Jack Rizzo's interception return for a touchdown helps Plainedge put away South Side
Palinedge's Jack Rizzo, 5, makes an interception and runs it in for the go ahead touchdown against South Side on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. Credit: Neil Miller
While many were predicting Plainedge’s demise, Jack Rizzo and the Red Devils’ defense were busy orchestrating their own masterpiece.
Rizzo’s 85-yard interception return for a touchdown with 8:04 left in the fourth quarter gave host Plainedge the lead for good as it defeated South Side, 21-16, in Nassau III football Friday night on Edward Byrne Memorial Field.
“We watched film and they ran a play we run,” Rizzo said. “I knew the ball was going out when I saw the formation, so I broke on it and took my chance.”
After Rizzo's score, quarterback Jackson Torres, who was starting in his first varsity game, connected with Jack Cavaliere to put Plainedge ahead, 21-14.
“We had a strong play drawn up,” Cavaliere said. “I trusted my QB, he put it up and I was able to come down with it.”
Two possessions later, South Side quarterback Owen West fired a pass toward the end zone that was broken up by Rizzo on South Side’s third down play. West took a big hit in the process, forcing him to miss the crucial fourth-down play.
On fourth down, South Side threw to the end zone and the pass was broken up by Cavaliere.
“Defensively we made a few changes from earlier on,” Cavaliere said. “We locked one man and had him pressed and doubled 22 (Michael Melkonian).”
South Side (6-1) forced a punt with just over two minutes remaining. The ball was snapped high and sailed out the end zone for a safety, cutting the lead to 21-16, but Plainedge was able to stop South Side’s final possession on fourth down.
“Their quarterback makes good decisions, he’s a dual threat, which makes it tough,” Plainedge coach Rob Shaver said. “I’m proud of how our guys covered, how the secondary held up and when we needed pressure, we got it.’
South Side put together a seven-plus minute drive on their opening possession, finishing with a five-yard touchdown pass from West to Melkonian. Plainedge responded two minutes later, when Nicholas Gerardi took a direct snap five yards for a touchdown and converted the extra point, tying the game at 7-7.
“We’ve had adversity hit us a number of different weeks,“ Shaver said. “Our quarterback broke his leg last week and the first game of the season we lost our starting running back.”
South Side fumbled the ensuing kickoff return and Rizzo recovered for Plainedge (5-2). Dylan Fella took a direct snap 32 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the drive. Plainedge led 13-7 after missing the extra point. Fella finished with 102 rushing yards on 11 carries.
“We saw all the posts, everything had South Side winning,” Fella said.
West scored from one yard out on South Side’s next drive, giving the Cyclones a 14-13 lead after the extra point. Their offense was unable to put points on the board the rest of the way.
“We knew we’d bounce back after their early scores," Rizzo said. "We felt we had the game in the bag after we scored on our first few possessions. We knew everyone was doubting us, we just practice hard and keep getting better with every passing day.”
Christopher Matias covers high school sports for Newsday after spending time in Athletic Facilities and Operation at St. John’s and in Sports Information at CUNY York college.
