Center Moriches has always been one of the better Small School programs in the state of New York and the 2022-23 school year was no different for the Red Devils.
The program led by Athletic Director Jeremy Thode had yet another successful year full of achievements both in the sports world and in the classroom. The Red Devils had an astounding 25 of the school's varsity teams named as Scholar-Athlete teams.
Along with dominating in the classroom, Center Moriches High School was home to two League Champions, one Class Championship, five total County Champions (one team title, four individual titles), and a whopping eleven State Qualifiers during the past school year.
In the fall season, the boys cross country team had yet another successful season that saw the team go undefeated in their league and have three of their runners make All-Division while also qualifying for the state meet. Underclassman Spencer Buff joined Seniors Kieran Brennan and Ryan Steinberg as members of the All-Division team while making it all the way to the New York State Meet in Syracuse.
The girls cross country team saw two girls make it to the state meet as Lauren Spivak and Emma Gold would join the three boys up in Syracuse to compete in one of the most competitive meets of the year.
Despite finishing 2-5, the rebuilding football team had some very nice performances where they knocked off Port Jefferson and Greenport during the 2022 season.
Jordan Lutz was the only senior who played varsity all four years of high school out of everyone who graduated this year and he finished his career with a bang. Lutz had the second-most tackles of his career during his senior year and led the team in total sacks. This year got him over the hump of having 100 career tackles in high school. Lutz was also elected as one of the team captains this year by his teammates and he made an impact on every game.
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Joining Lutz as an impact player was three year varsity starter Nasir Carroll Smith. Carroll Smith accumulated a total of 13 career touchdowns between Receiving, Rushing, and Returns over his career, including a dominant junior year where he set the bar high with 9 receiving touchdown catches and 1 rushing touchdown. His performance during his junior campaign landed him a spot on Newsday’s Top 100 football players on Long Island.
Carroll Smith opened the season up with a bang by scoring the Red Devils' first touchdown with a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown. This helped lead the team to a 1-0 start to the season.
2022-23 was also a very successful year for both boys and girls soccer. The boys team saw Beau Davidson, Aidan Jordan, and Noah Nolan were named All-League for their efforts on the pitch. Benjamin Densch was named All-County this fall, joining his teammates Tyler Stewart and Liam McDermott who were both named All-County and All-State.
The girls team had some even greater team success as they had five players named All-League this fall as Charlotte Castiglione, Jenna Kilkenney, Emily Passaro, Chloe Raupp, and Alexa Sodano were honored for their performance this fall. The girls team also saw Delaney Kleinman and three sport star Jessica Rosen make All-County this fall with Kleinman also receiving All-State Honors and Rosen – a five year varsity member who is continuing her soccer career at East Stroudsburg University – was awarded with the Class B MVP award this fall.
Another noteworthy performance we can’t overlook was Noelle Jordan’s year in the pool for Center Moriches. Jordan went on to the New York State Swim Meet and was one of seven Red Devils to claim All-State honors this past year.
In the wintertime, Junior Callum Jones took center stage for the Red Devils Wrestling team. Jones won his weight class at the Section XI Division 2 County Championships, earning him All-County honors and he was able to compete at the New York State Meet.
Another team that grabbed the spotlight this winter was the girls basketball team. The team was the second team to be crowned League Champions in the 2022-23 school year as they went on to win the League V title. The Red Devils also went on to win the Suffolk County Class B Championship, something no other team in the district could do this school year.
The girls team had three All-League players in Climele Browne – who also is an All-League tennis player – , Charlotte Castiglione, and Vanessa Stewart. Along with the three All-League Players, Megan Magill was named the team’s Unsung Hero for her efforts this winter.
As the weather started to get warmer, it was time for the Red Devils Baseball team to defend their 2022 Class B Long Island Championship. The team would go on yet another deep run in the Suffolk County Playoffs but their ambitions to repeat as Long Island Champions was met with a heartbreaking loss in the Suffolk County Championship Series two games to one against Babylon.
Gavin DeRosa, Joseph Hiller, Brayden Hromada, and Riley Morris were named All-League with Morris going on to be named All-County and pitching on the Suffolk County All-Star team at the end of the season.
The coaching staff at Center Moriches spoke highly of Riley Morris in their end of the year write up.
“Riley has been a dedicated member of our program since 7th grade.” Read the end of the year write ups obtained by the South Shore Press, “(Morris) was called up to varsity during the 2019 State Championship run and has been an impact player each year since then. He has been the anchor of our pitching rotation since his Sophomore year and has also been one of our most productive hitters and defensive players. In 2022- he was named AlLeague as well as Small School Playoff Tournament MVP. This year Morris has done an amazing job serving as our Captain and garnered All League and All County honors. Riley is an outstanding role model for younger players in our program and throughout the community. He is a leader during our community service efforts and an outstanding kid. Our program will greatly miss number nineteen, who will go on to continue his academic and athletic career at St. Joes in Patchogue.”
The boys and girls lacrosse team also had yet another season full of individual and team success. The Girls team saw Stetson University commit Charlotte Castiglione and Kutztown University commit Lauren Spivak make All-Division in their senior year. The Team also saw Wingate University commit Megan Magill make All-County while her teammate Payton Noack received Honorable Mention All-County.
The Boys team had Chase DeChiaro, Jack Howard, William Jordan, and Tyler Stewart make All- League this past spring while Cristian Scaffaro was named All-County Honorable Mention.
The Boys and Girls Track teams also had a successful outdoor season as they would send Tyler Bonaventre, Xavier Bryant, Laila Cole, and Emma Gold to the New York Outdoor Track State Meet. Bonventre, Bryant, and Cole all were able to grab All-State honors for the Red Devils in the final meet of the 2023 high school season.
The athletes that participated in the 2022-23 did a great job in making everyone proud thanks to great coaching and the guidance of Athletic Director Jeremy Thode. Mr. Thode has been at the helm since 2012 and has made an impact on the Athletics Department. There have been tons of success stories from Center Moriches during his tenure and Thode himself has shown he cares not just about performances but the student-athletes well being. He has previously garnered headlines when he walked across Suffolk County to raise awareness for mental health wellness in youth athletes.