Against all odds, Sewanhaka’s football season will continue.
The Indians entered last Saturday’s regular-season finale needing a victory and additional help to advance to the playoffs. They took care of their own business, beating visiting Mepham 28-7, and benefited from losses by Carey and Valley Stream Central to earn the fourth and final postseason berth in Nassau Conference II.
“We’ve been underdogs all season,” said senior captain Brian Lowry, who had two interceptions and a touchdown run as Sewanhaka won for the fourth time in five games. “We started with 25 guys and we’re down to 18,” he added. “Most of us are playing both sides of the ball and we had some young kids come up from JV to help out.”
Senior quarterback Rahul Krishan threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score in a performance Sewanhaka head coach George Kasimatis said was his finest of the season. “He was our JV quarterback as a freshman and transferred back after going to St. Mary’s for two years,” Kasimatis said. “He didn’t get as much time to prepare as he would’ve in the fall, but he’s worked and improved every week.”
Mepham (1-4) played without senior quarterback Billy Kender due to a high-ankle sprain and was in action for the first time in two weeks after being forced to quarantine. Sophomore Dominick Novello, one of Kender’s main targets in the passing game, spent most of the game in the backfield and got the Pirates on the board midway through the third quarter with a 15-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 21-7.