Brandon Scala's key interception helps Lynbrook down Cold Spring Harbor
Lynbrook safety Brandon Scala (No. 11) steps in to intercept the Cold Spring Harbor pass with 8:07 left in the game. From there, the Owls were able to run out the clock and preserve the victory. Credit: David Meisenholder
For the first time in 12 years, a home playoff football game will be played in Lynbrook.
It all came down to two heroic plays from its safeties as visiting Lynbrook recorded a gutsy 14-7 win over host Cold Spring Harbor on Saturday afternoon. The victory clinched both a head-to-head tiebreaker and a top-four finish in Nassau Conference IV for Lynbrook (5-2), which will host a home playoff game in two weeks for the first time since 2013.
Cold Spring Harbor (4-3) had the ball at the Owls’ 7-yard line with the second-quarter clock about to expire. Seahawks quarterback Rex O’Connor got the snap off and was flushed out to his left. While scrambling, O’Connor noticed tight end Ben Stark open in the end zone, and he lofted up a pass across his body. However, Lynbrook safety Chris Mangieri recovered after losing Stark in coverage and knocked the pass away to keep the game tied going into halftime.
“It was a great way to enter halftime,” Mangieri said. “We always talk about complementary football. Our offense helps us out a lot, and they weren’t on their best game today. So when they got stopped, we had to go out there and get a stop, and that’s what we did.”
On the Owls’ opening possession of the second half, they ran the ball 10 times in 11 plays, with quarterback Chase Samelson and running back Michael Potash leading the way. On first and goal from the 4-yard line with 2:37 left in the third quarter, Potash plunged his way up the middle for a rushing touchdown to go up 14-7.
Both teams then exchanged punts before Cold Spring Harbor got the ball back and started driving down the field. On first and 10 from Lynbrook’s 39, O’Connor took a shot deep down the middle toward the end zone, but Owls safety Brandon Scala ripped it away from Seahawks wide receiver Dylan Reilly for the interception and touchback with 8:07 left in the game. From there, Samelson and Potash spearheaded a 15-play drive that picked up four first downs and converted two third downs to chew up the remainder of the clock.
Scala said his pick was completely improvised because his assigned receiver stayed home to block. After deciding to provide over-the-top help to his cornerbacks, Scala wound up making the clutch play.
“It felt great,” Scala said. “This is the best game we’ve played all season, defensively. After last week, we needed it. We practiced way harder than we usually do. We stopped goofing around and focused a lot more.”
The play also served as personal redemption from the first possession of the game, as Scala lost a fumble while playing receiver.
“He didn’t pout, didn’t put his head down, then made the huge interception,” Lynbrook coach David Yaker said. “That’s composure and character, and that was the name of this game.”
The Owls needed both of those plays from their secondary, as the Seahawks held Samelson to just 3-of-7 passing for 20 yards. They totaled just 240 yards on offense.
For Cold Spring Harbor, Reilly caught a 76-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and linebacker Yanni Dallaris forced and recovered a fumble.
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.
