Defense leads Mepham past Elmont

It had been 17 years since Mepham had won a playoff football game.

Despite making the postseason in four of the last five years, the program has seen nothing but first-round playoff exits since 1993. That all changed last Saturday afternoon, when the Pirates traveled to Elmont and stunned the Spartans, 13-6, in a Nassau Conference II first-round playoff game.

“It’s a tremendous win for the program,” Mepham coach Anthony Cracco said. “It’s been a long time since we played at Hofstra and it’s a big step for us. The kids have worked tremendously hard since last year to get here.”

Mepham extended its lead in the second quarter on a 25-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Nick White to senior receiver J.T. Castaldo. The defense did the rest, shutting down Elmont during second half, and the Pirates held on for the victory and a semifinal date with top-seeded Carey this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Hofstra.

Following the game, Cracco received a well-deserved Gatorade bath from his players for leading his team to a victory that had been 17 years in the making.

It didn’t start out pretty for Mepham. Senior running back Jaquan Smith broke a 76-yard run in the first quarter all the way to the end zone to give Elmont an early 6-0 lead, following a blocked extra point.

Mepham came back strong in the second quarter, and after a running back Kevin Tauriello had a 30-yard run to get his team into Spartans territory, Dylan Gordon ran the ball 10 yards and into the end zone. Mepham led 7-6 after converting the extra point.

Both teams got a little sloppy late in the first half. Smith fumbled to give Mepham the ball with good field position, only to have Tauriello fumble and give Elmont the ball right back. Shortly after, it was Elmont quarterback Qusarn Caldwell’s turn to fumble after taking a sack. Mepham’s Chris Shevins, in what was arguably the game-changing play, recovered the ball in Elmont territory. It set up the scoring pass from White to Castaldo.

“I knew the quarterback was going to hang in the pocket there and he just threw it to me,” Castaldo said. “I knew it was going to work.” 

In the second half, Mepham’s defense went to work. Elmont went on fourth-and-12 from Mepham’s 22-yard line, but failed to convert after Caldwell’s throw sailed over the head of Lyadel Sutherland. Later in the third quarter, another Elmont drive stalled after Caldwell was picked off by Castaldo.

“Defensively, he was all over the field,” Cracco said of Castaldo. “It was an outstanding day.”

Late in the fourth quarter, Elmont got the ball back with two minutes remaining looking to tie the game. Facing a difficult third-and-22, the Spartans completed a spectacular 44-yard pass after receiver Kyle Johnson caught a deflected pass off the fingertips of Mepham’s cornerback. However, three players later, the game was effectively ended when Mepham defensive linemen Castaldo and Joe Aliberti had a combined sack on Caldwell on fourth-and-7.

A few hundred Mepham supporters in attendance began celebrating, as they knew the Pirates sealed the victory. “We’ve been working on this for a long time,” Castaldo said. “It was a real good game.”

It was a disappointing loss for Elmont, which after winning the conference championship in 2008, was seeking another deep playoff run.

“The defense let us down in the first half and the offense let us down the entire game,” Elmont coach Jay Hegi said. “I feel bad for the seniors. But give them a lot of credit, they played a great game.”