Freeport outlasts Oceanside in semifinal

Oceanside had three-time defending Nassau Conference I champion Freeport on the ropes in last Saturday’s semifinal playoff game at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium, leading by a point after three quarters, but Isaiah Barnes and Evan Lapice helped the Red Devils avoid a knockout.

Barnes’ 2-yard touchdown run with 7:27 left put Freeport ahead for good and Lapice had a momentum-changing 55-yard fumble recovery for a score on the Sailors’ ensuing possession as the No. 1 seed advanced with a wild 41-27 victory. The Red Devils (9-1) will battle second-seeded East Meadow for the title this Saturday at 4 p.m. at Hofstra.

“We did a great job,” Oceanside head coach Rob Blount said. “A lot of people counted us out a long time ago, but we’ve got a scrappy group of individuals and I’m so proud of them. We went toe-to-toe and it came down to a couple of plays.”

Barnes went 13 of 17 passing for 177 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 141 yards and two scores on 24 carries, and Lapice had a pair of touchdown receptions. The sixth-seeded Sailors got big efforts from senior quarterback John Grassi, who threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns, and senior wideout Anthony Pintabona, who had 167 receiving yards and a score on seven catches.

“The tempo just changed in the second half,” Barnes said. “Both teams have weapons and kept scoring. When Evan scored on the fumble recovery, it gave us the breathing room we needed.”

It was a tale of two halves, with only one touchdown in the first and nine touchdowns in the second. Lapice found the end zone from two yards out 1:21 before intermission and Freeport led 7-0 at halftime.

“We were fine at the half,” Blount said. “We limited their possessions, which is something we wanted to do. It would’ve been nice to punch one in ourselves, but we scored early in the second half and it was a game all night.”

Sixth-seeded Oceanside (6-4) recovered an on-side kick to start the third quarter and drove 47 yards to get on the board with Grassi’s 7-yard touchdown pass to James Keane. It was off to the races thereafter.