September 2012 Issue No. 13

Transcription

1 September 2012 Issue No. 13 F R O M T H E Sidelines The Official Publication of the New York State High School Football Coaches Association INSIDE: Sayvlle Still Sound for Rob Hoss Membership Forms In This Issue PLUS: All In The Family Jay Sirianni came from a family of coaches to lead Southwestern to the top of NY State Coach Faces Biggest Challenge ALSO: NY State Briefs President s Message Extra Point

2 F R O M T H E Sidelines The Official Publication of the New York State High School Football Coaches Association Publisher NYSHSFCA Editor Mark E. Adair adairs4@aol.com From The Sidelines is the official publication of the New York State High School Football Coaches Association and is published 12 times a year. Contents copyright 2010 by Adair Publishing and the NYSHSFCA. All rights reserved. This volume may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without the prior written consent of the publisher. Send editorial and advertising correspondence to: From The Sidelines, 86 Park Lane Circle, Lockport, NY adairs4@aol.com Officers President Joe Vito Football Coach, Roosevelt HS 52 Franklin Street East Rockaway, NY (516) jmvito33@aol.com First Vice President Joe Vito Football Coach, Roosevelt HS 52 Franklin Street East Rockaway, NY (516) jmvito33@aol.com Immediate Past President Tom Heinzelman Athletic Director Hudson Falls CS Hudson Falls, NY office: (518) home: (518) heinzelman@live.com Past President Don Santini 90 Potter Place Fairport, NY home: (585) cell: (585) dsantini@frontiernet.net Executive Director Mike Foster P.O. Box 312 Canandaigua, NY (585) (o) (585) (c) Fax: (585) nyshsfca@aol.com CHSAL Kevin M. Hanifan 35 Glen Brook Road Hicksville, NY cell: (516) home: (516) ksmes35@optonline.net Section I Joe Casarella Athletic Director, North Rockland HS Thiells, NY cell: (914) jcasarella@nrhs.nrcsd.org Tom Lynch Head Coach, North Rockland HS Thiells, NY School: (845) cell: (845) tlynch@nrhs.nrcsd.org Section II Nick Fitzgerald Athletic Director, South Glens Falls HS South Glens Falls, NY (518) fitzgeraldn@sgfallssd.org Section III Kevin DeParde Football Coach, East Syracuse-Minoa HS East Syracuse, NY (315) kdeparde@esmschools.org Section IV Steve Virkler Owego Free Academy 1 Sheldon Guile Blvd. Owego, NY Office: (607) Cell: (607) virklers@oacsd.org Shane Hurd Head coach, Union-Endicott HS 1200 East Main Street Endicott, NY Cell: (607) shurd@uek12.org Section V Lyle Dixon Athletic Director, Midlakes HS Clifton Springs, NY (315) ldixon@midlakes.org University at Albany Alfred University Boston College Bowling Green State U. Brown University Buffalo State College University at Buffalo Colgate University Columbia University University of Connecticut Cornell University CW Post University Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Fordham University Harvard University Hobart College NYSHSFCA Board of Directors Section VI Tony Osburn Albion HS Albion, NY (589) aosburn@albionk12.org Kraig Kurzanski Williamsville South HS East Amherst, NY (716) kkurzanski@williamsvillek12.org Section VII Larry Ewald Head Football Coach Peru High School Peru, NY (518) Section VIII Joe Vito Football Coach, Roosevelt HS 52 Franklin Street East Rockaway, NY (516) jmvito33@aol.com Section IX CT Chatham Football Coach, Newburgh Free Academy 201 Fullerton Avenue Newburgh, NY (845) cchatham@newburgh.k12.ny.us Section X Joe Wahl Football Coach, Gouverneur HS 113 East Barney Street Gouverneur, NY (315) Section XI Dave Falco Football Coach, Sachem High School 212 Smith Rd Lake Ronkonkoma NY (631) dfalco@sachem.edu Section XII Alan Paturzo Football Coach, Susan Wagner HS Staten Island, NY (718) Institutional Members Ithaca College University of Iowa Hamilton College Hartwick College Cortland State College Lafayette College University of Massachusetts Marist College Michigan State University Morrisville State College Mount Allison University North Carolia State University Ohio State University Pace University Penn State University Purdue University University of Pittsburgh Princeton University University of Rhode Island University of Rochester St. John Fisher College St. Lawrence University SUNY Maritime Stony Brook University Syracuse University Temple University U.S. Merchant Marine U.S. Military Academy Academy Utica College University of Wisconsin New York Giants New York Jets

