The Friends Academy has been our athletic adversary for over 80 years. Before our days in the public school league, we met the Quakers in Ivy League competition in every sport. When we left the Ivy League in the early 1970s, the rivalry waned for a number of years until our boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball, and girls’ soccer teams began playing them almost perennially in Long Island Championships. Our recent battles over island supremacy have infused new life into this longtime rivalry.
Today the Friends Academy celebrates its Homecoming Weekend. What better way to help them celebrate than by counting down our greatest victories over the Quakers.
Honorable Mention
Nelson Downs Quakers | February 28, 1950
The boys’ basketball team won a thriller to finish undefeated against non-league teams. Elmer Nelson’s 21 points paced the Brook, but it was Yngvar Lindland who sealed the game on a jumper with five seconds left to give the Blue and White a 47-44 victory.
Gridders Finish with Best Record Since ’49 | November 19, 1960
After a scoreless first half, the Blue and White offense finally warmed up as they reeled off two touchdowns in the third quarter, courtesy of four and three-yard scoring runs by Read McLean. In the fourth quarter, Robert MacKenzie helped put the game away when he took a Dave Johnson pass 34 yards for the score. A safety by All-Ivy League lineman Dave Cloos completed the scoring. The win gave the Brook a 6-2 season record, their best since Floyd Johnson’s boys went 5-1-1 in 1949.
Back from the Brink | May 12, 1949
Friends held a 3-1 advantage heading into the bottom of the 9th inning, but the Brook began to rally. Dick Henry and Scott Humphrey reached on errors by the first baseman and later scored on two fielder’s choice plays. Carl Hansen followed with a single and Cliff Sanne gave the Blue and White a walk-off victory with a double that plated Hansen for a 4-3, comeback win.
The Top 10 Wins vs. Friends Academy
#10 | Baseball Wins Slugfest | May 18, 1959
The Brook won a 15-14 thriller at Friends with a late inning comeback. The Quakers jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the 1st inning, but the Brook responded for three runs in the top of the 2nd to tie the game. Friends scored three in the bottom of the 3rd to grab a 6-3 advantage, only to see their lead evaporate when the Blue and White plated five men in the top of the 4th. Trailing 8-6, Friends scored three more in their half of the 4th inning to retake the lead, 9-8. A scoreless 5th inning ensued, but the Brook grabbed the game’s momentum with a five-run sixth inning that gave them a commanding 13-9 edge. With only six outs left to work with, Friends responded with five runs of their own to take a 14-13 lead. The Quakers were poised to steal the victory away, but Rich Timmons drew a one-out walk to ignite the Brooker rally. George Schoenbaum followed with a two-run home run that gave the boys the lead for good. Schoenbaum finished with 3 hits to lead the Brook.
#9 | Lockerbie Gallops Over Quakers | 1976
Kevin Lockerbie set the school’s single game rushing record with 240 yards in a 28-8 win for the Blue and White. The record would stand for 22 years until Anthony Passalacqua broke it with 242 yards vs. Babylon.
#8 | Malachuk Nets 40 | December 17, 1957
In a 79-66 triumph for the Brook, Allan Malachuk rewrote the school record for points in a game as he dropped 40 on the Quakers.
#7 | 3-Peat | November 10, 2009
In the Long Island Championship, the girls’ soccer team met a familiar foe, a Friends Academy team they had dispatched in the previous two two island title games. The script remained unchanged for the Quakers as our girls unleashed an endless barrage of shots en route to a 3-0 victory for a third straight Long Island title. The Bears would go on to win the school’s first State Championship three games later.
#6 | Bears Make History | March 7, 2007
In a 46-22 win over the Quakers, Kristyn Dunleavy surpassed 1,500 career points to help the girls’ basketball team secure its first Long Island Championship and improve to 21-2 on the season. Dunleavy was unstoppable inside, using an array of low-post moves to nearly equal the entire Quaker scoring output with 20 points. On the other side of the ball, her interior defense helped stifle the Friends attack.
#5 | Bears Claim First LIC | November 6, 2007
The girls’ soccer team won its first of three consecutive Long Island Championships in a 3-0 victory over the Quakers.
