Justin DePietro's three touchdowns lead Carey past Long Beach
Justin DePietro of Carey finds open space to run during a Nassau Conference II football game against host Long Beach on Saturday. Credit: David Meisenholder
Before the season began it was just a theory. Now there is proof. Carey is going to be a force to be reckoned with in Nassau Conference II.
Whether it was Justin DePietro going inside and out for three touchdown runs or the interceptions by Mark Vera, Christian Todaro and Nicholas Medoro or the way the defense stopped Long Beach on four cracks from one yard outside the end zone, the Seahawks made all the big plays in a 34-14 victory over the Marines at Long Beach’s Veterans Field.
Carey (2-0, 2-0) got the conference’s preseason No. 1 seeding and looked every bit deserving Saturday.
“Everyone on this team is a competitor,” DePietro, a sophomore, said. “There is pressure on us and it doesn’t matter. We think we’re the best [in Nassau II], but we need to prove it every week. You know we’re poised and we’re going to fight.”
“[DePietro] does it all on both sides of the ball for us,” Seahawks coach Mike Stanley said. “He’s a powerful runner in the backfield and a good middle linebacker. He’s a different kind of kid and its special.”
The cornerstone behind everything Carey does on offense is its powerful all-senior line of Howie Silverstein, Ali Jouida, Richie Metzger, Sean McNamee and Mateo Squillante. They average better than 270 pounds a man and pushed through the Marines to make holes for DePietro and Christian Todaro to slip through all afternoon.
“Running behind them is the best thing ever,” DePietro said.
“We’re an experienced group and most of us have been together for two years on the line,” Metzger said. “There is a chemistry . . . and it’s everything.”
Carey scored on its first two possessions en route to a 21-0 halftime lead. Todaro appeared to be headed for a jet sweep when he cut back and turned up field behind a Silverstein black to go 30 yards for the first touchdown. Quarterback Chris Obertis found Medoro for a six-yard TD reception for a 14-0 lead with 3:16 left in the first quarter.
The Seahawks forced Long Beach into a three-and-out in the second quarter and a punt into a stiff wind with a tough bounce put Carey on the Beach 24 to set up a third score. A DePietro 4-yard touchdown run made it 21-0.
The Marines (1-1, 1-1) got a nifty 29-yard run down the right sideline by quarterback Charlie Conway on the ensuing possession to reach the Seahawks’ 1. But that was as far as they’d get as the line held on a pair of rushes and a pair of passes.
“Those guys are big and strong and they might be the best in the league,” Beach coach Scott Martin said. “When we had the ball they were effective at jamming receivers at the line and pressuring the passer.
A DePietro 4-yard touchdown run on the final play of the third quarter made it 27-7 and on the second play of the fourth quarter Medoro made the team’s third interception of the day. On the ensuing play, DePietro spun off the pile and went 43 yards for his third touchdown.
“Turnovers are game changers,” said Todaro, who also had 65 rushing yards on four carries. “
Brody Riedel rushed for 80 yards including a 53-yard TD, Danilo Corea had an interception and Maximus Schimmel had a fumble recovery for the Marines.
“It’s a seeding, but no one wins anything in the preseason,” Todaro said. “Everyone started in the same boat. . . . We have to keep this going.”
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.