Timely defense sparks Carey victory

Second-seeded Carey scored on its opening possession of Saturday’s Nassau Conference II football semifinal and never looked back on the way to defeating No. 3 Manhasset, 14-6, at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.

Senior quarterback Christian Boswell and senior tailback William Tolliver had touchdowns for the Seahawks (9-1), who advance to the county championship stage for the first time since 2018. Senior JoJo Spano and freshman Justin DePietro had key takeaways for a defense that pitched a shutout for all but 36 seconds.

“Nothing’s easy in November and we’re excited to be headed to the championship game,” Carey head coach Mike Stanley said. “We had an excellent opening drive where we mixed up the pass and the run, and our defense stepped up in big spots.”

Carey, seeking its first county title since 2014, will face top-seeded and seven-time defending champion Garden City (10-0) next Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Hofstra. The Trojans handed the Seahawks their lone defeat this season, 30-6, Sept. 30.

“We’re going to enjoy this one for a while,” Stanley said. “We know what it’s going to take next week.”

In beating Manhasset for the second time in three weeks, the Seahawks thwarted multiple Indians’ drives in enemy territory with a turnover, a fourth-down stop or a sack. The bend-but-don’t-break defense began on the game-opening drive when a pass from Manhasset quarterback Drew Schwartz fell incomplete on a fourth-and-7 from the Carey 32.

Boswell then directed a 10-play, 68-yard scoring drive and covered the last 10 yards on the ground himself for a 6-0 lead with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter. Senior TJ Wakely had three catches for 26 yards and Tolliver three touches for 26.

“Some of the opening drive was scripted but not every play,” Stanley said. “The kids really came out and executed.”

DePietro recovered a fumble at the Carey 17 early in the second quarter, and just before halftime with the Indians back in the red zone a combined sack by Spano and senior Jack Tierney drove Manhasset back to the 34 where a fourth-and-17 heave fell incomplete.

The Seahawks, who beat the Indians 28-14 in the regular-season finale on the final weekend of October, got the ball to open the second half but an interception around midfield and long return by Jack Mulholland set up a first-and-goal at the Carey 9.

A chop block penalty on second down and a sack by Tierney sent Manhasset back to the 27 and that’s when Spano made the play of the game, picking off Schwartz and returning it to the 49.

“We’re just really good at stepping up in bad situations,” Spano said. “Our D-line put great pressure on the quarterback and he threw it right to me. I couldn’t mess that up.”

Five plays later, Tolliver scored on a 21-yard run. Boswell connected with Wakely for the 2-point conversion to make it 14-0 with 6:20 left in the third quarter.

Mulholland found the end zone late, but Carey senior Ben Rose secured a popup kickoff and its trip to the final.