3 New York State High School Football Coaches Association PO Box 312, Canandaigua, NY Invoice Year: Name: School Section School Address: City, State, Zip Position: Phone: Active Coach $25.00 Associate Member.$30.00 (school administrators or non-coaching member Retired Coach..$20.00 Athletic Director....$25.00 Institutional Member..$ (Junior College, College, University, Professional Team) Staff membership (head coach & 6 assistants $ **Please provide addresses to ensure electronic delivery of all Association Publications Please Mail to: NYSHSFCA P.O. Box 312 Canandaigua, NY 14424

4 Flatley Faces Biggest Challenge Longtime Garden City Squad named top-seed on LI By Chris Vaccaro Tom Flatley has been the head football coach at Garden City High School since Flatley has also coached other sports at other levels and other schools for decades before that. So when the old ball coach says that the 2012 Trojans season will be his greatest challenge yet, your ears should perk up. During the Nassau County Football Coaches Association pre-season seeding meeting earlier this year, Flatley asked for the sixth seed in Nassau s Conference II. He was given the top seed instead. The Trojans have lost 20 of 22 starters from last year s Nassau County championship squad, lost an All-Long Island kicker in Ryan Norton and lost leaders on both sides of the ball. Flatley wasn t sure Photo by Mark Adair Tom Flatley has coached at Garden City since He led Garden City to the Long Island Division II Championship last season. what to make of the 2012 season but, once again, his Trojans are pegged as the top squad in the conference. It s a challenge to make them the best they can be, said Flatley. We re a long ways from being a good team. If we get steamrolled by a bigger stronger team it s not going to get me upset. If we lose a game because we re lazy or because we haven t done the right thing during the week, then 4 that upsets me. Flatley, 73, said he thought long and hard about coming back for a 28th season as head coach, but nothing else interests him as much as athletics. He s also been the head JV lacrosse coach at Garden City, a nationally recognized lacrosse power for decades. Flatley graduated from Garden City in 1957, having played lacrosse and football. Due to an appendectomy as a sophomore, he missed his junior football season and eventually was odd-man-out as a senior on a stacked Trojans team that went undefeated and won a county title. After attending and playing lacrosse at Lehigh, Flatley was back on Long Island where he eventually settled in as an assistant football coach at Sewanhaka High School in He coached under Bill Piner, a man influential in helping Section VIII and Section XI succeed from the current New York State football playoff system and notable for coaching NFL great Vinny Testaverde. Flatley also coached lacrosse alongside hall of famer Bill Ritch at Sewanhaka. By 85, the year he took over the football program from Doc Dougherty, a friend and also a former

5 Garden City continued from page 4 assistant at Sewanhaka, Flatley was working exclusively as a football and lacrosse coach in Garden City and he s experienced insurmountable success in both sports. His JV lacrosse players It s a challenge to make them the best they can be. We are a long ways from being a good team. - Tom Flatley helped build a dynasty at the higher level. His football teams have won 17 county titles, four Long Island crowns and more than 200 games. He s won more Nassau County Coach of the Year awards than he can count, often withdrawing from accepting in recent years to give younger coaches the honor. The school year marks Flatley s 50th year in lacrosse. Aside from the high school game, he has been the general manager of the U.S. Under- 19 men s team since its inception in He doesn t lose very often there either. Team USA has won all seven gold medals in international play since 88. Flatley doesn t credit one or two men as his mentors; rather it s a life long pursuit of knowledge from different situations and people that have helped craft his coaching philosophies. I enjoy breaking down the other team s offenses, said Flatley, who has always been known for his strength on the defensive side of the ball. It s always the challenge to get the round peg in the right hole, to get the right people in the right positions. At his age and with his resume, Flatley doesn t need the accolades. He doesn t need a title, but he s enthused with the challenge of taking an unproven team No. 1 seed aside and making them something. If you told me right now we d have a winning season I d take it in a heart beat, he said. This could be the year everyone gets even. We have a lot of young kids that could be back next year. I m not saying this is sayonara just yet. 5

