Shealyn Varbero leads Shoreham-Wading River flag football to Long Island Class C title in first season
Shoreham-Wading River players celebrate with the Long Island Class C flag football chamionship plaque after defeating Cold Spring Harbor at Long Island University on Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Brookville. Credit: Joe Orovitz
The Shoreham-Wading River flag football team had a historic inaugural season. It wasn't only the Wildcats' debut season, but also the first time Shealyn Varbero picked up a football.
"I always thought it would be fun," Varbero said. "I didn't have a spring sport to play, and I thought it would be something cool to do."
Varbero heard from her friends at different schools how much fun flag football was, so she went to the school board to request that the program start.
"We found out we were getting a team, three weeks before the season started," Varbero said. "We had to put in a lot of work. We're a team full of athletes, so we had to put in the effort to make it possible."
Less than a year after helping bring the sport to the school, she is leading the Wildcats to championships. Varbero had 170 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns in Shoreham-Wading River's 46-7 win over Cold Spring Harbor in the Long Island Class C championship at LIU on Saturday.
"I tell [Varbero's] mom all the time, she's going to be President one day," coach Bob DeSilva said. "She's a great athlete, and she continues to get better."
Varbero led the Wildcats to a 27-point second quarter in which she threw for three touchdowns, including a 34-yarder and a 21-yarder touchdown that erupted the Shoreham-Wading River crowd. Varbero also had a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown in the quarter.
"Losing in the [Long Island championship] for basketball hurt," Varbero said. "I wanted to come back and win one before my high school career is over, so to get the redemption was great."
Senior wide receiver Mia Mangano says playing soccer with Varbero makes playing football a lot easier.
"We've been playing soccer for four years," said Mangano, who caught four passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns. "Being able to bring that to another sport is great because we know each other so well."
Cold Spring Harbor (14-4) got on the board when Ciara Luparello ran in a 5-yard score in the fourth quarter.
Shoreham-Wading River (11-4) will face Westlake or Rhinebeck in the state semifinal on June 6 at Cortland High School.
"They came a long way from the beginning till now," DeSilva said. "I knew we had a lot of potential coming into the season. It's all about how we're going to execute our game plan."
Jonathan Ruban covers high school sports for Newsday after graduating from St. John’s.
