Mourning beloved teenage gridder

HUNDREDS of people gathered on Long Island on Monday to mourn the loss of a high school football player who died in a freak accident during a practice session.

Students from Farmingville’s Sachem East High School wept and hugged over the loss of junior Joshua Mileto, 16, who was hit in the head with a 10-foot, 400-pound utility pole Thursday, as many waited for three hours outside the McManusLowery Funeral Home in Medford.

The teen’s mother, Sayyida Mileto, wore her son’s jersey and greeted mourners near his open casket. A red rosary was draped over Joshua’s hands and a bottle of Crush soda placed at his side. Relatives wore white T-shirts with “Joshua” on the front, and on the back, “Mileto” with his number “5” underneath, in black lettering. The football players wore the team’s red, black and gold jerseys for Mileto, who was one of five players carrying the pole overhead during a drill when something went wrong and the pole fell. Prayer cards with a photo of Mileto in a gray Brooklyn hoodie included a poem, which read in part, “As long as I am living, my baby you’ll be. Love always.” A funeral Mass will be held at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Roman Catholic Church on Portion Road in Holbrook. The family has requested that donations be made to the “Joshua Mileto Memorial Scholarship” Fund.