Oceanside on brink of title

Oceanside’s football team keeps rewriting history and became a Perfect 10 last Saturday night despite squandering a 20-point first-quarter lead in its Nassau Conference I semifinal playoff matchup with Massapequa at Hofstra.

The top-seeded Sailors, who trailed by two at halftime, didn’t allow a point in the second half and rallied for a 31-22 victory to earn their first trip to the county final since winning the title in 1977. Oceanside (10-0), which took the lead for good late in the third quarter on senior tight end Aronis Espinal’s 8-yard touchdown grab on an option pass from senior wideout Nick Mari, will battle another unbeaten, No. 2 Farmingdale, for the crown this Saturday at 4 p.m. at Hofstra.

“We haven’t had much success on this field, but now we have an opportunity to bring home a championship,” said head coach Rob Blount, who’s guided the Sailors to five semifinal appearances in the last six years. “We finally got over the hump,” he added. “It’s definitely a good feeling. We made big plays on offense and made some defensive adjustments at halftime that slowed them down.”

The fifth-seeded Chiefs, who lost 28-27 at Oceanside in the regular-season finale on Halloween, were unable to slow down an unpredictable Sailors’ offense led by senior quarterback Vinny Guarino. All Guarino did — in the opening quarter — was throw a 39-yard touchdown pass, rush for a 66-yard score, and catch a 53-yard touchdown.

“Vinny’s our guy and we want the ball in his hands as much as possible,” Blount said. “We ran him a little more than he’s used to, but we had no reason not to.”

Sophomore Derek Cruz had the game’s first touchdown on Oceanside’s first play from scrimmage. On their next series, the Sailors needed just three plays to reach the end zone. And on their third possession, again all it took was one snap. Guarino handed off to senior James Paczkowski, who flipped the ball to senior Ryan Penna, who connected with his quarterback behind the secondary for a 20-0 lead.

“We went deep into the playbook,” Blount said. “Fortunately, everything worked.”

Massapequa cut the margin to 20-8 late in the first quarter when a fake punt kept the chains moving and led to Phil Tesoriero’s 8-yard touchdown reception and Anthony White’s two-point conversion. Tommy Macri had a 10-yard touchdown run early in the second, and Chris Bacotti ran for a 1-yard score with a minute left in the half to give the Chiefs a 22-20 lead. 

“We won the first quarter, and they won the second,” Blount said. “At halftime, we just talked about remaining calm and executing.” 

Oceanside’s defense had a pair of game-altering takeaways in the second half. Paczkowski’s interception in the third led to the go-ahead touchdown, and senior Gunnar Jones thwarted a Massapequa threat in the fourth with a dazzling pick at the goal line. The Sailors then drove 69 yards to set up sophomore Francesco Ancona’s 28-yard field goal with 5:45 remaining. 

“He’s done a great job for us all year,” Blount said of Ancona. “He nailed it and gave us some breathing room going up two scores.”