Pirates top Cougars in opener

The opening game of the season is always special, but even more so when it’s against a cross-town district rival. That was the case last Saturday at Kennedy High School, when Mepham and Kennedy faced off in a Nassau Conference II battle, with the Pirates ultimately prevailing, 14-0.

 “It’s always a big game when you come across town and you play anybody in the district,” Mepham coach Anthony Cracco said. “It definitely means a little bit more.”  

Points were scarce, and both defenses were in top form, but Mepham scratched out two touchdowns and overcame four turnovers to earn the shutout victory. “We definitely have to clean some things up, but they came to play,” Cracco said of his team. “They played hard and I’m proud of their effort.”

It took almost a full quarter for either team to achieve a first down, but Mepham finally found its groove late in the first, when quarterback Brian Berlin connected with receiver Dylan Gordon on consecutive first-down passes to move the ball downfield.

That seemed to ignite the Pirates’ offense, and early in the second quarter, they broke the scoreless tie when junior Shane Agostino ran the ball in from 20 yards out for a 7-0 lead. “It was a reverse to the right,” Agostino said. “Everybody made their blocks and it
worked out.”

Kennedy looked like it might tie the game late in the half after recovering a fumble deep in Mepham’s territory, but the Cougars’ subsequent drive was stalled when quarterback Chris Racalbuto was sacked by Mepham’s Corey Heller to end the half.

“Takeaways are nice, but we have to find ways to capitalize and put points on the board,” Kennedy coach Nick Martone said. “That’s how you win football games.”

The score remained the same until the fourth quarter, when Mepham padded its lead following a three-yard touchdown run by Kevin Tauriello to make it 14-0.

Kennedy moved the ball downfield late in the fourth as it attempted to get on the board once again, but a sack by the Pirates’ Elias Lozada on fourth-and-long put the game on ice.