Save “the Marinackers” for another year: The Bonackers will go it alone in football next season, East Hampton’s head coach, Joe McKee, said Friday.
It seemed earlier in the week that a merger in the sport between Southampton and East Hampton — albeit traditional rivals since 1923 — might be at hand. But at a recent meeting of parents, players, and coaches here, McKee, seconded by his brother, Kelly, said that, finally, after five years of struggling, the ball was rolling, as it were, in East Hampton. They, and the team’s offensive coordinator, Lorenzo Rodriguez, asked, therefore, that any consideration of possibly combining with the Mariners, whose numbers — in contrast to East Hampton’s at the moment — are down, be put off at least for a year.
Southampton had been combined in the sport with Pierson High School and Bridgehampton. Joe McKee said Friday Pierson is henceforth to be combined with East Hampton in football, as used to be the case. Asked if he would actively recruit at the Sag Harbor school, McKee said, “I sure will.”
Joe Vas, East Hampton’s athletic director, who had thought it might be time to combine with Southampton given the two schools’ numbers problems, and thus end continuing uncertainty in that regard, said Friday that, at the end of the day, he was happy to have East Hampton’s players stay here.
He and Southampton’s athletic director, Darren Phillips, who spoke at the aforementioned meeting here of players, parents, and coaches, were agreed, said Vas, that it was best this way. “Both sides would have been losing players because of the travel demands [the schools were to have split practices and home games], and that would have undercut our intent to increase numbers — it wouldn’t have made any sense.”
All things considered, then, staying home and “having a varsity and a jayvee in an age-appropriate situation is the right thing for our program. I’m excited, I think it will be terrific.”
Vas said he has asked that Section XI, the governing body for public high school sports in Suffolk County, place the East Hampton-Pierson team in the lower-enrollment Division IV with the understanding that it would not vie for the playoffs.
Eleven teams played in that division last fall, though Greenport reportedly will not field a varsity in the coming fall, and Wyandanch is said to be struggling numbers-wise, as are Hampton Bays and, of course, Southampton.
The program here, which has not fielded a varsity since 2016, has been growing, with McKee expecting as of early November to have 30 to 35 on the 2020 varsity, and 29 or so on the junior varsity. There were 40 some on the middle school team this past fall, and 130 in flag football — 70 of them sixth and fifth graders — a program for kindergarteners through sixth graders that he oversees at East Hampton’s Herrick Park under the lights on Friday nights.
Vas said he didn’t think the placement committee would take issue with his petition, which was submitted this past week. Di vision alignments must be decided upon by Feb. 4.
While other programs have been struggling numbers-wise of late, as has been the case here, the A.D. said he was sure an eight-game schedule would be played, at least when it comes to the varsity. “As for the jayvee, we’ll figure it out.”
East Hampton’s jayvee went 7-1 this past season; the middle school team also had only one loss.
When asked what would be the alternative to playing in Division IV, McKee said, “Division III,” a dubious prospect for the moment, he said, given that division’s “much more committed player pool.”
Vas said that there are “a dozen kids” playing pickup football games here on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school. McKee said a good number
are showing up to lift weights in the Kendall Madison Fitness Center as well on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Moreover, football-related drills and 7-on-7 pickup games are planned to be held in the high school’s gym come the spring, McKee said.