The Floral Park Knights headed into the football season with few expectations.  They were pre-season projected 8 out of 12 teams and were barely expected to make the playoffs.  At the end of the season the Knights were at Hofstra.

Senior captains Conor Horan, Connor Vidasolo, Alec Ascani, and Alex Cerrone had a different plan in mind.

After a rough opening loss to top-ranked Plainedge, the Knights got their first win in front of a packed crowd at Homecoming against cross-town rivals New Hyde Park.  They did so in a dominating fashion, giving up only one first down in the entirety of the first half.

The Knights continued their solid season and came into a pivotal matchup against Hewlett in week 6 with a record of 3 wins and 2 losses.  Both teams were fighting for all important playoff positioning.  This game had some extra emotion as it was the seniors’ last home game.  The first half was a battle.  Both defenses were spectacular, which was shown by the score, 3-3.  Hewlett was on the one yard line right before the half ended but a strip and fumble recovery by defensive end Patrick Schmid kept the score knotted up.  The Knights came out of the locker room with some extra energy and ended up beating up on the Hewlett defense, scoring 21 unanswered points.  Brian Barry’s punt return TD and Connor Vidasolo’s interception return TD were two of the bigger plays.  This win set up the Knights for good playoff positioning.

Entering week 7, the Knights were as confident as ever, and about to face off against the Long Island Champion Lawrence Golden Tornadoes.  The Knights had to overcome a major obstacle that week, captain Alec Ascani, who plays offensive tackle and defensive end was out ill.  Going into the game the Knights were excited and seemed unstoppable but after the first couple of drives, Lawrence dominated and won 49-0.

After the game Coach Mike Spina told the Knights to not get too down on themselves.  When the Knights arrived at Manhasset for week 8, everything was forgotten from the Lawrence game.  The Knights put together a dominating victory of 49-0.  Great offensive plays by QB Connor Vidasolo and WRs Brian Barry and Alex Cerrone.

The following day the playoff seed came out with Floral Park seeded 6 and set to play 3 seed Lynbrook at their brand new turf field.  The atmosphere in the locker room that week was very energetic, which led to a great week of practice.  Captain Alec Ascani was still out but the players remained confident and knew they could pull off the upset.

Everyone was ready to play that day for both teams.  As the game went through the first quarter Lynbrook was first to strike with a big passing TD.  The Knights offense couldn’t seem to move the ball that quarter.  Again Lynbrook went on the board, extending their lead to 14-0.  The Knights weren’t about to give up.  Losing was not an option for any of the players.  The defense was able to make a couple of stops and the offense finally began to move the ball.  Right before the half, the Knights were able to capitalize on an important drive, led by Brian Barry with a huge reception and a rushing TD.  The score at half time was 14-7 in favor of Lynbrook.

Both teams were fired up in the second half and Lynbrook struck first again with a field goal to make the score 17-7.  The Knights never panicked and gradually ate up the clock and drove down the field.  Another TD was punched in by Josh Sanders on a stretch play shortening the lead to 17-14.  As the third quarter ended the Knights had no doubt in their minds that they would win the game.  With about 7 minutes left in the game, Coach Costello called a reverse pass.  The ball was handed to Josh Sanders who then handed it to Alex Cerrone who came around and threw a bomb to Brian Moriarty who rat it in for the score.  The 68 yard TD put the Knights up 21-17.  The defense was able to keep the momentum as they were stopped on a fourth down conversion.  It was then time to run down the clock as the Knights went on to pull off the upset and move on to the semi-finals at Hofstra.

After all the celebrations and excitement settled, the Knights got ready to play number 1 seed Plainedge on the turf at Hofstra.  Plainedge was a heavy favorite but it didn’t stop the Knights from working hard in practice.

The atmosphere in the stadium was unlike any other game for the players.  The fans, the locker rooms, and especially the cameras had a lot of the players a little star struck.  As the game began Plainedge immediately took control of the game.  The Knights put up as much of a fight as they could that day but it ended in a 41-16 loss.  It was the last high school game for all of the seniors, leaving a bittersweet taste in their mouths.  All players and coaches were emotional on the bus ride home and in the locker room, but the Knights, even though they lost, conquered a lot more than what was expected of them.

“These guys put their heart and soul into every practice and every game.  They never gave up.  I am very proud of them,” said Coach Spina.

The Floral Park Knights had many great players during the season but some were recognized by the rest of the county as exceptional football players.  Captain and LB/RB Conor Horan was selected as an All-County Line Backer, the only one to receive that honor on the team.  Captain and OL/DE Alec Ascani was voted All County Honorable Mention.  Captain and QB Connor Vidasolo and WR/FS Brian Barry were selected as Academic All Conference winners.  Lineman and Special Teams player Nicholas Donahue was honored with the Unsung Hero Award.

Along with these awards, four seniors were selected to play in the Nassau County senior bowl: LB Conor Horan, OT Alec Ascani, QB Connor Vidasolo and C Partrick Schmid.

Conferences 2 and 3 played Conferences 1 and 4 on Thanksgiving morning.  Conferences 2 and 3 won, so the boys were able to win in their last ever high school football game.