By Steve Siniski
Despite all the offensive fireworks, however, the game came down to a single play by the stop unit in the final minute. Andrew Rubenau picked off a pass at midfield to end the Red Devils last gasp attempt to tie the game. "To make a big play like that [at the end] left a big taste in [the defense¹s] mouth," East Meadow coach Vinny Masica said. "Over the last 20 years we were 0-10 against Freeport. For the work we¹ve put in that was a real measuring stick. We proved that we can play with anyone now, this year, with this team."
It took just six plays for the Jets to open the scoring, and as was the case in the season-opener, Poznanski was the catalyst. He ripped off a 52-yard run before Chris Bright finished off the 83-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown scamper. Quarterback Mike Tracy continued his efficient play, completing all six of his pass attempts for 72 yards and tossed an 18-yard scoring pass to Mike Callaghan in the second quarter to help East Meadow open up a 14-0 bulge. "This year we have the speed and can break 60- or 80-yard plays," Mascia said. "It¹s a nice added dimension."
After running just six offensive plays in the third quarter and watching the Red Devils chip away at the lead with two touchdowns, East Meadow took control with a nine-play, 63-yard drive capped by a 15-yard scoring run from Rubenau. "We got the ball at the start of the fourth quarter and it was like a playoff game," Mascia said. "At 21-14 it would have been easy for us to lose composure, but we didn¹t do that."
When the smoke cleared in the win over Freeport, six Jets combined for the 51 rushing attempts: Chris Bright led the way with 10 for 66 yards, while Matt Bright, Tracy and Rubenau (102 yards) had nine each. Poznanski had eight carries, while Alex Rivas chipped in with six.
Through two games the Jets have scored 62 points, but more importantly, the defense stood strong in keeping Freeport at bay and held Hempstead to just one touchdown. "We¹re very hard to run against," Mascia said. "We held Hempstead to 35 total yards and Freeport to just 88 yards rushing. The front line and the linebackers have done a great job."
The Jets have yet another big challenge on the schedule this week, as they hit the road for the first time against preseason No. 1 Massapequa. The Chiefs lost their first game of the year to Baldwin but bounced back with a 14-8 win at Hempstead last week. The two teams battled in the first round of last year¹s playoffs with Massapequa coming out on top in a shoot-out, 51-40.
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