Mahoney, Rosati lead Shoreham-Wading River to 24-14 win over Glenn in Suffolk IV championship game

For the Shoreham-Wading River football team, there's just no raining on their parade.

Not by opposing teams. Not even by actual rain.

Daniel Mahoney converted a go-ahead 30-yard field goal in rainy and gusty conditions to propel Shoreham-Wading River to a 24-14 win over Glenn in the Suffolk IV championship game Thursday night at Stony Brook University's LaValle Stadium.

"It was like kicking a rock," Mahoney said of the drenched football. "It felt like my leg was 10 pounds heavier and the ball was 10 pounds heavier. Seeing it go through was an amazing feeling."

It was the second straight county title for the Wildcats, who have won 23 straight games, the longest active streak in Long Island football.

Shoreham-Wading River (11-0) will face Locust Valley in the Long Island Class IV championship game at noon next Friday at Hofstra University.

With the score tied at 14 early in the fourth quarter, Jason Curran gained 6 yards on a quarterback keeper to bring up third-and-1 from the Glenn 12. Chris Rosati then was stopped for a loss of a yard by Dareus Smith.

On fourth-and-2 from the 13, with rain falling heavily, holder Jon Constant received the snap and Mahoney's kick sailed through the uprights to give Shoreham-Wading River a 17-14 lead with 9:48 remaining.

On the ensuing drive, Ethan Wiederkehr sacked Wayne White for a loss of 6 on first down, dropping Glenn back to its own 14. Chris Gray followed with a tackle for a loss of 2 yards. A pass-interference call made it third-and-7 from the 23 and White ran for 6 yards, bringing up a fourth-and-1 at the 29.

Glenn attempted a fake punt, but the snap was wild and the Wildcats took over at the 10. Facing fourth-and-goal from the 1, Rosati burst through the pile and into the end zone, extending the lead to 24-14 with 5:07 to go.

Rosati finished with 91 yards on 25 carries.

With Glenn punting from its own 21 after the opening drive of the game, Kevin Cutinella broke through the line and blocked the punt and Chris Sheehan recovered the ball at the 10. On third-and-goal from the 1, Cutinella, who suffered an apparent leg injury late in the third quarter and was removed from the game, faked a handoff and barreled into the end zone to give Shoreham-Wading River a 7-0 lead with 8:42 left in the first quarter.

After a roughing-the-kicker penalty on Glenn extended a Shoreham drive, a 29-yard run by Rosati helped set up his own 1-yard touchdown run to increase the Wildcats' lead to 14-0 with 2:14 left in the half.

Chris Forsberg, who had 107 rushing yards on 11 carries for Glenn (9-2), broke free up the middle and ran for an 81-yard gain to the 3-yard line. Shihan Rudyk followed with a 3-yard TD run to pull Glenn within 14-7 with 7:37 left in the second.

After the Glenn defense forced a three-and-out, Forsberg rushed up the middle, spun and ran for a 13-yard gain on third down to move the chains for the Knights, bringing them to the Shoreham 28. Facing fourth-and-8, White connected with Kyle Tiernan in the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown to tie the score at 14 with 2:57 left in the half.

But that would be all the Wildcats' defense would allow as they extended their streak and repeated as champions.

"It's great to have this feeling again," Rosati said. "It was one of the most difficult games with all the slipping. Hopefully it's not raining as much next game."

Even if it is, it will be hard to rain on their parade.