by Kevin Brown
It has been an up and down season for the Sleepy Hollow Headless Horsemen Boys Varsity football team. The season opened on Labor Day weekend away at Long Island Lutheran where all the hard work seemed to pay off as they doused their opponent 48-20. QB Sean McCarthy threw for 196 yards and 2 TDs, Mike Lopez ran wild for 161 yards and 3 TDs and Justin Torres, Jared Carey, Kevin Borden and Malik Jones served notice that they would have to be reckoned with in Section 1 football. Zack Frank, Luis Espinal and Angel Acosta held the Crusaders at bay with a stout defense.
Next up came Somers where football is tradition and Coach DeMatteo has built a top ranked program. Sleepy Hollow lost under the lights 28-6. The defense hung tough but the offense had too many turnovers down by the goal line. It is tough to overcome errors when the opposing team is a well-coached machine.
At home on a gorgeous Sunday, Sleepy Hollow welcomed John Jay to town. Again the offense sputtered with QB McCarthy getting knocked out of the game in the first half after a hard hit to the chin strap. Isaac Newlin took over admirably, but the Horsemen just couldn’t seem to sustain momentum. McCarthy returned for the second half but on a hot day and with a short roster, John Jay wore down Sleepy Hollow and left town with a 28-7 road victory.
On September 23, Sleepy Hollow faced Nyack under the lights at Sleepy Hollow High. The Horsemen were clearly ready for battle and whipped Nyack 27-6. Senior Captain Mike Lopez rushed 142 yards and one TD and senior Joe May added another 66 with 2 touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball, Juan Garcia, Kevin Borden, Joe May, Angel Acosta, Mike Lopez and Luis Espinal all had multiple tackles and stopped Nyack on key downs to even their record at 2-2.