Thursday, December 12, 2024
Wantagh faced a daunting task Friday afternoon in the Long Island Class IV football title game against two-time reigning champion Bayport-Blue Point, owners of the second-longest win streak on L.I. behind Garden City at 34.
But the run came to an end at the hands of the Warriors.
Wantagh, behind quarterback Ryan Conigliaro, Dylan Martini, Joe Nicholson and John Gendels, found the end zone every quarter and knocked off the Phantoms, 29-21, before a crowd of 1,500 at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.
Conigliaro threw three touchdown passes — one each to Martini, Nicholson and Gendels — and Martini delivered a scoring strike to Nicholson out of a Wildcat formation as Wantagh (11-1) captured its first L.I. crown since beating East Islip in 2016 for Class III supremacy. There were no Long Island championships when the Warriors won the Nassau Conference IV title in the spring of 2021.
“We have an exceptional group of kids and I couldn’t be happier for them,” said head coach Keith Sachs, who a week earlier guided the Warriors to a fifth county title in his 32nd year at the helm. “You don’t accomplish this without everyone on board and these kids were all on board since last season ended,” he added. “Their work ethic has been second to none and they deserved to experience this. It’s awesome.”
Martini rushed for 142 yards, giving him 1,976 on the year to go with 28 touchdowns on the ground. He and Gendels led a ground attack that dominated all year but surprisingly didn’t produce a score in the finale.
“We knew we had to throw the ball today with the way Bayport was stacking the box,” Sachs said. “[Conigliaro] Ryan was tremendous. He’s underrated as a quarterback. He’s also our baseball shortstop and he’s a winner.”
Conigliaro and his counterpart, Bayport senior Cooper Fuller, combined for 5 passing touchdowns, no turnovers and only four incompletions. Conigliaro went 13-for-16 for 168 yards; Fuller was 6-for-7 for 135 yards and two scores through the air and added 100 yards rushing.
“Greatest feeling in my life,” said Conigliaro, whose touchdown passes covered 17 (Nicholson), 24 (Martini) and 21 (Gendels) yards. “I couldn’t have had this kind of a game without the offensive line and my receivers,” he added. “Everyone just gave it all they had. Our game plan going in was to win at all costs.”
The Warriors trailed 14-7 late in the first half but had a magical two-minute drill that featured a hook-and-ladder for a first down and culminated with a touchdown grab by Martini in the corner of the end zone with 12 seconds remaining. Martini then hit senior Oliver Iacobazzi for the two-point conversion and Wantagh led 15-14 at halftime.
“Even though we were up one at the half, we got pushed around a little and knew we had to be better,” Sachs said. “The way we came out in the second half was huge.”
As they did in the first quarter when senior two-way lineman Chris Romano recovered a Bayport fumble that led to Nicholson’s first touchdown, the Warriors scored on their opening drive of the third quarter to lead 22-14. They marched 61 yards on eight plays, capped by Gendels’ touchdown set up by a key 15-yard reception by junior Devin Paccione.
Wantagh’s next drive was a backbreaker for the Phantoms, who hadn’t lost since the 2021 Suffolk Division IV final. It covered 93 yards on 13 plays and ate up more than eight minutes of clock time. Sachs unleashed the Wildcat with the O-line of Romano, Shareef McMillan, Andrew Perez, Anthony Calise, Joe Valentino and Tommy Wunderlich providing Martini with time to operate.
Nicholson caught two passes from Conigliaro totaling 31 yards and the final 18 on a dart from Martini, and it was 29-14 with 7:20 left after Nick Figueroa’s extra point.
“Good things happen when Martini has the ball,” Sachs said. “He’s special.”
The same can be said of Fuller, who kept Bayport alive with a dynamic drive on the ensuing possession. He twice kept the chains moving with fourth-down completions and found tight end Sean Coffey for a 12-yard touchdown with 4:38 to go to make it a one-possession game.
“That Fuller kid won me over, he was tough,” Sachs said. “He kept them in it all the way.”
Wantagh, which won three Nassau playoff games by a combined 113 points, recovered the onside kick (Wunderlich) and picked up three first downs to burn the clock.
“It’s the greatest feeling,” McMillan said. “We played our best. We saved our best for last.”