6 All In The Family Southwestern s Jay Sirianni taking Trojans to new heights By Mark Adair Southwestern coach Jay Sirianni suffered the worst beating he has ever experienced at the end of the 2011 season. Sirianni s team ended the fall campaign with a 39-0 loss to Dobbs Ferry in the New York State Championship game at the Carrier Dome. That was my worst loss as a coach, Sirianni said. We played against a very good team who was a lot better than us. Sirianni says the loss took nothing away from the season - and that he considers the 2011 campaign one of the best he s been a part of. If you take the season as a whole, we had a remarkable run, he said. Our kids just had a remarkable season. Despite the lopsided score, the loss may have also served notice that Sirianni is one of the best young coaches in New York State. It was the third time in four years that the Trojans had played in the NYS championship game. Southwestern won backto-back titles in 2008 and Photo by Mark Adair Southwestern coach Jay Sirianni has led the Trojans to the Carrier Dome for the third time in the last four seasons. And while the title teams from Southwestern were loaded with All-state players who would move on to play in college, the 2011 Trojans had to do more with less... a LOT less. All season long people were saying that we weren t the Southwestern teams of two years ago, Sirianni said. Well, we weren t. But we had kids that wanted to work. Talent can only get you so far anyhow. When you have 30 kids that have faith in the system and want to work hard, you can accomplish a lot. In 2011, Southwestern also suffered a regular-season loss for the first time in four years. The score shocked fans across Western New York and the Trojans dropped fast in the NYS rankings. 6 We lost a football game, Sirianni said. It happens. Sirianni says he has never even considered where his program stands among the top programs across New York State. It doesn t matter where I think we stand as a program, he said. We are just trying to get our kids to work hard, perform to their potential and teach them character. Sirianni says he never even thought about That s for fans and sportswriters, he said. Sportswriters see all the other teams. I don t. Whether we are state champs or 0-9, if our kids compete and work hard, then we are doing right by our community. That s a successful program. Sirianni is certainly near the top of any list of WNY coaches. In fact, his entire family can be considered it s own small Coaching Tree. Sirianni s father, Fran, was the head coach at Southwestern from 1976 until My older brother and I would go to practice with my dad all the time, Jay said. When a lot of my friend s dads were at work, I was at work with my dad. I ve been a part of Southwestern football since the day I was born. It s an understatement to say the Sirianni s are a football family. For the last ten years, Jay s older brother Mike has been the head coach at Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania. Entering the 2012 season, Sirianni had a wonlost record of Sirianni s winning percentage (.805) is the best in the program's history and places him sixth among all active NCAA football coaches - at any level - with at least five years of experience. See Sirianni on page 7

7 Sirianni continued from page 6 Jay s younger brother Nick is an offensive assistant coach in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and was promoted to WRs coach during the offseason. That s a lot of coaches to lean on for advice and ideas... something Jay says he does regularly. Nick and I talk Wednesday night after the Chiefs practice, he said. Sometimes he ll call me after our game. Sometimes we talk on weekends at midnight or 1 in the morning. Mike will get updates from my dad on the sidelines during our games. Jay Sirianni says his family was not consumed with football as he was growing up. We were a typical family, Jay Sirianni said. My parents were very much involved in what we were doing. Football was just a part of our life. Family was our focal point and football was only a part of it. But, Sirianni says, he understands how that popular misconception could be spread. I ve been asked about that a lot, he said. People have defined us that way but it s not the most important thing to us. We don t just talk strategy. That s certainly a part of it but that s not all we talk about. Before the 2011 season, Jay asked his father to join the varsity coaching staff at Southwestern. My dad is a big part of Southwestern football, Jay said. He s always been around. All three Sirianni boys can say that their father has been a big part of their football careers. My parents don t miss many of my brothers games at W&J, he said. They ll see a handful of Chiefs games. It s nice they play in Buffalo this year. They play in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, too so those are very easy trips to make. Fran Sirianni was working with Southwestern s modified team until the school district discontinued the team during recent budget cuts. When we dropped modified football we brought him up, Sirianni said. I use him as a QB coach and that enables me to work with WRs and RBs. He gives us an extra coach at practice and that s just huge. Fran Sirianni actually got some professional tutoring in how to work with QBs - from a family member of course. He went out to Kansas City and watched some quarterback drills with Nick, Jay Sirianni said. He came back with a 7 notebook full of stuff that he got from Jim Zorn, one of the best QB coaches in the NFL. Dad was pretty excited. Fran Sirianni was Southwestern s head coach from 1976 until He resigned from the position after he was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. I had to step back and re-evaluate things, Fran said. I wasn t able to actively coach but I was able to help out a bit. He also said that was a difficult period for the family. It was hard on those guys, Fran said. Mike and Jay were old enough to know where our family stood and what we were facing. Mike was going into freshman year and Jay was playing modified football. I was able to go to all the games and eventually I beat it. Doctors say re-mission, I say healed. Fran Sirianni played football for Kane High School in Pennsylvania, near Bradford. He played Division II football for Clarion College and was named an All-Conference DB. He and his wife Amy have been married 40 years and, when his kids were small, he never once thought that they would all Photo by Mark Adair Fran Sirianni served as head coach at Southwestern from 1976 until All three of his sons are professional football coaches. grow to be coaches. It s ironic, Fran said. In high school, all three of them would much rather play and coach basketball but they all settled on football. They came to every practice and game with me when they were young children. They have been around football since they were old enough to walk, so it s nice. Sirianni said that he is immensely proud that each of his sons has been as successful as they have. They all put in a lot of hard work, he said. and they have all made their own tracks. Nick could never coach anywhere but the professional level. Jay will be a lifer at Southwestern. He ll never be interested in coaching anywhere else. Jay has put up some amazing records lately. His teams won 39-straight games and have posted a record 47-2 over the past four seasons. He s an amazing coach, Fran Sirianni said. He s amazing teacher, too. He s so good at working with young men. He s so concerned about their character and what they will be after football.

