Good start for Wantagh, but Warriors have trouble getting the ball
Wantagh Dylan Beckwith (11) races downfield during the Nassau County varsity football Conference II final against MacArthur at Hofstra University on Friday, Nov. 20, 2015. He returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Credit: James Escher
The game couldn't have started much better for Wantagh.
A team that thrives on speed, trickery and big plays began by forcing a three-and-out on defense, and the Warriors capped their opening offensive drive with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Rob Tucker to Jimmy Joyce. Then they extended that lead to 14 points.
But the Warriors had only seven possessions before the final 36 seconds of the game. MacArthur dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for more than 33 minutes, meaning the pace slowed down to the Generals' liking in their 28-14 victory in the Nassau II championship game Friday night at Hofstra.
"We made some big plays in the first half," Wantagh coach Keith Sachs said, "but we didn't get the ball much, so we did the best we could with the few times we had the ball, and at the end, we just didn't make the plays. We made the plays at the beginning and then in the end, they kind of controlled the ball."
The Warriors (8-3) followed their early TD with an interception by Dylan Beckwith, who jumped a curl route on third-and-12 and took the ball 85 yards down the left sideline for a 14-0 lead.
"He's a big-time player," Sachs said. "He makes big plays at big times, and that's what he does. He's done it for three years."
But the Wantagh defense couldn't do much to slow down the MacArthur offense, which totaled 299 yards on 62 plays, including 247 on the ground.
The Warriors did keep the score tied at 14 by holding MacArthur out of the end zone in the third quarter after the Generals had a first-and-goal at the 4.
"We were prepared," Sachs said. "We have some good athletes -- some fantastic athletes -- and we made some things happen. We thought we'd make those big plays and we did. We just made them early and we couldn't make them late."
Late turnovers and penalties cost the Warriors in the end. Kyle Sliwak had 59 yards on eight carries and Tucker finished 12-for-18 passing for 121 yards, a TD and two interceptions. Joyce was Tucker's favorite receiver, finishing with six receptions for 74 yards and a TD.
