Bobby Galindo, South Side football shut down Wantagh to stay unbeaten
South Side celebrates their recovery of a Wantagh fumble during a Nassau Conference III football game in Rockville Centre on Friday, October 6, 2023. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Bobby Galindo wreaked havoc in the Wantagh backfield Friday night.
The 6-3, 300-pound tackle helped his defensive unit stuff the run and chase Wantagh quarterback Joe Merro all over the field in a pivotal Nassau Conference III football game.
There were eight tackles for a loss, four forced fumbles, three sacks, nine hurries and two blocked kicks as South Side beat Wantagh, 31-7, in a showdown of unbeaten teams.
The win moved South Side to 5-0 and handed Wantagh its first loss at 4-1.
“It was fun, and I thought we played a great game,” said the Colgate-bound Galindo. “We put together another strong defensive performance and our offense really set the tone early in the game with long drives.”
The South Side defense was in search of a fifth straight shutout to open the season. And the Cyclones came oh so close.
Wantagh scored with 3:18 remaining to avert the shutout on a Dylan Martini 2-yard touchdown run.
South Side opened the season by shutting out opponents for 212:42.
“We told our offensive line that we go as they go,” said South Side coach Phil Onesto. “We showed everyone tonight we could sustain long drives and take over games at the line.”
The South Side offensive line of tackles James Beatty and Mike Muscarella, guards Kieran Kenny and Galindo and center Billy Gryboski made a loud statement on the Cyclones second possession. The front five cleared the way for an impressive nine play, 97-yard scoring march. Quarterback Owen West capped the drive with a 2-yard scoring run over right tackle. Nick Papadopulos added the extra-point kick to make it 7-0 with 1:59 left in the first quarter.
“We pushed them down the field,” Galindo said. “They were running a three-man stack up front and we were just moving them off the ball and pounding it down the field. And when we needed a big pass play, Owen made it happen.”
The Cyclones second touchdown drive went 76 yards in 16 plays and consumed more than seven minutes. West shined throughout the drive. On a fourth down and 3 from the Cyclones 42, West fired a 13-yard slant to Michael Aiello for 13 yards and a first down. Later in the march on a third down and 16, West found Jack Boyens for 28 yards to the Wantagh 2. West punched it in from the two for his second score. West appeared to be stopped but got an extra push from halfback Jack Lozito to reach the end zone for the score.
Papadopulos added the extra-point kick to make it 14-0 with 21 seconds left in the half.
The South Side defense held Wantagh to 57 yards in 15 plays in the first half. The Cyclones dominated time of possession 17:03-6:57 and ran 28 plays for 183 yards and the two-touchdown lead.
Lozito ran for two second-half touchdowns of 4 and 31 yards and finished with 109 yards on 24 carries.
“They were physically stronger than us in the first half and I saw us make mistakes that were uncharacteristic of our team,” said Wantagh coach Keith Sachs. “They controlled the clock and we had too many negative plays.”
Martini finished with 69 yards on 11 carries.
“They played a great game,” Martini said. “We need to be better when we see them in the playoffs.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