8 Sayville Still Sound Rob Hoss Leading Sayville Program to Dynasty Status By Chris Vacarro Sayville football has become a modern football dynasty on Long Island, winning five Suffolk County and four Long Island championships since Head coach Rob Hoss, a Sayville alum from the Class of 1991, has been at the helm during this influx of gridiron success that has also accounted for two Rutgers Trophies, awarded to the top program in Suffolk County each year, and almost a dozen Coach of the Year honors from Division III up to the state level. He ll tell you it s nothing new, that Sayville football has been consistently dominant since its inception in And Hoss is largely right, as the Golden Flashes have been one of the most successful small school programs Suffolk County has ever had to offer. Last year Sayville strung together a perfect 12-0 season, won the program s fifth Long Island crown beating Lawrence in the highest scoring game in Long Island football history. Sayville also scored the most points in program history (467) and won the Rutgers. The offense was led by Steven Ferreira, the most prolific quarterback, Photo by Chris Vacarro Sayville coach Rob Hoss led his team to the 2011 Long Island Division III Championship last fall. 8 statistically, in Long Island history. At this point in program history it s clear that Sayville s goal is to win a Long Island championship every year. But losing the best quarterback in Long Island history will offer a slight challenge for Hoss, who took over as head coach at Sayville in 2002, and his staff, even if running back Zach Haggart and new quarterback Zach Sirico both of whom played massive roles in Sayville s title win last year are back and ready to repeat. Our expectations in Sayville is to win regardless of who s gone, Hoss said. To say that losing Steven isn t a big loss I d be lying. Sirico gives us a different threat. He ll use his legs, he ll rely on his raw athletic ability and maybe not be as savvy as understanding what the defense is doing. Ferreira came into the program as a freshman, just as the program s spread offense was in full bloom. Hoss, who has compared notes with Freeport s Russ Cellan and William Floyd s Paul Longo, has taken offensive philosophy from multiple sources, including the University of Kansas and See Sayville on page 8

