Jack Weber, Paulie Genovese provide 1-2 punch in Mepham's victory over East Meadow
Mepham's Paulie Genovese (6) runs the ball in the third quarter during the Nassau High School Conference II football game between East Meadow and Mepham on Saturday Nov 1, 2025 at East Meadow High School Credit: Bob Sorensen
Mepham embodies old-school football.
Run the ball, stop the run and be more physical than your opponent.
The entire team has bought in.
Jack Weber had 21 carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns and Paulie Genovese ran six times for 48 yards and two scores in a 35-0 win over host East Meadow in Nassau Conference II on Saturday.
Weber added eight tackles and a sack and Genovese had six tackles and an interception as the Pirates recorded their sixth shutout of the season.
“We love shutouts,” Genovese said. “They’re huge. It gives us momentum going into next week and the week of practice ahead of us.”
At 7-1, Mepham has clinched the No. 2 seed and will host a playoff game next weekend.
“We’re just getting started,” Genovese said. “We’re playing our best football right now and we’ve got to keep it going that way the rest of the season.”
Weber set the tone on Mepham’s opening drive. The 6-1, 200-pound senior carried the ball 12 times and pushed the pile forward time and time again. He capped a 14-play, 61-yard drive that spanned 7:25 with a 4-yard TD run.
“We really pounded them on that drive,” Weber said. “Our O-line did a great job blocking and they just made it easy for me.”
On Mepham’s third drive, Weber had a 27-yard TD run called back for a holding penalty. Genovese popped a 25-yard run on the next play. Three plays later, Genovese ran in a 4-yard score.
Weber had another touchdown called back late in the second quarter and once again, Genovese pounded in another score three plays later to give Mepham a 21-0 lead with 1:03 left in the first half.
“Once they got called back, I knew we were going to get right back in the end zone because (Genovese) is just such a good player,” Weber said.
And if both Weber and Genovese are on the sideline, defenses still have to account for the speedy Lenny Achan, who had eight carries for 75 yards.
“They’re very selfless,” coach Tom Mazeika said. “Even though there’s three of them and they’re all probably good enough to be the main guy, there’s never any animosity between them. They root for each other and they push each other. I think it raises all their levels a little bit. We feel comfortable with any of those three guys.”
As physical as Mepham’s run game was, the Pirates’ defense was even more tenacious. James Quilty had nine tackles and blocked a punt. Sean Maroney recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half to set Mepham up on East Meadow’s 22-yard line. It lead to Weber’s second score of the day.
“From Day 1, we’ve said, ‘Physicality is the mentality.’ I think our guys really take that to heart,” Mazeika said.
East Meadow finished the regular season 5-3 and has a chance to host a playoff game as the No. 4 seed next weekend.
“They earned an opportunity to host a playoff game and that gives us a really good opportunity to continue a lot of tradition that’s gone on here,” Lizzi said. “Hopefully, it’ll give us an opportunity to play at Hofstra.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
