Provenzano Proving Himself on Both Sides [Video/Photos]

Vincent Provenzano has played varsity football at Sachem since his sophomore season, so he’s endured two straight loses in the Suffolk County Division I final to William Floyd.

Each off-season he’s trained for the proverbial bigger, stronger, faster mindset, but this year it felt different for the senior wide receiver/defensive back. Everything has pointed in this direction to this exact moment of the year.

“This is the game we’ve been playing for this whole year,” said Provenzano, referring to yet another rematch against Floyd in the title game on Sunday. “This is the game we said we’re going to get back to. The off-season was a big opportunity for us to get better as a team and individually.”

Along with teammate Dalton Crossan, Provenzano has found himself on the stat sheets after almost every game, primarily on the defensive side of the ball.

He bottled up his best performances down the stretch of the season. Against Lindenhurst in Week 8 he intercepted a pass, recorded a sack and had a handful of tackles. The following week he had 10 tackles, a sack and an 18-yard touchdown reception against Patchogue-Medford in the Suffolk quarterfinals.

“He’s found his niche defensively and he’s really come to the forefront,” said Sachem coach Dave Falco.

The Sachem coaching staff keeps a chart called the “Animal Factor,” which factors in tackles, solos and assists, fumbles, pass break ups and other defensive stats.

“He’s by far well ahead of everybody else on the team,” Falco said. “Being in the system as long as he is, he really is comfortable and things have slowed down for him.”

Through the quarterfinals, Provenzano led Sachem with 53 total tackles and is tied for second with two interceptions.

At a team practice Tuesday at Stony Brook, Provenzano and his teammates looked as focused as ever for their massive championship game this weekend.

“We’re going to play our game,” he said. “It’s not about our opponents. It’s about us and how we play and how we matured over the season. I’m very confident in the way we’ve been playing.”

Watch the video in the gallery above to see Provenzano talk about his season and Sachem's playoff run.