By:JOSEPH KELLARD
To describe Janosko's play-calling as run-first and pass-second is an understatement. It was practically run-only, as the Sailors ran 54 times for 367 yards, while quarterback Bobby Engelhard threw just five times, completing four passes for 69 yards and a touchdown.
"Hicksville has some excellent athletes on their team," Janosko told the Herald after the game, "but we felt we were bigger and stronger than them, and that we could pound it at them and wear them down a bit, and I think that's what happened."
The brightest lights in Janosko's attack were running backs John Mirando and Brian Kirschner, who helped Oceanside open the game up with three unanswered touchdowns on as many possessions.
Kirschner scored first on a 16-yard run, and then his teammate, Joely Flores, booted a squib kick that Hicksville fumbled into the hands of Sailor Frank Vetere. The turnover led to Mirando's dash up the middle from the Hicksville 25, as he cut left and carried the ball into the end zone for a 14-0 Oceanside lead.
Joyfi Lopez then blocked a Hicksville punt, setting up the Sailors' offense at the Comets' 24. From there Kirschner continued pounding the ball up the middle, and on third-and-goal from the 1, Engelhard scored on a quarterback sneak.
Hicksville's offense in the first half was marked by quarterback Robert McAuley rushing or scrambling to elude Oceanside defenders, particularly defensive end Van Hemsley, who tallied four sacks that generated three fumbles. "He plays with a high motor," Janosko said of Hemsley. "He keeps after that quarterback and keeps after him, and sooner or later he gets to him."
The Comets threatened to score at the start of the second quarter, after McAuley tossed a ball down the right sideline that wide receiver Chris Quinn cradled with one hand and arm and took to the Oceanside 10. But on second-and-goal from the 6, McAuley scrambled desperately and fumbled, and Sailor linebacker John Shannon recovered.
With 3:50 left in the half, the Sailors started their fourth touchdown drive from their own 9. Eventually, Anthony Pumo caught a pass in the flat and carried the ball 40 yards to the Hicksville 1. Engelhard then scored on his second sneak.
Down 26-0, Hicksville broke out in the second half, when Tom Butler replaced McAuley under center. On the first play after the Comets recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff, Butler arched a 29-yard touchdown pass to McAuley. Oceanside then went three-and-out, further pumping up the Comets' hopes they could stage a comeback.
Butler commanded his offense downfield on a series of passes from the shotgun. On fourth-and-1 from the Oceanside 20, however, the drive stalled when he threw incomplete in the end zone. Hicksville's hopes were further deflated when the Sailors answered with a nearly 10-minute, 80-yard drive that ended when Matt Simpson snatched Engelhard's 10-yard pass in the end zone, putting Oceanside up 33-7 midway through the fourth quarter.
All told, Mirando had 19 carries for 187 yards, and Kirshner carried 17 times for 103 yards. "When you run the ball that successful," Janosko said, "Hicksville had to make a commitment to stop it, which opened up the passing game."
Coaching at night for the first time since a game in Farmingdale in 2000, Janosko said that playing under the lights had no adverse effect on him or his players. "For me, I get ready to play the football game, and it's going to be the same whether there's lights or no lights," he said. Jonosko noted the large crowd of Oceanside students and parents in the stands, which poured out along the fence behind him.
"I think the night game was great for school sprit," he said, "and I think that's what football games are supposed to be about. It's supposed to bring the school together and be a big event."
The Sailors (1-1) play their homecoming game against Syosset at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Comments on this story?
JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000, ext. 287.
