By, Jim Furlong

 

One young man wiped the sweat off his face.

When he turned around, a three-line message appeared on the back of his soggy T-shirt.

"Some wish it would happen

Some want it to happen

We make it happen"

The last four words are an annual slogan for the William Floyd Colonials.

Their annual quest for Suffolk County football supremacy resumes  Thursday (August 18) when Coach Paul Longo and his staff lead their first preseason practice. Two sessions -- 7:30 to 10 a.m. and 5 to 7:30 p.m.

The team's first scrimmage is August 31.

Floyd, which is ranked No. 1 in preseason seeding for Suffolk Division I teams, hosts its regular-season opener Sept. 10 against Lindenhurst.

The Colonials have won seven Suffolk titles the last decade, including the 2010 crown.

Last Friday night (August 14), the above-mentioned young man and dozens of teammates completed the sixth of seven preseason conditioning workouts.

"The turnout has been great," said Longo. "We had most of the players we expect to be on varsity turn out and we had a lot of JV guys show up. . . . I think they are enthusiastic. They seem to be excited to start a new year."

 More than 70 candidates assembled inside Floyd's big gym and weight room. They worked inside for an hour, followed by another hour outside.

Peter Lesiewicz, the long-time coach of the offensive linemen, lectured his pupils on blocking schemes and techniques.

More than two dozen teenagers each grabbed a 45-pound metal weight and lined up  on the basketball court. They proceeded to do a variety of exercises to increase their upper body strength.

Inside the noisy weight room, there was a constant clatter of metal on metal, and chatter. When the players departed,  they all walked past a posted sign: Your Momma doesn't work here! Clean up weight room."

Out the door, the players and coaches, walked, jogged and drove to a nearby spacious field near the old cinder track. Opening a shed, the players picked up cinder blocks (weighing 30 to 45 pounds) and dozens of large tires.

The coaches watched as each player carried a cinder block wrapped to his chest or slung on his back. They moved forward, time after time, walking slowly and dipping their knees.

The coaches know and the players are learning that they need to pay a price in August in order to increase their scoreboard success in September, October and the November playoffs.

Ernie Vilatore, a volunteer assistant coach, watched a repeat of what he's seen for 43 summers -- the sweaty ordeal of preseason conditioning.

The coaches know hoisting the cinder blocks makes the players tougher. They handle the rough edges and come away with nicks and cuts on their hands and upper body.

After dumping the cinder blocks, the players each picked up a tire, held high and tossed the rubber forward. They scrambled to grab the tire again and keep moving and tossing  forward.

The rugged drills, sometimes in steamy heat, are not for the meek or the weak. In addition, the players ran sprints and did calisthenics.

"This is torture. It burns," said senior offensive guard Kevin McCourt. "You get pains in places you didn't think you would get them. It is like a good beating in a game; a rough day on the line. It gets you ready.

"You have to do this stuff before you get the chance to prove yourself on the field."

With the players eager to gulp water or Gatorade, some young men looked exhausted.

"This is getting us in shape for the season," said junior quarterback A.J. Otranto. "It takes so much out of you, but it is worth it. The coaches preach it is all about who is going to be there in the fourth quarter."

Why do the players repeatedly punish their bodies?

"They want to make the LIC and this is just the beginning," said McCourt.

Everyone who knows the Colonials' history is aware the primary ambition is to win a Long Island Championship. Three times in the last 10 seasons, Floyd won the LIC and four times lost to the Nassau champion.

The preseason conditioning aims to eliminate "the soft."

"Some guys work hard. Some guys are not in shape," said Longo, whose teams own a combined 96-12 record the past 10 seasons. "It's the same every year."

The 2011 Colonials are likely to have seven starters return on both sides of the ball.

The offense starts with speedy Stacey Bedell, one of the top running backs in New York State. The 16-year-old Otranto returns for his second year as the starting QB, and he looks stronger and smarter after attending several off-season college camps and specialty events.

Longo hopes to see a more potent spread offense with Bedell, who has made a verbal commitment to Villanova, a constant big-play producer and the more mature Otranto throwing to wide receivers like Vantrell Nash, Jonathan Martinez, David Whitney, Keith Scanlon and Kenny Grimm.