Epic win for Oceanside

Oceanside already staged a riveting comeback from a 21-point halftime deficit to lead defending champion East Meadow early in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s Nassau Conference I showdown, but it wasn’t complete until senior Justin Buckley found his way into the end zone.

Buckley, whose fallen brother, Lance Cpl. Greg Buckley Jr., was honored before the game and at halftime, busted up the middle for a 25-yard touchdown run with 4:57 remaining to cap the Sailors’ 36-21 victory before an estimated home crowd of 2,500. After the clinching score, Justin saluted and was met by a sea of teammates dressed in special blue-and-white camouflage jerseys.

“It was an incredible second half,” Oceanside head coach Rob Blount said. “We had no rhythm in the first half, and they were pounding it on the ground like they always do. To come back from 21 down and beat a team of their caliber is big.”

The Jets dominated the first half behind junior running back Billy Andrle, who finished with 160 yards and three touchdowns, including two scores in a span of 1:06 late in the second quarter.

“We did everything we wanted to do in the first half,” East Meadow head coach Vin Mascia said. “In the second half, we fell apart. They do some nice things over there and hit some big plays.

“We’re young in some areas, and I hope we’re going to look back and see that this was a growth game,” he added. “We want to come out of this with something more than a loss.”

The momentum turned, Blount said, when senior Vassili Grigorakos brought back the second-half kickoff to East Meadow’s 24-yard line. Four plays later, senior Anthony Pintabona caught a short screen pass from senior quarterback Tom Capone and raced 18 yards to get the hosts on the board.

“I felt we absolutely had to score to start the second half,” Blount said. “If we didn’t, we’d be in trouble because they eat up a lot of clock when they have the ball.”

Capone, who threw four touchdown passes in the season-opening win at Valley Stream Central, was instrumental in the comeback with 182 yards passing and three touchdowns in the second half. His second scoring strike, on a wheel route to senior Ryan McCarthy, went for 82 yards and brought the Sailors (2-0) within 21-15 midway through the third quarter.

“The wheel is tough to defend in man coverage,” Capone said. “I didn’t even see Ryan when I released the ball. I just knew he’d be in the right spot to catch it.”

The Jets (1-1) were about to answer on the ensuing possession when on second-and-goal from the 2-yard line, a crunching hit by junior safety Conner Johnson jarred the ball loose from senior quarterback Chris Buschi. A penalty nullified senior Shane Saucier’s 98-yard fumble return touchdown, but Capone and Pintabona hooked up again, this time for a 68-yard score, and junior kicker Mike Palmiotto’s extra point made it 22-21 with 11:40 left.

Grigorakos, who had 17 tackles to lead the defense, scored on a 3-yard run four plays after senior Scott Schulz recovered a fumble at the East Meadow 24 to make it 29-21.

All that remained was Buckley’s finishing touch.

“I felt a lot of pressure tonight,” Buckley said. “Things didn’t go our way in the beginning, but it was a perfect ending.”