Wantagh rallies to beat Roosevelt

With its season hanging in the balance late in the fourth quarter of last Saturday’s Nassau Conference III football semifinal, trailing No. 2 Roosevelt by a point, defending champion Wantagh reached into its reliable bag of tricks and pulled out a winner.

Chris Hogan’s 39-yard touchdown reception off a gadget pass from fellow senior receiver Ryan Murphy with 1:02 remaining gave the third-seeded Warriors a thrilling 25-20 come-from-behind victory at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium. Murphy caught a toss from senior quarterback Ryan McCarty at the line of scrimmage and had multiple targets open downfield behind a surprised Roosevelt defense.

“I knew 100 percent it was a touchdown as soon as it left my hands,” Murphy said. “Coach [Keith] Sachs always has great plays for us. Every single thing he calls puts us in position to do our jobs.”

Wantagh (8-2) will battle No. 1 Lawrence (9-1) for the county title this Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Hofstra.

“We practice gadget plays every day just like we do all the others,” Sachs said. “Sometimes we change the routes, but the idea is the same. We were just waiting for the right time to break them out. It’s not really meant for a home run, it’s more for a first down. The kids executed perfectly.”

The Warriors, who’ve had a myriad of key injuries in 2017, had very little going on offense until early in the third quarter. They totaled 45 yards on 22 plays in the first half and trailed 6-0 after the first of three touchdown runs by Roosevelt junior Tevon Hall.

“They’re a tough opponent and what they do, they do well,” Sachs said. “They ran it really well in the second half.”

So too did Wantagh. Senior Patrick Walsh got the offense in gear with touchdown runs of 58 and 35 yards in the third quarter and it led 13-6. “The line did a great job on both plays,” said Walsh, who finished with 129 yards on 16 carries. “I was able to run through the holes untouched.”

Hall, who had 254 yards on 43 carries, busted his longest run of the day — 48 yards — for a touchdown with 1:00 left in the third and Wilfredo Perez’s extra point made it 13-13.

Wantagh regained the lead on McCarty’s 9-yard touchdown pass to senior Anthony D’Onofrio, who caught it off a deflection, with 9:04 left, however, Hall, Nassau’s leading rusher, continued to dominate. He accounted for all 54 yards on the ensuing drive and the Rough Riders were back in front, 20-19, with 3:26 remaining after his 1-yard touchdown and Perez’s PAT.

“It was such a crazy finish,” Walsh said. “I thought we had it after Hogan’s touchdown, but I was nervous until the end.”