Long Beach has its eyes set on a county championship, as the Marines enter the second half of the season with a 2-2 record and in third place in Nassau Conference II.
Last Friday night, the Marines beat Roosevelt 15-6, thanks to hard-fought defense and key special teams plays; a couple punts from senior Gavin O’Grady pinned Roosevelt deep, one of them sealed the game in the fourth quarter.
“I’m very pleased with the effort,” Long Beach head coach Scott Martin said. “We came out on top, winning by two scores and we got right back on track with our playoff run and positioning.”
The Marines took a 7-0 lead, thanks to a 20-yard catch and run on a screen pass to senior halfback Brody Riedel. The score plus a goal line stand on the defensive end, gave Long Beach momentum going into halftime.
Roosevelt took the momentum back, coming out of the break, driving down the field and punching it in for six. Senior defensive back Jaron Burns blocked the extra point, then returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield.
“Jeron is one of our top players,” Martin said. “His teammates voted him a captain in Week 3. It shows what we teach these kids: They have to move on from one play to the next. They can’t get down on themselves.”
In the fourth quarter, Riedel sealed the game with a touchdown run, capping off a 125-yard, two touchdown performance. Riedel has about 330 yards on the ground on 56 attempts, seven total touchdowns and 112 yards through the air on 10 receptions.
Senior quarterback Brody Juan completed 10 of his 14 pass attempts for 85 yards and the one score, in the win against Roosevelt. Through four games, Juan has completed 67% of his passes for six touchdowns and 612 yards.
To open the season, the Marines fell to Carey 34-26 on Sept. 10, but came back against Bellmore JFK on Sept. 19, to win convincingly, 35-6. On Sept. 25, Long Beach lost to Farmingdale on the road in a thrilling crossover with the perennial Conference I title contenders, 20-19.
The Marines might have another shot at Carey come playoff time, who beat Long Beach due to a 27-point third quarter, blocked punt and a pick-six.
“I think the team wants to [see them again],” Martin continued. “At the end of the game, the kids seemed to want another shot at them. They felt they were knocking on the door, especially after leading 20-7 in the first half. I don’t blame them for wanting another opportunity.”
Junior wide receiver Joseph Henn leads the team in receiving with 153 yards, 12 receptions and two touchdowns. He also had a five-tackle performance against Roosevelt.
Senior defensive back Danilo Correa recorded nine tackles on Friday night, while junior linebacker Christian Capria notched five of his own. Sophomore linebacker Colin Donaghy leads the team in tackles with 18.
Senior defensive lineman Vaughn Bogacki has 12 tackles, one sack (leads the team) and one tackle for a loss. He also mauls opposing defensive lineman on the offensive side of the ball, something Martin knew would be this team’s strength; the offensive and defensive lines are made up of Bogacki, left guard Charles Muskin, center Jack Muskin, right guard Gavyn Vicente and right tackle Kellen deBruin.
Martin will get his team ready for New Hyde Park this Saturday, as the two programs have developed a little bit of a rivalry over the last few years. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.
