Special teams propel Carey

Posted

Carey’s generated plenty of offensive fireworks and flexed its defensive muscle during a winning streak that reached 19 games after a 62-27 victory over Long Beach last Saturday before an overflow crowd on a picture-perfect Homecoming day.

Senior quarterback Mike Catanese threw three first-half touchdown passes to set the tone, and the special teams did the rest as the defending Long Island champion Seahawks (7-0) inched closer to securing the No. 1 seed in the Nassau Conference II playoffs. Senior Nick Spillane brought back a punt 70 yards for a touchdown, and junior Jake Safuto (95 yards) and junior Kevin Meaney (75) did the same on kickoffs as the special teams sizzled like the sausage and peppers offered at the concession stand. Senior kicker Paul Koprowski went 8-for-9 on extra-point attempts.

“It was a great atmosphere,” Carey head coach Mike Stanley said. “Our offense hit on some drives in the first half and Nick sparked us with the punt return. We gave up some points, but Long Beach did some nice things.”

Junior Anthony Millan had touchdown receptions of 14 and 29 yards in the first and second quarters, respectively, and senior Conor Colasurdo added a 25-yard touchdown grab for a 21-0 lead. The Marines (3-4) answered Spillane’s punt-return score with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Matt Varian to Josh Keitz to get on the board just before halftime.

Much like the grill, the Seahawks stayed hot in the second half. Safuto got things cooking by scooping the kickoff to start the third quarter just steps in front of his own end zone and racing the length of the field to make it 35-7. Colasurdo added a 32-yard touchdown run, and senior Brett Campos and sophomore Zach Dente sandwiched scoring runs around Meaney’s return to complete the team’s highest-scoring output of 2014.

A week earlier, Carey’s entire defensive unit, offensive line and Spillane stood out in a 26-0 win over Garden City. Running behind a stout front five consisting of Jorge Cerquera, Anthony Catapano, Rob Kelly, Gabe Alejo, and Joe Randazzo, Spillane had three touchdowns, all from inside the 5, as the Seahawks beat the nemesis Trojans for a third straight time.

Page 1 / 2