When Carey football needed quarterback Chris Obertis most, he delivered in crunch time

Cool, calm and collected.

Chris Obertis was a steady presence at quarterback throughout Carey’s perfect football season.

In some games, the senior was only needed to throw five or fewer passes as the Seahawks coasted to victory. From Justin DePietro to Joncarlo Carbone to Christian Todaro, Carey had plenty of talent to run the ball behind a stout offensive line.

But in the Seahawks’ biggest game of the season, the Long Island Class II title on Nov. 29, Obertis proved that he can propel Carey to victories, too.

Obertis completed 14 of his season-high 18 pass attempts for 244 yards and three touchdowns, keying a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback in a 37-36 win over Half Hollow Hills East.

What allowed Obertis to thrive?

“I think just his poise and his demeanor all year, in every situation,” Carey coach Mike Stanley said. “There were certainly weeks where we didn't need to ask a lot out of him. But as we got down the stretch, his role was going to grow more. And certainly when all eyes are on the run game, we needed him to make some plays. His demeanor at halftime in both the county finals and the Long Island Championship made everybody in the locker room feel good. He was as cool as you could ask for.

“I thought he delivered his best game of his career in the biggest moment.”

Carey claimed its first Long Island crown since 2014 and its third in program history.

“It feels great,” an emotional Obertis said after the LIC win. “We worked so hard for this. I worked so hard for this. We really had a special bond this year. We knew we had to do it, and we did it. It’s hard work and dedication. That’s all.”

Obertis finished the season with 1,114 passing yards and 19 touchdowns.

This season was Obertis’ first as Carey’s full-time starting quarterback. He split reps throughout the first four games of the 2023 season, which ended with a Nassau Conference II championship loss to Garden City, before becoming the backup. Stanley was impressed with Obertis’ mentality, which paid dividends this fall.

“He handled it how you’d expect a mature leader to handle it,” Stanley said. “He put whatever was best for the team. Even in the same way, the early part of this season when we’re handing the ball off a heck of a lot more than we’re throwing it. He had no problems, no issues — just whatever was best for the team.

“Certainly [in the Long Island Championship], he was best for the team. It was great to see how it played out for him.”

Obertis’ backfield mates had huge postseasons as well. In the win over Hills East, Todaro had 89 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, three catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns plus a pair of two-point runs. DePietro ran for 160 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries in a 15-0 win over Long Beach in the Nassau II semifinals, and he rushed for 187 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries in a 28-7 win over Mepham in the Nassau II championship.

“It’s so special, man,” Obertis said. “These are my brothers, and I’m never going to have another group like them. They’re the best. We got each other’s back every step of the way.”

By Ben Dickson

benjamin.dickson@newsday.com@bendickson__

Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.