South Side stays perfect, tops Wantagh

South Side began the second half of the Nassau Conference III football season with its most impressive performance of 2023.

And considering the Cyclones outscored their first four opponents by a combined 154-0, that was no easy feat.

Senior tailback Jack Lozito and senior quarterback Owen West each rushed for a pair of touchdowns and South Side’s vaunted defense extended its shutout streak to 19-plus quarters in Friday night’s 31-7 victory over visiting Wantagh in a showdown of unbeaten teams.

Lozito rushed for 114 yards on 24 carries, West passed for 108 yards and rushed for 46, and a defense led by Bobby Galindo and James Beatty registered eight tackles for loss, three sacks and four forced fumbles.

“Wantagh’s a tough, hard-hitting team that was flying around on both sides of the ball, but we came ready to play too,” Lozito said. “We saw a lot of predictions on social media this week and everyone picked Wantagh. That lit a fire under us.”

The Warriors, who two weeks ago beat two-time defending county champion Plainedge by 17, became the first team to score against the Cyclones this season when junior Dylan Martini (77 yards on 14 carries) found the end zone from 2 yards out with 3:18 remaining.

“Coach [Keith] Lessuk has done an amazing job with the defense and it’s playing lights-out,” South Side head coach Phil Onesto said. “We didn’t approach this game any different than the first four. Our kids have handled pressure and expectations well. Tonight was a great win for the program, but the ultimate goal is a county championship.”

Wantagh was limited to only two possessions in the opening half and both had potential. One stalled at midfield and the other at the South Side 25. The visitors’ first two possessions of the second half ended with a blocked punt and fumble.

“They’re a very good team and are more physical than us right now,” Wantagh head coach Keith Sachs said. “There’s so much we did that was uncharacteristic. We had so many plays for negative yardage and were chasing the sticks all game.”

The Cyclones drove 97 yards on 9 plays late in the first quarter to open the scoring. West’s 39-yard hookup with senior Pat Mullin set up his 2-yard touchdown run and it was 7-0 after senior Nick Papadopulos booted his first of five perfect kicks on the night, capped by a 27-yard field goal.

South Side’s second scoring drive covered 75 yards on 17 plays and ate up most of the second quarter. Senior Michael Aiello had a key fourth-down catch and West connected with sophomore Jack Boyens on a 28-yard dart down the middle. It was 14-0 after West’s 2-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left in the half.

Lozito, behind an all-senior offensive line consisting of Billy Gryboski at center, Beatty and Kieran Kenny on the left side, and Galindo and Michael Muscarella on the right, added touchdown runs of 5 and 31 yards in the second half.

“If anybody didn’t think so before tonight, we showed we’re for real,” Onesto said.