Saint Dominic High School - Stella Maris Yearbook (Oyster Bay, NY)

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M H JUNIOR VARSITY TEAM Firsl' Row: T. Puccio, J. McNiece, J. Finnegan, R. Carroll, J. S+evral?a, R. Devlin, P. Gallant D. Colucci. Second Row: Mr. Mc Corry lcoachl, J. Nolan, C. Acerm. B. Geragh+y, R. Walslon, J. Cvlnar, J. Quinrana, W. Maclc, W. Carlsrrom. , 1 FRESHMAN TEAM Firsf Row: R. Beach, V. Noro, R. McGuire, F. Bowman, M. Sullivan, E. Sullivan, P. Nedell, E. Robinson. Second Row: K. Smifh, W. Brennan, T. Brady, D. Murphy, M. Placilla, C. Sumciylc. Third Row: Mr. McCorry lcoachl, K. Beary, J. Von Eschen, F. Cicarellf, F. Cowden, W. Thomas, Mr. Kaiser lassisranr coachl. 107

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Sf. Dom's Class of '65 eff Hs Cleafprinfs By Bob Rubin Oyster Bay-When St. Dominic's High resumed football three years ago, most of coach Tom Capoz- zoli's attention naturally had to be devoted to the fledgling varsitv, which was in the process ot struggl- ing through a winless inaugural season, six--defeats and one tie. But Capozzoli, with an eye to the future. wisely didn't ignore the young freshman team that was trying to learn what the game was all about. Leam they did. As sophomores in their first varsity season, they were 1-6, 'but as juniors last year, they improved up to a 3-4 mark. And as seniors this year they're unbeaten with a 60-1 record, and if they beat XVheatley today, they'll finish undefeated. Inst having a winning season-something St. Duminic's had never experienced since it originally began football in 1952-would be heady enough stuff by itself. But the Doms have put icing on that cake by tying Blessed Sacrament of New Rochelle for the Interstate Catholic League championship. Both teams finished with 4-0-1 records, after playing a 7-7 tie early in the season. A Lyrical Coach Capozzoli, an articulate man, waxes lyrical when asked about the boys that have produced St. Domi- nic's first football championship. One of the re- wards of coaching is the associa-tion it allows you with fine youngsters, he said. This is my fifth year here, fthe Doms played only IV footeball his first yearl and I have to say that this group of boys is by far the finest I've ever had. In the past we've.had some boys just out for the ride, who produced an undermining effect. This year, for the first time, we haven't had that element. The uppermost thing about these boys is their dedication. When Capozzoli tells you what some' of his players have to go through to play football, you begin to believe it must be dedication. Our,players come from a tremendous circumference of towns surrounding Oyster Bay, he explained. That in- cludes the towns of Glen Cove, Sea Cliff, West- bury, Levittown, Hicksville, Plainview, Bethpage, and Syosset. The boys have a school bus that picks them up in the moming, but none to take them home after practice. So transportation becomes a major problem, and it's not uncommon for some of them to hitchhike home. You really have to want to play football to do that. The transportation problem, difficult as it makes things for his bo s, nevertheless has a beneficial effect, the coach believes. They do have to make such sacrifices to make practice that it seems to have drawn them together, Capozzoli said. It makes them feel special. And they're a close group to start with because they've been playing together under the same system for four years now. They know each other so well that if someone does something wrong, they all correct him themselvesf' Of course. the amount of correction is at a 1 4 e is .- 1 ' as-1 1 Coach Tom Capozzoli Finest Boys I've Ever Had minimum when you have players like quarterback Charley Lang, halfbacks Steve Hemgem and George Haubenreich, and flanker Bob Scully. Lang, who has completed 44 of 87 passes for 959 yards and 12 touchdowns and I-Iemgem has picked up 400 yards in 76 rushes and scored nine times. Lang has about 10 colleges after him, Capoz- zoli said, and Hemgem, who is only a junior, has already had schools expressing interest. A Heavy Line Our line averages 193 pounds, Capozzoli added and they've really been throwing the blocks to make us go. We're anchored by two big tackles, Dennis Gallahue, who goes 210, and Greg Bog- danich, who weight 205. Their combined talents have discouraged the other teams from running the common off-tackle plays. Dick Fahlbusch plays guard for us and is also the president of the student council. He's a real leader. Ron Reilly and Mike Devlin are the line- backers, and I would say that the two of them have accounted for over 50 per centof the tackles made on defense. Dick Mahoney has also done fine work as a defensive guard. The ends are Bill Cocks and Guy Luciano, who have been steady all year, and Skip Walsh, our defensive halfback, is the tiger of the team at 135 pounds. All of these boys have helped create a new re- spect for football at St. Dominic's. We've had constant large crowds for our games, Capozzoli said, and the student body is talking about football a lot for the first time. There are pictures of the players all over the school. I'll tell you the truth-- my players deserve it.

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A L Q,-x Firsi' Row: A. Reardon, B. Brown, D. Oclwsenrelfer, T. Anglim, K. Smilln, D. DeVine. Second Row: J. Carlson, S. Michel, R. Grone mann, C. Kelly, J. Smilh, K. Dannlwauser. VAR ITY CHEERLEADER CAPTAIN CO-CAPTAIN Ka+l1erTne Smiflw Diane Ocl1senreH'er SUSGI1 Michel Susan Gisiger