#4 | Daniel & Masakayan Thwart Quakers | March 5, 2013
The boys’ basketball team won its second Long Island Championship over the Quakers with a 43-34 victory. Andrew Daniel, Long Island’s leading rebounder, scored 16 points, Marco Masakayan spearheaded the defense, and Tyler Abrahamsen continued his knack for hitting the big 3-pointer to lead the Bears to victory. Despite being held scoreless in the third quarter, key baskets down the stretch, coupled with the patented stingy Blue and White defense, allowed the boys to turn back a Quaker rally and become Kings of Long Island.
#3 | Queens of Long Island | March 8, 2011
The girls’ basketball team won a third consecutive Long Island Championship, and the fourth in program history, with a 35-26 victory over the Quakers. The Bears held a 20-11 lead at halftime, but Friends awoke in the third frame, outscoring the Bears 12-2 to snatch a 23-22 lead heading into the fourth quarter. To make matters worse, Brannon Burke and Natalie Istrati each earned their fourth foul in the previous quarter, leaving two senior starters in danger of fouling out of a close battle.
With the game’s momentum resting squarely in the Friends camp, our girls responded to the adversity the way they had all season long. This team had battled through injuries to Burke and Istrati, a tough league loss to Pierson and a large turnover from last year’s championship squad, yet when games were on the line they continued to find a way. The key to their biggest wins of the season was their defense and this night was no different as they limited the Quakers to three points in the fourth quarter, while our girls poured in 13. Jess Winston, after being held scoreless in the first half, was the catalyst for the offense in the final period. She persevered through the tough defense to score seven of her 11 points in the pivotal quarter to help the Bears take back the lead for good.
#2 | Pandolfi Leads Bears into History | March 9, 2010
With a trip to the New York State quarterfinals on the line, the Bears met the Quakers in the Long Island Championship. Tim Pandolfi kept his string of superlative postseason performances intact by matching the Quaker point total for the first half with 12. The Bears led by 10 at halftime and seemed on their way to a fairly uneventful victory; however, all good teams make adjustments and Friends did just that, holding the Brook without a field goal for the first six minutes of the third quarter.
The war of attrition entered its final frame with Stony Brook holding a precarious 25-17 lead. Refusing to resign themselves to defeat, the Quakers battled back with a 9-4 scoring run to put them down a mere three points with 2:05 remaining. Coach Mike Hickey called a timeout before the decisive defensive stand of the game. The message was simple: “The season is on the line and we need a stop.” Freshman Marco Masakayan seized the moment by poking the ball away from the Quaker point guard right to Pandolfi who raced down the court for an uncontested layup, giving the Bears a five-point lead with 48 seconds left. Pandolfi and Logan Vimont were called upon to hit free throws in the closing seconds and came through, giving the Bears a hard-fought 35-29 victory and their first Long Island Championship in school history. Pandolfi finished with a game-high 16 points and Vimont narrowly missed a double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
#1 | Scavo Leads Brook to Title | November 4, 2008
Just three days after a thrilling, quadruple overtime, 1-0 victory in the County Championship, the girls won the Long Island Championship, 2-1. The excitement on campus built throughout the day as classes ended early and several bus loads of students poured into the stands at Dowling College. The fans watched our girls, who were battling a slew of injuries, take an early lead when Karina Scavo dribbled into the box, drilled a shot as she was knocked down by a defender, and ran upfield with the lead in hand. However, just 3:47 into the second half, the Quakers equalized and a tense struggle ensued.
Despite the pressure, our defense, anchored by Sadie Singer and keeper Danielle Pappas, proved unshakeable. The squads battled to a stalemate over the next 30 minutes until Scavo struck again. The Bears’ All-State captain stepped up to a corner kick with 3:54 remaining in the game and drilled a low ball that ricocheted off of a defender hugging the post and into the back of the net. The crowd erupted and the girls celebrated, knowing they were minutes away from the title. The last few minutes ticked off uneventfully and the girls reveled in another historic win. Pappas shone in goal, keeping the Bears in the game with 12 saves.
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