opened the ensuing drive with a 50-yard run and capped it five plays later, taking a shovel pass from Smith into the end zone for the score and a 14-6 Commack lead.

Once again, the Patriots responded, going 81 yards on 10 plays, scoring on a three-yard run by Kenny Troy. Another failed conversion kept Commack's lead at 14-12.

Commack took the next kickoff into Patriots territory, and four plays later, Cook leapt across the goal line to up the Commack lead to 21-12, which was the score at halftime.

The Cougars took over in the third quarter, recovering a fumble at their own 27. On the next play, Cook took an inside handoff, busted through a huge hole and scampered 73 yards for his third touchdown of the day and a 27-12 Commack lead.

Commack's defense forced the Patriots into a three-and-out situation, and two plays into Commack's next possession, Cook took the ball on a draw play and rumbled 56 yards up the middle of the field for his fourth score, increasing the Cougars' lead to 34-12.

Ward Melville came back with a 19-yard touchdown run by Troy with 4:40 left in the third quarter, but Commack answered. A 6-yard pass from Smith to Mike Karaolis on fourth-and-5 sustained a drive that ended with another score two plays later, this one an 18-yard run by Donavan.

Commack's next game is Thursday, Sept. 16 at Bay Shore.