Chillianis leads top-seeded Bethpage

It took Danny Chillianis about one minute to dispel any fears of a letdown as top-seeded Bethpage beat No. 8 Floral Park, 41-13, Saturday in the first round of the Nassau III playoffs.

"We just played these guys two weeks and, as a coach, you always worry that there's going to be a letdown," Bethpage coach Erwin Dill said. "But our kids played well tonight and we're really happy with the victory."

Chillianis returned the opening kickoff 78 yards to the 2-yard line, then punched it in on the third play from scrimmage to open the scoring one minute into the game en route to a 35-0 halftime lead for Bethpage.

After Justin Rohr rushed in for a 2-yard TD run midway through the first quarter, he faked the run and connected with Nick Pombonyo on the first play of the second quarter to give Bethpage a 21-0 lead.

Chillianis had three receptions for 59 yards and Pombonyo two catches for 50 yards.

Joe Schulteis added a 6-yard TD run before Dean Andreadis caught a deflected pass from Rohr and ran in for a 6-yard TD for a 35-0 lead with six seconds remaining in the half.

"The boys certainly came ready to play today," Dill said. "It's never easy beating a team twice. The kids gave it a great effort, as they have all season long."

Rohr completed 7 of 9 passes for 117 yards with two touchdowns. Bethpage had 11 rushers combine for 261 yards, led by Schulteis, who had nine carries for a team-high 51 yards. Frank Camidge had seven tackles.

Alex Cerrone had a 35-yard run to put Floral Park on the board midway through the third. Connor Vidasolo had a 25-yard run to cut the lead to 41-13.

The Golden Eagles advance to the semifinals to play No. 4 Plainedge at 1 p.m. Saturday at Hofstra.

"They have a multitude of weapons," Dill said of Plainedge. "They can pass, they can throw. They've only lost one game since they lost to us. We're going to have to play very good defense and control the ball."