Thursday, October 1, 2026
A 13-yard run from Dylan Martini on the first play from scrimmage was a precursor for Wantagh's explosive ground game in Friday’s Nassau County Conference IV football championship at Hofstra.
Led by 232 yards rushing from Martini and 108 by John Gendels, the Warriors rolled to a 48-21 win over Plainedge for the program’s first county crown since the spring of 2021. The convincing victory also avenged the only regular season loss for Wantagh (10-1),who dropped a 33-27 overtime thriller to the Red Devils Oct. 10.
“We have worked our tails off since losing to Floral Park last year in the semifinals and it hurt and it stung,” said Martini, whose three-touchdown performance propelled Wantagh into the Long Island Class IV title game against Suffolk County champion Bayport-Blue Point next Friday at Hofstra at noon. “We have bigger goals with the LIC next week and that is what we really want, but right now this feels great,” he added.
Gendels kicked off the scoring with a 48-yard touchdown on the first play of Wantagh’s second possession after the defense created solid field position forcing a punt from Plainedge’s own end zone.
Plainedge answered back with an eight-play 56-yard drive capped by a Dimitris Vardamarkos nine-yard touchdown run with three minutes left in the first quarter.
The momentum didn't last long however after Gendels then picked up a squib kick moments later and raced down to the Plainedge 11-yard line. Two players later quarterback Ryan Conigliaro tossed a seven-yard touchdown pass to Cole Spinelli for a 14-7 lead.
After Wantagh’s Tommy Wunderlich and Shareef Mcmillian combined to stuff a fourth-and-two run attempt from Plainedge at the Warriors’ 43-yard line, Martini dashed 47-yards into the endzone for his second touchdown and a 21-7 lead.
The Warriors continued to take command of the game with Conigliaro finding Oliver Iacobazzi for a 48-yard touchdown pass to make it 27-7 with 3:46 left before halftime.
Plainedge went into the locker room with the game still within range thanks to quarterback Jaxson Torres throwing a 46-yard touchdown pass to Jake Tarpan late in the second quarter.
Wantagh quickly put the game out of reach though early in the third quarter with touchdown runs of 65 and 53 yards for a 41-13 lead. Gendels added a further explanation point with a 4-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
“It’s been nice to see all the adjustments the kids have made and how hard they worked,” said longtime Wantagh head coach Keith Sachs, who has now won five county crowns.
“Dylan is one of the best players I have ever had,” Sachs added of his star running back. “Johnny also broke some great early runs when they were trying to take away Martini.”
Plainedge, which defeated Wantagh 38-13 in the 2022 Conference III title game, saw its season end on the county finals stage for a second straight season after falling to South Side in the championship last year.
The Red Devils reached the county finals for a fourth straight season thanks to some heroics in the semifinals at Hofstra when in a tie game against Seaford, Torrres threw a 38-yard hail marry touchdown pass to Alec Anderson on the final play for a dramatic 33-27 triumph on Nov. 14.
Wantagh, which crushed Cold Spring Harbor 55-6 in the semifinals, will vie for its first Long Island championship since 2016 when it faces unbeaten Bayport-Blue Point back at Hofstra this Friday at noon.
“It’s been nice to see all the adjustments the kids have made and how hard they have worked,” Sachs said.
