Harvey Going to Rugby State Championship Tourney

Harvey’s boys rugby team will be playing for a state championship next weekend after beating St. Anthony's High School 34-14 Saturday on the road in South Huntington, Long Island.

Harvey went into the game knowing that a win would book a place in the New York State Championship in Syracuse. The Friars of St. Anthony's sat one place behind Harvey knowing a win would allow them to jump Harvey in the standings and send them to the championship. A lot was on the line for both teams.

The game started well for Harvey’s Cavaliers and sustained pressure gave the visitors an early territorial advantage. The pressure paid off as flyhalf Charlie Seider took the ball from an attacking scrum and faked to his inside center before powering over the line. Christian Artuso kicked a successful conversion to give Harvey a 7-0 lead.

Following restart Harvey played great defense on its goal line, repeatedly denying the powerful runners of St. Anthony's. The defense paid off as the Cavaliers cleared their line and gave Artuso a chance to chip the ball over the defense, which was recovered by a hustling Seider. Seider then fed the ball back to Artuso who outran the defense for a 50-meter try (12-0).

Harvey maintained the pressure following the kickoff. Hard running by Christian Harrington and Ilam Gressel set up Artuso in the corner for his second try of the day. Harvey had a 17-0 lead with five minutes to go in the half. St. Anthony's, sensing the game slipping away, picked up its game and got the ball to the ever dangerous inside center who carved through the Harvey defense to score. A successful conversion narrowed the gap to 17-7 at the stroke of halftime.

The Friars came out of the half confident with the score before the half and a lapse in defense once again let their inside center to score, closing the gap to 17-14. With a berth in the state championship on the line, the boys from Harvey responded with fast play and excellent defense from Seider, Gressel, Reed Feldman, Nate Gold and Kole Dokaj. A break out wide put Harvey fullback Jeff Cohen into space, but he was taken out by an illegal tackle on the goal line. The illegal tackle resulted the awarding of a penalty try, which was converted by Artuso to make the score 24-14.

Having got the momentum back, Harvey continued to push the pace of the game as backs and forwards ran with power and determination and were rewarded with a Harrington try to push the lead to 29-14. In the closing 10 minutes of the game Harvey was not done, as a hard charging Gressel was rewarded with the final score of the game.

Harvey’s coach Phil Lazzaro called his team’s victory “a huge game for the boys.” St. Anthony's had outstanding athletes who threatened to score any time they touched the ball, but a huge defensive effort by Harvey kept them quiet most of the game. “When we had the ball” said Coach Lazzaro, “we played with an attacking intent and moved the ball at a speed our opponent could not match.”

The coach said his players are excited that they reached the goal they set at the start of the season, but the team is now looking to the trip next weekend to Syracuse. “The team is determined to impress and bring home some hardware from the state championship.”

Harvey's record now stands at 9-3.


Photos: courtesy of Lisa Beck