Blue Waves football players sporting new championship rings, thanks to community donors

The Suffolk County Champion Riverhead Blue Waves football team members were presented with championship rings Friday night at the Riverhead Moose Lodge.

“Riverhead is an incredible place to live,” said head coach Leif Shay. “The fact that the town supports these kids in everything they do is incredible. They produce such great kids. I am the beneficiary of a great town,” Shay said.

The rings were funded by the Riverhead Touchdown Club which got donations from businesses in the area. Every year the Blue Waves won a championship (2003, 2008, 2012) not a dime was spent by the players.

“Anytime we’ve ever asked our town for help, they’ve been there for us,” said Shay. “They have always gone above and beyond of what is asked. This is just such a supportive place to be.”

It’s not too early to start thinking about next year as the Blue Waves prepare for another successful season.

“We’ve got to get the work ethic going,” said Shay. “Workouts haven’t been well attended as of late but hopefully that will change. We certainly have talent it’s just a matter of how hard they’re willing to work.

Halfback Jeremiah Cheatom can’t wait for his senior season.

“We can do it again,” said Cheatom. “The talent is there.”

Shay calls the 2013 senior class “an incredible group of men that persevered through adversity.”

A handful of them will continue to play in college:

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