9 Sayville continued from page 9 Indiana University. We like to spread the ball out, Hoss said. There s a field that is 53 yards wide by 100 yards long and I want to use those 53 yards wide. We want to spread people out and my philosophy is to create one-on-one situations. Sayville s offense has never flourished as much as th 2011 team did as Ferreira led an offense that was responsible for 609 total yards. Ferreira was 10-for-14 passing for 225 yards and two touchdowns in the championship. He also finished his career with 6,407 passing yards and 73 TD passes in his career, both Long Island records. However, when asked what his best moment has been as a coach so far, Hoss did not mention the 2011 season. Instead it was the 2007 season when Sayville finished 6-2 and had a first round playoff exit to the eventual county champion Islip. It was one of the least talented teams Sayville had during his tenure, and Hoss decided to take Sayville out of the Power-I formation for the first time since To say the Golden Flashes were in an adjustment period was an understatement. Enter the spread offense. We were small up front, had a bunch of skilled kids, but really had no size, he recalled. We were so bad that JV tied us in a scrimmage. I went home and was so depressed. We were going through growing pains in the spread. That 2007 season was the year that sparked Sayville to its current spread success. It was a gritty group, he said. Blue collar, hardworking, disciplined. It made them a pretty competitive team. While many are already writing Sayville and Lawrence in as a rematch for the Class III title game this year, Hoss is just focused on one game at a time like most head coaches. Our expectations are to play 12 games, he said. That s what the community expects and what our players expect. Do we preach excellence? Yes. Do we preach hard work? Yes. We re going to win football games, it s going to be a natural thing, it just happens. All we care about is the game in front of us. TRAINING THE HEART OF A CHAMPION FROM THE INSIDE OUT This year s HEART of A Champion Character Playbook F.I.N.I.S.H. S.T.R.O.N.G. This week s FINISH STRONG WORD IS Self-Control. Self-Control: Bringing my thoughts, words, actions and attitudes into constant obedience to truth. (Truth: a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. A hottempered man displays foolishness.) Athletes and Coaches: Self-Control is to get a grip on your emotions. When your emotions dominate your actions, mistakes are made. It s a discipline. Make the decision to control yourself. It is the direct result of knowledge. A wise man is strong; a man of knowledge increases in strength He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty warrior. Self-Control subsequently leads to perseverance. That perseverance leads to Finishing Strong. Fight the good fight, finish the race, keep the faith and FINISH STRONG! Coach Masters Cross Training Football Final Gun - Leadership is not easy......and it is very lonely. Remember, before you can lead others you must be able to lead yourself. John Wooden Listen to 4 segments of CTF s Heart of a Champion! on the radio show Officially Yours on WECK 1230 AM each Thursday from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. We will have interviews with coaches and the Unsung Player-of-the-Week at 7:15, 7:45 8:10, and 8:40! Coach Mike Masters Coachmasters@crosstrainingfootball.com 9

10 N e w Y o r k S t a t e AA Team W-L 1. (tie) St. Anthony s (CHSFL) (tie) Orchard Park (6) Newburgh Free Academy (9) Rush-Henrietta (5) Shenendehowa (2) Abraham Lincoln (PSAL) North Rockland (1) Pittsford (5) William Floyd (8) St. Francis (MMA) East Meadow (8) John Jay East Fishkill Binghamton (4) West Genesee (3) Arch. Stepinac (CHSFL) New Rochelle (1) St. Joseph's (MMA) Freeport (8) Newfield (11) Sachem North (11) Syracuse CBA (3) Jamestown (6) Xaverian (CHSFL) Monroe-Woodbury (9) Erasmus Hall (PSAL) 9-4 FINAL 2011 New York State Rankings N e w Y o r k S t a t e A Team W-L 1. (tie) Maine-Endwell (4) (tie) Sayville (11) Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (2) Aquinas (5) Garden City (8) Cornwall (9) Sweet Home (6) East Syracuse-Minoa (3) Poughkeepsie (1) Williamsville South (6) Whitesboro (3) Amsterdam (2) Wantagh (8) John Glenn (11) Lawrence (8) John Jay Cross River (1) Wallkill (9) Union-Endicott (4) McQuaid (5) Troy (2) Brockport (5) Amityville (11) Eastridge (5) North Tonawanda (6) Plainedge (8) 7-4 N e w Y o r k S t a t e B Team W-L 1. Hornell (5) Alden (6) Croton-Harmon (1) Schalmont (2) Rye Country Day (AIS) Chittenango (3) Peru (7) Depew (6) Pioneer (6) Riverdale Country Day (AIS) Roosevelt (8) Marlboro (9) Cheektowaga (6) Cazenovia (3) Spackenkill (9) Locust Valley (8) McKee Tech (PSAL) Our Lady of Lourdes (1) Beekmantown (7) (tie) Babylon (11) (tie) Moore Catholic (CHS) 9-0 N e w Y o r k S t a t e C Team W-L 1. Dobbs Ferry (1) Hoosick Falls (2) Southwestern (6) Waverly (4) Bronxville (1) Herkimer (3) Wellsville (5) Saranac Lake (7) Cleveland Hill (6) James O'Neill (9) Burke Catholic (9) Fonda-Fultonville (2) Fredonia (6) Wayland-Cohocton (5) Greene (4) Utica Notre Dame (3) Tully (3) Watervliet (2) Tamarac (2) Marcus Whitman (5) 7-2 N e w Y o r k S t a t e D Team W-L 1. Letchworth (5) Tioga (4) Chester (9) Cambridge (2) Walton (4) Maple Grove (6) Westmoreland (3) Frewsburg (6) Haldane (1) Chautauqua Lake (6) Dolgeville (3) Tuckahoe (1) Onondaga (3) Avon (5) Rensselaer (2) Bainbridge-Guilford (4) Weedsport (3) Randolph (6) Geneseo (5) Batavia Notre Dame (5) 6-3 Section 1: W chester, Rockland Section 2: Capitol District Section 3: Central New York Section 4: Southern Tier Section 5: Genesee Valley Section 6: Western New York Section 7: Champlain Section 8: Nassau Section 9: Orange, Ulster Section 10: St. Lawrence Section 11: Suffolk Section 12/PSAL: NY City CHSFL: Catholic Football 10

