Few football players ever score six touchdowns in a
single game. Not many players score a combined nine
TDs in back-to-back games. Mike Pellegrino
accomplished both feats for the Connetquot
Thunderbirds.
Entering the third week of the 2009 regular season,
the versatile Pellegrino is the leading scorer in
Suffolk County (54 points) and he may lead all high
school football players in New York State.
"I just try to do my best," said
Pellegrino,
after he produced six touchdowns Sept. 17 to spark
Connetquot to a 40-35 home victory over Longwood.
"Pellegrino was hard to stop all day," said Longwood
head coach Chris Meyer. "He had a great game and
I've seen some backs in the past take over a game
like he did."
The 5-8, 170-pound junior tailback scored five times
in the first half on runs of 37, 2, 2 and 15 yards
and he also caught a 33-yard TD pass from senior
quarterback Ryan Andersen. "Mike is a tough kid,
very athletic," Thunderbirds coach Mike Hansen said.
"He's a relentless competitor, which makes him a
standout."
Pellegrino proved a durable workhorse on 34 carries
and showed agility, savvy and quickness against
Longwood (0-2). He finished with 234 yards rushing,
one of the highest individual totals by a Suffolk
prep player last week.
Saying he looked forward to a "ice bath,"
Pellegrino thanked his teammates during a postgame
interview on his Bohemia campus. He twice praised
his offensive linemen, who consistently provided
effective blocking. "Without them, I am nothing,"
said Pellegino. "Our lineman were driving (the
Longwood defenders) back."
His most impressive highlight came with 20 seconds
remaining in the second quarter, and gave Connetquot
a 33-14 halftime lead. Pellegrino, the man in
motion, dashed around left end and ran toward the
end zone. Andersen lofted a 33-yard touchdown pass,
which was tipped by a Longwood cornerback.
"He tipped it in the end zone. I got it with one
hand and pulled it it," said Pellegrino of his lone
pass reception during the Suffolk Division 1 duel.
Hansen moved Pellegrino to starting tailback to
replace senior Joe Zucco, who hopes to return for
Friday's game at Patchogue-Medford (0-2). Zucco, who
made the preseason All-Long Island offensive team
selected by the Long Island Blitz, has been
sidelined by a leg injury. In addition to his
running skills, Pellegrino also returns punts and
kickoffs, and switches to cornerback on defense.
"Anytime we can get the ball in his hands, we try
to," said Hansen. The Thunderbirds, the reigning
Long Island champion, needed to fend off Longwood's
second-half rally. The Lions surged from a 26-point
deficit after Pellegrino gave Connectquot a 40-14
advantage with his sixth touchdown, a 1-yard run
with 7:53 left in the third quarter.
Both teams were hungry to win after both lost
their season opener. Pellegrino stopped Longwood's
last threat when he made an interception with 49
seconds remaining. His team needed to bounce back
after losing its opener to Northport. "It was like
life and death," said Pellegrino, who lives in
Oakdale. "If we lose, it is a big, big problem for
the season."
A Suffolk prep team, which loses the first two games
of the eight-game regular season, will likely need
to win at least four of the next six games to
qualify for the playoffs. Pellegrino's exceptional
performance came a week after he scored three times
and gained 435 total yards during an opening-game
loss against Northport.
While he excels in football, Pellegrino plans to
play lacrosse in college. He visited Johns Hopkins
University in Baltimore last weekend and his father,
Joe, said Mike has made a verbal commitment to join
the nationally known Blue Jays' lacrosse program.
Hansen said Pellegrino started played Connetquot
varsity lacrosse in the eighth grade and last season
he earned All-County honors.
