Mepham football's Adam Erlichman, Paulie Genovese help team get right vs. Valley Stream Central
Paulie Genovese of Mepham, left, gets congratulated by teammate James Condoulis after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter of a Nassau County Conference II football game against Valley Stream Central at Mepham High School on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. Credit: James Escher
The Mepham football team finally got some pent-up anger out of its system — two weeks worth of it, to be exact.
The host Pirates dominated all three phases and led from wire to wire, defeating Valley Stream Central, 50-15, in Nassau Conference II on Saturday. The win served as an emotional rebound, as well as a perfect homecoming celebration for Mepham (2-2), which had suffered back-to-back heartbreaking losses.
The Pirates’ Week 2 and 3 games were there for the taking, but they fell short in both, by a combined seven points. Last week, with the chance to pull off an upset over Nassau I's Port Washington, Mepham went for the win with no time remaining - attempting a two-point conversion run that was stopped in the backfield, resulting in a 7-6 loss. That deflating defeat followed a 25-19 loss in double overtime to district-rival Calhoun.
Those losses caused frustration and disappointment in the Pirates’ locker room, something they took out on previously-unbeaten Valley Stream Central (3-1).
“We knew we could’ve done better those last two games, and we needed to finish it off,” junior quarterback Adam Erlichman said. “This week, we had something to prove and we needed to get back on the right track, which is what we did.”
Mepham's senior running back Paulie Genovese helped bring early intensity with some angry runs. He capped off the opening possession by bursting through the left side and dragging several defenders across the goal line for a 12-yard touchdown. He then helped his defense force a three-and-out on their first look, and then recovered a blocked punt at VSC’s 34-yard line on fourth down.
Three plays later, after a holding penalty forced a 3rd-and-16, Genovese took Erlichman’s screen pass to the left and zipped through an opening, sprinting all the way home for a 40-yard touchdown reception.
Genovese finished with nine touches for 97 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. Erlichman completed 12 of 14 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for a third score.
“Those two games were super rough,” Genovese said. “I don’t think anyone thought we were going to drop them, nor should we have. But it definitely gave us a lot of motivation to get back on track. We know this team is special, so we just put it all together this week, and on the field, we showed what we can really do.”
The Pirates found the end zone on their next four possessions. The final two were capped by a 20-yard touchdown run by Genovese — featuring a mean stiff-arm — and a 13-yard touchdown scamper by Erlichman, who rumbled through several defenders up the middle to increase the lead to 43-8. The 35-point cushion put a running clock in effect.
"I knew that play was a potential dagger, and that was what we needed,” Erlichman said.
Mepham’s defense surrendered 172 yards — 78 of which came on one play — and held VSC’s quarterbacks to a combined 4-for-11 passing with two sacks. The unit, led by senior linebacker Vinny Ciro's seven tackles, forced seven negative plays.
“We definitely had a huge chip on the shoulder, knowing that we should be coming in today 3-0,” Ciro said. “That energy that those losses gave us is going to help us throughout the year.”
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
