Buckley, Oceanside run off with win
Oceanside's Justin Buckley (24) socres one of his three touchdowns. (Sept. 17, 2011) Credit: Alan J Schaefer
Guess what, Conference I? Pass-heavy Oceanside has a secret weapon -- and he's a running back.
Justin Buckley doesn't garner attention the way record- setting quarterback Tyler Heuer did last year. Or even the way Heuer's replacement, John Grassi, did after throwing three touchdowns in last week's win over Uniondale.
But when the going got tough for the Sailors yesterday at Hicksville, coach Rob Blount went to the 6-2, 205-pound junior back. Buckley rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns, including the winning points on a 20-yard score with 8:50 left in the fourth quarter, in Oceanside's 27-21 victory at Hicksville in Conference I.
"He put our team on his back today," Blount said. "He's a real talent."
As such, it's not surprising that Blount also uses Buckley in his pass-happy offense. With 9:55 left in the third, Buckley split out wide to the left and ran a fade that went for a 24-yard touchdown on a second-and-18 to give the Sailors (2-0) a 21-18 lead. "We run that play a lot in practice," Buckley said. "We mesh perfectly."
But Buckley's true value, especially the faith Blount has in him, was evident at the end of yesterday's game. On a fourth-and-2 with under a minute to play, Oceanside, up by six, had a decision to make. It could either try for a 32-yard field goal, or seal the win with a first down. Said Blount: "There was no way we were kicking right there. We ran power right at them."
It was Buckley for four yards and kneel downs the rest of the way.
But Hicksville (1-1) was no pushover. After a last-minute win over Hempstead last week, the Comets again made things interesting late, as Pat Rooney's 24-yard field goal tied the game at 21 with 11:15 left. Rooney's interception set up the drive -- one of the Sailors' four turnovers.
John Grassi threw the touchdown pass to Buckley, but was just 10-of-17 for 77 yards and threw three interceptions, two to Hicksville's Chris Durham. Blount said Grassi getting "brought back down to Earth" after last week's breakout performance may be a good thing heading into Friday's game against defending Long Island champion Freeport.
But yesterday was about surviving Hicksville's second-quarter onslaught. Quarterback Mike McIlwee had two touchdown runs and a 5-yard scoring pass to Dan Yates, but the conversion attempts failed after all three, so Hicksville had to settle for an 18-14 lead going into halftime.
Aside from that, the Sailors' defense was solid, holding Hicksville to 81 rushing yards on 29 carries. "We've got an aggressive front," said Hector Quintin, who had one of Oceanside's three sacks. "And we filled most of the gaps."
Sweeney injured: On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Hicksville fullback/middle linebacker Shane Sweeney suffered an elbow injury and had to be carted off in an ambulance.
