Mepham football gains spot in Nassau Conference II final behind QB Owen Heller's big night, dominant defense
Owen Heller #16, Mepham quarterback, looks for an open receiver during the second quarter of the Nassau County football Conference II semifinals against Glen Cove at Shuart Stadium on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. Mepham won, 34-6. Credit: James Escher
Defense has been the calling card for Mepham all season.
So even though the Pirates surrendered six early points to Glen Cove on the first drive of their Nassau Conference II football semifinal on Friday night, there was never a doubt that the unit would break.
“That’s something that we’ve harped on all year,” Mepham coach Tom Mazeika said. “Especially in the playoffs, the scoreboard really doesn’t matter until the end of the game, and I think our guys embraced that. We were down a little bit, and we responded. That’s kind of been our trademark throughout the whole season.”
Third-seeded Mepham responded with 34 unanswered points and created four turnovers en route to a 34-6 win over No. 2 Glen Cove at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.
Mepham senior quarterback Owen Heller had a massive game, completing 9 of 11 passes for 160 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 55 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.
“My O-line gave me a clean pocket all night,” Heller said. “I love those guys to death, and they don’t get enough respect for what they do for me and for our team. It was just easy picking out our guys if I have a clean pocket.”
Mazeika said: “[Heller’s] one of the best players in Nassau County nobody talks about. If you look at his tape over the last four weeks, I’d put him up against any quarterback around. He’s as good as anybody right now.”
Junior linebacker James Quilty had a game-leading 20 tackles and senior defensive back Tyler Rannacher had an interception and a fumble recovery.
“We kind of came out flat on that first drive,” Quilty said. “I think it kind of just woke us up, honestly. I just want to give a shoutout to my D-line opening gaps up, me [being] able to make those tackles all game.”
Mepham (9-1) will play No. 1 Carey in the Nassau II title game at 7:30 p.m. next Friday at Hofstra. The Pirates, still in search of their first county title, are in the Nassau II championship for the seventh time, according to Newsday records. Mepham lost to Garden City, now in Nassau III, in each of its first six appearances.
Glen Cove (8-2) took a 6-0 lead on Devon Gonzalez’s 18-yard touchdown run with 7:35 left in the first quarter; quarterback Jadyn Johnson’s two-point run failed. Gonzalez had 25 carries for 146 yards and the score, finishing his sensational senior season with 145 carries for 1,429 yards and 19 TDs.
Mepham changed the momentum with 10:07 left in the second quarter. Rannacher recovered a fumble by Jake Lebowitz at the Glen Cove 49. Four plays later, Heller threaded a perfect 34-yard toss to Nicholas Gampero in the end zone to tie it at 6 with 9:02 left in the second quarter.
“This is the closest I’ve ever had to a family other than my actual born family,” Rannacher said. “It’s just amazing, going to practice every day and getting another week to play football.”
Johnson appeared to suffer an injury early in the second quarter. Johnson, whose right ankle was taped, had a clear limp and played sporadically for the remainder of the game while backup Elias Blas got most of the reps.
Heller threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Gampero to give Mepham a 13-6 lead with 3:13 left in the first half. Heller connected with Michael Grizzard, who went over the top of a Glen Cove defensive back to make the catch, for a 15-yard touchdown to put Mepham ahead 20-6 with 33.4 seconds left in the first half.
Heller added a 5-yard touchdown run with 10:12 left in the third quarter. Lenny Achan had a 4-yard touchdown run 5:30 later to bring the score to its final margin.
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.