Elmont withstands Mepham rally

After jumping out to an early 22-point lead, the Elmont Spartans found themselves having to stop a furious comeback to defeat the visiting Mepham Pirates last Saturday, 28-23, in a Nassau Conference II football game.

The game was a rematch of last year’s first-round playoff matchup, when Mepham defeated Elmont, 13-6, for its first playoff win in 17 years. Now both teams sit at 4-2 and in strong position to return to the postseason.

“I don’t like losing to a team twice in a row,” said Elmont head coach Jay Hegi. “They came in and beat us last year in a home playoff game. There was a lot of pride on the line here.”

Elmont senior Kyle Johnson was the game’s biggest playmaker, returning both a kickoff and punt for a touchdown.

“If we didn’t have those special team touchdowns, it would’ve been a different ballgame,” said Hegi. “That was definitely the edge for us.”

Johnson’s first touchdown – a 40-yard punt return – got the Spartans on the board first, and after Mepham fumbled the ensuing kickoff to give possession back to Elmont, the Spartans capitalized with a 3-yard touchdown run by Ben Odugbesan to make it 14-0.

Elmont continued its early surge with a 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback William Faison to Odugbesan, and tacked on a two-point conversion to make it 22-0.

Mepham could not get anything going offensively, but received a spark midway through the second quarter when junior Shane Agostino intercepted a Faison pass to give the Pirates the ball on the Elmont 30-yard line. Two plays later, a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback A.J. Heller to senior Kyle Berlin gave the Pirates their first score.

Just minutes later, a diving catch Dylan Gordon in the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown pass thrown by Heller cut the deficit to 22-14.

In the third quarter, Mepham continued its momentum with a 2-yard touchdown run by Gordon. After failing to convert the 2-point conversion, the score was 22-20.