McKee sets TD mark as Oceanside tops Freeport

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Oceanside junior quarterback Charlie McKee threw for three touchdowns, including a record-breaking scoring toss to senior Thomas Flavin, and added a pair of touchdowns on the ground to lead the Sailors to a 34-6 victory over visiting Freeport last Friday night.
With an 11-yard scoring strike to Flavin on the final play of the first half, McKee became Oceanside’s all-time passing touchdowns leader with 56, surpassing Tyler Heuer’s mark set in 2010. McKee and the rest of the Sailors’ starters sat out the second half as they improved to 3-0 in Nassau Conference I at the midway mark of this condensed six-game regular season.
The two-time defending county and Long Island champion Red Devils (0-2), who had their Week 2 game canceled due to Hempstead dealing with Covid-19 protocols, avoided the shutout with a touchdown from senior Christian Quinn on the opening possession of the second half.
“Freeport’s a young team and didn’t have the benefit of playing last week,” Oceanside head coach Rob Blount said. “We have a tremendous amount of respect for their program.
“I’m excited and happy with how well our defense is playing and how balanced we’ve been on offense,” he added. “We’ve been able to rip off a lot of big runs in the first three games. I think we have the best offensive line we’ve had since probably 2013.”

Junior Ronnie Kraemer had 1- and 9-yard touchdown grabs in the first half when the Sailors raced to a 34-0 lead. Sophomore tight end Logan Lyson had 6 catches for 57 yards. McKee had a 28-yard touchdown run on the game-opening drive and a dynamic 59-yard scoring scamper late in the first quarter. He had 105 yards rushing and completed 16 of 23 passes for 170 yards.
“Nobody worked as hard as Charlie during the offseason,” Blount said. “It’s been fun watching him grow. He’s 6-foot-1, 195 pounds now and he’s showing his ability running the ball to go with that arm. He’s such an unselfish kid who wants to win.”
Freeport, which lost some senior standouts who chose to play football out-of-state in the fall, is lacking varsity experience and starting freshman De’Angelo Gordon at quarterback. Gordon busted a 50-yard run in the second quarter but the drive stalled inside the red zone.
Senior Andres Duran spearheaded Oceanside’s rushing attack in each of the first two games with more than 100 yards in victories over Farmingdale and Syosset. The offensive front returned three starters, led by senior left tackle Mario DePasquale, and has been nothing short of dominant so far with senior Giff Stiansen, sophomore Michael Furst, and juniors Anthony Corvino and Joey Broderick.
The defense took a hit when junior end Matt Roesler went down with a season-ending injury. The unit will lean on Duran and Lyson at linebacker and Kreamer (two interceptions) and junior Michael Mecca in the secondary to pick up some of the slack.
Freeport hosts Port Washington this Friday at 5 p.m. Oceanside visits East Meadow this Saturday at 2.