MacArthur stops South Side in semis

After a long 17 months, MacArthur has earned a shot to avenge its 2019 loss to Garden City in the Nassau Conference II football championship game.
The Generals used their prolific ground attack, spearheaded by senior Ryan Isom, to set the tone in last Friday night’s 28-7 semifinal playoff victory over visiting South Side. Isom carried seven times and accounted for all 57 yards on the opening drive, capped by his 5-yard touchdown, and junior quarterback Ryan Muller had rushing and passing scores as second-seeded MacArthur (6-1) won for the 15th time in its last 17 games dating back to the start of last season.
“We brought a lot of energy right from the start,” said Isom, who totaled 223 yards on 33 carries and also scored on a 10-yard run in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead. “We’re exciting to have a second chance at Garden City,” he added.
The Generals will travel to face top-seeded and four-time defending county champion Garden City (6-0) in the title game this Saturday at 2 p.m. The Trojans hit a late field goal to beat MacArthur 16-14 in the 2019 final and took this year’s regular-season meeting 35-29 on March 27.
“I’m sure a lot of the guys have been thinking about Garden City, but South Side is a tough and physical team we needed to get by first,” MacArthur head coach Bob Fehrenbach said. “Now we hopefully have one more big performance. When we played Garden City earlier this year we didn’t get any stops in the beginning and couldn’t score on an eight-minute drive just before halftime.”

No. 3 South Side (3-3) kept its momentum going after winning nine games and playing for the Conference III championship in 2019. Head coach Phil Onesto said its offensive line, anchored by senior Jack Temple, served as the key to a third straight trip to the semifinals.
“It was a solid season and we knew we’d need to take advantage of every possession tonight,” Onesto said. “I thought we played hard and it’s not like we made many mistakes. MacArthur is tough to play against.”
Junior TJ Maher scored the Cyclones’ lone touchdown with 3:57 remaining in the first half, catching a 17-yard strike from senior quarterback JohnJude Considine to cut the margin to 14-7. Senior Matt Melkonian, who led the team in touchdowns with nine, set up the score with a 53-yard run.
The Generals answered with a 62-yard scoring drive, capped by Mullen’s 2-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left in the half, and led 21-7. Mullen then hit junior Matt Papach on a 20-yard touchdown pass to cap the opening possession of the second half. Senior kicker Alyssa Accordino drilled all four of her extra-point tries.
“We have other things that we can do with the ball, but our offensive line is big and has done a great job so we’re sticking with the ground game with Isom and [James] Napoli,” Fehrenbach said. “I don’t think it’s any secret.”