Oceanside falls short of L.I. title

One last dynamic performance from senior quarterback Tommy Heuer and Oceanside’s offense wasn’t enough for the Sailors to complete a perfect season.

Behind Ohio State recruit Jeremy Ruckert and quarterback Nick Anzalone, Lindenhurst captured its first Long Island football championship on Sunday evening with a 40-23 victory over Oceanside in the Class I title game before a crowd of 4,500 at Stony Brook’s LaValle Stadium.

The 6-foot-6 Ruckert came up big in every facet, accounting for 16 points (one touchdown, two field goals and four extra points), catching five passes for 110 yards, blocking a pivotal field-goal try late in the second quarter, and picking off the record-setting Heuer late in the fourth.

“He sure came to play,” Bulldogs head coach Nick Lombardo said of Ruckert, who returned the blocked field goal 61 yards to set up Rick Conway’s 1-yard touchdown run that put Lindenhurst (12-0) ahead for good at 20-16 with 5:11 left in the first half. “The blocked kick was a big turning point,” he added.

Oceanside (11-1) trailed 23-16 at halftime after Ruckert’s 35-yard field goal and would get no closer than a touchdown despite a relentless air attack that vaulted Heuer to the top of the LIC record book for attempts (63) and completions (43.) Anzalone threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns.

“Tommy’s our leader,” Sailors head coach Rob Blount said. “He just did a great job the whole year.”

Heuer threw for 461 yards and two scores, tying him for the county single-season record for touchdown passes with 38. He was intercepted only twice through 11 games before Lindenhurst nabbed him twice in the fourth quarter. Justin Zotto returned one 20 yards for a touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 37-23 lead with 9:48 remaining.

Oceanside senior Derek Cruz set a LIC mark with 17 receptions totaling 166 yards. His 3-yard touchdown catch opened the scoring just 1:24 into the game. Junior Jake Lazzaro added 14 grabs for 180 yards, and senior Dylan Judd had eight catches for 98 yards.

The Sailors trailed 14-7 after the first quarter but battled back to lead 16-14 three minutes into the second following a 38-yard field goal by senior Francesco Ancona and a Heuer 1-yard touchdown run.

“There were a couple of swing plays that went their way,” Blount said. “We had a good game plan and I thought we executed pretty well. We came up a little short, but it was a memorable year. We set out to win a county championship and brought it home.”