Elmont loses to Wantagh, 13-12

Elmont’s Jaquan Smith wasn’t the only bolt of lighting in the area last Thursday afternoon, but his game-opening 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown wasn’t enough for the Spartans to avenge last year’s Conference II first-round playoff loss to Wantagh.

In a game suspended at halftime due to severe weather and completed the next day, the visiting Warriors made a huge play on each side of the ball in the third quarter and held on for a 13-12 victory. Elmont, which led 6-0 at the half, failed on a two-point conversion try with 7:45 remaining and saw its final drive end with an interception just outside the red zone with less than two minutes to go.

“It stings any time you lose,” Spartans coach Jay Hegi said. “Our defense played great for a second straight week, but I wasn’t happy with our execution on offense.” 

Wantagh’s touchdowns came in a span of 2:11 and gave the Warriors a 13-6 lead. Michael Games caught a 65-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Mullen, and John Ingrilli followed with a 56-yard interception return for a score on Elmont’s next possession. 

“We made a few adjustments, but no more than we would’ve made during a normal halftime,” Wantagh coach Keith Sachs said after his team improved to 2-0. “It was a good battle.” 

Neither offense did much in the first half after Smith’s electrifying start to the game. Wantagh punted four times and had two possessions end on downs, while Elmont punted twice, ran out of downs twice and turned the ball over once.

“We’ve got a whole new starting line,” Hegi said. “We’ve missed some blocking assignments, but I’m sure we’ll get better.”

The second half was played under ideal weather conditions, though it took a while for either offense to click. After the teams traded punts, Wantagh got the home run it was looking for when Games slipped behind the secondary and caught a perfect pass from Mullen, who struggled in the first half while splitting time with backup Gerard Roche. Games caught the ball at the Elmont 20 and raced into the end zone to tie the game. Christian Labenberg’s extra point gave the Warriors a 7-6 lead.

Labenberg missed the conversion try after Ingrilli’s interception, the second of three in the game thrown by Elmont quarterback Qusarn Caldwell, and Hegi was faced with a tough decision after Caldwell hooked up with receiver Kyle Johnson for an 18-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to one.

“I always play to win,” Hegi said. “I didn’t like how we handled the extra point after yesterday’s touchdown. I thought if we got the two, we’d win the game. And if we didn’t get the two, we’d get the ball back and have another chance to win it.”

Wantagh maintained its lead after Caldwell’s two-point conversion pass fell incomplete, but Elmont cornerback Devin Guerre put his offense back in business with less than three minutes left when he stepped in front of a pass intended for Brian VonBargen and returned the interception to Wantagh’s 34. After three straight runs by Smith moved the chains, however, Jake Gambitsky picked off Caldwell to seal the outcome.

“We need to respond against Westbury,” said Hegi, whose team rolled to a 33-0 victory over Kennedy in the Sept. 11 opener behind three touchdowns from Smith.

The Spartans visit Westbury (1-1) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.