On Oct. 16, the Tuckahoe football team authored yet another chapter in an increasingly successful 2021 campaign, posting a lopsided 52-7 victory over the Rye Neck Panthers. But while the early returns have been almost universally positive for the Tigers, head coach Jon D’Arco Jr., remains adamant that the best is yet to come for his group.
Saturday’s contest against Rye Neck was all but decided early in the second quarter, as the Tigers stormed out to a 38-7 halftime lead. But even in a rout, D’Arco said there are still opportunities for his team to improve, and that was demonstrated by the number of players who were able to contribute in the victory.
Six Tuckahoe players found the end zone on Saturday, led by two-touchdown days from Michael Meyers and John Silvestri, something D’Arco believes speaks to his team’s ability to make the most of its opportunities.
“Having six players score, I’m very proud of that fact, but we also were able to have a couple of freshman play a significant amount of time,” D’Arco said. “We had one freshman catch his first pass, another played inside linebacker for pretty much the entire second half, it’s a great chance to get these kids varsity experience.”
D’Arco pointed out that playing time was limited in each of the Tigers’ last two games, as Class D Tuckahoe took on top Class C schools Vahalla and Dobbs Ferry, topping the Vikings before losing to the Eagles—projected by many as a true threat to win a state title—on Oct. 9.
“Those games, even a loss to Dobbs Ferry, they are going to help us in November,” said D’Arco. “Last year we were on the field with Dobbs, this year we showed that we were physically able to hang with them. I told the kids that we’ve been fortunate enough to get to the [state finals at the] Carrier Dome four times, and each time, we’ve never been undefeated.”
Overall, added D’Arco, the team’s ability to compete against Class C schools this year has been somewhat surprising—even for the coaching staff.
“Coming into the year, I wasn’t totally sure how we’d match up with teams like Albertus Magnus up front, that was kind of a question mark,” he said. “But we’re playing pretty physical and I think we’ve answered those questions.”
The Tigers (5-1) have two more regular season games left, as they take on Hastings this week and Haldane on Oct. 30.
“We’re just hoping to have a great week of practice, that’s our goal each week; just worrying about getting better,” said D’Arco. “We’re not quite there yet, but hopefully we will be soon.”
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