Blue Waves close losing season on a high note with big win. ‘But next year we will be a playoff team,’ Coach Rossetti says

Though Riverhead’s season ended on a high note, with a 69-46 victory over West Islip on Senior Night, this marks the second consecutive year the Blue Waves will be on the outside looking in come playoff time.

Finishing with a 6-8 record in league III, head coach John Rossetti still saw massive improvements this year with a squad that only had three seniors on it.

“As a coach you always expect to make the playoffs,” Rossetti said. “But sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way. But next year, we will be a playoff team.”

Rossetti’s confidence coming into next season is based on the fact that most of his team next year will be seniors. Many have been on varsity since sophomore year and have progressed so much that success is the only step left on the ladder.

“As the year went on, I saw the kids get tougher,” Rossetti said. “They didn’t just back down to teams like last year. They really played every game hard and in the second half of the season, they played every team tough down to the final buzzer.”

West Islip, for example, beat Riverhead 58-41 in the first half of the season. Copaigue, a team expected to make a deep run in the playoffs, beat Riverhead 85-55 in the first half of the season and then 74-63 the second time around.

A key cog in the improvements rested on the shoulders of Tyrese Kerr, who averaged 14 points per game. He’ll be returning for his senior season next year and Rossetti expects big things to come from him.

“Tyrese had a monster year,” Rossetti said. “In 12 of the last 13 games, he recorded a double-double. And that’s a pretty impressive feat right there.”

A few other players Rossetti believes will be leading the way back to relevance is Ryun Moore and Sharron Trent.

“It’s real good,” Rossetti said. “We’ll have like seven to eight players returning next year with really good varsity experience. It’s just the kids have to commit to offseason workouts. If we get the kids to come to offseason workouts with good attendance and good work ethic, we’re going to be real tough next year.”

RiverheadLOCAL photos by G

eorge Faella