By STEVE SINISKI
At the very least, East Meadow did come away even wiser in the experience department, taking one giant step forward in the big picture despite the loss. ³It says that they¹re preparing, working and playing hard enough and well enough to play with anyone,² coach Vin Mascia said.
After building a 10-point halftime lead, East Meadow (2-1) was put behind the eight ball late in the fourth quarter after the Dalers went ahead with 5:24 to play on an 8-yard touchdown run by Tashawn Arthur.
The Jets, led by junior quarterback Azfar Khan, drove all the way down to the Farmingdale 10 with less than three minutes to play, before turning the ball over for the third time on three second-half drives. ³We played hard enough to win but we just didn¹t play well enough,² Mascia said.
What should not get lost in the shuffle of the team¹s start is the fact that, after this Saturday¹s matchup at No. 2 Freeport, East Meadow will have played the three top seeds, all while trying to get a large amount of starters live experience on the fly. Khan, for example, was playing in his first full game of the year after an injury forced him to the sidelines in the season-opener (a 20-19 win over No. 3 Massapequa on Sept. 16) and kept him off the field entirely in a Week 2 win against Syosset (14-7 on Sept. 23).
In the loss to Farmingdale, the Khan-led offense racked up 371 total yards, and the senior quarterback completed 5 of 8 passes for 112 yards and a 19-yard touchdown to senior running back Alex Rivas.
Protecting Khan is an entirely brand new starting offensive line, but opponents have had a tough time noticing much of a difference from past East Meadow road graders. The line paved the way for 259 yards rushing against the Dalers, including 117 and a touchdown on 23 carries by Rivas. ³Teams are doing everything they can to stop him and he¹s still getting yards,² Mascia said, also noting the impact senior tight end Mike Rupolo has had in the blocking scheme.
Sophomore quarterback Lou Buschi filled in for an injured Khan in the Week 2 win over Syosset and connected with Kevin Healy on a 54-yard, game-winning touchdown with less than a minute to play. But Healy¹s late-game heroics didn¹t end there. The senior co-captain picked off a last-gasp attempt by the Braves (his third interception of the season) on the final play.
³He¹s motivating everybody with big tackles and big plays,² Masica said of the safety, who¹s also racked up seven pass breakups.
Comments about this story? tbellissimo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
