An Outstanding Performance by Raiders Wrestlers
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Despite a weather delay of several hours due to the snow, the annual Scarsdale Invitational Wrestling Tournament on Saturday, January 8, 2011 was a success. Scarsdale finished in 3rd place among the 14 teams in the competition. With a strong turnout and many boisterous fans, the team members put on an impressive performance.
Though some of last year’s stars have moved onto college, this year’s team has stepped up to the challenge and is determined to rebuild and come out as strong. Overall the team performed well with a few notable displays:
Sophomore Mikey Hodges had a successful day and came out on top in each one of his matches and took second place in the 103 lb weight class.
John Tambunting, a junior, dominated his opponents in his first three matches and made his way into the finals, taking second place
Dan Jureller, also a junior, lit up some eyes with his exhilarating overtime win in the quarter-final match against the second seed, and his come from behind victory in the semi-final match against Mt. Vernon. Jureller went on to take second place in the 119 lb. weight class.
SHS Junior Jack Braun at weight 171 lbs. fought hard into his final match against the second seed from Mt. Vernon, and despite an injury, Jack came out on top, taking first place in the 171 lb. weight class.
The team has been working hard under the leadership of coaches Barney Foltman and Brian Roemer their efforts paid off on Saturday. With their skill and camaraderie the Scarsdale wrestlers are sure to have a winning season.
In other SHS sports news, the sixth annual Scarsdale High School Cheerleading Competition will be held on Saturday January 15 at SHS from 8:30 am to 5 pm. Over 35 teams from local high schools will compete and 1,500 cheerleaders, coaches, parents, students and community members are expected to attend. Everyone is encouraged to come and cheer for the SHS junior varsity and varsity teams. There will be plenty of good food, prizes and raffles too.
Pictured above: Daniel Jureller, wrestling photos courtesy of Leslie Berkowitz
Basketball Tournament to Honor Kari Pizzitola
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The annual Maroon and White Kari Pizzitola Holiday Basketball tournament will be held Thursday, December 2 through Saturday, December 4 in the Scarsdale High School Gym. Games are scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 2 from 5 to 7 pm, on Friday, Dec. 3 from 6 to 8pm and Saturday, Dec. 4 at 2, 4, and 6pm for the boy’s championship, with the girl's championship at 8 pm.
Last year the Maroon and White renamed the tournament The Maroon and White Kari Pizzitola Holiday Basketball Tournament to honor Kari Pizzitola who died in October 2008 at the age of 52 after a battle with breast cancer. Kari, with her two boys, Brian (class of 2003) and Mikey (class of 2006) loved Scarsdale Athletics. Kari was a dedicated supporter and hard worker and had served in many roles including tournament chair and Maroon and White President. This year, in honor of Kari Pizzitola, free pink wristbands with the word “Courage” will be given to the first 1000 fans on Friday and Saturday.
Friday night, December 3, is Scarsdale Raiders Night. Girls and boys varsity basketball teams will play and the Raiders cheerleaders will perform. Friday and Saturday games will feature Tri-County Basketball League Team scrimmages at half-time. There will be a raffle of an Apple iPad and an Apple iPhone, and refreshments, snacks and Hebrew National hot dogs will be available for purchase.
The Maroon and White Holiday Basketball Tournament will be fun for families and students alike, so please mark your calendars. The event is sponsored by Maroon and White, the SHS parent Booster Organization that supports and encourages Scarsdale High School Athletics. They are asking you to come out and enjoy some great hoops action and support the Scarsdale Raiders Basketball Teams.
A Winning Season for Scarsdale Youth Football
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The Scarsdale Recreation Youth Football League will celebrate another great season at their dinner on Thursday night November 18 at Lake Isle Country Club. Over 300 parents and players are expected to attend.
This year, 180 boys participated in the Scarsdale program and the Scarsdale White Team of fifth and sixth graders finished the season 8-0 and won the inaugural Superbowl at White Plains Stadium against the Pelham Blue. Victory came with only 20 seconds left in the game on a long pass from Robbie Keith which was caught by Andrew Shenberg. You can watch the exciting last minute of the game here . The winning team of 24 boys was coached by Bob Keith with Tim Bonci, Todd Leone and Lou Novick. That game was the finale to the first Superbowl Sunday where all teams in the Scarsdale Recreation Youth Football league participated in grades 3/4 and 5/6.
The Superbowl began at 8:30 am and continued through the evening. Teams with similar records were matched to play each other and ended with the highest seeded teams in grades three and four playing at 5:00 and the highest seeded fifth and sixth grade teams playing at 6:30. All of the players got Super Bowl Sunday T-shirts and it was a great day for youth football in the area.
In the Scarsdale League there were three fifth and sixth grade teams and two teams of third and fourth graders. The single team of seventh and eighth graders also finished the season undefeated. Five players from that team were selected to play in the Graduation Bowl, which was played at Valhalla High School. Since Scarsdale’s seventh and eighth grade team won the league, Coach Philipps was chosen to be the head coach at the Graduation Bowl.
