Massapequa holds off Oceanside in heavyweight showdown
Ryan Heidrich of Massapequa celebrates with his teammates after his touchdown run during a Nassau Conference I football game on Saturday in Oceanside. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Massapequa and Oceanside were back in the middle of the ring on Saturday throwing jabs and hooks. And, as has been the case of late in the Nassau Conference I rivalry, no one was going down to a knockout punch. This would go the distance.
The difference this time would be that Massapequa’s defense came away with three big Oceanside turnovers in the second half – turning two into touchdowns – and went 8-for-8 on fourth downs in what ultimately became a huge 26-21 road victory to spoil the Sailors’ homecoming before approximately 2,500.
"You have to be opportunistic anytime the ball falls your way and it did it a couple of times today and we were able to cash in," Massapequa coach Kevin Shippos said. "To their credit they hung tough and had a chance to pull it out at the end . . . We’ve had some great battles and we’ve been on the wrong end of some and they’ve been on the wrong end of some."
The Sailors have vowed this fall to redeem themselves for last season’s county title game defeat by Massapequa. Conference I has a number of strong programs, but it would be no surprise if these teams see one another again.
Michael D’Alessandro came out of a pile with a fumble at the Oceanside 29 with 4:46 to play. Five plays later ’Pequa quarterback Ryan Heidrich squeezed through a small hole and scored on a 4-yard run to make it a two-score game. Massapequa would need every point of the 26-14 lead.
"Even though we had that lead and felt good, no one thought this was over," Heidrich said. "Not against that team."
Sailors quarterback Charlie McKee took Oceanside 58 yards in 1:13 and capped the drive with a 16-yard strike to Michael Mecca to make it 26-21 with 2:12 left. Oceanside wanted to use its three timeouts to get the ball back, but Massapequa (4-0) got one first down before punting with 33 seconds left.
Oceanside (3-1) was able to move the ball close to midfield but got no further.
Michael Valentine also had a fumble recovery in the third quarter that led to a Heidrich-to-Jared Howes 13-yard touchdown and Luke Ciolino picked off a McKee pass at the Massapequa 8 to suff a fourth-quarter drive.
"You can’t turn the ball over like we did and win big games," Sailors coach Rob Blount said. "We all need to be better than what we were today."
"Turnovers take a toll when they pile up," Luke Ciolino said. "They turn the momentum of the game."
Added Valentine: "They have a dangerous offense and turnovers keep it out of their hands."
The matchup of quality quarterbacks did deliver. McKee, who won Newsday’s Thorp Award as Nassau’s top player last season as a junior, was 31-for-43 passing for 347 yards and three touchdowns with the one interception. He hit Ronnie Kraemer for a 19-yard touchdown and Nicky Cairo on a 1-yard TD before the scoring pass to Mecca.
Heidrich was 18-for-30 passing for 205 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for 43 yards and what proved the game-winning touchdown. His touchdowns went 5 yards to D’Alessandro and 10 yards to Jake Ciolino before he connected with Howes.
It looked like a Massapequa miscue could dictate the battle early. When Alex Chillemi missed an extra point in the second quarter and Oceanside answered with McKee’s touchdown to Cairo with 10 seconds left, the Sailors took a 14-13 lead into halftime.
After Valentine’s fumble recovery set up the Howes touchdown reception, Massapequa never trailed.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
