The lost to the Wantagh Warriors on New Hyde Park's homecoming day Saturday afternoon, 35-8, but that didn’t stop the hundreds of cheering fans.
After the parade ended, parents, friends, family members and fans gathered in the stands and around the snack shop, anxiously awaiting the 2:00 p.m. start of the game. The first half of the game, New Hyde Park struggled to keep the ball in their possession, giving away one touchdown to Wantagh, followed by another 72-yard run, making the score 0-21.
“[Our football team] isn’t doing too well today, but this is the nicest team we’ve had in a number of years,” said , who was enjoying the game with a broken left arm after being accidentally pummeled on the sidelines during a football game a month ago. “Wantagh is very tough; we expected that it was going to be a real tough game.”
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The half-time extravaganza included performances by the marching band, varsity cheerleaders, Romanettes, twirlers and step team. The Homecoming King and Queen -- Liam O'Connor and Taylor Kerrane -- were crowned and the award for best overall float went to the class of 2013 with its Jaws theme.
The best overall float in the junior high category went to the class of 2015 with the theme The Wizard of Oz.
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The second half of the game was slightly more favorable for the Gladiators with the team scoring one touchdown, but a series of unfortunate events including a fumble that resulted in a touchdown for the opposing team caused the Warriors to take the game in the end.
Head Coach Kevin Dolan said that Wantagh is a strong team to beat.
“It’s a great team and as I told these boys at the end, I don’t feel any different about them than I did 15 minutes before the game started,” Dolan said. “This is an educational process; this is about learning and competing for them.”
Dolan said his team worked hard and that they have a great friendship with one another. In terms of the greater scope of things, next week’s game against Carle Place is actually more important than this one, he added.
Recapping the day, DeMartino said, “This is really a nice day. The school is very traditional and the community turns out and the school is like a throwback. It’s just a very, very nice day because a lot of people come by.”
