Thursday, October 1, 2026
Despite trailing defending Nassau Conference IV football champion Seaford by 11 points late in the third quarter of Thursday night’s opener. visiting Lynbrook didn’t panic.
The Owls got within a field goal on junior Thomas Potash’s second rushing touchdown and then flew past the Vikings, 24-21, with a long fourth-quarter scoring drive capped by senior quarterback William O’Riordan’s 7-yard touchdown run with 7:24 remaining.
“This win is not only for all of us but for all of our brothers who were on last year’s team,” O’Riordan said. “We’ve worked so hard since Seaford beat us in the semifinals last November. We showed out tonight and I couldn’t be happier.”
O’Riordan set up his game-winning score — his first in a varsity uniform — with connections through the air to seniors Orji Agwu and Peter Rahaniotis for 12 and 30 yards, respectively. It was the Owls’ first and only lead.
Rahaniotis helped preserve it on Seaford’s ensuing possession with a strip sack takeaway, with junior Elias Vanderos recovering the fumble. Lynbrook’s defense also stood its ground in the final two minutes as junior quarterback Finn Curry (3 touchdown passes) had the Vikings knocking on the door before their final possession stalled at the Owls’ 19.
“This is nearly a year’s worth of work,” Lynbrook head coach Dave Yaker said. “We didn’t start three weeks ago. We gave them a week off after we lost to Seaford at Hofstra and got right back to work. I’m really happy for our guys. This is a big win against one of the most successful programs in the county for a long time.”
Senior Michael Calvacca had a pair of touchdown receptions and senior Carmine Pandolfino had the other for Seaford, which led 21-10 with 7 minutes left in the third quarter.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Seaford head coach Mike McHugh said. “The top two ranked teams in the conference and there’s a good chance we’ll see each other again down the road. We had our chances, but tonight they got the better of us.”
The Vikings, who beat Lynbrook 48-20 in last year’s semis on the way to the county title, struck first with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter on Calvacca’s nifty 50-yard touchdown grab and run. Lynbrook cut the lead to 7-3 on senior Phillip Dzieciolowski’s 25-yard field goal midway through the second.
Both offenses found paydirt late in the first half. Seaford led 14-3 with 2:12 remaining on Pandolfino’s 5-yard touchdown catch, but O’Riordan & Co. responded with 40 seconds left when Potash found the end zone from 5 yards out.
Potash answered Calvacca’s second touchdown with a second of his own, a 22-yard run with 32 seconds to go in the third. Rahaniotis’ 2-point conversion followed to cut the margin to 21-18.
The Owls’ defense allowed just one first down on the ensuing possession to set the stage for the winning drive.
“It’s a great start to the season for us, but we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Yaker said.
Lynbrook hosts Locust Valley next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Seaford visits East Rockaway/West Hempstead next Friday at 6:30 p.m.