11 Perillo Stands Tall THE EXTRA P O I N T By Mark Adair West Seneca West used a bruising running attack to beat Lancaster 34-7 last weekend. It was a huge win for the Indians and gives them the inside track for making the playoffs for the first time in several years. However, the biggest win of the night came before the game even started... it happened with the coin flip. Longtime Section 6 referee Matt Perillo suffered a devastating bout with septicemia this past year. On January 12th, Perillo began feeling sick and left work early. After a sleepless night, he got out of bed and found that his legs were numb and wouldn t support him. His wife Karen rushed him to the doctor. When we got to the doctor s office, his ears were dark red, Karen said. His body had already started to shut down. The doctor called an ambulance and they took him to Buffalo General. Perillo was immediately placed in intensive care and his wife and two daughters were told that he would probably not survive. What followed was a nightmare for the family. Matt was in a coma for two weeks before it was determined that he would have both legs and some of his fingers amputated. With medical bills overwhelming the family, Perillo was flown to Kalamazoo, Matt Perillo. Michigan for a special surgical procedure that might allow him to referee again some day. After he arrived home, Perillo had to go through several months of re-hab just to get fitted for two artifical legs... at the cost of $20,000 each. The Western New York community stepped forward with a benefit night and the money was raised. I m so humbled, Perillo said. I don t even know what to say. Everyone thinks coaches and referees are on different sides but that s just not true. Every coach in 3 counties has come forward to help me. It really drove home to me that we are one football family. With medical bills still threatening the family, West Seneca West coach Joe Cantafio got the idea to host a Matt Perillo Night for the Indians game against Lancaster. When I saw this game on our schedule, Cantafio said, it was a perfect fit. Matt graduated from West Seneca West and he works and lives in Lancaster. People from both communities know him and wanted to help in some way. What a perfect thing to bring everyone together. Cantafio says it was far more than just two teams coming together to help a football family. About three o clock that day, I got a call from one of the West Seneca East coaches, Cantafio said. One of the assistants at East drove over to our place, met me in the parking lot, and put $200 in my hand. He said it was something for Matt from the West Seneca East football program. When Perillo arrived at the game, he slowly made his way across to parking lot to the field. While the crutches made the trek difficult, he refused a ride in a golf cart. He led the West Seneca West team onto the field before the game but that really wasn t enough for his fellow officials. The night s referee, Dale Mussen approached Cantafio before the game. He said, If Matt s here, we are going to put him to work, Cantafio explained. We want him to flip the coin. So Matt was going to go out and flip the coin with the captains. Suddenly, as officials and captains gathered at the center of the field, Perillo looked at Cantafio and said, I m going to do this without crutches. Cantafio was dubious. Then he just stood up and walked out there, he said. I was just overwhelmed. I turned around and looked at my players and their eyes were as big as saucers. They were just fixated on him. Perillo, for the first time since his illness, walked without crutches. He reached the center of the field and stood tall as he gave the captains the Photo by Mark Adair pre-game talk, and flipped the coin. When the P.A. announcer let the crowd in on the fact that this was Perillo s first time walking without crutches, an enormous roar went up. The crowd stood and gave him a long ovation. Perillo looked at Mussen, the referee who demanded that he join his fellow officials for the coin flip... and his heart broke. Dale s wife went into the hospital at the same time I did, he said. She had septicemia, too. Dale s wife didn t make it and I did. She passed away in February just as I was getting ready to lose my legs. Dale and I are fighting the same battle here. Dale became my hero that night. As he left the field, Perillo wondered if he would ever walk on a football field again... and then he made a decision. I m going to be on the football field again, he said. I will ref again. Even if it s just a little league game, I will ref again. 55