A packed house waited in anticipation as Glen Cove’s varsity football team was searching for its second win of the season. Floral Park, on the other hand, was hoping to keep its slim playoff chance alive with a must-win game. With both teams playing at their best level, it would make sense that this one would come down to the wire. The Knights, playing some of their toughest ball of the season, defeated the Big Red with a late 4th quarter drive 27-22.

Once again, the Floral Park secondary silenced an opposing team’s quarterback, holding Glen Cove signal callers to under 100 yards passing. This was a 5th straight week for this accomplishment. Although they failed to record a takeaway the defensive unit, featuring seniors Michael Match, Jim Ollen and Charles Mealing, continued to be a bright spot for the Knights. Their spectacular play was much needed as Glen Cove, behind the strong play of two-sport star Michael Vaughn (football and basketball), rushed for 181 yards with two touchdowns.

Senior quarterback Mitch Kozak, refusing to allow his final year to end on a sour note, continued his stellar performance for the Knights. And he came up clutch in the game’s biggest moment. With only 1:55 remaining and Floral Park trailing 22-20, Kozak led the Knights downfield, eventually throwing his third touchdown to Marco Montreuil. The Floral Park defense held on, lifting the team to its third victory of the season. Kozak finished the day 8-21, with three touchdowns and one interception. Two of his scores came in the second quarter, a 29-yard pass to Mealing and a 23-yarder to junior Drew Stabinsky.

This week’s player of the game, however, was junior running back Dan Patalano. He punished Glen Cove’s defensive line all day long, leading the Knights rushing attack that totaled 175 yards on the ground. While Kozak was his usual threat, Patalano picked up several key first downs to keep drives alive. Patalano also converted a critical two-point conversion in the third quarter on a fake extra-point attempt, bringing Floral Park within two points. Not only did Patalano shine on offense, he had a key sack on a late Glen Cove drive to help seal the victory. It was quite a performance for the junior, giving him much to build on for next season.

The final regular season game against Valley Stream South is another must-win in order for the Knights to have any chance of the post-season.

“Even though our team has a small chance of making the playoffs, we won’t give up,” said senior running back Jim Ollen. “This team refuses to quit, and we’re going to put it all out on the line this week, whether it’s our last game or not.”

Let’s hope there are more games still to come.