Michael Fleming's field goal in final seconds lifts North Shore to Nassau IV title game
Michael Fleming #16, North Shore kicker, left, reacts after kicking a 31-yard field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter to give the Vikings a dramatic 17-14 win over Malverne in the Nassau County football Conference IV semifinals at Shuart Stadium on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Credit: James Escher
North Shore had let a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter slip into a tie with Malverne. But now Michael Fleming was lining up for a 31-yard field-goal try, 5.2 seconds showing on the Shuart Stadium clock, and a ticket to the Nassau IV championship game resting with his right foot.
“I’ve always wanted this moment,” the senior kicker/punter said. “… I wasn’t nervous. I was just excited to go out there and do what I do best.”
Snap, hold, kick, good, 0:00 left.
The top-seeded, undefeated Vikings beat No. 4 Malverne, 17-14, in Thursday’s semifinal at Hofstra.
North Shore waited 46 years for its second Nassau football championship, which came last fall. The Vikings (10-0), who also went on to win a Long Island title for the first time, are intent on just a 12-month wait for a third county crown.
They will have their chance at 4 p.m. next Friday in the title game at Hofstra against third-seeded West Hempstead, a 36-20 winner over No. 2 Seafordin the other semifinal.
“There was no other feeling like winning that championship, and that’s what we’re here to do,” said senior quarterback Peter Liotta, who carried 17 times for 91 yards and two scores in this semifinal. “We’re here to get that feeling back.”
After Branden McLaughlin ran for a 33-yard touchdown and a 7-yard score and Javier Fuentes kicked both extra points, the Mules (6-4) were even at 14-14.
“We came flat out of half[time],” Liotta said. “That’s not really like us.”
The Vikings began at their own 20 with 2:17 remaining. Nick La Rosa, another senior who was on the way to a 17-carry, 106-yard rushing day, had something to say in the huddle.
“I tell my guys, ‘Everyone has got to play with heart. Reach down deep. Play at 110%. Do everything you can. Because this could be our last game. You don’t want to regret it,’ ” La Rosa said.
Liotta had a third-down completion for a first down. La Rosa also converted two third downs on the ground. Then he carried for 12 yards to the 14 with 12.1 seconds left. Two plays later, Fleming drilled the winner.
It didn’t seem like it would come down to that. Liotta ran the ball in from the 2 and the 1 in the first half. But Malverne responded after the intermission before the Vikings came through.
“We’ve got to go back and watch a lot of film and hit the drawing board again and fix some things,” North Shore coach Dan Agovino said. “… But, yeah, we’re real excited about the way we finished because our guys didn’t quit when our backs were against the wall.”
