1. BRONXTIMESREPORTERJune7-13,201364
BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI
Lehman quarter-
back Janee Tucker went
through a wide range of
emotions in the short
amount of time.
The senior signal
caller connect on a slant
to Rabia Yasmin that
she took 16-yards for a
touchdown to put the Li-
ons with in four points
early in the second half.
Tucker pumped her fist
afterward in celebra-
tion. The next time she
took the field she pointed
to the sky in hope of be-
ginning a comeback.
The Lehman defense
had come up with a big
stop, giving their team
a chance to take its first
lead.
Fort Hamilton’s Enid
Rodriguez ended that
possibly quickly. She
picked off Tucker’s first
pass from scrimmage
near the left sideline and
returned it 10 yards for
a score. Fourth-seeded
Lehman never seriously
threatened again in an
eventual 55-51 loss to
No. 1 Fort Hamilton in
the PSAL flag football
semifinals on May 30 at
Randall’s Island.
“This is the semifi-
nals, nothing is going
to be easy,” Tucker said.
“We came out and did
what we had to do. We
fell short, but we are still
[division] champs.”
The season was a bit
of a surprise of the Li-
ons, returning very few
players from last sea-
son’s team that went 4-4
and placed third in the
Bronx division. This
year new faces stepped
to lead the Lions to the
division title and an 11-2
overall record.
“It was pretty mind
blowing,” Tucker said.
“Previous players, there
were only a few of them
and I was just starting to
play this year.”
She ended her first
season under center
in the all-girls league
played on a 40-yard field
with a fine performance.
Tucker threw five touch-
down pass, including
two to Samantha Calero
and ran for two scores of
her own.
Lehman (11-2), which
only stopped the Fort
Hamilton offense twice,
struggled to convert
extra point attempts
through the air. Still it
pulled within 35¬–31
thanks to a 16-yard
touchdown pass to Ra-
bia Yasmin early in the
second half, the posses-
sion before Rodriguez’s
game-changingintercep-
tion on a pass to Chloe
Walton.
“When I was watching
[Walton’s] hands reach
for it, it was telling me
to get there before her, “
said Rodriguez, who also
caught two of quarter-
back Maria Papadakos
six touchdown passes.
The Lions got as close
as 48-45 with 3:19 left in
the game when Tucker
connected deep down
the right sideline with
Calero, but they could
not keep Fort Hamilton
off the board on its next
possession.
Despite the loss the
success Lehman had
this season is seen as a
big step in the right di-
rection. It raises expec-
tations moving forward.
“It gives us a higher
bar to pass,” Tucker
said. “It just shows that
we can do it. You can’t
take us lightly.”
Lehman’s Flag
Football season
ends in PSAL
semifinals
The 2013 Salesian ten-
nis team got together at
the beginning of the sea-
son and made an impor-
tant decision. They de-
cided to dedicate their
season to Eileen Sabino,
the mother of coach Nick
Sabino. Eileen passed
away at the age of 49
after a two year battle
with stage IV pancreatic
cancer on January 31st.
The Salesian Eagles
played in the snow and
the rain, they took set-
backs in stride, and
these “kids” handled
life’s hardships like
men. The season may
have started normally,
but this group of friends
quickly learned that life
isn’t always easy.
The team got into a
bus in early February
and made their way to
their coach’s mother’s
wake and funeral. They
asked questions in the
bus like, “What are we
supposed to say to him?”
Most had never been
to a wake before, but
that wouldn’t stop them
from being there. They
lined up at the crowded
funeral home to shake
hands with their coach.
They stood by him when
he was most hurt.
“In the beginning of
the season I had the guys
sit in the chapel,” Sabino
said. “We each said what
was most important to
us and then we said a
prayer for that inten-
tion. We did that again
right before we headed
out to the championship.
I wanted these guys
to realize there’s a lot
more to life than tennis.
When they’re playing
out there, I want them
to remember that there
are things more impor-
tant than winning. Just
have a good time and
play with heart.”
The Eagles swept
Stepinac, Holy Cross,
Mount St. Michael,
Xaverian, and split with
McClancy in the regular
season to go 10-1. The
worked hard all year
and visibly improved
their games. Their top
three singles players
were a combined 35-1
this season and their
doubles teams backed
them up with solid per-
formances. They were
initially intimidated
by the news that Xaver-
ian, a former A division
team, was coming into
their division, but they
pushed forward.
The Eagles were given
the #1 seed entering the
playoffs and went on
to play Xaverian in the
championship match on
May 22nd at the National
Tennis Center. The
nerves began to settle
in, and some were still
thinking about that one
loss they suffered early
in the season.
“When we lost that
one match I was frus-
trated,” Angelo Salva-
tico, a freshman on the
team, said. “I remember
what Mr. Sabino said
about his mother at the
beginning of the season.
I wanted to win for her.”
They took the courts
wearing their royal blue
jerseys. Every jersey
had a small purple rib-
bon attached to them in
honor of Eileen. Purple
is the color associated
with pancreatic cancer.
As the Eagles parked
their team bus, they
were greeted with what
some on the team be-
lieved to be a sign.
“As we pulled into the
parking lot there was
only one spot available.
Out of the hundreds of
cars in that lot we parked
next to a car with a pan-
creatic cancer bumper
sticker on it,” Sabino
said. “I just thought it
was really nice to see.”
Salesian went on to
win the championship
and cap off an incredible
season. The kids were
ecstatic as they hoisted
their trophy. They
didn’t need it; regardless
of whether they won or
lost they would end the
season feeling like win-
ners. They were taught
lessons off the court that
were far more valuable
than those on the court.
There was certainly
one angel who was very
happy about this cham-
pionship.
The 2013 Salesian
High School Tennis
Champions dedicate the
championship to:
Eileen Sabino
April 4, 1964 – Janu-
ary 31, 2013
SalesianTennisTeam:
ChampionsinLife
The 2013 Salesian tennis team