Wantagh foiled by Garden City

Despite only mustering 61 yards of total offense in the first two quarters, Wantagh trailed Garden City by six points entering the locker room and within striking distance of pulling off a major upset in the Nassau County Conference II semifinals last Saturday.

The flood gates quickly opened after halftime however with Garden City scoring 21 unanswered points in a 5:24 stretch of the third quarter en route to a 41-0 win at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium that advanced the Trojans to the county title game for a sixth straight season and 11th time in 12 years. It makes the sixth straight year Wantagh has had its championship hopes dashed on the Hofstra stage by Garden City, a program the Warriors haven’t beaten since 1975.

Despite falling short of the county finals, longtime head coach Keith Sachs reflected after the game on all his team accomplished in 2014. The Warriors graduated 29 seniors off last year’s 7-3 team that dropped a 14-12 heartbreaker to Garden City in the semis, but managed to go 6-4 and get just as far in the postseason.

“We got better and better as the year went on,” said Sachs, whose team entered the semifinal game on a four-game winning streak that included a 30-21 first round victory against Sewanhaka. “By the end of the year, we were a very good football team and we played that way in the first half. The third quarter got away from us but we came to play.”

Wantagh’s defense hung tough in the first half holding Garden City to 80 yards of offense and limited the Trojans to two field goals. Senior linebacker Ralph Sommer led the defensive effort with seven tackles and a fumble recovery.

Garden City’s defense, which has limited opponents to single digits in six games this season, made it challenging for the Warriors to generate much offense. Wantagh was led by 33 yards rushing from junior right back Dylan Beckwith, 23 yards on the ground by Kyle Sliwak, and three catches out of the backfield by senior Vinny Vasheo. Junior quarterback Robert Tucker, who threw for 196 yards in the Warriors’ first round win against Sewanhaka, was 4-for-7 passing in the semifinals.

With 21 juniors slated to return next year, Sachs is hoping the progress made in 2014 will pay dividends. This season marked the eighth straight year Wantagh reached at least the semifinals at Hofstra, an accomplishment Sachs says gives them valuable experience heading into 2015.

“Some people take [getting to Hofstra] for granted but we’re here and we worked hard and the returning players can now work from this point to go forward so next year the goal won’t be just to get here but to get further,” said Sachs, who began his stint as Wantagh head coach in 1991 and guided the Warriors to county titles in 2001 and ‘04. “Next year, we are going to have higher goals.”