Thursday, October 1, 2026
Nassau County high school basketball season is still more than a month away, but a quick glance at the scoreboard at Division Avenue Oct. 17 suggested otherwise.
In a wild Conference III football game destined to come down to the final possession, Valley Stream South pulled out a record-setting 68-64 victory over the Dragons thanks to quarterback Danny Casey’s 1-yard touchdown run with 17 seconds remaining.
The Falcons drove 65 yards in 2:23 to cap the highest-scoring game between two Nassau teams in county history, surpassing Syosset’s 64-63 win over Farmingdale in the spring of 2021.
The offenses combined for 1,100 yards, with Falcons running back David Brooks amassing 257 of those on the ground including three touchdowns. Casey had 130 yards rushing and 77 passing while his counterpart, Division quarterback Tim Stanley, threw for 407 yards and two scores and ran for 78 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Dragons had 594 yards to South’s 506
“It really was insane,” VSS head coach Joe Guastafeste said. “Craziest game I’ve ever been a part of. We went in thinking we might need to score 45 to win. We had 42 at halftime and we were losing. Every play for both teams was for positive yards. I think in the end time management won us the game.”
The teams combined for 50 points in the opening quarter to set the tone for a historic offensive night. Stanley (80-yard touchdown pass to Aiden Mirelis) and Casey (61-yard touchdown pass to Michael Thimonte) came out firing and the basketball-like scenario was on. Mirelis had 201 yards receiving.
The Dragons led 29-21 after the first quarter and clung to a 44-42 halftime lead. Peter Grief had a 15-yard touchdown run for the Falcons, who evened their record at 3-3 and took hold of a playoff spot.
“It put us in a good situation for the playoffs,” said Guastafeste, whose team concludes the regular season this Saturday at Mineola at 11 a.m.
South took a 54-44 lead midway through the third quarter on touchdown runs by Casey and Brooks. Division answered with a 50-yard gadget play touchdown pass Mirelis to George Gendekos and regained the lead early in the fourth, 57-54, on Jason Perez’s third trip to the end zone.
The lead changed hands three more times. Brooks had a 7-yard touchdown run and the Falcons led 61-57 after Eric Kaneev’s extra point. Back came Division with a Perez 11-yard score that made it 64-61, but Casey & Co. had one more scoring drive in them.
“In all my years of coaching, I’ve never been in a game like that which was so dominated by both offenses, said Division offensive coordinator Jay Hegi, the former longtime Elmont head coach. “I knew it was going to come down to which team had the ball last. Unfortunately it wasn’t us.”
South’s offensive line of Kaneev, Hunter Rush, Emmanuel Williams, Sherry Raza and Angel Cruz, as well as tight end Zach Dyer, paved the way for Casey, Brooks and Aiden Paris to secure the W.
