Thursday, October 1, 2026
Calhoun and Mepham high schools are separated by a few miles on the map, but on Friday afternoon the difference between the two on the football field was a matter of inches.
After having a potential game-winning field goal blocked in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter, Calhoun scored touchdowns on both of its overtime possessions and held off the Pirates in a 25-19 Nassau Conference II thriller, thanks to a game-ending fumble recovery by senior Steven Welti.
“It was an absolute dogfight,” said Colts junior quarterback Jacob Fortin, who had an 11-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter to tie the game at 13 and connected with senior Joseph Smith on the game-winning 30-yard scoring strike on third-and-20. “We’ve been anticipating this game forever and it was an amazing game,” Fortin added. “Both teams played really hard and it’s a big win for us.”
Both teams are 1-1. Calhoun dropped its opener to Garden City; Mepham rolled over MacArthur.
“We knew exactly what this game was going to be like,” Calhoun head coach Nick Rawls said. “We had a couple of very unfortunate injuries, but we just continued to fight and push. It’s a pretty resilient team and it’s a great win we’ll look to build off of.”
Mepham, which led 13-6 at halftime, forced overtime when senior Tyler Gaskin blocked the Colts’ 30-yard field goal try with less than a minute remaining. The Pirates led again, 19-13 in OT, when senior Kellen Franquiz hauled in a 20-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Adam Erlichman, but couldn’t cash in their next possession on first-and-goal from the 10.
“It was a tremendous high school football game,” Mepham head coach Tom Mazeika said. “Great sportsmanship. These kids have a lot of respect for each other. It was back-and-forth and we just didn’t execute well enough in certain situations to win.”
The first of many momentum swings came early. The Pirates were poised to take the lead on a short field goal early in the first quarter when it was blocked by junior Jaxson Del Rosario and recovered by classmate Gianni Capizzi, who took it 97 yards to the house for a 6-0 Calhoun lead.
“It was a great feeling,” Capizzi said. “We pushed ourselves to the limit to come away with this one.”
Mepham took a 7-6 lead late in the first quarter with a defensive score. Gaskin sacked Fortin and forced a fumble that was scooped by senior Nate Greene, who returned it for a 19-yard touchdown. Greene also had an interception.
Senior Paul Genovese’s 3-yard touchdown run with 4:48 left in the half extended the advantage.
An interception by Calhoun senior James Chicco at midfield set up the eventual game-tying scoring drive. Junior Aydin Habib also picked off a pass for the Colts, who got a 6-yard touchdown run by senior Nicholas Maresca on their first OT possession to stay alive.
