Playing hard and playing physically have long been staples of the Plainedge football team. That was the case during Rob Shaver’s three decades as head coach and remains true in Adam Hovorka's first season at the helm.
The Red Devils put that on full display in a decisive 36-7 victory over host South Side in a Nassau Conference III clash Friday night.
Plainedge forced turnovers on the Cyclones’ first three drives, setting the tone defensively en route to handing the preseason No. 1 team in the conference its first defeat.
“I think we pride ourselves on how physical we want to be and how hard we play,” said Hovorka, who is also the defensive coordinator. “I think those are two things we want to be good at every game, and walking off the field, we knew we were those two things. We were incredibly physical, and I thought our effort was fantastic.”
Nick Moutsatsos got it started early for Plainedge (5-1) with an interception on South Side’s third play from scrimmage, returning it to the Cyclones’ 10-yard line.
On the next play, Dom Agovino took a pitch left, followed a Casey Auer block and ran in for a 10-yard touchdown. Niko Dimakopoulos added the extra point, and Plainedge led 7-0 just 1:38 into the game.
Auer then recovered a fumble on a botched snap on South Side’s second drive at the Cyclones’ 32-yard line. Agovino added his second touchdown run, this a 3-yard score, to extend the Red Devils’ lead to 14-0 with 2:57 left in the first quarter.
“Casey’s a great leader for us. He plays so hard. We have him do a bunch of things,” Hovorka said. “We move him all around defensively, he’s all over the place on offense. He is the tone setter for us. He’s the engine that makes us go, really.”
Lucas Rizzo followed with an interception on South Side’s third drive. Evan Vasquez had a 1-yard touchdown run, and Agovino connected with Mike Ranaudo on a faked extra point attempt as the 2-point conversion gave Plainedge a commanding 22-0 halftime lead.
Auer extended the Red Devils’ lead to 29-0 with 3:08 left in the third quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run.
Rob Cesario Jr. found Alex Provost for a 5-yard touchdown with 7:35 remaining, the lone score for a South Side team that had only given up 40 points in its first five games.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” South Side head coach Phil Onesto said. “They are very well coached and have some great players — very physical and fast.”
Ranaudo capped the scoring for Plainedge with a 23-yard touchdown run with 3:11 left in the fourth quarter in what could be considered a statement win for the Red Devils.
Hovorka doesn’t see it that way.
“Other people could view it how they like, and that's their business, I guess,” Hovorka said. “We’re just going to play who's in front of us and worry about us. We're not worried about what other people are doing or what they think about us.”
Next up, Plainedge hosts Manhasset this Friday night, while South Side (5-1) will look to rebound at Sewanhaka on Saturday.
“It definitely can be a positive,” Onesto said. “Sometimes you need to be humbled to fix your mistakes. We will be better because of it.”
