South Side Cyclones

SOUTH SIDE

Cyclones emerge as perennial contenders

By TONY BELLISSIMO

Back in Nassau Conference III and riding a streak of fi ve consecutive playoff appearances, including three straight trips to the semifi nals, South Side has nearly 20 varsity returnees and a talented sophomore class coming up the ranks. “We attribute a lot of the success to the offseason dedication and the Rockville Centre Titans feeder program,” head coach Phil Onesto said. “Both of those things have coincided with our playoff runs. We’ve had great numbers in the weight room for years and even during the pandemic the kids really worked on their own.” As the No. 3 seed behind Plainedge and Wantagh, it’s highly likely the Cyclones (3-3 in Conference II last season) will continue their role as contenders. They played in the 2019 championship game, falling to Plainedge, and will kick off the new campaign at Division. “There’s no real dropoff from Conference II to III,” Onesto said. “Instead of Garden City, MacArthur and Carey at the top, it’s Plainedge, Wantagh and Bethpage. We just have to get after it like we have been doing.” Onesto will be counting on two of the best athletes in the school to be leaders on both sides of the ball. Seniors TJ Maher and Brady West are weapons in the passing game and crucial pieces of the defense. Maher, who helped the baseball team to a county title last spring, was an All-County and All-Long Island (second team) selection after leading South Side in tackles and equaling his previous season in stops in just six games compared to 11. “TJ is one of the top linebackers in the county and has gotten faster and stronger in a short time,” Onesto said. “He’s all over the fi eld on defense and he’ll be at receiver or tight end on offense.” West, a lacrosse standout, added a physical element to his skill set and is slated to start at strong safety and receiver. He had a 66-yard touchdown catch in a victory over Elmont. After working as a backup last season, junior Michael DiFrancisca is on track to become the featured runner and also chip in at linebacker. He’ll catch a few passes as well. “He’s a hard-working kid and getting his body ready for the grind,” Onesto said. Junior Rolph Brutus, who was a punishing fullback last season, is likely to join the offensive line to fi ll one of two holes. Seniors Killian Hansman and Andrew Fingleton, along with sophomore Bobby Galindo, all have starting experience. Hansman moves from the right side to left tackle, Fingleton is expected to return to 2019 form after missing last season due to injury, and Galindo is versatile enough to play tackle or guard. Less than six months after splitting reps as the JV quarterbacks, junior Ryan Kassl and sophomore Owen West both make the leap to varsity and bring contrasting styles. They were important parts of an outstanding 5-1 season that included wins over MacArthur, Carey and Elmont. Kassl is more of a pocket passer and West provides an additional threat with his legs. “We’ll let things play out and see how they do in our game scrimmage against Long Beach,” Onesto said. “They’re both such good athletes.” With Maher the lynchpin of a group that’ll include DiFrancisca, seniors Dan Fuentes and Matt Solano, and sophomore Jamie Beatty, linebacker will be the strongest part of the defense, Onesto noted. Fuentes and Solano also provide depth at running

back. Brutus is a returning starter on the defensive front, III and riding a streak of fi ve where juniors consecutive playoff appear- Matt Devares ances, including three straight trips and Sean Sandto the semifi nals, South Side has haas are slated nearly 20 varsity returnees and a to contribute. talented sophomore class coming “We attribute a lot of the success to the offseason dedication and the Rockville Centre Titans feeder program,” head coach Phil Onesto said. “Both of those things have coincided with our playoff runs. We’ve had great numbers in the weight room for years and even during the pandemic the kids really worked on their own.” As the No. 3 seed behind Plainedge and Wantagh, it’s highly likely the Cyclones (3-3 in Conference II last season) will continue their role as contenders. They played in the 2019 championship game, falling to Plainedge, and will kick off the new campaign at Division. “There’s no real dropoff from Conference II to III,” Onesto said. “Instead of Garden City, MacArthur and Carey at the top, it’s Plainedge, Wantagh and Bethpage. We just have to get after it like we Onesto will be counting on two of the best athletes in the school to be leaders on both sides of the ball. Seniors TJ Maher and Brady West are weapons in the passing game and crucial pieces of the defense. Maher, who helped the baseball team to a county title last spring, was an All-County and All-Long Island (second team) selection after leading South Side in tackles and equaling his previous season in stops in just six games compared to 11. “TJ is one of the top linebackers in the county and has gotten faster and stronger in a short time,” Onesto said. “He’s all over the fi eld on defense and he’ll be at receiver or tight end on offense.” West, a lacrosse standout, added a physical element to his skill set and is slated to start at strong safety and receiver. He had a 66-yard touchdown catch in a victory over Elmont. After working as a backup last season, junior Michael DiFrancisca is on track to become the featured runner and also chip in at linebacker. He’ll catch a few passes as well. “He’s a hard-working kid and getting his body ready for the grind,” Onesto said. Junior Rolph Brutus, who was a punishing fullback last season, is likely to join the offensive line to fi ll one of two holes. Seniors Killian Hansman and Andrew Fingleton, along with sophomore Bobby Galindo, all have starting experience. Hansman moves from the right side to left tackle, Fingleton is expected to return to 2019 form after missing last season due to injury, and Galindo is versatile enough to play tackle or guard. Less than six months after splitting reps as the JV quarterbacks, junior Ryan Kassl and sophomore Owen West both make the leap to varsity and bring contrasting styles. They were important parts of an outstanding 5-1 season that included wins over MacArthur, Carey and Elmont. Kassl is more of a pocket passer and West provides an additional threat with his legs. “We’ll let things play out and see how they do in our game scrimmage against Long Beach,” Onesto said. “They’re both such good athletes.” With Maher the lynchpin of a group that’ll include DiFrancisca, seniors Dan Fuentes and Matt Solano, and sophomore Jamie Beatty, linebacker will be the strongest part of the defense, Onesto noted. Fuentes and Solano also provide depth at running back. Brutus is a returning starter on the defensive front, where juniors Matt Devares and Sean Sandhaas are slated to contribute.

BRADY WEST

T.J. Maher

KILLIAN HANSMAN

Schedule

September 10 Division 6:00 p.m. 18 @ V.S. South 2:00 p.m. 24 Plainedge 6:00 p.m. October 1 @ Manhasset 6:30 p.m. 9 @ Wantagh 2:00 p.m. 16 Floral Park 2:00 p.m. 23 @ Roosevelt 2:00 p.m. 29 Bethpage 6:00 p.m.