Joe Cassese, Plainedge overpower Bethpage in Nassau III football showdown
Joseph Cassese #5 of Plainedge, center, gets congratulated by teammates after rushing for a touchdown in the first quarter of a Nassau County Conference III football game against Bethpage at Plainedge High School on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. Credit: James Escher
Plainedge's offense is both grinding and dynamic. The Red Devils defense is both ruthless and beautiful. After seeing Nassau Conference III’s top seed eviscerate second-seeded Bethpage on Saturday, a debate simmers about which is the better unit.
Plainedge won its 17th straight game by rumbling over the visiting Golden Eagles for a 42-8 victory and re-affirmed that it is the team to beat on its quest for a third straight Long Island Class III championship.
The Red Devils’ offense scored on their first six possessions in the first half to build a 42-0 halftime lead. Plainedge's defense held Bethpage (3-2) to minus-12 yards of offense before intermission.
“We have some guys that are pretty good at what they do,” Plainedge coach Rob Shaver said. “I guess we have to be the favorite in the county now, but we’ve had high expectations for ourselves all along.”
Joe Cassese, a senior running back/defensive end, ran eight times for 75 yards and had three rushing touchdowns. He also had a sack for an 11-yard loss on the first snap of the game. Junior Shane Mosia had a 31-yard touchdown run, senior Vinny Cavalieri a 5-yard TD run and senior Michael DeMatteo a 15-yard TD run for Plainedge.
Junior two-way lineman Vinny Petzold had two sacks and two tackles for a loss, senior Braden Donnellan had an interception, juniors Jack Rizzo and Nicholas Girardi made fumble recoveries and senior two-way lineman Marcelo Licata was in on two third-down stops that forced Golden Eagle punts.
So which unit do the Red Devils see as their bread and butter?
“The offensive line is so good and the holes are so big it’s like getting freebies for the running backs,” Cassese said.
“I think we’re way better on defense,” Mosia said. “We aren’t giving teams much of anything.”
Special teams might also need a nod here. Senior placekicker James Corke was 6-for-6 on extra points and senior Anthony Gentile returned a pair of punts into the red zone. In fact, Plainedge was so good when the ball was changing possessions that it snapped the ball just twice in its own end of the field during the first half.
“I’d give the offense an A-plus and the defense an A-plus, but our special teams are pretty special,” Petzold said. “It’s really hard to say what we do best.”
Happy as the Red Devils were about their play, they seemed equally excited about what happened at halftime: senior defensive back Matt Williams was pulled out of the locker room to be named homecoming king before a full stadium. Said Petzold: “He’s our unsung MVP and totally deserving.”
Bethpage (3-2) finally made some progress in the second half. It made its own breaks in the fourth quarter when it forced a fumble with Plainedge five yards from a seventh touchdown and senior Raymond Renneisen recovered. The Eagles then went 96 yards to get on the board. John Pelcher scored on a 59-yard run and Michael Minelli added a two-point conversion.
“We had played one scrimmage and we realized that we had to get on the same page,” Mosia said. “We had only three (starters) back on defense and five or six on offense. We just hadn’t played together back then. A few weeks later? You can see we’re on the same page.”
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.
