Thursday, October 1, 2026
Josh Kama’s initials are JK, but after Friday night, they might as well be LIE.
The Farmingdale running back set a new Long Island football single-game rushing record with 495 yards to go along with seven touchdowns on 26 carries to lead the Dalers to a wild 64-57 Nassau Conference I victory at Oceanside.
The senior matched the school record for touchdowns in a game, initially set by Jordan McLune. Against Oceanside last year, Kama rushed for seven touchdowns and 376 yards on 21 carries in a 63-42 victory.
He could have easily broken the touchdown record, but he ran out of bounds at the 1-yard line to seal the win inside the final minute. That 53-yard run, which saw him emerge from a swarm of bodies, set the Long Island record for rushing yards in a single game.
The previous record was held by North Babylon’s Nathaniel Griffith, who had 38 carries for 489 yards and seven touchdowns in a 75-49 win over Smithtown West on Oct. 1, 2022.
“We’ve had plenty of good running backs at Farmingdale High School, and the way this is going, he may be in a class by himself,” Dalers head coach Buddy Krumenacker said.
Kama set the tone for Farmingdale (2-0) with a 20-yard touchdown on the Dalers’ first drive. He followed with a 60-yard touchdown to tie the score at 14. A 70-yard touchdown gave Farmingdale a 28-14 lead with 1:50 left in the first half.
The line of James McCarthy, Jordan Petzold, Jake Kunz, Aiden Thomas, and James Queen, as well as tight end Mateo Morales and fellow running back Jovens Theodate, provided the blocking Kama needed to get to the second level, where he did the rest.
“I don’t know how I do it,” Kama said. “I really have to give it to my O-line and my running back, fullback, and tight end. They really make all the magic happen.”
Oceanside (1-1) rallied to tie the score at 35 on a 46-yard scoring reception by Jacob Stern, who had nine receptions for 183 yards and four touchdowns, before Theodate (six carries, 134 yards) broke several tackles en route to an 80-yard touchdown to put the Dalers back in front 41-35 with 2:36 left in the third.
Following a 44-yard touchdown run and 2-point conversion, Kama rushed for a 55-yard score, his sixth and arguably best of the evening, to put the Dalers back in front 57-50 with 3:28 remaining.
After a key interception by Ive Mills, Kama capped the scoring for Farmingdale with a 53-yard touchdown with 2:48 left.
“Kama played lights out, physically willed himself and his team to a win,” Oceanside head coach Rob Blount said. “He’s a generational player.”
Through two regular-season games, Kama has rushed for 766 yards and 11 touchdowns to go along with a 60-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, setting the tone as the early favorite to win the Thorp Award, given annually to Nassau County’s top player.
“I hope so,” Kama said when asked if he’s wrapped up the award Friday night. “I think I did.”
