Oceanside outlasts Freeport to avenge last year's double-overtime loss
Luke Villela, Oceanside quarterback, left, hands off to Charlie Levine during the second quarter of a Nassau Conference I football game against host Freeport on Friday. Credit: James Escher
Oceanside used a mix of early game trickery, multiple quarterbacks and clutch second-half defense to seal a 31-20 victory over Freeport Friday night and avenge a heartbreaking loss in last year’s season finale.
Sailors coach Rob Blount insisted last year's 54-52 double-overtime loss was not what motivated his team in Friday's Nassau I opener.
“We sit there and have great games with Freeport every year for the last 15 years since we’ve been here,” Blount said. “We had a great game last year, hats off to those guys.”
Still, running back Isaiah Spivey, who ran 19 times for 109 yards and a touchdown, said the win was definitely special.
“Especially against Freeport," Spivey said. "We lost to them last year, we just kept that in our minds."
Oceanside started by marching 71 yards on 10 plays with Luke Villela finding Dylan Bender for a 24-yard touchdown pass – and the two-point conversion off the fake point-after attempt.
As a complement to starting quarterback Shane Harmon, Villela completed both of his pass attempts for 29 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 55 yards on five carries. Harmon and Villela were the only two Sailors to complete a pass, but Oceanside kept the Freeport defense guessing by snapping the ball to multiple backs in their wildcat offense.
On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore Ryan Pender, in his first varsity game, booted a perfect dribbler up the middle of the field and Oceanside recovered the onside kick.
“It was scary," Pender said, "but I got the job done."
On the next play, the ball was snapped directly to wide receiver Brian Kraemer, who ran 49 yards for a touchdown to give Oceanside a 14-0 lead.
Freeport star senior D’Angelo Gordon rushed for two touchdowns – a 17-yarder and a 1-yarder – to help Freeport keep things close.
Jayden Gordon, D’Angelo’s younger brother, caught a 3-yard pass from Kelvin Abreu, who had a strong second half at quarterback, to cut the deficit to 24-20 with 4:49 left in the third quarter. Those would be the final points for Freeport.
“Last year, our defense gave up 50-something points … I thought they did great job and I’m just thrilled for them right now,” Blount said.
Oceanside had a fumble recovery on the first play from scrimmage of the second half and forced two late turnovers on downs.
Spivey put the game on ice for Oceanside with 7:50 left, rushing for a 14-yard touchdown.
“We’ve been practicing so hard,” Spivey said. “To ice the game, it just feels great.”