Kudos to Rippy Philipps who oversees the entire program and serves as the head coach of the seventh and eighth grade team. Special thanks to Rich Massaroni, Assistant Superintendent at the Recreation Department who manages the entire Scarsdale Youth Football League and to Jim Huebner, the head coach and representative for White Plains youth football, who organized the day and evening festivities.
According to Rippy, “the season was off the charts.”
Pictured above: Fifth and sixth grade Scarsdale Raiders WHITE Team wins first Superbowl under the lights in White Plains.
In the Spotlight The Penfold Boys
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The Penfold boys are a Scarsdale phenomenon. Andres a senior at SHS and his brother Tomas, a junior, star on the Scarsdale Raiders Soccer team that will play in the semi-finals of the state tournament this Saturday in Middletown against a team from Brentwood, Long Island.
The boys, who are just one year apart, have been playing soccer since they lived in Venezuela. Their Dad, Ricardo Penfold, was a soccer star himself, and played on the Boston University soccer team where he was the captain during his senior year and also played on the u21 Venezuelan National Team. He has been a role model and a coach to the boys since he started to kick the ball around with the boys when the family lived in Caracas. They moved to Greenacres when the boys were six and seven, and they both started on the Scarsdale Recreation teams, moving onto the travel teams and later joining FC Westchester, where they still play year round.
Andres and Tomas train on the field in all seasons, and travel with the FC Westchester team to places as far as California and Arizona. Andres credits this experience with the boys’ success today. Teammates Hiroki Kobayashi, David Alemany and Michael Abraham also play on the FC team and the group has learned to work together and coordinate play to become the unbeatable team they are today.
The Penfold boys both play soccer constantly – with three team practices during the week and two games on the weekend. It’s a challenge to find time for schoolwork, but according to Andres, the time pressure has caused both boys to “mature at an early age.” Andres played on the Varsity B team as a freshman and moved to Varsity A for his sophomore, junior and senior years, where he now plays center forward. Tomas joined the Varsity A team as a sophomore where he is an attacking midfielder.
This season, Scarsdale won 20 games and lost two. According to Tomas, a pivotal moment in the season was after the team had two unexpected losses to North Rockland and Mamaroneck. The coach spoke to them at practice and encouraged them to work together, rather than playing as individuals and that practice proved to be a turning point in their performance.
Looking forward to Saturday’s game, both Tomas and Andres are confident that if the team plays their game, and works together, they can win. According to Andres, since “Brentwood is in the same position we’re in, they must be a great team,” however, Tomas adds, “ We have lots of talent on this team, and if we play the way we have been playing, we should okay."
When asked if they like to play together, Andres and Tomas gave heartfelt replies. Tomas said, “I have played soccer with Andres my whole life. We have very good chemistry and I know where he is on the field at all times.” Andres answered, “Tomas is one year younger than I am and we have trained together our whole lives.
Our relationship is based on soccer, whether we’re on the field or in the gym. Being able to play with him is a joy and he is one of the reasons high school is so much fun.”
The two will have the chance to finish this season together. Next year, Andres has made a verbal commitment to attend Monmouth University whose Division One soccer team is currently ranked 13th in the country.
We wish the Penfolds and the Raiders the best of luck in the state semi-finals this weekend.
Scarsdale Raiders Do It Again!
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The amazing Scarsdale Raiders soccer team continued their winning streak in the regional tournament against Newburgh Academy on Friday November 12th.
The team and many fans headed north to Middlebury High School in Middlebury, New York to meet Newburgh Academy, who was the defending state champions. Scarsdale High School provided buses so that students could travel to the game and cheer on their team. The stands were packed with fans on a crisp autumn day and according to one parent, "the school spirit was phenomenal."
Though Scarsdale dominated the ball the entire game, the first half ended with the score locked at 0-0. The first goal was not made until 16 minutes into the second half when midfielder Michael Abraham scored off an assist from left
The team is on a roll. On Saturday November 6, they defeated John Jay High School of East Fishkill by a score of 1-0 to take the sectional championship and move onto the regionals. In their first match of the regional tournament, they dominated Vestal 2-0 at SUNY Purchase and with the 2-0 win over Newburgh Academy they have now secured their place in the state semi-finals.
Anne Moretti, mother of Luke Moretti was at the game and reported, "the whole team played extremely well. They
Noel Flagg, father of team member Griffen Flagg, said "Another scintillating performance by a poised team which has their sights set on loftier goals. Raider Nation was on hand once again in huge numbers to support their local darlings. The only disappointment is that we 
all have to wait till next Saturday for the semifinals." And Elyse Abraham, mother of midfielder Michael Abraham, added, “We're so proud of them; they've all worked so hard for this... and they are having the time of their lives!”
The Raiders will return to Middletown High School on November 20th at 4 PM for the next round. For anyone interested in attending, it’s a 1 hour and 15 minute drive from Scarsdale to Middletown, there is plenty of parking and the stadium is beautiful. Go Raiders!
