Saturday, October 3, 2026
Without a kicker and trailing visiting Lynbrook by two points late in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s Nassau Conference IV football showdown, Malverne’s only route to the win column was through the end zone.
And with a large dose of their three-pronged ground attack of quarterback Isaiah Smith and tailbacks Jayden Johnson and Jamir Houston, the Mules snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in front of a large home crowd.
Smith capped a 10-play, 73-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run with 59 seconds remaining to put Malverne ahead and iced the 22-10 win with a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown just before the final horn.
“It feels really good to be back here and winning games,” said Smith, a senior who played at Christ the King last year. “Even if we lost, I wouldn’t have shed a tear knowing we left everything on the field,” he added. “Everything starts with the O-line. Those guys knew it was crunch time and gave us the push up front we needed.”
Smith rushed for 139 yards on 20 carries and scored twice on the ground to go with his pick-6. Johnson had 61 yards rushing; Houston added 33 yards rushing and led the defense with 11 tackles and also blocked a field goal as the Mules improved to 3-1.
“We want to play smash-mouth football,” Malverne head coach Kito Lockwood said. “We knew Lynbrook would be a big test. They’ve got tough kids and are well-coached. They had us down twice but our guys stuck together and pulled together to get the win.”
Junior Thomas Potash scored the lone touchdown for the Owls (2-2), who got a 25-yard field goal from senior Phillip Dzieciolowski with 48 seconds left in the third quarter to take a 10-8 lead after they trailed at the half by one.
“We had some opportunities we didn’t take advantage of, and that came back to haunt us,” Lynbrook head coach Dave Yaker said. “You have to convert plays to beat good teams. Malverne has a lot of weapons and they’re physical and athletic. We didn’t do all the little things it takes to win.”
Junior Elias Vandoros had a first-quarter interception that set up the Potash touchdown as the Owls struck first to lead 7-0. It stayed that way until 3:47 remained in the half when Smith scored on an 18-yard touchdown run and added the two-point conversion for an 8-7 Malverne lead.
After Lynbrook regained the lead, the Mules had their ensuing possession stall at midfield early in the fourth quarter. The next time they got the ball, 6:20 remained and it was go-time.
Anchored by senior Brian Major, an offensive line that includes Leelyn Green, Axel Perez, Kamally Grace and Brandon Gonzalez, playing his first game at center, went to work.
“We trust 5 [Smith], 10 [Johnson] and 8 [Houston] to make plays and we’re just trying to give them as much space as possible,” Major said. “We want a home playoff game. That’s one of our goals, but it’s one step at a time.”
