SHOREHAM – Flag football is a new sport at Shoreham Wading-River High School this season, but the girls ran the field like they owned it, capturing both the Suffolk County and Long Island championships this past week. They’ll head to states on Friday, where they’ll look to go three-for-three in their inaugural season.
The Shoreham Wading River varsity flag football team is a member of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) and competes in League II. The girls are led by first-year head coach Bob DeSilva. He’s joined on the sidelines by assistant coach Christina Johnson. The Wildcats finished the regular season 11-4-0.
“It’s been really fun. When we started the open gyms in the beginning, I saw that there was a lot of talent and a lot of potential. I told the girls early on, ‘Hey, we put it all together. We could maybe go make a run at a championship’, and they go in, and here we are now,” said Desilva.
One title in your inaugural season is one thing, but two? Amazing! DeSilva’s squad raised the stakes and put it all out on the field against both Kings Park (Suffolk), 34-0 win, and Cold Spring Harbor (Long Island), 46-7 win.
“The county title was great, and I thought the Long Island Championship was even better. We had put up dominant performances in both games, it’s not an easy thing to do in a championship situation. All the girls raised their level of play, and we just continued to get better throughout the season,” DeSilva told the Messenger.
With two championship games under their belt, the Wildcats have a chance to go for more as they make their way to the New York State tournament held in Cortland. Being a first-year team means facing opponents who maybe have more experience. That doesn’t faze DeSilva as he’s confident in his group.
“We’ve seen some film. That’s what we were just doing today [Monday], watching film on them. I think we have better teams than we’ve seen in the last two games. We’re going to play against some really good quarterbacks. But our defense and as a team, I think we’re more athletic than pretty much every team, and just in terms of flat out speed. We got a quarterback who could run around, and she could throw the ball down the field, but she could also run like the wind. We have weapons out there on offense that we could get the ball to. So it’s not just about the one girl you have to stop. We have three or four real weapons that you have to stop on offense. We put a lot of pressure on defenses, and I think our defense is an elite defense. Our speed, we close on things really fast, we put a lot of pressure on quarterbacks, we have girls in the back end that are ball hogs that go get the football, and the girls are really smart,” said DeSilva.
DeSilva received significant interest in girls looking to play flag football when he put feelers out in February. He had an athletic group of girls participate in the open gyms. Once tryouts took place, it eventually came down to who his quarterback would be.
“I had one girl who played flag football before [Jessica Manick]. She’s a ninth grader, and she’s very good. She’s our backup quarterback, and I think she’s going to be a really good player. Shealyn’s [Varbero] like a leader; she has all the intangibles that you look for in a quarterback. She’s a great athlete and has come a long way. Teach her how to sort the mechanics of how to throw a football, she really started from square one. If you see the film from the beginning of the season of some throws she was making, and you see how she’s throwing the ball now, it’s like night and day. She’s a legit quarterback now, throws the ball all over the field, reads defenses, makes good decisions, burns people with her legs, and just runs all over the place,” said DeSilva.
SWR makes the trek to Cortland on Friday as a member of the final four competing for a state title. They’ll play Saturday, and if that goes well, they’ll play Sunday afternoon for all the marbles. Congratulations on two, here’s to representing Long Island for one more!
