Long Beach football, Brody Riedel absorb first Mepham attack, roll to win from there
Brody Riedel of Long Beach takes a handoff from quarterback Brody Juan in the first quarter of a Nassau Conference II football game against Mepham at Long Beach Middle School on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. Credit: James Escher
Brody Riedel jumpstarted an offensive explosion in the first half, then he and the rest of the Long Beach defense controlled the game in the second half.
And when Colin Donaghy forced a sack fumble and Christian Capria returned it to the 1-yard line, Riedel put the finishing touches on a dominant performance.
Riedel shook off a tackler behind the line of scrimmage and powered his way in for his second touchdown and the final score in host Long Beach’s 34-7 win over Mepham in Nassau Conference II football Friday night.
Riedel finished with 209 yards on 25 carries. He entered halftime with 11 carries for 161 yards and a TD.
“He’s just so explosive,” Long Beach coach Scott Martin said. “He’s got great moves and he’s just hard to bring down. Even on that last touchdown, they got him in the backfield, but he doesn’t go down on that first pop. He’s got tremendous balance and that’s the way he practices every day.”
Mepham (2-4) struck first, as a perfectly placed deep ball from Adam Erlichman found Lucas Eagleston’s hands for a 28-yard touchdown on the Pirates’ opening drive for a 7-0 lead.
“That was just a really good play by them,” said Riedel, a linebacker. “We handle adversity very well. They scored and we were like, ‘OK, we’ll get it back.’ We just shake things like that off because if your head is stuck in the past, you’re not going to succeed.”
Two minutes later, Riedel broke a 35-yard run to Mepham’s 1-yard line and punched in his first TD to tie the score at 7 with 3:04 left in the first quarter.
On the first play of the Marines’ next drive, Brody Juan lofted a deep ball to Joe Henn, who reeled it in and ran down the left sideline for a 64-yard TD for a 13-7 lead with 1:09 left in the first quarter. Henn returned to Long Beach (4-2) from Holy Trinity after the Titans’ football team folded this summer.
“It was a corner route and the defensive back was playing a little lower than I expect, so I gave Joe a shot,” Juan said. “That’s my go-to guy. We’re the last ones to leave the field every day. He’s been such a good addition to our team.”
In the second quarter, Riedel patiently trotted through a hole on the right side of the line and burst down the middle of the field for a 69-yard gain, setting up a 5-yard TD run by Juan. Tackles Charles Muskin and Finnian Vaaler, guards Kellen de Bruin and Gavyn Vicente, and center Jack Muskin manufactured plenty of room for Riedel to run in the first half.
“We lost two linemen last year and running the ball wasn’t too successful in our first game,” Riedel said. “But our coaches have been putting guys in the right spots and they’re executing now. I can’t do it without them.”
Long Beach forced a three-and-out on Mepham’s ensuing drive, and Jaron Burns made several men miss on his way to a 75-yard punt return score to give Long Beach a 27-7 lead with 3:48 left in the first half.
Danilo Corea and Henn each had an interception on Mepham’s first two drives of the second half. The Marines forced two turnovers on downs before Donaghy’s sack fumble. After the Pirates’ opening drive TD, Long Beach surrendered six first downs.
“It’s amazing to see everyone contribute and make plays," Riedel said. "It shows that we can count on everyone to do their job.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
