Vin Martino's legs carry MacArthur to Long Island Championships

The dead leg was alive and well Friday night.

It was a favored move by MacArthur's Vin Martino, who ran for 184 yards and three touchdowns as the No. 3 Generals rallied to defeat No. 4 Wantagh, 28-14, in the Nassau II final at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium, played before a crowd of more than 3,500.

"He gives you that dead leg to make you miss," a joyously soaked MacArthur coach Bobby Fehrenbach said, referencing a maneuver in which Martino plants his foot, appearing to offer his leg as a tackling target, then slips it away. "He's got great vision."

The Generals (9-2) will face Newfield for the Long Island Class II championship at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Hofstra. Wantagh finished 8-3.

Martino scored twice in the first half as MacArthur erased a 14-0 deficit and forged a tie at halftime. He put the game away with a 5-yard TD burst with 4:30 left. "An amazing feeling. Indescribable, really," he said. "My quad was bothering me before the game and I did everything I could to get ready and pushed through it."

He got help from his offensive line, which includes two sets of brothers -- Ryan (who left with an injury but cheered enthusiastically) and Dan O'Shea, and Joe and Phil Razza. "Without them,'' Martino said, "I don't rush for anything."

There was a defensive presence as well, especially in a wild third quarter that featured an onside kick recovery, three interceptions (including a pick-6) and a goal-line stand. The latter occurred when Wantagh's front seven, led by Corey Sachs (seven tackles), stopped Jimmy Kelleher on quarterback sneaks from the 1 on third and fourth downs.

Then the Generals made their own stand. On second-and-10 from the 1, Marc Arboleda blitzed Wantagh quarterback Robert Tucker and hit him as he tried to throw from the end zone. Defensive end Vin Thron intercepted at the 2 and waltzed in for the tiebreaking TD.

"That was a big play after we couldn't get in," said Thron, who also sacked Tucker in the fourth quarter, forcing a fumble that Justin Calderon recovered for Wantagh with 3:39 left.

"Marc did a great job getting pressure and [Tucker] just tried to flick it to avoid the safety," Fehrenbach said.

In fact, Thron thought the Generals were getting two points, not seven. "I played it slow and waited to see what would happen," Thron said. "I thought we had him for the safety. I was surprised by the pass. I usually play D-line. I don't get pick-6s."

Wantagh's Dylan Beckwith had a more spectacular pick-6 in the first quarter, stunning the Generals by racing 85 yards with an interception to give the Warriors a 14-0 lead.

But MacArthur responded with an 11-play, 62-yard scoring drive, making it 14-7 on Martino's 3-yard run after his 16-yard dash out of the Wildcat set up the touchdown.

Martino tied the score with a 36-yard run in which his dead-leg move left tacklers strewn across the Hofstra turf.

"Whatever is open, I'll take," Martino said.

Now the 5-9, 170-pound senior is taking his team to the Long Island Championships for the first time since 2002.

"I'm speechless," Martino said.

His legs already had done the talking for him.