South Side football's Rob Cesario Jr. displays another winning formula with his arm against Manhasset
Quarterback Rob Cesario Jr. of South Side readies a pass during a Nassau crossover football game against Seaford on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 in Seaford. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Stopping South Side’s run game and top backs AJ Magaraci and Ethan Johnson has been the priority for opposing defenses for the last two years.
Rob Cesario Jr. just created another problem for Nassau Conference III football teams to worry about.
In his second year at the helm, the junior quarterback completed 14 of 21 passes for a career-high 286 yards with two touchdowns to lead the Cyclones over visiting Manhasset, 20-7, on Friday night.
Cesario entered with 256 passing yards through three games this season.
“He’s made a big jump this year,” coach Phil Onesto said. “The game has definitely slowed down for him a little bit. He’s got a lot of arm talent and we’re very comfortable with him putting the ball in the air.”
Cesario found Kieran Vetter for gains of 21 and 26 yards on the Cyclones’ opening drive, which ended with Johnson barreling into the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown run.
Manhasset answered, as Michael DePietro’s 4-yard TD run capped a 14-play, 87-yard drive that spanned 9:31 and tied the score at 7 with 10:23 left in the second quarter.
Basim Jamal recovered a fumble on Manhasset’s next drive, giving the Cyclones possession on their own 36-yard line.
On third-and-8, Cesario launched a 32-yard completion to Ryan Solomon. Two plays later, he threw over the middle to Vetter, who broke two tackles on his way to a 37-yard TD to take a 13-7 lead with 1:04 left in the half.
“This team is just loaded with weapons,” Cesario said. “All my receivers can create separation and the running backs are great at making people miss and getting yards after the catch.”
On South Side’s first possession of the second half, Cesario completed a 30-yard catch-and-run to Johnson before rolling left and throwing a strike to Solomon in the end zone for a 20-yard score with 8:47 left in the third quarter.
Leading by 13 with four minutes left, Cesario still let it fly. On third-and-4, Cesario aired it out down the left sideline to Reagan Petrone for a 32-yard gain.
“He’s shown it every day in practice,” Vetter said. “He throws the ball deep and he throws dimes. The linemen protected him well today and if they do that, we can throw the ball against any team.”
Vetter caught four passes for 92 yards and added an interception with 1:45 remaining, allowing Cesario to kneel out the clock. Solomon caught four passes for 68 yards and Magaraci ran for 53 yards and added a 36-yard reception. D’Andre Mullings-Newberry had seven tackles and a fumble recovery to help the preseason top seed in Nassau III improve to 4-0.
DePietro had 16 carries for 65 yards and freshman Joe’Quell Wright added 77 yards on three carries for Manhasset (2-2). Andrew Lamarca had eight carries for 50 yards and Phil Daitsis added 47 yards on five carries. With six starters out due to injury, the Set had several new faces all over the field.
“The kids are resilient,” coach Mike Lewis said. “We run the triple option and Reid Schwartz has never played quarterback before, but he’s a warrior. DePietro and Lamarca are our horses and Daitsis did a good job filling in. South Side is a No. 1 seed for a reason and we competed with them for the entire game.”
The Cyclones totaled 81 rushing yards, their lowest total of the season.
“We want to try to loosen teams up a little bit, so they can’t just load the box with seven or eight guys every play,” Onesto said. “But we’re going to try to be as balanced as we can. If they want to load the box, we’ll be ready to air it out.”
They were ready on Friday.
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
