Thursday, October 1, 2026
Lynbrook football’s first home playoff game since 2014 swung from clutch plays by both sides of the ball.
Clinging to a two-point lead midway through the fourth quarter Friday night, Carle Place was on the cusp of taking the lead before RJ Tinyes forced a fumble recovered by Michael Abatantuno at the Owls’ 5-yard line.
Lynbrook’s offense then responded with a nearly length of the field drive capped by a Michael Potash 17-yard touchdown run to make it a two-score lead,
The crucial late-game sequence by the Owls’ defense and offense proved to be the difference in a 28-19 win that marked third-seeded Lynbrook’s first playoff win since 2018. The historic victory before a packed house at Marion Street Elementary School advanced the Owls to the Nassau Conference IV semifinals at Hofstra University’s Shuart Stadium this Saturday versus Seaford at 2 p.m.
“It was closely contested the whole night and was playoff football at its very best,” said third-year Lynbrook head coach David Yaker, whose team had blown out Carle Place 49-20 in the regular season meeting on Sept. 19.
The Owls’ victory was spearheaded largely by senior quarterback Chase Samelson, who ran for 194 yards and two touchdowns.
Samelson’s 48-yard first quarter touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage opened the scoring with an ensuing Potash two-point conversion making it 8-0. He then raced in for a 49-yard scoring run in the second quarter for a 15-14 halftime lead.
The veteran signal caller also made big plays with his arm on a windy evening, tossing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Tim Odiah early in the fourth quarter on a fourth down play that gave Lynbrook the lead for good at 21-19. Samelson finished 8-of-13 passing for 173 yards.
“He’s a true dual threat quarterback who can hurt you in the air and can hurt you with his feet,” said Yaker of Samelson. “He led the team down the field methodically running and throwing and really led the team to victory.”
Potash also stepped up big in the ground game with 71 yards on just seven carries. He registered 89 yards and two touchdowns on six carries in Lynbrook’s 42-12 win against North Shore on Halloween to close the regular season.
Lynbrook (7-2) will next try to avenge a loss to Seaford. The Owls fell to the Vikings 49-28 on Oct. 18 in a game that was 35-28 entering the fourth quarter.
Yaker said making it to Hofstra for the first time in seven years is a major step for the program and the team is embracing the opportunity to compete on the big stage.
“What made Friday night so special is this team got Lynbrook back to Hofstra and we're really just excited about the opportunity,” Yaker said. “It took an incredible amount of preparation not only in season but out of season and it takes an incredible amount of commitment from the staff and from the kids and from the parents and from the whole community.”
