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Soto, Tigers Living Good Life on Class B Gridiron
Put Valley in search of 1st playoff bid in 6-year history
by Ray Gallagher
 | | Yo-Yo, Antonio! - With Pat Considine pointing him in the right direction, Putnam Valley LB Antonio Soto sealed the deal in the Tigers' 20-6 win over Kennedy Catholic by intercepting a pass in the fourth quarter and bringing it to the house last Saturday. |
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When Putnam Valley High LB/TE Antonio Soto intercepted a pass and Reggie Bush-rolled (literally) his way into the end zone last Saturday afternoon in the Tigers' 20-6 triumph over pesky Kennedy Catholic, at first I thought it was yet another case of a kid infected by the ESPN-inspired 15-minutes of fame generation.
Then, I suddenly remembered what this kid had gone through the past two years and figured: If I were him, I might have done the Iggy Shuffle myself had I been forced to roam the sidelines for two years on crutches because of a broken femur and the subsequent complications involved with the removal of the pins.
"He looked like the walking dead when he first found out that the bone had healed but the pins had created a serious infection that would keep him out another year," said third-year PV Coach Frank Heitman after his Tigers improved to 4-1 overall, 3-1 in league play. "I get goose bumps every time I talk about that kid. He's been through a lot. I'll have to get on him for diving into the end zone like that, but I can understand it after all he's gone through. He's lucky it came toward the end with the game in hand. He's just a great, great kid. He never, ever sits out a practice. He never acts like he's hurting, even though he's probably hurting. To break a femur, I can't imagine. A kid like that, you just want good things for him."
During his sophomore season in the fall of 2005, Soto snapped his femur bone in a game against Eastchester. With his world rocked by misfortune, he turned to his coach one day soon thereafter and told him he'd heal quick enough to return for his junior year. And just when it was just about to happen, the kid had the rug pulled out from under him again. A nasty infection had turned his leg shades of green and the bum wheel would keep him sidelined for all of the 2006 season, too. Now, some 700 days later at Kennedy's Homecoming Day, Soto saw nothing but paydirt ahead of him late in the fourth quarter, his touchdown sealing the victory for the Tigers. Indeed, this was the reward of significant rehabilitation and countless hours of perseverance.
"When I caught the ball it was like, 'time to win', you know," said the 6'1', 195-pound Soto. "Let's put 'em out. I had to do it for my team. It feels great just to be back on the field with my guys, and then for something like this to happen."
Soto didn't finish the sentence, didn't need to; his dive into the end zone, which he was penalized 15 yards for, said it all.
Society may look at sports with a jaundiced view these days, what with all the scandals sports stars are seemingly involved in (Marion Jones, Barry Bonds, OJ Simpson, Tim Donaghy, Mike Vick etc. etc.). But good things, like this Soto story, eventually do come to light in sports. The Colorado Rockies recently voted to donate a full playoff share to Amanda Coolbaugh, the widow of former Tulsa Drillers coach Mike Coolbaugh, who died on the field after taking a line drive to the skull. The guy that came up with that idea should be knighted.
Good stories are out there. We just have to scour beneath the layers of crud the media portrays and the black eyes professional athletes provide themselves.
You don't have to dig too deep to find good things happening on the Putnam Valley gridiron this fall. Soto is just one of a great group of kids, according to Heitman, who hopes his Tigers can get to a Class B bowl game for the second time in three years.
"I have great kids, you know, and Antonio's right up there," said Heitman, a former All-NYS QB for Carmel High back in the day. "This is a special group. I've had great kids the last three years and this year we don't have the holes or the injuries we had last year. Our kids work hard and they're tough."
FB Pat Considine showed his toughness and versatility against the Gaels, plunging in from two yards out for a score and hauling in a Walter Sherwood (8-10, 63 yards) aerial for another. Tiger HB Hugh O'Gorman was another, rushing for 132 yards on 25 carries to establish tempo and field position. Big Shane Yorgensen, burly Larry Cobb, Vinny Campagniolo, Ryan Foshay, Matt Bauer, Michael Segreto, Tim Abadie, Ryan Morelock and John Landi provide great senior leadership with Soto, O'Gorman and Considine.
"Hard work is out motto right now," said Considine, a three-sport star (football, hockey & baseball) in the Valley. "We can beat anyone if we work it."
The Tigers will need to be at their best this week as they take on an Ardsley team that is much better than its 0-5 record would indicate. If Briarcliff loses to Nanuet this week and the Tigers take care of business, Putnam Valley, based on a three-team tiebreaker, will claim its first league title. A win over Ardsely would also secure the first playoff bid for the Tigers. Again, I got three words for the Tigers: Get 'er done!
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