This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Chiefs Gain Playoff Berth But Lose To Farmingdale

Football team finishes regular season 4-4.

The Massapequa Chiefs needed a victory Saturday to improve their seeding in the Conference 1 playoffs. But their chances of drawing a lower ranked opponent and closing out the regular season successfully were spoiled by a loss to rival Farmingdale High School as the Dalers came away with a 35-21 win at Massapequa Saturday.

The Chiefs got off to a great start. They marched down the field on an early drive, making four first downs in a row, highlighted by an unbelievable one handed catch by wide receiver Steven Romano. Quarterback Michael Barry sneaked the ball in for a  2 yard touchdown to cap the drive, followed by kicker Tyler Gannon's perfect extra point kick to make the score 7 to 0 Massapequa. Some great defensive plays by Rich Staubitz and Rich Ruiz, kept Farmingdale scoreless in the quarter.

But in the second quarter, the Dalers got into their offensive groove. Farmingdale ran  a 40-yard return giving them great field position. Then running back Kevin Wahl  broke free for 23 yards scoring the first Farmingdale touchdown. But the extra point by kicker Greg Catalano was wide left. The Chiefs were still winning 7 to 6 but not for long. After a  Farmingdale "pooch kick" caused Massapequa special teams to react slowly, Farmingdale recovered the ball in Chief territory. With two minutes left in the half, Wahl caught a nine-yard screen pass to score the second touchdown. Opting for a two point conversion, Wahl snuck the ball into the end zone making the score 14-7 Dalers. The teams then traded turnovers as Massapequa fumbled the ball to Farmingdale and Daler quarterback Sal Tuttle threw an interception to Luke Pelizzi in the end zone. The Dalers got the ball back one more time in the half, but missed a field goal, and the score remained 14 to 7 at halftime.

Find out what's happening in Massapequawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In the third quarter The Chief's looked as if they were back in the game. Tuttle threw  another interception, to Lee Henderson who ran the ball back for a touchdown tying things at 14-14. But the celebration was short lived when Chief quarterback Ryan Neu threw an interception of his own, giving Farmingdale the ball at midfield. After a couple of first downs Wahl ran for 10 yards and scored his third touchdown of the game making the score 21 to 14 Dalers. The Chiefs got the ball back but again Neu threw another interception into the end zone. Wahl once again ran down the field and scored his fourth and Farmingdale's fourth touchdown of the game making the score 28 to 14.

In the fourth quarter, Farmingdale was penalized with three face mask penalties which gave the Chiefs first and goal on the seven yard line. Barry ran the ball into the end zone bringing the score to 28-21. But on the ensuing kickoff,  Farmingdale's Justin Martin, returned the ball 96 yards scoring the final touchdown of the game as Massapequa was on the wrong end of a 35 to 21 score.

Find out what's happening in Massapequawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

SCORE: 35 - 21  

RECORD Massapequa (4-4), Farmingdale (6-2)

HERO: Farmingdale running back Kevin Wahl scored four out of five touchdowns for the Dalers. He had 20 total receiving yards and a staggering total of 259 yards rushing.

TURNING POINT: Daler Justin Martin's 96 yard return brought Farmingdale's lead back to two touchdowns late in the contest.

THE QUOTE: "Our strategy for the game was to play defense, make tackles and keep number 32 [Wahl] contained," Coach Pat Nolan said.  "We did that for the most part." The Massapequa defense had a couple of big stops against Wahl but still ran the ball effectively down the field.

THE BOTTOM LINE: "We didn't play badly. We just have to keep doing what we are doing," Nolan said. "Our guys played a solid 48 minutes and never gave up."

KEY STAT: Tensions among these two teams were high throughout the entire game. Both teams had seven penalties each and there was even a scuffle towards the end of the fourth quarter after a late hit by Massapequa following an interception by Farmingdale in the end zone.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Chiefs take the field in the playoffs next Saturday.

 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?