______________
AMITYvIlle _____________
HERALD ReCORD
Also serving Amityville, North Amityville, Amity Harbor, Copiague, and East Massapequa
Bye to summer at the beach
Remembering 9/11
Page 10
Look Inside
VOL. 112 NO. 31
SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2026
$1.00
Amity varsity football is ‘out’ By NIKO SCARLATOS sports@liherald.com
Carolyn James/Herald
Teagan Quinn, 9, is shown holding plaque. Her sister and her parents are to her right. She is joined by Babylon Town officials who recognized her project, Teagan’s Bear Hugs for Brave Kids.
Teagan Quinn turns her own fear into comfort for other children By CAROLYN JAMES cjames@liherald.com
Teagan Quinn, 9, of Lindenhurst knows what it feels like to be scared before a medical procedure. After undergoing three openheart surgeries before she turned 2, she decided to help other children facing similar fears. Teagan has a congenital heart defect called transposition of the great arteries and has three stents. All three of her surgeries were performed at Cohen’s Children’s Medical Cener. In 2025, she became an ambassador for the center and in 2026 she was named a Local Champion of the Children’s Miracle Network. “I chose to do this project because when I went for my presurgical testing I was really scared,” said Teagan as she spoke at a recent Babylon Town Board meeting. “So, I thought having a friend by their side would help.” That idea became a project to provide chil-
dren with something comforting to hold onto during difficult medical experiences. With the help of family and friends she began collecting stuffed teddy bears and zoo animals to deliver to deliver to children at the hospital who were awaiting medical procedures. . During the first delivery, Teagan, her parents Melissa and Joe, and her sister Chelsea delivered 87 teddy bears. For the second delivery, they brought 250 zoo animals, but she has not stopped there. She is currently collecting stuffed sea animals and hopes to deliver even more to the center. “Teagan is a great example of how one person can make a big difference,” said Babylon Town Councilman Terence McSweeney. “She has faced some very tough challenges but instead thinking only about herself, she chose to help other kids. That is an example of kindness and courage is something we can all learn from.”. For information on the Children’s Miracle Network go cmn.org/
Amityville High School’s football program will not compete at the varsity level this season, as district and athletic officials decided to move the team to a JV schedule citing a young roster, injuries and concerns surrounding player safety. The decision came Aug. 31 after the coaching staff and athletic department evaluated the team during the preseason. Officials determined the current roster did not have enough healthy upperclassmen depth to safely compete against varsity opponents. “We made every effort to compete at the varsity level this season, but ultimately we have to make decisions based on what is best for our student athletes,” Director of Athletics Evan Farkas said. “We have a very young roster and after accounting for injuries and the physical demands of varsity football, we determined that a junior varsity schedule is the safest and most appropriate path forward. This is a difficult decision but it gives our players the opportunity to develop the right way and gives us a strong foundation to rebuild
the varsity program.” The move represents a significant change for a program accustomed to varsity competition but school officials emphasized the decision is intended to protect the players while providing them with an opportunity to continue developing on the field. Section XI has four games listed for Amityville’s JV team, beginning at home on Sept. 22 versus Miller Place at 4:30 p.m. The Tide is also home Oct. 5 against Kings Park and hits the road Oct. 12 and 19 against Harborfields and Hampton Bays, respectively. First-year head coach Paul Mastronardi said the preseason evaluation made clear that the young Tide roster would benefit from competing at a lower level this season. “Our responsibility as coaches is to put our players in the best possible position to develop, compete and stay safe,” Mastronardi said. “Many of our players are only 14-years-old and are still developing physically and as football players. The preseason gave us an opportunity to evaluate where we are as a program and it became clear that competing at the junior varsity level is the right decision for this group. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2