Jesters crushed again courtesy of Rhinos

Rich Nessim, pictured here, frowns after losing to Rhinos and bruising his beer belly

Ronkonkoma, NY--The Rhinos finally looked like world-beaters. Brett Jeffares scored two goals against his favorite punching bag and Rob Martin had three goals and two assists including one to Scott Fitzgerald, to give the Rhinos a 28-20 victory against the LI Jesters on Thursday night.

It was the Rhinos' 11th straight win over their arch rivals in a series dating back to the birth of lacrosse play at CIS in 2006.

The Rhinos (3-3) snapped a three-game losing streak and won for just the second time in five games. Once considered favorites to win the CIS Fall '08 Championship, they're still going to need a miracle to reach the playoffs. They trail Schlitz Faced by 2 games in the standings.

"It's a win and we take it no further than that," captain "Broadway" Brett Jeffares said.

"We don't want to make it more than it really is. It's one win; we got three games to go with two tough games. But it was a good confidence boost."


The Rhinos rebounding with such a fine showing didn’t surprise offensive star Scott Ferguson (Oswego '99) . The former All-American had six goals and six assists on the night. "We got a real good group of guys here that have a lot of pride and play for one another and I think that is evident when you are 2-3 and play with the energy and excitement and the care for one another that we did.”

The Rhinos were down 12-7 at the half. However in a momentum shifting series of plays to start the half, Jester's midfielder Rich Nessim was stripped twice by Scott Fitzgerald. Nessim also lost his stick on one of the checks, leading to 3 quick points for the Rhinos. Nessim was knocked down and didn't get up after getting stripped for the second time and was later taken to the locker room on a cart with an injured ankle and a bruised beer belly.

Tom " The God Father" Brazell tried to replace Nessim's intensity at the start of the second half. After dishing out an assist he was shut down by Rob Stossel until late in the game where managed another assist on a garbage time goal.

The Jester's (1-5) reached another losing record for the sixth straight year. They are 3-89 since being routed by Team HLL and former Checkmate coach Kevin Morris in the Cantiague Lacrosse Championship in Hicksville on August 15, 2003.


Martin's third goal of the night midway through the second half was the 7th of his brilliant two-year career.


A major milestone was reached when Rhinos' midfielder Scottie Fitz scored his goal early in the first half. It was the first of his illustrious career and was received with great fanfare by his teammates. “We’re excited to finally get back on track,” Scottie said. “It’s taken a while. We’ve had to go through a lot of ups and downs.”

Rhino's get Sh_t -Faced!; fall to 2-2 on the season

Ronkonkoma, NY--In a see-saw battle that included a dozen lead changes, Schlitz Faced managed to sustain a late game rally to win the game 24-18. Schlitz Faced pulled away in the last six minutes of play and out-hustled the Rhinos in transition and on ground balls.

The Rhinos resorted to sloppy play that we haven't seen since the Winter '08 season at CIS. Hat's off to The Schlitz's defense. Their effort contributed to many Rhino turnovers, which included man-up possessions for the Rhinos.

Schlitz Faced made it look easy at times moving the rock up field and finding the open man.

The Rhinos wasted spectacular efforts by goalie Buckley and Mr. Amplo on defense. Amplo also scored a hatrick on the evening.

The Rhinos can salvage their season in part to a soft schedule the rest of the way. The remaining three games are against the respective doormats of the league: Jester's, Checkmate Black, and Remnants.

Next up for Schlitz Faced is Grey Dogs, followed by Checkmate Orange and Jester's.

No Laughing Matter, Rhinos Score Forfeit Win Over Jesters

Rhinos jump to 1-5 on the Season

Ronkonoma, NY--Despite several years of successfully fielding teams throughout Long Island, across North America, and in an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean called Hawaii, the Jesters were unable to scrounge enough laxers to field a complete squad. Thus forfeiting the game and receiving another mark in the "L" column.

However, these Jesters are no Shakespearian Fools or just another bunch of Jango Edwards. After acquiring two of the top offensive players from the Rhinos and with virtually no bench, the Jesters made clowns of the Rhinos by chalking up a 24-22 win in scrimmage play.

The Jesters, led by the God-Father of Long Island Lacrosse, Tom Brazell, out-hustled and out-manned the Rhinos. At times making them look like they were the team that was short handed. Destroying the Rhinos on groundballs and in transition, the Jesters went up 4-0 in the first 3 minutes of play and never looked back. They never relinquished their lead the entire game. All of this without their tatooed leader Rich Nessum.
Jester goalie Dennis Rogers also came up big last night. Especially during a late game Rhino surge, stuffing point blank shots using his stick, feet and shoulders.

More good news ahead for the Rhinos. They don't have to play any good teams until the playoffs. That is if they can make it.


Keep checking the Blog for updates.