This Week in Sachem Football: Week 8, 2011

Every week I'll breakdown each game and what it means from a historical perspective in the football programs at Sachem North and East. As the season progresses, the numbers and statistics become more and more interesting, but here's the information from this week:

• Sachem East clinched a playoff spot for the second time in program history and first time since 2008.
• Sachem tied a program-record with five wins in 2011.
• From a historical and emotional perspective, this is the biggest victory in program history considering the circumstances of going 1-15 the last two seasons, starting 4-0, dropping three games and finally clinched a playoff birth.
• The Casali File: Steven Casali has compiled 1,174 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns this year. His 242 rushing yards were a season high on Friday against Brentwood.

• The Flaming Arrows have won 28 of their last 31 games dating back to 2008.
• The win was career victory No. 50 for Sachem coach Dave Falco, who took over the program from Fred Fusaro in 2003. Fusaro, of course, has 192 career wins as one of the top coaches in Long Island history.
• With a win in the Suffolk County Division I quarterfinals, this year's team would be just the seventh in program history to win eight or more games.
• Sachem has now scored 292 points this season, the third most in school history. Next up is the 2009 team with 358 points. The record is 421 set in 2010.
• The 177 points Sachem has allowed this season are the eighth most in program history.
• The 474 yards of total offense against Lindenhurst is the most Sachem has produced this season, passing last week's total of 465.
• This is only the seventh time Sachem has scored 50 or more points in a game and the first time it scored 50 or more in back-to-back games and in the same season. 
• The 53 points are the second most in a single-game. Last week's 56 tied a record set in 2009.
• The 81 combined points are the second highest single-game total in Sachem history. The record is 83 in a game against Brentwood in 2009.
• Sachem is 35-14-2 all-time in Week 8.
• Sachem is 28-12 all-time against Lindenhurst and have outscored the Bulldogs, 825-559.
• The is the most points Sachem has scored in a Week 8 game.
• Dalton Crossan's 285 yards are the fifth most in a single-game in Sachem history. Crossan's five touchdowns tie a program single-game record with James O'Neal (2x in 1995) and Davon Lawrence (2009). Ironically, Lawrence also tied the record in a Week 8 game two seasons ago. Read more about Crossan's performance and season below ...
• The Dalton Crossan File: With his 285 yards, Crossan (25 TDs and 1,581 rushing yards in 2011) currently has 2,555 career yards, good enough for No. 3 all-time in Sachem history. Next on the list is No. 2 Charles Hall (2,582) and No. 1 James O'Neal (3,786). If you add in his numbers from two varsity seasons at Shoreham, he has 3,599 career yards as a high school football player. Currently he also has the fourth highest single-season yardage right now in Sachem history. Crossan also ranks No. 17 all-time in Suffolk County history in rushing yards and No. 25 in Long Island history.