Oceanside drops third straight

Things couldn’t have gone any smoother for Oceanside in the first 90 seconds of its Conference I football matchup with East Meadow last Thursday. Sailors quarterback John Grassi had just completed a six-play, 60-yard drive with a perfectly thrown ball that hit senior Philip Ragona in stride for a 34-yard touchdown that at least momentarily put the Jets on their heels.

But as quickly as Oceanside jumped out front, it was buried in an avalanche of points by unbeaten East Meadow in what became a 41-6 loss. “You’ve got to get out and make sure you’re up on them by a score or two,” Sailors coach Rob Blount said of the importance of scoring first against the Jets, who are known for their power running attack. “When you get behind, that’s when you can start reeling.”

East Meadow senior Robbie Healy ran back the ensuing kickoff 81 yards and the Jets were off to the races from there. “On defense we made some adjustments and our offense took over,” Jets head coach Vin Mascia said.

Oceanside (2-3) also managed to put together several drives deep into Jets territory but penalties and turnovers kept the Sailors off the scoreboard. Trailing just 21-6 in the second quarter, Oceanside junior Michael Camejo literally stole a handoff from Jets quarterback Dylan Curry and returned it 10 yards to the Sailors’ 42. He timed the snap perfectly, snuck through a missed blocking assignment and beat Jets senior running back James D’Elia to the ball. Following a 27-yard run by sophomore Luke Schwasnick, a 12-yard run on a keeper by Grassi and later a pass interference call on East Meadow senior Marvin Cajoles, Oceanside appeared to be climbing off
the mat.

The next play after being flagged for interference, however, Cajoles jumped a route by Sailors junior Anthony Pintabona at the 1-yard line picked off the pass and ended the threat. “We’ve got to be able to get scores,” Blount said of his offense, which has 86 points in five games and also failed to score after recovering an onside kick to start the second half. “We had a couple of opportunities.”