Massapequa football dominates second half to reach Nassau Conference I final
Cole Villalta of Massapequa and Joe Palmer of Massapequa celebrate winning the Nassau Conference I semifinal over Oceanside at Hofstra on Saturday. Credit: David Meisenholder
Dylan Pender drilled a 33-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, and the Oceanside lead grew to 10 points.
Massapequa coach Kevin Shippos threw his hands in the air and then waved his players off the field and to the locker room for the halftime break. His disappointment was obvious.
“We had some costly penalties, which is uncharacteristic of this team,” Shippos said. “And I wasn’t happy with that last field goal making it a two-score game. But I am very pleased with our response to adversity. There was no doubt we were in control after we made our adjustments and cleaned it up for the second half.”
Boy, did they ever.
Senior halfback Tyler Villalta scored three rushing touchdowns as Massapequa scored on all five second-half possessions and beat Oceanside, 41-24, late Saturday night in a Nassau Conference I football semifinal at Hofstra University.
No. 3 Massapequa (9-1), the defending Long Island Class I champion, will meet top-seeded Farmingdale (9-1) for the Nassau Conference I championship Saturday at Hofstra at 4 p.m.
“We had a bad quarter in the season opener against Oceanside and allowed 28 points,” Shippos said. “We had a heart-to-heart discussion after we watched the game film. And we’ve gotten better and better each week. We had a heavy graduation from our championship team and there are only 15 seniors here. We had a bunch of guys stepping into starting roles and trying to figure it out.”
They figured it out, winning for the ninth consecutive game.
Oceanside (8-2) had touchdown runs of 2 yards from Chace Morris and 39 yards from Luke Vilella before Pender’s field goal gave the Sailors a 17-7 lead at the half.
The lone Massapequa score in the first half came on quarterback Joey Diesso’s 3-yard run.
“We were confident and needed to execute,” said Diesso, who completed 8 of 15 passes for 147 yards and two scores. “Our O-line really came through.”
Massapequa opened the second half with an eight-play, 54-yard drive capped by the first TD run by Villalta (160 yards, 23 carries). He scored from a yard out to make it 17-13 with 8:19 left in the third quarter.
On Oceanside’s next possession, defensive end Alex Chillemi forced a third-down fumble recovered by Alex Van Schuyler at the Sailors’ 15. Three plays later, Villalta scored on a 5-yard run for a 20-17 lead with 1:15 left in the third quarter.
“We play all four quarters,” Villalta said. “The younger guys here are chasing that LIC. They’re hungry and you could feel the momentum change in the game.”
Then Diesso hit Andrew Pedalino for a 31-yard TD pass on third-and-15 to make it 27-13.
“He was wide open,” Diesso said. “I waited for him to clear the linebacker and led him with the pass.”
Pedalino finished with three catches for 67 yards and a score and 80 yards rushing. His 27-yard run to the Sailors’ 2 set up another Villalta score for a 34-13 lead in the fourth.
Oceanside quarterback Shane Harmon hit Dillon Tveter with a 65-yard TD pass to make it 34-24 with 8:10 left in the game. Tveter made a sensational one-handed grab on the run down the sideline. Harmon completed 19 of 26 passes for 281 yards.
“We have excellent senior leadership,” Shippos said. “And I’m sure our halftime locker room talk was just a reminder of who we are.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.