Defense leads Wantagh to county title

Spearheaded by the stingiest defense on Long Island, Wantagh captured its first Nassau County football championship since 2004 with a workmanlike 13-0 victory over Roosevelt in the Conference III title game Friday night at Hofstra.

Defense has been the name of the game all year for the top-seeded Warriors, who posted their third straight playoff shutout after allowing an average of 7.2 points during the regular season. Junior Gavin Casey had eight tackles, senior Joe Valenti added 7.5 tackles and two sacks, and senior Sean Colbert had 6.5 stops to lead the charge against No. 2 Roosevelt, which managed only 147 total yards and never entered the red zone.  

Wantagh (11-0), which defeated Floral Park, 48-0, and Bethpage, 28-0, to advance to the finals, will face East Islip for the Long Island Class III championship this Friday at 4 p.m. at Hofstra. The Redmen upset Sayville, 42-35, for the Suffolk Division III crown.

“Our defense is not only good, but it has to carry us because our offense isn’t as wide-open as it used to be,” Wantagh head coach Keith Sachs said. “I’m always pushing to put more points on the board, but the way tonight’s game was flowing I just wanted to commit to the run and avoid any costly mistakes.”

The Warriors’ biggest miscue, a snap over the head of punter Valenti late in the second quarter, was softened by a facemask penalty on the Rough Riders that allowed Wantagh to maintain possession after a 21-yard loss and punt again from its own 30. “That was a big play,” Roosevelt head coach Joe Vito said. “It was our best shot at momentum.”

The Rough Riders (9-2), who lost 28-0 at Wantagh on Sept. 23, played much tougher defensively in the rematch and held the Warriors to 54 total yards in the first half. Yet they still trailed 7-0 after Casey’s 29-yard touchdown run on the game’s opening possession.

“What a luxury it was to not be able to move the ball for a while and still feel positive about things because of our defense,” Sachs said. “It has to rank right up there with any defense I’ve had. 

“The kids are so disciplined and did a nice job of team tackling tonight,” he added. “They knew they couldn’t take a play off because Roosevelt has some guys who can break one for 80 yards at any time.”

Valenti, whose two sacks came on Roosevelt’s last possession and helped preserve the shutout, said the unit “gets stronger and stronger as games go on.” The Rough Riders were held to 67 yards in the second half and their deepest drive was their opening series when they moved to Wantagh’s 25 but stalled on a fourth-and-9 incomplete pass. 

Senior Corey Bull rushed for 61 yards on 13 carries for Roosevelt, which trailed by two scores after junior Tommy Rohan’s 20-yard touchdown run on the first snap of the fourth quarter. Casey (121 yards on 12 carries) and Rohan (113 yards on 19 carries) led a consistent ground attack for the Warriors, who last season came up short against MacArthur in the Conference II title game.

“I had a bad flashback to last year’s MacArthur game after we went ahead by two scores,” senior Jimmy Joyce said. “I guess I didn’t need to worry with the way our defense has played all year. It feels pretty amazing.”