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The Southampton football team is ready for its first varsity season since 2019. RON ESPOSITO
The road to Southampton High School revitalizing its football program starts this Saturday when the Mariners head out onto the field at Port Jefferson for a 2 p.m. kickoff. It will be the program’s first varsity football game since 2019.
Franklin Trent, the director of student safety and security for the Southampton School District, and the team’s head coach, said that low numbers to start have been discouraging. He took nearly 25 players or so to a scrimmage in Oyster Bay on Saturday. Trent, and Southampton Athletic Director Darren Phillips, were expecting to have close to double that number this season, but as Trent explained, there are a multitude of reasons why they both expect those numbers to climb as the first day of school rolls around this week.
First off, many of the kids are still working their summer jobs, which takes away from their time to practice, thus making them not ready to compete in things such as scrimmages. Secondly, with Labor Day Weekend, some players were away on vacation, while others, such as those who live on the Shinnecock Territory, have duties to uphold for the tribe annual Powwow.
On top of that, Trent said there were some in the community who were still unaware that Southampton was bringing its varsity team back, even though it was made official nearly a month ago, maybe even longer. With school opening up this week, Trent expects numbers to climb to the point that he and Phillips’s original plan, to have a varsity and JV, will still come to fruition.
“We really won’t get our complete team until once school starts,” Trent said. That may make some players ineligible for this week’s game, since there is a certain number of practices they need in order to play in a game, but that’s okay, Trent said.
“The scrimmage in Oyster Bay, they were very gracious hosts. They even fed us, which was quite nice,” he said. “It was refreshing just to see the energy and we even had a couple of parents up there, so it was very positive. I saw a lot of good things. There were also some ah-ha moments where we need to work on a couple of things, but the kids were encouraged and no one refused to play, which as a coach I was really happy to see.”
Nehemiah Mack was one of the first names Trent brought up when introducing who he thinks will be one of his top players this season. The 6-foot-1-inch, 220-pound senior should make an impact on both sides of the ball as a defensive end and tail back, Trent said. Liam Squires, a sophomore, is not as big as Mack at 160 pounds, but will be a nice change-of-pace tail back. Trent said the team will lay a lot of its groundwork with the running game on offense.
That’s not to say that the team doesn’t have speed on the outside, which is something of a traditional trait, at least for most recent Southampton teams. Devon Palmore, a junior, and Juan Pichardo, a sophomore, will both help fill in as the team’s “speedsters,” as Trent called them. Palmore has the athletic ability to take a few handoffs in the backfield as well as line up outside and take in some deep passes. Pichardo, Trent said, is more like a slot receiver.
Trent said a decision has not been made about quarterback just yet, and he is actually waiting until after the season opener this weekend to name a starter. Nick Beeker, a junior, and Nishawan Williams, a sophomore, are both battling it out.
Finally, Trent is very high on Dyson Smith, a junior lineman who loves the game of football and will make an impact, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
“He’s going to be absolutely spectacular,” Trent said of Smith. “He’s a breath of fresh air. You could tell from the beginning that he’s going to be a key piece to this team.”
Southampton will play in Division IV this season, which has seen its fair share of turnover of the past few years with teams dropping their varsity programs and enrollment numbers changing. Shoreham-Wading River, Mount Sinai, Elwood-John Glenn and Babylon all still play in the division. Miller Place and Islip have dropped down from Division III recently, adding some parity. Wyandanch plays down in Division IV even though its technically a Division III team according to enrollment numbers and is playoff ineligible.
After playing Port Jeff this weekend, the Mariners will host Babylon in their home opener on September 13 at 6 p.m.
“With numbers being low up until beginning of season, there are still questions if we were going to have a varsity and JV and Darren and I are confident we’re going to get enough kids to have both,” Trent said. “We should be in every game as long as we have enough guys, and we also have that Mariner Pride and that should keep us in it. We look at it as a privilege to be able to play, and we want our program to be looked at as one that plays with an intensity, heart and passion. We have to go out there and play, and I’m sure we’ll be okay.”
