Wantagh rallies to beat Roosevelt

Reigning Nassau Conference III football champion Wantagh (4-0) defended its home field last Thursday night in a 22-12 victory over Roosevelt. 

The contest was a rematch of last year’s county title game won by Wantagh, 13-0.

However, the start to last week’s game differed greatly from the conference finale a year ago: Wantagh trailed at half.

“I don’t think we played well in the first half,” Wantagh head coach Keith Sachs said. “We missed a lot of assignments, made a mistake on special teams, but we hung around.”

Down 12-7 at half, Sachs and his bunch were focused on the defensive unit going forward. However, the Warriors were forced to make due without their leader, Gavin Casey.

Early in the first half, Casey swung the ball out wide towards the sideline on a rush attempt. He went down hard and immediately clutched towards the lower half of his leg. He was later seen on the sidelines on crutches.

“He’s probably the best defensive player on Long Island and when you lose someone like that, other guys have to step up,” Sachs said. “We have some guys that practice very hard and got a shot. I think it was a good showing as a whole team effort.”

Sachs also commented on the extent of his star player’s injury. “Well we know it’s not his knee, it’s his ankle, so we’ll get him some x-rays and see how it is,” Sachs said. “I’m just so happy it’s not his knee. He worked so hard to get back and get ready, so whatever injury he has, however long he’s out, I’m just happy it’s not his knee because he worked so hard to overcome that.”

Sachs was referring to Casey’s road to recovery from a knee injury he suffered but worked diligently to overcome.

Soon after returning to the field from halftime, the Warriors forced and successfully recovered two fumbles in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Vin LaRosa added an interception to tally on a third takeaway for the half.

Defensive lineman Jack LaVache tallied nine tackles on the night, also getting to the quarterback for two sacks.

On the offensive end, senior quarterback Jake Castellano completed 4 passes out of 12 attempts for 65 yards and a touchdown. The highlight through the air was a spiraling dime dropped into the hands of Ryan Murphy at the tail end of an accurately run goal-line fade route.

Senior running back Tommy Rohan dominated his touches on this night, rushing for 183 yards on 20 attempts and two touchdowns. Wantagh’s seven points in the first half came from a long rushing touchdown where Rohan slingshotted through his offensive line for a highlight-reel play.

“He’s just a tough kid. He follows his blocks, fights for every yard, and plays so hard on every single play. What a class act, and what a great kid,” Sachs said.

Wantagh looks to stay perfect this Saturday at home against Lynbrook. Kickoff is 3 p.m.