Sailors special season ends

Oceanside’s dream of its first football county championship since 1977 came to a screeching halt as the Sailors fell to Farmingdale, 42-20, in a Nassau Conference I semifinal at Hofstra on Nov. 11.

Senior quarterback Sal Tuttle was 8-for-9 passing for 162 yards and running back Kevin Wahl ran for 177 yards and two touchdowns for Farmingdale, which advanced to meet defending champion Freeport in a rematch of last season’s title game.

Oceanside head coach Rob Blount was disappointed with the loss, but enthusiastic about the future of the Sailors’ program. “We just never got into any kind of rhythm,” Blount said. “I think it was a combination of playing at Hofstra for the first time, the high expectations, and, of course, the fact that Farmingdale played so well. It’s frustrating and disappointing, but when you look back years from now, these guys will be looked upon as the building blocks of our program.”

The Sailors (8-2) could not have gotten off to a worse start. The Dalers went up 7-0 just four plays into the game when Tuttle called his own number and ran it in from 11 yards out. Tuttle had hit senior Pat Starke down the right sideline for 59 yards to set up the score.

After mustering just 12 yards on the ensuing drive, the Sailors were forced to punt. Disaster struck as Starke returned the punt 72 yards for a score to give Farmingdale a 13-0 with less than three minutes gone in the opening quarter.

Oceanside finally got going on the next possession. Senior quarterback Tyler Heuer, who set the Nassau County record for touchdowns in a season in the quarterfinal game a week ago, engineered a nine-play, 65-yard drive to get the Sailors on the board. Senior Nick Sherry, who missed much of the game with an injury, took it in from 12 yards out. Junior Travis Feinberg’s kick got Oceanside within 13-7.

Farmingdale answered quickly. The Dalers scored back-to-back touchdowns to take a 28-7 lead, and it looked like the rout was on. However, a Heuer four-yard touchdown run gave the Sailors some life, and a touchdown reception by senior Chris Hughes got the Sailors to within striking distance at 28-20 with just 18 seconds remaining in the first half.

Surprisingly, the third quarter was a defensive battle. Neither team could get much going, but Farmingdale finally broke through. With Tuttle on the bench nursing an injured shoulder, Wahl took over. The senior running back’s 15-yard touchdown run on the final play of the third quarter was the backbreaker.

Heuer, Sherry, Gene Garay and Hector Quintin were All-County honorees, while Brian Ellis and Joe Swanson were All-Conference recipients. John Traverso earned Unsung Hero recognition.

Blount took a lot of positives out of the season. “The amount of people who came out to support the team says a lot about the growth of our program,” Blount said. “The way the boys turned this program around in two years is something very special.”