Oceanside drops opener at Freeport

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The smallest player on the field had the biggest impact in Freeport’s 36-26 victory over visiting Oceanside in last Friday night’s much-anticipated Nassau Conference I football opener.

Sophomore quarterback Rashad Tucker, who’s listed at 5-foot-9, 150 pounds, passed for 246 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 90 yards and two touchdowns, including a dazzling 20-yard score on fourth-and-18 in the second quarter, to lead the fourth-ranked Red Devils before a packed crowd of more than 1,500. Senior Myles Eason’s 12-yard touchdown catch with 9:51 remaining put the hosts ahead for good.

“Last year he became the first freshman I’ve started at quarterback in 32 years, and he nearly won the playoff game for us,” Freeport head coach Russ Cellan said of Tucker, who had four completions of at least 20 yards. “He’s dynamic. He can create and turn a broken play into a big play with his legs.”

On the winning drive, Tucker did just that with a 20-yard scramble on third-and-11 to move the chains inside the Oceanside 30. “He’s a good athlete,” Oceanside head coach Rob Blount said. “They’ve got a fast team. We didn’t tackle well and gave up some big plays, but it’s just one game and we have seven more to go.”

Junior Brandy Diaz rushed for 133 yards and three touchdowns for the No. 2-ranked Sailors, who never led but answered each of Freeport’s first four scores with one of their own. “We beat a very good football team,” Cellan said. “This gives us confidence moving forward. I’ve got to believe we’re capable of good things if we play our cards right.”

The Red Devils were in business after their second offensive snap of the season resulted in a 60-yard gain by senior Jorden Curtis off a dump pass. Three plays later, senior D’monte Woody found the end zone from a yard out on a direct snap. Tucker ran in the two-point conversion, one of three successful tries on the night for Freeport, to make it 8-0.

Diaz rumbled down the middle 57 yards for a touchdown midway through the second quarter that, with the extra point, made it 8-7. It was tied at 14 at halftime after Tucker’s electrifying sideline-to-sideline scoring dash was answered by Oceanside senior J.T. D’Angelo’s 8-yard touchdown run.

“In the first half, they caught us with an unbalanced formation,” Cellan said. “We made a few adjustments that helped, but they’re a tough team to defend.”

On the third snap of the second half, Tucker connected with senior Corey Spivey for a 68-yard gain to the Oceanside 5 that set up his 2-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal to make it 20-14. It was tied again with 5:55 remaining in the third quarter when a fumble recovery by senior Bobby Stewart at the Freeport 16 led to another Diaz touchdown.

“This puts a little pressure on us to win the next one, but we’ll be fine,” Blount said.

Oceanside travels to Uniondale this Saturday, while Freeport visits Hempstead. Both games kick off at 2 p.m.