No. 5 Sports Story of the Year: Ailing Porters’ season ends early

It was a rough year for the Greenport/Southold/Mattituck high school football team. Not only did the Porters fall short of the playoffs, but they fell two weeks short of completing the regular season.

School officials pulled the plug on the Porters’ season with two games remaining on the schedule after injuries reduced the team to only 13 healthy players. The forfeits to Elwood/John Glenn and Wyandanch left the Porters with a 2-6 record.

“It’s shocking,” Porters senior John Drinkwater said. “Of course, we’re all stunned and distraught.”

Greenport’s athletic director, Jim Caliendo, said Section XI requires 16 varsity-ready players for a game. He said junior varsity players declined to be moved up to the varsity team.
School officials were quick to dismiss concerns about the future of the program. “We’re not cutting programs because we had one bad year,” said Mattituck’s athletic director, Gregg Wormuth.

Porters coach Jack Martilotta said the team started the season with about 25 players. A few players quit early on, before academic issues and season-ending injuries took their toll. Injuries prevented eight Porters from playing in the team’s final game.

“This is like the last thing I could have ever wanted to happen,” Martilotta said. “This is just terrible.”

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