Football: Eastchester sets season in the right direction with a 'program game'

EASTCHESTER - Fred DiCarlo can be short-tempered, even a bit gruff, but there the Eastchester football coach was Saturday afternoon showing a different kind of emotion. After watching a game-clinching interception, DiCarlo pumped his fist twice, setting off a bit of a celebration on the home sideline.

It was hard-earned, especially after the Eagles endured injuries and a rash of heat-induced cramps to fend off visiting Mahopac, 13-7.

"Mahopac competed for a section title last year and their program is strong. I said it to the team huddle before the game, I know it's the second game of the year, but it's a program game right here. This could tell us what our season is going to be like and we have to step up," DiCarlo said. "We felt, coaching-wise, that they were stronger up front, but our players made plays when they needed to. We did a great job."

That included a 15-play drive in response to Mahopac tying the score. That also included three straight defensive stops in the second half as the heat began to take its toll on stars on both sidelines.

Eastchester played stretches with a hobbled Frankie Provenzale and without its other quarterback-receiver hybrid, Gabe D'Aversa-Herbert. Likewise, Mahopac lost star back Joey Koch and quarterback D.J. DeMatteo to cramps, although both two-way stalwarts returned.

The Eagles also held up at the line of scrimmage after that had appeared to be their weakness entering the game.

"I thought we were going to win that battle up front. At the end of the day, we didn't," Mahopac coach Dominick DeMatteo.

Results:See all the scores and star performances from Week 1 in high school football

What it means

Eastchester earned its first 2-0 start in seven seasons. The Eagles also secured a shot of confidence heading into next week's game against defending Section 1 Class A champ Somers.

"Somers is a great team, but we're not going to back down to anyone," Provenzale said. "Even if they're bigger, faster, better, we're going to come out, fight hard and never quit."

Player of the game

Frankie Provenzale, Eastchester. Provenzale shares time at quarterback and wide receiver with D'Aversa-Herbert, but he was pressed into a full-time role in the shotgun when the latter left the game in the second half with an injury. Provenzale, who ran for the Eagles' first touchdown, engineered a 15-play drive that gave his team its 13-7 lead with 11:45 left in the game.

He connected with his younger brother Michael, a sophomore, on the winning touchdown.

"Me and my brother don't get along during practice, but it's all love," Provenzale joked. "It's fun to finally have that connection. He's a sophomore on varsity and it probably felt great for him to get his first touchdown pass from his brother."

By the numbers

Eastchester (2-0) ‒ The Eagle defense stopped three straight Mahopac drives in the second half to maintain their lead. Owen Blume and Anthony McCarthy combined on a third-down sack for one, then Dominick Sperandio sealed the win with an interception with less than 2 minutes remaining. ... Aidan Schultz had six catches for 62 yards.

Mahopac (1-1) ‒ Koch had 18 carries for a game-high 107 yards and really gained traction in the second half. His 42-yard run set up a five-yard touchdown run by Danny Koch four minutes into the third quarter. ... DeMatteo completed 5 of 11 passes for 30 yards, but, late in the third quarter, he had a would-be long completion to Nate Mascoll into Eastchester territory that was waived off due to offensive pass interference.

They said it

"We felt great at that point," DeMatteo said about his team's 68-yard scoring drive to open the second half that tied the game 7-7. "But it was kind of the same thing defensively. We played well, but not well enough to get off the field. We just couldn't get off the field. And I felt like we were pressing a bit on offense today. At the end of the day, there were just too many guys coming off their blocks."

Up next

Eastchester will host defending Section 1 champion Somers on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Mahopac is idle next week and will next host Pelham at 7 p.m. on Sept. 23.

Josh Thomson is the Sports Editor for The Journal News, Poughkeepsie Journal and Middletown Times Herald-Record. He can be reached by e-mail at jthomson@lohud.com, on Twitter at @lohudinsider, and on Instagram at @lohudinsider.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: High school football: Eastchester earns key win over Mahopac