Eastport-South Manor football seeks successful season

After a successful season last year, Eastport-South Manor varsity football is looking to accelerate in the 2025 season.

After qualifying for the Division III Section XI playoffs for the first time since 2018 in head coach Guy Buckley’s first year at the helm, the ESM Sharks have expectations and much talent. Senior Max Ferraro, who was recently named among the top 100 football players on Long Island, will be lining up as a running back and linebacker this year after playing quarterback his junior season.

Ferraro as a dual-threat QB last year threw for over 300 passing yards and threw three touchdown tosses and dominated the ground game, rushing for 1,400 rushing yards on 160 attempts and accumulating 11 rushing touchdowns.

Junior Joey Hershey, who dashed for 700 rushing yards and five touchdowns last year, will round out the backfield duties, tabbing a formidable duo of thunder and lightning for the ESM rushing attack. Senior Matt Beardsley will marshal the team as the signal caller as the Sharks’ quarterback this fall. Eastport-South Manor topped East Hampton, 18-17, on Sept. 13 at home in the season’s first game.

With 30 seconds remaining in the contest, Beardsley threw an eight-yard touchdown toss to junior Jayden Durham to take the opener. Durham reeled in five receptions for 51 yards and scored two touchdowns on the day.

The Sharks hosted the Harborfields Tornadoes in a matinee on Sept. 20. Their first road game was at the Westhampton Beach Hurricanes under the lights at 6 p.m. on Sept. 26; then they host the West Islip Lions on Oct. 3 for a 6 p.m. evening contest.

The Sharks will have back-to-back road matinees at Wyandanch on Oct. 11, then at Amityville on Oct. 18, both at 1 p.m. ESM will host the Rocky Point Eagles in a Friday night lights game on Oct. 24 at 6 p.m., then wrap up the regular season on Halloween at 6 p.m. at the Smithtown West Bulls.